Fostering Student Inquiry
The students will be expected to create a Gantt chart that will help them create benchmarks to aim for. They will be given a quick demo on how to create a Gantt chart on Monday. They will then be able to organize this during that time. The students will be asked to include benchmarks such as:
- Choosing an energy
- Research (interview with experts, internet, books, articles)
- lab activities
- choose a dissemination tool
- connect energy to nanotechnology
- presentations
This guide will help keep students on track and cause them to self-question where they are and still need to go. The teacher will use these benchmarks as a way to evaluate if students are on track. It will not be taken for points, but will help things keep moving along in the project.
Students will be taught to use self-questioning and small group questioning throughout the unit. Days 1-3 of week 1 involve a "mini" investigation into the idea of energy. Students will use class discussions, small group discussions, and self-questioning to come up with ideas about energy. Students will discover what energy is, categories of energy, where different energy sources come from, benefits and drawbacks of different sources of energy and more. Class discussions, small group planning, and student self-questioning as they research the information for themselves will teach students how to self-question and ask questions of their small group. Further opportunity for self-questioning and small group questioning comes on Thursday (day 4) of week 1 through the KWL of nanotechnology and energy. Throughout the unit, students may hit some snags and need a helping hand. Advice for those situations is covered in the rest of this page.
These are examples of questions that could push students who feel as though they are at a mental impasse. We would like to get students to self-question and group question. The groups will be expected to ask themselves some questions that will help them get to the final product. If they come to a point and research stops or is hindered, these questions may be asked to engage the students in a deeper conversation and research without explicitly "telling" the student what to do next.
The groups will be encouraged to ask each other questions and attempt to look questions up before coming to the teacher for help. Even after students have done these things and are okay coming to the teacher for help, the teacher should use questioning (such as those below) to help students answer their questions. If questioning does not work, the teacher may employ scaffolding such as an extra lab to reinforce a concept. If all other options are exhausted, the teacher may use direct instruction.
Primary Question: *Does it relate to your research/driving question?*
- Choosing an energy
- Research (interview with experts, internet, books, articles)
- lab activities
- choose a dissemination tool
- connect energy to nanotechnology
- presentations
This guide will help keep students on track and cause them to self-question where they are and still need to go. The teacher will use these benchmarks as a way to evaluate if students are on track. It will not be taken for points, but will help things keep moving along in the project.
Students will be taught to use self-questioning and small group questioning throughout the unit. Days 1-3 of week 1 involve a "mini" investigation into the idea of energy. Students will use class discussions, small group discussions, and self-questioning to come up with ideas about energy. Students will discover what energy is, categories of energy, where different energy sources come from, benefits and drawbacks of different sources of energy and more. Class discussions, small group planning, and student self-questioning as they research the information for themselves will teach students how to self-question and ask questions of their small group. Further opportunity for self-questioning and small group questioning comes on Thursday (day 4) of week 1 through the KWL of nanotechnology and energy. Throughout the unit, students may hit some snags and need a helping hand. Advice for those situations is covered in the rest of this page.
These are examples of questions that could push students who feel as though they are at a mental impasse. We would like to get students to self-question and group question. The groups will be expected to ask themselves some questions that will help them get to the final product. If they come to a point and research stops or is hindered, these questions may be asked to engage the students in a deeper conversation and research without explicitly "telling" the student what to do next.
The groups will be encouraged to ask each other questions and attempt to look questions up before coming to the teacher for help. Even after students have done these things and are okay coming to the teacher for help, the teacher should use questioning (such as those below) to help students answer their questions. If questioning does not work, the teacher may employ scaffolding such as an extra lab to reinforce a concept. If all other options are exhausted, the teacher may use direct instruction.
Primary Question: *Does it relate to your research/driving question?*
- What resources have you used to search for information?
- Have you discussed this question with your group?
- What energy are you going to focus on? Ex. Electrical, natural gas, oil, nuclear, mechanical, thermal, solar, biofuels
- How does nanotechnology affect the energy you chose? Ex. Efficiencies such as size, economy, price…
- Who is the United States dependent on for that energy?
- Where does that energy come from?
- What affects the price and efficiency of the fuel?
- What groups are in favor of or against energy independence?
- How can we improve our independence on the energy?
- What is energy? What types of energy are available?
- What products or people use the energy you chose?
- Where does this energy come from?
- How is it produced/generated?
- What is energy independence? Pros vs. cons.
- Why are we dependent on another group for the energy?
- How can nanotechnology impact that dependence?
- What technology affects this energy type?
- How can this technology impact our dependence?
- The students will be able to address some major questions regarding the energy type they choose.