1st Edition
Inquiry-Based Science Activities in Grades 6-12 Meeting the NGSS
This new book shows middle and high school science teachers how to use evidence-based inquiry to help students achieve deeper conceptual understanding. Drawing on a wealth of research, authors Pat Brown and Jim Concannon demonstrate how direct, hands-on experience in the science classroom can enable your students to become more self-reliant learners. They also provide a plethora of model lessons aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and offer advice on how to create your own lesson plans and activities to satisfy the demands of your curriculum. With the resources in this book, you and your students will be able to ditch the textbook and embark upon an exciting and rewarding journey to scientific discovery.
Contents
Meet the Authors
Introduction
Chapter 1: What are the features of evidence-driven inquiry?
Chapter 2: Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
Chapter 3: How Thin Is Tin Foil?
Chapter 4: An Interdisciplinary Theme
Chapter 5: Students’ Use of the PSOE Model to Understand Weather and Climate
Chapter 6: Teaching Bernoulli’s Principle through Demos
Chapter 7: Gravity Is Easy to Understand, Right? The Difference between Calculating and Comprehending
Chapter 8: Students Investigations in Temperature and Pressure
Chapter 9: 2-Liter Bottles and Botanical Gardens: Using Inquiry to Learn Ecology
Chapter 10: Students Conceptualizing Transcription and Translation from a Cellular Perspective
Chapter 11: Are You Teaching Your Students about Stem Cells?
Chapter 12: Transforming Osmosis: Labs to Address Standards for Inquiry
Chapter 13: Lessons Learned
Biography
Dr. Patrick Brown, PhD is the STEM coordinator for the Fort Zumwalt School District in O’Fallon, Missouri.
Dr. James Concannon, PhD is a science teacher educator at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.
"This resource is an informative, thought-provoking read, and it’s essential for anyone serious about understanding the science education research that supports the NGSS."
—Victoria May, Assistant Dean of Arts & Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
"I like the way Brown and Concannon articulate the importance and usefulness of evidence-based inquiry for teachers and students. Their emphasis on 'understanding from experiences' is refreshingly reminiscent of John Dewey and the need to not only have a child’s experience at the center of our teaching but to also showcase the importance of 'Science as method' not just as subject matter. This book is very useful for teachers as they work to engage learners in science by 'providing students with immediate experiences to form accurate understandings'."
—Robert W. Blake, Jr. Professor and Chair, Towson University
