Vertical Team Coaching 5th ~ 6th ~ 7th ~ 8th

Experimental Design Title: This should be descriptive and fairly short. Experimental question: “What effect does (Independent Variable- I.V.) have on (Dependent Variable- D.V.) ?” Hypothesis: “If _(How is I.V. changed?) , then (How is D.V. affected?) , because (Explain why ).” Variables: Independent (manipulated) variable (graphed on X axis):___________________ Dependent (responding) variable (graphed on Y axis):______________________ Constants (what stays the same in every trial?):____________________________

Guessing! Who me? In science, a hypothesis is an idea or explanation that you then test through study and experimentation. Outside science, a theory or guess can also be called a hypothesis. A hypothesis is something more than a wild guess but less than a well-established theory. Too often we are guilty of allowing them to guess without research. This establishes a habit that is very hard to break.

A Moment on Variables!!! The Big Misconception!!! What is a control? For our purposes it’s to be used as a group, not a variable. What is a constant? All the variables that remain the same. Why? The students are not ready to think abstractly and use the terms interchangeably.

Take Two on Variables!!! How do we teach variables? Through Cause & Effect IV (Independent Variable) is always your Cause DV (Dependent Variable) is always the Effect

Experimental Design Materials: List all materials you need to complete this lab (complete paragraph not necessary.) Procedure: A sequential list is better than complete paragraphs. Describe each step Repeat trials Draw a diagram to help explain your experiment. Data Table: Separate the trials. Use the following format Independent Variable (IV) Dependent Variable (DV)

Experimental Design Graph Possible Experimental Errors Conclusions Use a simple yet descriptive title. Label both axes with title and units. For example, “Time (sec.)” Use an appropriate scale. Possible Experimental Errors Identify possible sources of error or bias. Explain how these errors or bias could have affected your results. Conclusions Remember to restate your hypothesis: “The hypothesis was…..” Discuss whether the data supports your hypothesis or not. (Use “supported” or “not supported” instead of “right” or “wrong.”) How do you know? Discuss how the graph shows your conclusion. Make recommendations for future experiments. How could you improve this experiment so the information would be more reliable? What related experiments could you recommend to future researchers?