SCIENCE NOTEBOOKS VALUABLE TOOLS FOR BUILDING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT Curtis Varnell, Virginia Rhame Science Specialists June 4, 2013 Rolling on the River With thanks to Jenny Gammill

QUESTIONSTO GET OUR JUICES FLOWING... Really think... How do you learn? What does it take for some new information or skill or understanding to be ingrained within you? What kind of atmosphere and behaviors of others as well as your own behaviors contribute to your learning? Who already uses science notebooks? What benefits do you see?

“People don’t learn from their experiences; they learn from processing their experiences.” --Bob Garmston

OBJECTIVES FOR THIS SESSION Identify need for science notebooks Discuss reasons for using science note books Consider ways in which the teacher can provide structure to enhance student-centered science notebooks Examine examples of notebook entries

FOOD FOR THOUGHT... “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.” --Albert Einstein

ZACH HILL COMIC STRIP Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2/21/07

MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT... “For severely marginalized students, many of whom are on the verge of dropping out, access to mainstream science is not the issue. Keeping them engaged in something so they will stay in school is the first step...

... I believe that science has a greater potential for this type of engagement than other subjects, due to its nature built on curiosity and understanding of the world around us. Ironically, it is often the discipline that serves as a gatekeeper instead of a motivator.” --Gale Seiler

EARLY EFFORTS IN SCIENCE NOTEBOOKING

DA VINCI’S NOTEBOOK ENTRY

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL’S NOTEBOOK

WHO IS THE NOTEBOOK ACTUALLY FOR? More than a journal or a logbook, science notebooks are “tools for STUDENTS to grapple and makes sense of THEIR understandings using recording and organizing strategies that are PERSONALLY meaningful.” --Fulton and Campbell, 2004

“FIVE REASONS TO USE SCIENCE NOTEBOOKS” BY GILBERT AND KOTLEMAN Read the article then turn and talk with your neighbor. Which reason(s) do you find most significant to you?

“... a science notebook becomes a central place where language, data, and experience operate jointly to form meaning for all students.” --M. Klentschy, 2008

FORMATTING NOTEBOOKS *see Handout: “Science NB Organization” Useful Elements: Date, Time, Subject Codes: See Handout “Science NB Components” Front/Back of each sheet Glossary Tabs for strands of science Remember... This is the student’s notebook.

NOTEBOOK ENTRY TYPES Drawings Tables, charts, graphs Graphic Organizer Notes and Practice Problems Reflective and Analytical Entries Inserts Investigations Writing Frames **see handout “Notebook Entry Types**

SENTENCE STEMS My question: ____________________(question) Today, I (or we) want to find out ___________(problem) I think _____will happen because _________ (prediction) I noticed (or observed) ______________ (observation) I think ________happened because ___________ (making claims, supporting claims with evidence.) Today, I learned __________________(conclusion, reflection) I wonder __________________ (reflection, new question) Questions I have now are __________________. (Next steps, new questions)

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS: How many...? How long...? How often...? How are _____ and ____ the same/different? Which object is ______? What would happen if ________? What happens to ________ if we change ________? How can we _________?

EXAMINING NOTEBOOK ENTRIES What type of entry is it? When might students complete this type of entry? Why is this type of work meaningful?

ASSESSING NOTEBOOKS Which do you think it serves as a better tool: Formative or Summative Assessment? Self-Assessment vs. Assessment by others Sticky notes vs. writing in Ss notebook

POSSIBLE RUBRIC-- POETRY

NOTEBOOKS PITFALLS Brainstorm! How might these be avoided?

REFLECT How might I use Science Notebooks in My classroom?

RESOURCES Using Science Notebooks in the Elementary Classroom by Michael Klentyschy Science Notebooks: Writing about Inquiry by Brian Campbell and Lori Fulton Science and Children, a magazine of NSTA Picture Perfect Science Lessons (any book in the series) by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan