1. Questioning Strategies
Afterschool Science Learning Community
January 9, 2012

2. Do Now Activity
We are collecting some basic information about the science classes in your programs. Please take a moment and complete this short handout.
Thank you!

3. Agenda Welcome Small group check-in: Co-Inquiry Strategies Experiment!
Introducing Questioning Strategies
Modeling
Practice
Announcements

4. Co-Inquiry Strategies and Notes: Encourage young people to…
Description
Strategies
Be Curious
Promote and support curiosity in young people
give them opportunities to explore
ask guided questions
Applying prior science knowledge or experience
Create opportunities for youth to connect what they are doing with past knowledge or experience
Asking scaffolding questions to students
building science lessons up from pervious ones
Find evidence
Youth collect information or data
Hands-on activities!
provide data collection sheets
Reflect and Reconsider
Youth have the opportunity adjust or refine their hypothesis as more information becomes available to them.
Have students make hypothesis, test and retest
Ask students "What if…." questions to push their understanding of a concept
Work cooperatively
Youth work in pairs, groups, and/or share results with one another
divide up job duties
use various grouping strategies to counter act various group dynamic issues
Here are the initial strategies that we gave you last time. You filled in more within your groups but this can be a starting point for reviewing and checking in with your group which ones of these you have used since we last met.

5. Today’s Learning Target
I can write different types of questions that can be used to support and deepen youths’ critical thinking during a science activity.

6. Kid Outcomes Be curious (about the world)
Collect data, analyze, reflect, and modify their ideas based on new information
Use their prior science knowledge
Work cooperatively with peers
We do science in ASPs not only because the hands-on activities are fun, but also because we want kids to develop these important skills and attitudes.
Why are these kid outcomes important—Think-pair share answers
Popcorn out answers…
You are looking for:
Developing and fostering critical thinking skills in youth
Important 21 Century skills that will help them
Perhaps inspire them to become scientists…since these are skills and attitudes that scientists use in their daily work.

7. Staff use these co-inquiry strategies Kids will …
Give youth time to explore ideas and hands-on projects
Be curious
Pick science activities that allow kids to make observations and collect data; structure opportunities for kids to talk to each other about what they find; give kids times to revise their ideas based on new data
Use observation skills to collect information (data), talk to their peers so that they can analyze, reflect and modify their ideas based on new data.

8. Staff use these co-inquiry strategies
Kids will …
Ask youth how this activity or experiment relates to something they have seen or done before
Apply prior knowledge
Structure activities so that kids work in pairs; youth have “science career” roles
Work cooperatively

9. Why ask kids questions?
To “hook” kids and get them excited about a new activity
To help kids make connections
To encourage kids to think more deeply about something
Asking questions throughout a science activity can support each of these strategies.
I need a better way to transition into questioning strategies…

10. Types of Questions
Knowledge-based
Analytical
Synthesizing
Evaluation

11. Types of Questions…and their purpose
Knowledge-based
Remember information
Analyze
Break down something into its components parts
Synthesize
Take information and apply it to a new situation
Evaluation
Produce original ideas and solve problems.

12. Modeling: Preparing a Science Activity…Steps
Jimmy is going to walk through the steps of prepping a science activity.

14. Practice: writing questions for activities
In your small groups, review your short science activity. Develop a series of questions you can ask youth when you facilitating the activity. Be sure to include all four types of questions.
Invite them to start writing. Hold off handing out the Sentence Stems handout until folks get stuck.

15. Next meeting…
At our next meeting you and your group will facilitate the activity that you worked on with your group.

16. Announcement & Reminders
Next meeting: Monday, February 6th 10-Noon
Location: Learning for Life, 1001 Davis Street, San Leandro
Be prepared to lead a science activity with your group!