Lesson-10

- What is Experimentation?
Experiments are the teachers another way of introducing a new idea to the students to
stimulate their engagement in class. The use of experiments allows the teachers to
transform the class into an active learning environment that fosters involvement of the
students and stimulates their mental, affective, and physical activities.
The traditional way of using chalk and board can be improved by facilitating
experiments in class so they can better understand and appreciate the principles
involved in various scientific processes.
The teachers can use experiment instead of, or in addition to more, traditional
approaches for the following reasons (SERC, 2019):
Experiments can be used to introduce new ideas or to clarify puzzling aspects of
topics with which the students typically struggle.
If the result of an experiment is surprising yet convincing, the students are in position
to build ownership of the new idea and use it to scaffold learning.
In addition to checking that the conceptual focus of the experiment has been
understood correctly, post-experiment assignments can push the students to describe a
follow up experiment or to extend the concept to another application.
Classroom experiments keep the learners active in a number of ways depending on the
nature of the particular experiment.
During experiments:
• The students are active in generating data or behavioral observations.
• The students analyze data, examples, or models.
• The students answer leading questions posed by the instructor and compare
their answers with those of other students.
• The students work together in groups to solve problems, devise strategies, or
understand class concepts.
The students predict how changing the experiment will change the outcomes.
• The students compare experimental results to classroom theories and use them
to confirm critique the theories.
How to Use Experimentation as a Teaching Strategy?
The experimental approach requires the teacher to explain the following steps and
guide the students during the entire experiment. The goal is for the students to be able
to understand the steps and develop their own experiment. The following steps are
adapted from SERC (2019):
a. Identity/select a problem
To be worthy of investigation, the problem must be a problem for the students as well. It
is a product of their observation from the classroom, the environment,their homes, or
the community.
b. Formulate a hypothesis.
Hypothesis is an educated guess, a supposition or proposed explanation made on the
basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
c. Test the hypothesis
d. Control variables
e. Make operational definitions
f. Perform the experiment
g. Record and interpret data
h. Draw a conclusion
Conducting a classroom experiment entails several significant steps. Among these is
the preparation of the teacher and the students before the experiment, the roles of both
parties during the experiment and the post experiment tasks (SERC, 2019).
BEFORE THE EXPERIMENT

a. Teacher's preparation
The teacher should be mindful of the following before conducting the experiment in
class:
Decide how to best incorporate experiments into class content.
Designate an appropriate amount of time for the experiment. Some experiment may
require more than one meeting while others take only a few minutes.
Match the experiment to the class level, course atmosphere and the personalities
styles of the students.
Use appropriate strategy when dealing with the classroom environment; room layout,
number of students, groupings,
b. Students’ preparation
It's a great help for the students if they will initially prepare for and get acquainted with
the flow of the experiment so they will have a successful teaming experience.
Let the students de the following before starting the experiment:
Carefully read and study instructions that explain the experiment and the role of the
students
Prepare all the materials, apparatus, glass wares, chemicals and equipment needed
for the experiment
Think of the possible outcomes of the experiment.
DURING THE EXPERIMENT

While doing the experiment, take note of the following:
a. Teacher's role
Monitor the whole class Check if all the students are participating or doing their
assigned tasks.
Assess the students’ performance. Connect those who may not be doing the
instructions properly and recognize those who are following instructions strictly.
Check the time or duration of the experiment. Sometimes, the students are too busy
that they aren't mindful of the time left for them to finish the experiment.
Observe if the materials and equipment used are still properly working or are properly
used by the students.
b. Students role
Make sure the students follow the instructions properly. Ask them to approach the
teacher if there are concerns/questions.
Ask the students to be a keen observer and take note of all observations and results
of the experiment. Document the experiment by taking pictures of the results and of the
students while performing the procedures.
AFTER THE EXPERIMENT
The experience during the actual experiment isn't just about that moment in class. It can
be used as a shared experience that emphasizes material that is covered later in the
course. Moreover, it can help the students to start thinking beyond the course material.
a. Teacher's role
Guide the students in analyzing the data collected data
Assess the students achievement in learning goals by using standard tests, quizzes
about the experiment itself and open ended questions that allow the students to reflect
on what they did and did not get from the experiment. This is useful for clarifying facts
and concepts that the students might not have understood before and during the
experiment.
b. Students’ role
Analyze and interpret the data collected
Identity scientific principles that can be learned from the experiment.
Think of ways on how to apply the learned scientific principles practically in life
STRATEGIES FOR UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES
Teachers often have tears of conducting experiments especially if things go wrong, the
materials are not available, the machine isn't functioning well, the students aren't
following instructions, the class may be canceled due to weather conditions, etc. It is
always necessary to have a backup plan so that the class can proceed with the
experiment.
Here are some suggestions:
Improvise if you can. Discuss the outcome if the expected materials are used as well
as the alternative materials.
Bring your set of lecture nates with you in class. You can always conduct a normal
class if there is no remedy for the unavailability of materials or some other
uncontrollable circumstances.
Bring results from a related or similar experiment from a published research
experiment or data from a previously conducted classroom experiment with you to
class. You can have a discussion about what the students expect to happen from the
experiment.
What is inductive Guided Inquiry?

Induction is a thought process wherein the individual observes selected events,
processes, or objects and then constructs a particular pattern of concepts or
relationships based on these limited experiences. Inductive inquiry is a teaching
method in which the teachers ask the students to infer a conclusion, generalization, or
pattern of relationships from a set of data or facts. There are two approaches of
inductive inquiry guided and unguided. If you provide the specifics-that is, the data or
facts-but want the students to make generalizations, then you are conducting a guided
inductive inquiry (Tamir, 1995)
On the other hand, if you low the students to discover the specifics themselves before
they make generalizations, the process is an unguided inductive inquiry. In this
particular lesson, we will focus on inductive guided inquiry. Inductive inquiry is actually
applicable for all levels of instruction (from grade
school to university graduate schools). At any level, the processes of observing making
inferences, classifying, formulating hypotheses, and predicting are all sharpened (or
reinforced) by the students' experiences.
How to Use Guided Inductive Inquiry as a Teaching Strategy?
In guided inductive inquiry, the use of pictures is usually the easiest way to introduce
this concept for young children show different pictures of the same scene to the class.
Ask the children to tell what they see in pictures and to describe patterns they
observe. Have them state these patterns as generalizations. Ask questions that
require the students to do some generalizing themselves, such as "What could cause
this type of track in the snow" or "Where have we seen these before? (Orlich et al.,
2007).
You need to distinguish clearly between statements based on observations and those
based n inferences. Begin the lesson by explaining and demonstrating the difference
between observation and inferences.
The process of inductive reasoning is developed gradually. As the lesson progresses,
prepare a simple chart or list on the blackboard of the students' observations and
inferences. The student understanding of each process will gradually develop from
studying these examples.
Time Requirements
When you plan to use any type of inquiry activity in class, spend at least twice as much
class time on each lesson as you normally would. This time is spent on in-depth
analyses of the content by the students. Inquiry methods demand greater interaction
between the learner and the learning materials, as well as greater interaction between
the teacher and the students (Orlich et al., 2007).
In the same way, be prepared to reduce the amount of content you will cover because
you will use more time developing process skills. You cannot maximize thinking skills
and simultaneously maximize content coverage.
Characteristics of Guided Inductive Inquiry Model (Orlich et al., 2007)

1. The learners progress from specific observations to inferences or generalizations.
2. The objective is to learn for reinforce) the process of examining events or objects
and then arriving at an appropriate generalization from the observations.
3. The teacher controls the specifics of the lesson (the events, data, materials, or
objects) and thus acts the class leader.
4. Each student acts to the specifics and attempts to structure a meaningful pattern
based on his or her observations and those of others in the class. e classroom is to be
considered a learning laboratory.
5. Usually, a fixed number of generalizations will be elicited from the learners.
6. The teacher encourages each student to communicate his or her generalizations to
the class so that others may benefit from them.
This model can be adapted to other inquiry models, such as problem-solving. These
steps form the basis of what we know as the scientific method. The students can
surely develop the different process skills as they utilize this model effectively.
The Role of Questioning Within Guided Inductive Inquiry

It has been observed that the teacher's questioning plays an important role in inquiry
methods because the purpose of inquiry is to pursue an investigation. The teacher
thus becomes a question asker, not the one who is answering the question/s. Teachers
who are masters of guided induction inquiry state that they spend their time interacting
with the students but provide very few answers (Phillips & German, 2002).
What kinds of questions should a teacher ask?
The following list show some questions that the teacher can pose in the class to have
a more inquiry-oriented classroom environment (based on Orlich & Migaki, 1981).
Again, note that there prompting
questions help the students to examine all kinds of interrelationships-one of the desired
goals of inquiry teaching and constructivism.
Question Stems: Dynamic Subjects
What is happening?
What has happened?
What do you think will happen now?
How did this happen?
What caused this to happen?
What took place before this happened?
Where have you seen something like this happen?
When have you seen something like this happen?
How can you make this happen?
How does this compare with what you saw or did?
How can you do this more easily?
How can you do this more quickly?
Question Stems: Static Subjects
What kind of object is it?
What is it called?
Where is it found?
What does it look like?
Have you ever seen anything like it? Where? When?
How is it like other things?
How can you recognize or identify it?
How did it get its name?
What can you do with it?
What is it made of?
How was it made?
What is its purpose?
How does it work or operate?
What other names does it have?
How is it different from other things?

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- What is Experimentation?

BEFORE THE EXPERIMENT

DURING THE EXPERIMENT

What is inductive Guided Inquiry?

Characteristics of Guided Inductive Inquiry Model (Orlich et al., 2007)

The Role of Questioning Within Guided Inductive Inquiry

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