Lab Forms

Suggestions for Use:

The use of forms is helpful to facilitate students' understanding of steps and ways of thinking when doing scientific inquiry. However, care should be taken to convince students that: 1. there are many ways to conduct scientific inquiry, 2. scientific inquiry is most often conducted as non linear process, and 3. playing around with materials or ideas is a very good way to conduct scientific inquiry.

A rationalization for the use of procedures or forms would be as a device to assist investigation. To spark ideas for inquiry or to review ideas generated for their comprehensiveness. And most importantly as a communication device. Again, used to review comprehensiveness only now at the conclusion of the investigation as a report creation device. Forms also provide a way to organize information to better report findings as well as assist readers in interpreting the information. Most importantly the forms can be a communication device to provide experimental information for others to replicate and assist in understanding our natural world.

Primary

Question, What do, found, and what if -Blank form
Question, plan, do, & review -Blank Form
Trying to find out, think this will happen, because, tried, & found -Blank Form

Intermediate

I am trying to find out, changed, found, measured, show others - Blank form
Question want answered, need, do, keep the same, change, measure, happen, & what if - Blank form
Question, need, do, change, same, found, results mean, next time recommendations, & what if - Blank form

Middle School

Question, need, do, change, keep, observe, found, results mean, recommendation - Blank Form
I am trying to find out, changed, found, measured, show others - Blank form
Fair test for Team question, variable changed, variable keep the same, materials, observe, found, & do - Blank form
Investigation (question/hypothesis, materials, procedure, data, results, & conclusions Blank form
Investigation focus question, generalization, concepts, procedure, results, understanding, transformations, conclusions, knowledge claims, value claims - Blank form

Sample of above Investigation Form Grade 3/4 - erosion of wind, water, and ice
Sample 0f above Investigation Form Grade 5/6 - Cartesian Diver

Robert Sweetland's Notes ©