D.R.i.V.E. Inquiry Framework
After the demonstration, students will replicate it. Their challenge is to recreate the teacher’s results, and record a class set of data. This replication phase reinforces the importance of precision in scientific procedures and helps students develop techniques, skills, while deepening their understanding of the phenomenon.
Given the diversity and complexity of experiences of students in a modern classroom, this replication provides all students with a common hands-on experience, critical for future reference.
This replication phase also permits the teacher to observe student understanding and skill development, providing insights for further instruction. The teacher circulates, observing students’ work, providing feedback, noting misconceptions, and refining techniques. Students may need to add more detail to observations and tweak their procedure based on what they learned during the replication. By comparing their results with the class data, students see the importance of consistent procedures for validity and reliability. The concept of fairness or a “fair” test tends to resonate, particularly with younger students. This step helps students build a shared understanding of the phenomenon being investigated and provides a foundation for further exploration.
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Choose one observation of the "event" (outcome) as a focus.
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Move one sticky note from the event section on the Observe & Infer organizer to the thought bubble on the Wonder organizer. This serves as the focus or dependent variable (DV) for study*.
*When working with students at a beginning level, the dependent variable can be expressed as “what will be measured or observed” and the independent variable can be expressed as the “changed variable”.
Provide materials and PPE and set parameters for materials and equipment.
Circulate among students making observations regarding vocabulary, content knowledge and level of skill development.
Direct students’ to refer to their observations during the Demonstrate phase.
Repeat the demonstration (or review the demonstration video) so students can make more detailed observations.
Use data from the entire class to build a data control set. Compare results for everyone trying to do the same thing.
A real-time graphing tool (eg. spreadsheet) is an effective way for students to visualize the data.
Discuss variations in results and how they may be due to differences in procedure. Emphasize the need for a common understanding of the procedure for consistent results.
Remind students that they are all trying to hit the same target - fair numbers and fair tests - not get the highest score.
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Replicate the procedure as demonstrated. DO NOT compete for the ‘best’ or ‘fastest’ result but rather collaborate to recreate the same results.
Work to be both precise and accurate in technique. Develop skills and techniques in handling materials and equipment.
Record and share their results.
“Tweak” their procedure: critically examining and modifying within parameters set by the demonstration.
Add more detail and quantify observations where appropriate.
The brainstorming, predictions, and hypotheses: which follow in the “Variate” phase, is much richer when students draw upon the common experiences of the replication phase.
Additional Resources