Potential Task Formats: Asking Questions (SEP1)
Note: A set of task formats for “defining problems” is available at http://researchandpractice.org/NGSSTaskFormats
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1
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon and questions related to that phenomenon, then
- Ask students to identify which questions are testable scientific questions.
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2a
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Present students with an observable scientific phenomenon to be explained, then
- Ask students to formulate descriptive questions about the phenomenon they observed.
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2b
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained, then
- Ask students to formulate a scientific question to investigate the phenomenon.
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2c
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained, then
- Ask students to generate a scientific question relevant to investigating that phenomenon, and
- Ask students to describe what evidence is needed to answer the question they generated.
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3a
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained and a scientific question, then
- Ask students what questions we need to answer along the way to answer the scientific question, and
- Ask students to describe what evidence is needed to answer those questions might and how they help build toward an explanation of the phenomenon.
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3b
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained and a scientific question, then
- Ask students to evaluate whether or not the question is relevant to explaining the phenomenon.
- If the question is relevant, ask students to describe what evidence is needed to answer that question.
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4
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Present students with a textual description of an investigation of an observable phenomenon, a scientific question, and a set of data and findings, then
- Ask students to formulate a follow-up question to extend the investigation.
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5
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Present students with a scenario of a scientific argument in the context of an investigation, then
- Ask students to generate questions they would ask to clarify the argument or to ask for elaboration of the ideas presented in the argument.
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6
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained and a scientific question, then
- Ask students to revise the question to make it investigable with available resources in the classroom.
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7
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained and with a question or a set of questions, then
- Ask students to evaluate and explain whether or not the question(s) is empirically testable.
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Potential Task Formats: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations (SEP3)
Relevant definitions:
- An investigation plan encompasses a description of data sources and measures to be used, procedures for observing and recording data, and, where relevant, a plan for how observations will be sampled.
- A data source refers to a type of data only (“We would need data on the size of the white-colored moth population” or “We would need data comparing the color of tail feathers in birds in the mountains and in the city”)
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1
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained, then
- Ask students to identify questions to ask, and
- Ask students to evaluate different ways of observing and/or measuring to answer those questions, and
- Ask students to conduct the investigation by observing and/or measuring and then making comparisons between data collected.
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2
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained, a scientific question, and an investigation plan, then
- Ask students to perform the investigation plan and collect and record data.
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3
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon (or scientific model) to be explained and a scientific question, then
- Ask students to create an investigation plan to investigate the scientific phenomenon (or model), and
- Ask students to describe how the investigation will generate relevant patterns of evidence for answering the scientific question or for supporting the model.
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4
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon (or a scientific model) to be explained, then
- Ask students to generate a scientific question to investigate the phenomenon (or model) with resources available in the classroom (or with a given list of resources), and
- Ask students to identify the variables needed in the investigation to explain the phenomenon (or model), and
- Ask students to characterize each variable as dependent or independent and to explain any variables to be controlled and why.
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5
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained, a scientific question, and an investigation plan, then
- Ask students to describe how the data will be collected precisely, and
- Ask students to how much data is needed to be reliable.
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6
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained, a scientific question, and a description of the type of investigation to be conducted, then
- Ask students to describe the possible confounding variables, and
- Ask students to write an investigation plan that addresses the confounding variables.
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7
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Present students with a scientific phenomenon to be explained, a scientific question, and investigation plan, and data collected from the investigation, then
- Ask students analyze how well the data collected generated relevant evidence to answer the scientific question, and
- Ask students to revise the investigation plan to be more relevant and to generate more accurate and precise data.
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8
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Present students with a scientific question, then
- Ask students to generate ideas about data sources they would need to answer the question, and
- Ask students to say how the data sources are relevant to answering the question.
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9
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Present students with a scientific question and a list of data sources they could gather to answer the question, then
- Ask students to select which data sources are most relevant to answering the question, and
- Ask students to say how the data are relevant to answering the question.
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