Doing Science: The Process of Scientific Inquiry by National Institute of Health. - HTML preview

the disease symptoms when an infection does occur.

number likely to suffer

6. Time of vaccination: Children who were vaccinated over four years consequences.

ago were five times as likely to get chicken pox as were children

vaccinated within the past four years. These data suggest that the

protective effects of vaccination begin to wear off after about

Content Standard G:

four years.

Scientists formulate

and test their

Explanation

explanations of nature

1. The most likely explanation for the children’s illness is that they

using observation,

were infected with the chicken pox virus. This explanation is

consistent with the laboratory tests and doctors’ examinations.

experiments, and

2. The most likely explanation for why some children who were

theoretical and

vaccinated against chicken pox became infected is that the

mathematical models.

protective effects of the vaccine wear off after about four years.

This explanation is consistent with time-of-vaccination data.

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Student Lesson 4

Doing Science: The Process of Scientific Inquiry

Next Steps

1. Conduct additional lab tests to confirm the chicken pox diagnosis.

2. Survey the medical literature to see whether any other diseases

share the same symptoms as chicken pox.

Content Standard G:

3. Survey the medical literature to see whether similar outbreaks of

Science requires

children vaccinated against chicken pox have been reported.

different abilities,

4. Some of your students may suggest performing experiments on

children, such as deliberately infecting them with virus and

depending on such

monitoring infection rates. Be sure to point out that any such

factors as the field

experiments are prohibited on legal and ethical grounds!

of study and type of

inquiry. Science is

very much a human

endeavor, and the

work of science relies

on basic human

qualities, such as

reasoning, insight,

energy, skills, and

creativity.

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Lesson 4 Organizer

What the Teacher Does

Procedure Reference

Activity 1: Pulling It All Together

Explain to the students that they will continue in their roles as

Page 91

members of the community health department investigative team.

Step 1

• This time they will analyze data collected by others and prepare

a report.

Display a transparency of Master 4.1, Memo from Director. Read the Page 91

memo aloud. Alternatively, have students access the Web site and

Step 2

read the memo there.

Divide the class into teams of two.

Page 91

• Give half of the teams one copy of Master 4.2a, Data from

Step 3

Investigation.

• Give half of the teams one copy of Master 4.2b, Data from

Investigation.

Alternatively, have students access the Web site and review the

data there.

Give each student one copy of Master 4.3, Report Form. Explain that Page 92

they are to

Step 4

• review the data on Data from Investigation,

• discuss its meaning with their teammate, and

• fill out the information requested on Master 4.3.

After teams have completed their task, instruct them to trade their

Page 92

Report Forms and Data from Investigation with a team that worked

Step 5

with the other data set.

Give each student one copy of Master 4.4, Evaluation Form. Instruct Page 92

teams to

Step 6

• review the information on the Report Forms and

• answer the questions posed on the Evaluation Form.

After students have completed their tasks, collect all of the Report

Page 92

Forms and Evaluation Forms.

Step 7

= Involves making a transparency.

= Involves copying a master.

95

Student Lesson 4

Masters

Lesson 1, Inquiring Minds

Master 1.1, The Mystery Cube Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team copies Master 1.2, The Biological Box Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team copies Master 1.3, Thinking about Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . student copies Lesson 2, Working with Questions

Master 2.1, Working with Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . student copies and transparency Master 2.2, Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . student copies Master 2.3, Question and Investigation Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . student copies Lesson 3, Conducting a Scientific Investigation

Master 3.1, Investigative Report Form* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . student copies Master 3.2, Letter from Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . transparency Master 3.3, First Memo from Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . transparency Masters 3.4a, b, c, Attendance Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team copies Master 3.5, Second Memo from Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . transparency Master 3.6, Interview Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team copies Masters 3.7a, b, Quotes from Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team copies Masters 3.8a, b, c, d, School Calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team copies Master 3.9, Third Memo from Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . transparency Masters 3.10a, b, Activity Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team copies Masters 3.11a, b, Activity Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . team copies Master 3.12, Analyzing Evidence* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . student copies Lesson 4, Pulling It All Together

Master 4.1, Memo from Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . transparency Master 4.2a, Data from Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for half of teams Master 4.2b, Data from Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for other half of teams Master 4.3, Report Form* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . student copies Master 4.4, Evaluation Form* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . student copies

* Masters needed for Web version. Print version uses all the masters.

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The Mystery Cube Template

Master 1.1

The Biological Box Template

Master 1.2

Thinking about Inquiry

Name:

______________________

Date:

_________________

The following table lists parts of the process you went through to investigate the cube and box.

Think back to your work with the Mystery Cube and the Biological Box. On the right side of the table under the heading “Biological Box Activity,” provide an example of what you did in that activity that models the process of learning about the natural world.

Process

Biological Box Activity

Ask a testable question

Gather evidence by

making observations,

recognizing patterns, and

collecting data

Share information

Perform experiments

Provide an evidence-

based explanation

Master 1.3

Working with Questions

Name:______________________

Date:

______________

1.

How is bug blood different from human blood?

2.

Why do your fingers wrinkle after you take a bath?

3.

Is rock music better than hip-hop music?

4.

Why does bright light cause some people to sneeze?

5.

Do smells affect people’s moods?

6.

Is vegetarianism better than eating meat?

Master 2.1

Letters to the Editor

The Daily Bugle Newspaper

Letters to the Editor

Readers Sound Off about Proposed Quick and Tasty Restaurant:

Fast Food and Cancer?

When are Americans going to wake up to the dangers of restaurants like Quick and Tasty?

The food they serve contains many chemicals known to cause cancer. It is no coincidence that as more people eat at these restaurants, more cases of cancer are being reported. Americans need to learn that organic foods are better than processed foods.

Signed, A Health-Conscious Reader

Healthy Diet? It’s Up to You!

I for one will welcome Quick and Tasty to our neighborhood. Their food tastes great, is reasonably priced, and is good for you. People who say otherwise just eat too much or pick the wrong items. Their salads are just as good as those served at fancy restaurants but are much less expensive. I regularly eat at the Quick and Tasty near my business, and I’m in great shape.

Signed, Marathon Man

Weight a Minute!

Quick and Tasty is the last thing our community needs. The nation is in the midst of an epidemic of obesity, and fast-food restaurants are the biggest reason why. The food they serve has too many calories, and their portions are way too large. Society must be protected from companies like Quick and Tasty. They are more interested in making money than in the health of their customers.

Signed, Lean and Mean

Master 2.2

Question and Investigation Form

Name:

______________________

Date:

__________________

Select one of the letters from Master 2.2, Letters to the Editor. Develop two scientific questions related to the letter. Then describe an investigation and the evidence you could gather to answer each question.

Letter you chose: ___________________________

Question 1

Investigation

Question 2

Investigation

Master 2.3

Investigative Report Form

Investigator: ____________________

Date: ____________________

Testable Question

Evidence Collected

Analysis and Explanation of Evidence

Next Questions

Master 3.1

Letter from Principal

Truman Middle School

Where Knowledge Is Good

Director

Community Health Department

Dear Director:

I want to alert you to a possible health problem affecting students at the Truman Middle School. I just had a discussion with the director of our student band. He told me that in his class on Wednesday, May 20, fully one-third of his students were absent.

This situation reminds me of last year when we had a widespread outbreak of the flu. Can you help us determine if we should be concerned? If there is a problem, can you suggest measures we might take to prevent or contain the disease?

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Samantha Perez

Samantha Perez

Principal, Truman Middle School

Master 3.2

First Memo from Director

MEMO

To:

Members of the Health Department Investigative Staff

From: Director of the Community Health Department

About: School Absences

Principal Perez at Truman Middle School has alerted me to a possible health problem among her students (see accompanying letter). I need your staff to investigate the situation and determine if a health problem exists in our community. To get you started, I have arranged to give you access to the attendance data for each of our community’s four middle schools.

Please remember to take notes about your investigation. Each day, you should write your notes on a separate Investigative Report Form. The headings for our new Investigative Report Forms are 1. Testable

Question

2. Evidence

Collected

3. Analysis and Explanation of Evidence

4. Next

Questions

For your first investigation to determine if a health problem exists, you will need to ask a testable question that can be answered by analyzing school attendance data.

Master 3.3

Attendance Data

Master 3.4a

Attendance Data

Master 3.4b

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