Chapter6Studentstakingthelead

ThereweresomedesignelementsthatIneededtoestablishforlogisticalconcerns.Ithoughtthat performingyourownexperimentcouldbeinterpretedinvariousways,soIwantedtorefinewhatthat meant.Ineededtoestablishboundariesforwhattheexperimentcouldbe.Idecideditwasfittingifit wasmorechemistryrelated,anddefineditasstudentsperformingachemicalreactionoftheirchoosing. Tokeepchoicemaximized,Iwouldbeopentoapprovingothertypesofexperimentsonanindividual basis. Anotherconcernrelatedtotheamountofexperimentswecouldreasonablydo.Giventhetimewehad, andthenecessityformetosuperviseeachreactionforsafetyreasons,Idecidedtoencouragestudents toformgroupsofthree,therebyreducingthenumberofexperimentstounder20.Ithoughtthiswould alsohelpstudentswhohadtroublemakingadecisiontoteamupwithanother.Again,Iwantedto maximizechoice,soIwouldbeopentoapprovingindividualexperiments. ThefinalconcernIhaddealtwithconsiderationsthatstudentsmightnotbeawareof,includingaccessto materialsorqualityresources.Toaddressthis,Iplannedtodesigninanapprovalprocess,where studentswouldsubmitproposalsforwhatreactiontheywantedtoperform.Thiswouldalsoserveasa qualityassurancemeasurebyallowingmetosetanofficialtimetooffermentoringorsupport. TherewereotherconcernsthatIhadthatdealtwithdetailsoftheexperimentdesign,butwouldwork withstudentstodesignthosedetails.Theyknewitwascoming,butseemedsurprisedwhenIsaidit.I stoodinfrontoftheclassandmadetheannouncement,Youvebeenperformingexperimentsforquite awhile,andwerecentlydesignedalabtogether.Itistimeforyoutodesignandexecuteyourown experiment.Ibelieveyouareready. AnoticeablewaveofexcitementsweptovertheclassandbeforeIcouldsaymore,handswereintheair. IdidnthavetomakefurtherannouncementsbecausetheyalreadyhadquestionsaboutwhatIwas goingtosay.Onestudentinmyclassrecordsourdiscussionsbecauseofaninabilitytotakenotes.Ihad accesstotherecordingandrevisitedsomeofourdiscussion. Student:Canweworkwithothers? Me:Ihopethatyoucollaboratewithotherswhenyoucan.Asforperformingtheexperiment,I expectyoutoformgroupsfromtwoorthreestudents.Togetheryoullprepareaproposalfor yourexperimentthatwillhavetogetapprovedbymebeforeitisperformed.Imopentoyou performingyourownexperiment,butcomeandtalktomeifyouwanttodothat. Student:Whattypesofexperimentscanwedo? Me:Iexpectittobeachemicalreactionofsorts.Itcanbeanythingyouwant,aslongasa reactionandtheconceptsassociatedwithitaredemonstrated.Ifyouwouldliketodo somethingthatisntnecessarilyachemicalreaction,butdemonstratesinterestingconcepts, thenpleasecomeandtalktome.

Student:Canweblowthingsup? Me:Ifwecanlegallyperformthereaction,andyoucanassuremethatmeasuresaretakento addressallsafetyconcerns,thenIwillapproveyourproposal.Thatbeingsaid,Iexpectthe MaterialSafetyDataSheets(MSDS)foreachsubstanceintheexperimenttobereviewedand takenintoaccountwhendesigningtheexperiment.Inmanycases,explosionsarenotlegal, especiallywhentheyinvolvesealedcontainers.Dotheresearchandletmeknowwhatyoufind. Student:Wherecanwefindexperimentstodo? Me:Ihaveplentyofsuggestions,butIwouldratheryoudosomeresearchtoseeifthereis anythingthatsparksyourinterest.Ifyoucantfindanything,usemeasaresource.Youcanalso takesomethingthatwevealreadydonefurther.Youcangetyourideasfromanywhere,butIdo requireatleastonescholarlysourceaboutthereactionthatyouareconsidering.NerdRage onYoutubemightgiveyouanidea,butIwouldexpectanadditionalscholarlysourceforany reactiontheydemonstrate. [somewhatawkwardsilence] Me:Anymorequestions? [continuedawkwardsilence] Student:Doyouhaveahandoutoroutlinetohelpusout? Me:Greatquestion.Thatsexactlywhatweregoingtoputtogetherrightnow.Pleasetakeout yourlabnotebooksandturntothebackwhereyouwrotedownconcernswhenwritingalab. Wespenttherestoftheperiodcreatinganoutlineandsettingtheparametersforstudentsdesigning theirexperiment.Theexercisewassimilartohowwepiecedtogetherthepreviouslab,withmeatthe frontboardwritingdownresponsesasstudentssharedtheirthoughts.Webuiltthestructurethat studentswouldusetopreparetheirproposal,performtheirownexperiment,andreporttheirwork, shownbelow. Preparationconsiderations:
Safety Anyreactionsthatposeaconsiderabledangerrequirespecialpermissionandadditional safetymeasures combustionrxns,highlyexothermicrxns,rxnsinvolvinghighlyacidic/basic solutions,unstable/poisonouscompounds,orpressurizedcontainers,etc. AcquiretheMaterialSafetyDataSheet(MSDS)forallcompoundsintheexperiment (search:compoundnameMSDSonline,printandkeepforrecords) Noreactionsthatareillegalwillbeperformed Whatsafetygearwillbenecessaryforyourreaction?

Practicality Wheredidyoulearnaboutthisreaction? Canyougetatleast3sourcesofinformationforthisreaction? Isoneofyoursourcesanofficialorreputablesource? Whatmaterialsareneededtoperformthisreaction? Whatmaterialsdowehave,andwhatdoweneedtoget? Formaterialswemustacquire,whatistheavailabilityandcost?

Performance Describethesetupand/oranynecessaryapparatus. Wherewillthisreactiontakeplace? Howwillwecleanupthisreaction? Howwillwedisposeofthechemicalsandcleanupmaterials? Howwillyoudocumentthisexperiment?

LabReportPreparation:
Introduction Methods DataCollection beforeexperimentation Results Conclusion postexperimentation

TheIntroduction,Methods,andDataCollectionsectionsarerequiredtobepreparedpriorto experimentation.Criteriaforeachsectionareprovidedbelow. TheIntroductionsectionisdesignedtocreateanunderstandingabouttheexperimentfortheaudience.The followingconsiderationsshouldbemadewhenpreparinganintroduction: Whatisthesignificanceofthisexperiment? Whatconcept(s)doesthisexperimentinvolve? Howcanthoseconceptsbeexplainedsothatareadercanunderstandthem? Whyisitimportanttodothisreaction? Whydidyourgroupchoosetoperformthisexperiment? Howdoesthisreactiondemonstratethebroaderconceptsdiscussedpreviously? Whatisthereactionforthisexperiment?

TheMethodssectioninvolvesalloftheinformationnecessarytophysicallyperformingtheexperiment.The followingconsiderationsshouldbemadewhenpreparingthissection: Whatmaterialsarenecessaryforperformingthisexperiment? chemicals,equipment,andsafetygear Safetyconsiderations(refertoMSDSsheetsprintthemoutandattachtobackofreport) Detailanypotentialhazardsassociatedwithsubstancesorperformingthisexperiment Describemeasurestakentoaddressanyhazards Writetheprocedurethatdetailstheactionstakentoperformthisreaction.

ThegoalfortheDataCollectionsectionistoanticipatewhatwilloccurwiththereactionandprepareto collectinformationaboutwhathappens.Yourgroupwilldetailhowtheexperimentwillbedocumented whichshouldincludesomeformofvisualdocumentation,includingvideoorphotograph,andjournalentries orobservations. TheResultssectionistodescribewhathappenedshouldbepreparedpostexperimentation.Thissection shoulddetailhowtheexperimentcorrelatedtowhatwasexpected,andshouldalsoincludeany unanticipatedoutcomes. TheConclusionsectionisalsopreparedpostexperimentation.Thissectionistoreflectontheexperiment, detailinghowthingswent,whatworked,whatdidntwork,explanationsofoutcomes,andwhatmightbe changedtoimprovetheexperiment.

Asthenexttwoweekstranspired,studentsmadetheirproposals,gatheredmaterials,andperformed theirexperiments.IdidntknowwhattoexpectwiththisbeingthefirsttimeIletstudentsworkinthis manner,butthingswentverywell.Everyoneperformedanexperimentoftheirchoosing,thereports werewellpreparedandincludedallofthecriteriathatweagreedupon,andfromfeedbackIwas confidentthatmost,ifnotall,studentsfoundsomethingsignificantintheexperience. Itwouldbedifficulttodetaileachstudentsexperience,butIwouldliketoshareonestudentsworkthat particularlystruckme.Iremembersittinginameetingearlierintheyearwiththisstudentsparentsand tworesourcespecialists.Thecasewasbeingmadethatthestudenthadmuchmorepotentialtosucceed thanwhathisperformanceindicated,andthatheshouldtakehisstudiesmoreseriously.Frommy perspective,Ididntnoticeanylackofeffortwiththisstudent.Althoughhewasquietinmyclass, offeringhisthoughtsrarelyoronlywhenaddressed,heperformedfairlywell.Lookingback,his reflectionsoftensuggestedthathedidntconsiderthethingswedidtobeverysignificantinhislearning. Hisperformancewasntexceptional,butitalsowasntpoor.Iwouldvecharacterizedhimasarathershy, averagestudent. Thiswasbeforetheindependentexperiment.Inowknowthatgiventherightcircumstanceshecanbe anexceptionalstudent,justastheresourcespecialistsargued.WhenIfirstsuggestedtheindependent experimentIrememberhisreactionbecauseitwassounexpected.Hetypicallyseemedindifferent aboutwhatwedo,butthistimehiseyeswidenedandfacelitup.Inanexcitedstate,heimmediately beganrecruitingnearbypeerstojoinhim,andhisexcitementwashavinganoticeableinspiringeffecton thosearoundhim. Attheendofclass,hecameandaskedifhecouldperformtwoexperimentshehadinmind.Theywerea bitmoredangerousthatIwouldhaveliked,butwithintheboundsofwhatIwouldaccept.Iworried abouttimeconstraintsandrecommendedthatwefocusononefornowandthenanotherifwehave time.Overthenextfewweekshecametoseemeseveraltimesbeforeorafterclasstocheckinandget somefeedback.Iwasconsistentlyimpressedwithhiswork.Itwasprecise,wellconstructed,andhis knowledgeofchemistrywasclearlyapplied.Heproposedmultipleoptionsfordoingtheproposed experimentandaskedmewhatIthoughtwouldworkbest.Itseemedhewaspreparedforeachquestion thatIhad,whetheritrelatedtosafety,preparation,orperformingthereaction.Healsoassumedthe roleofleaderinhisgroup,inspiringhispeersandhelpingthemtodevelopasoundunderstandingofthe

experiment.Thislevelofengagementwasunprecedented,andIdoubtedthatIwouldhavereachedhim onthislevelifIhadcontinuedtoimplementthecurriculumasIhaddoneinpreviousyears.Iquestioned whyIdidntrecognizehispotentialbefore,andfeltthatwhenwedoworkwithlittlechoice,thereisa greatertendencyforstudentstobecomedisengaged,andnotapplythemselvestotheirfullest. Hisgroupschemicalreactionwasacompletesuccess,andIplantokeeptheirworktodemonstrateto futureclassesthepotentialforstudentstodesignandperformtheirownexperiment.Afterwards,I askedhimiftherewasanysignificancetohisexperience,andhereplied,Yes.Ialwaysknewwhatwas comingwiththeotherlabs,soIwasjustgoingthroughthemotionsofdoingthem.Withthis,Igotto controlwhattodoandhowthingswouldgo.IgottotakeitasfarasIwanted.Istillwanttodothat otheroneifwehavetime. AsIreachedtheendpointinmyresearch,Ireflectedontheindependentexperimentandmyfindingsas awhole.Istartedtoseeacorrelationbetweenprojectbasedlearningandmanagingascienceclassas wasdoneforourfinalexperiment.Noteverystudentlearnedthesamethingintermsofcontent,but theyalldesignedandperformedanexperimenttocompletionandlearnedsomethingtoagreaterdepth thanwhatIwouldhavecoveredinatraditionalformat.Havingcraftedtheirownexperience,theywere allcapableofcommunicatingtheirlearning.Iwantedtocontinuemyresearchtoseeifthethemesof engagementandqualityofproducedworkwouldcontinuewhenusingstudentvoiceinthisfashion.I wantedtoseewhattypesofexperimentsstudentswouldchoosetodonext,orhowtheywouldgo aboutit.Iwonderediftheywouldcontinuewhereothersleftoff,likeIwitnessedduringtheOobleckand dryicelab.Withalloftheprogressthatwasmadeinthetwofinalexercises,Iwonderedhowthings wouldpanoutoverawholesemesterusingthismodel.Usingstudentvoicehasopenedupawholenew setofpossibilitiestohowmycurriculumcanbedesigned,andIfeellikeIjustscratchedthesurface.