Orsborn Masters Portfolio 1

Children are curious about their world, how it works and what it has to offer. They don’t

understand the concept of a hypothesis, but they want to experiment with things to see what

makes them work. In a 2011 article about elementary science, Trina Spencer and Tracy Walker

state “Young students tend to be more curious and motivated to learn” (p. 19). By nature, kids

are curious about their environment. The authors go on to say, “Inquiry is the basic building

block for science education for elementary schools” (p. 19). After studying the moon and its

phases, the students were assessed with the phases of the moon using Oreo Cookies.

As a class we read about the moon, the astronauts that went there, how they got there, and

why they went to the moon. During our reading we learned how the moon got its craters, and

that there are names for the way we see the moon every night. The lesson of the moon phases

was important because the students wanted to understand why we see what we see. Ana-Maria

Suduca, Mihai Bizoia, and Gabriel Gorghiu (2015) state, “Inquiry is the basic building block for

science education in elementary schools” (p. 475). Through hands on work with models, the

students collaborated on this project and made their own discoveries.

To learn how the moon stages appeared in the night sky, the students practiced with a

volleyball, a golf ball, and a flashlight to see how the earth blocked the light of the sun. In a

2017 article about collaboration, Rodnicka Hills states, “Practices such as using manipulatives,

allowing students to work in cooperative groups, integrating discussion and inquiry through

questioning, and using a problem-solving approach are needed for these activities to be

effective” (p. 8). The students learned more through experimentation than they did by reading

about the moon in a book. This class was a true, hands on class which loved manipulatives and

experimenting with the world in which we live. Giving them the ability to work together and

discover together allowed them to create their own understanding through trial and error.
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Students worked through their understanding by discussing what they saw, what they did, and

how they understood. The students were able, as a group, to draw the phases of the moon on

paper and label the stages.

The final assessment was to recreate the phases with Oreo Cookies and lay them out on a

plate. In their groups, the students were all able to complete the task. Students used cooperative

learning to build the model of the phases of the moon. Najmonnisa and Ismail Saad (2017)

believe, “Cooperative Learning is an instructional method, which suggests learning in small,

heterogeneous groups, to achieve a shared learning goal” (p. 2). The authors go on to say,

“Cooperative learning facilitates the learning needs of diverse learners” (p. 2). I believe this to

be a true statement. This was a diverse learning group, and together they were able to

accomplish more than as individual students.

When this lesson was over, the students knew the moon phases, knew how to label them,

and how they appeared in the sky. Working together the students accomplished quite a bit for

seven and eight-year-olds. The best part of the lesson, well, who doesn’t like the opportunity to

work and then eat your project, and watching the students work together to solve problems and

find solutions.
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References

Hills, Rodnicka (2017). A blueprint for bridging classrooms: strategies to encourage

collaboration within the school. Children's Technology & Engineering, 22(2) 7-9.

Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu

Saad, N. and Saad, I. (2017). The Role of Cooperative Learning Method in Teaching of Science

Subject at Elementary School Level: An Experimental Study. Bulletin of Education and

Research 39(2) 1-17. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu

Spencer, T. S., & Walker, T. M. (2011). Creating a Love for Science for Elementary Students

through Inquiry-based Learning. Journal of Virginia Science Education, 4(2), 18-21.

Retrieved from https://parsproje.com/tarjome/rv/r90.pdf

Suduca, A., Bizoia, M., and Gorghiu, G. (2015). Inquiry Based Science Learning in Primary

Education. 6th World Conference on Psychology, Counseling and Guidance (WCPCG-

2015), Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 9 October 2015 205:474-479.

doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.09.044 Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com