The nature of Science: Making Careful Observations!

This video clip shows me trialling a 

Nature of Science observation activity.

This is a really cool activity to teach the Nature of Science. The emphasis is on how to make careful observations and teaches students the importance of differentiating between sensory input and cognitive inference. Both are necessary for observations, however it is important to know that we perceive information based on what we think and not what is. This is how we make sense of information and explain the phenomena of our world. This is also why science changes over time as new information is discovered that changes the way we think. 

I trialed this activity at the last minute as I wanted to see how obvious the cheese and almond looked. If I was to do this experiment in a classroom I would spend more time shaping the candle and trimming the almond to make it look more realistic. I could show children this video clip after they have observed and discussed the observation. 

Instructions for the Activity

Bell (2008). Observation or Inference: A "burning question". In Teaching the Nature of Science through Process Skills: Activities for Grades 3-8. Pearson Education, Boston.

CO2 and Oxygen Experiment

The first attempt of this experiment did not work because we left the lids of the jars. This is how I had seen the experiment done on another person's YouTube clip. My husband and I decided to put lids on the jars and try again. The video shows the results. It was a fun experiment that I think would really help children to gain conceptual knowledge about fire and changing materials and chemical reactions that create gas.

Make your own Fire Extinguisher

Ministry of Education. (2001). Making Better Sense of the Material World. (R. Alchin, Ed.) Wellington: Learning media. p. 81).

The size of the bottle does matter! 

Tea Bag Rocket Experiment

My son performing the Tea Bag Rocket Experiment. 

This experiment was trialled during TECP111 Science. Both my son and I found it very engaging and we were able to generate many questions. We explored different tea bags and found that not all tea bags are created equally and the experiment failed. It is so important for teachers to trail experiments proir to teaching as there a many variables that can change the intended outcome.