Enhancing Science Learning with Notebooks: Effective Strategies for Educators

1. Science Notebooking In the OC Presented byBeckman@Science District Coordinators &Lead Teacher

2. Science Notebooking • Characteristics of a scientist’s notebook • Using science notebooks in the classroom • How to evaluate science notebooks • What does the research say?

3. Characteristics of a Scientist’s Notebook • Is individual in nature • Includes what works and what does not work • Includes text, data, drawings, charts, graphs • Gives information and asks questions • Entries are a record of thoughts at the time, and are not “corrected” later • Newer ideas are added as another entry

4. How Scientists Use Their Notebooks • Scientists record the time as well as the date • Scientists read the notebooks of other scientists • Scientists encourage investigation partners to read their notebooks • Scientists only write in their own notebooks • Scientists record ideas that they get from others, but they give credit

5. Science Notebooks As Legal Documents • Patents are awarded to the first person to invent, not the first person to file • To protect against claims of prior invention, good lab notebooks include these qualities: • Dates when an idea was formed, work was begun, and work that was completed • Initial statements of objectives prior to experiments • Full citations of standard protocols • Every page signed and dated by inventor and a witness

6. Notebook samples: Leonardo DaVinci

8. Galileo

10. John Muir

12. Alexander Graham Bell

14. Important Consideration of the Science Notebook • Should be students own work • Is viewed as a record of progress and observation • Should be thought of as a “rough draft” by the teacher. Selected labs or entries can be rewritten as “final draft” if desired • Students should create own tables and charts

15. Student Science Notebook Samples • Grades 2 to 6

18. 4th Grade

19. 6th Grade

20. 4th Grade

21. 2nd Grade

22. 4th Grade

23. Science Notebook Components • Purpose • Procedure • Conclusion

24. Purpose • Lesson Title • Date and Time • Question or Focus Statement • Prediction (if appropriate)

25. Procedure • All steps and observations • Data is organized on tables or charts • Labeled pictures or diagrams • Materials list (if needed)

26. Conclusion • What I learned • Clear, relates to lesson and main objective • Reflection on data • Ideas for future research • May include “Line of Learning”

27. Evaluating Notebooks • Rubrics/Scoring • What to look for in entry • Science Concepts • Scientific Communications • Science Drawings

28. Rubric 1

29. Rubric 2 Purpose Procedure Conclusion

30. Science Concepts

31. Scientific Communication

32. Scientific Drawing

33. Research SAYS….. • Formative forms of assessment help to improve student learning if • Effective Feedback is given to students • Active Involvement of students in their learning • Adjust teaching to take account of results learned from formative assessment • Self-assess for students to understand how to improve Adapted from Classroom Instruction that Works-R. Marzano

34. Five Good Reasons to Use Science Notebooks • Notebooks Are Thinking Tools • Notebooks Guide Teacher Instruction • Notebooks Enhance Literacy Skills • Notebooks Support Differentiated Learning • Notebooks Foster Teacher Collaboration Taken from Joan Gilbert & Marleen Kotelman

35. Will Neddersen Tustin Unified School District wneddersen@tustin.k12.ca.us Nita Walker Santa Ana Unified School District nita.walker@sausd.us Becky D’Arrigo Fullerton School District becky_darrigo@fsd.k12.ca.us Linda Barker Laguna Beach Unified School District lbarker@lagunabeachschools.org Sandee Wilbur Capistrano Unified School District sswilbur@capousd.org Thank You