OER4Schools/Collecting and interpreting information: Difference between revisions

{{activity|Small group activity}} (20 mins) Working in your small group of three to four participants, complete the following activity using GeoGebra.  In this activity, we will like you to experiment with drawing different polygons that you may not have seen before (i.e. be creative!). Draw 10 different shaped polygons using GeoGebra. As you draw, think about what is the same and what is different between those polygons, and how you could classify them into different groups.  

{{activity|Small group activity}} (10 mins) This is a fast and simple activity in which you (or your students) fill in the blanks, and you learn more about each other. On a piece of paper, draw a simple profile of yourself (forehead, nose, mouth, and chin). You and your group members should choose at least four items from the following list of possible information about each other, and write them inside the profile using coloured pens:

{{activity| Whole group discussion}} (10 mins) Data collection is an essential part of many EBL activities. It is important that data is carefully and accurately collected. Otherwise, the interpretations and conclusions you draw from your enquiry can be very misleading! For instance, you would not want your profile in the previous activity to contain any mistakes about yourself! Some common methods of data collection include: reading reference material in a library or on the Internet, conducting an interview, using questionnaires or conducting an experiment. Discuss with each other whether you are familiar with each of these data collection activities. It is important to give students ownership of how they prefer to collect and record their findings by giving them options to choose from. It is also important for teachers to discuss with them the reasons for collecting or recording findings, because they may not understand why they need to collect or record findings in a particular way.  

{{activity| Small group activity}} (10 mins) Discuss in your groups the following questions:

{{activity| Group activity}} (20 mins) After the discussion, assess if the resources that you have prepared so far would be adequate for the students to embark on the data collection process (whether is it in the form of experiment or enquiring through the Internet/asking people). If not, make some changes or consider creating additional worksheets or perhaps a spreadsheet for the students. You should make sure that you have included an ICT element in each of your enquiry ideas.

{{activity|Small Group work}} (10 mins) You have now collected the data and should be ready to analyse or find solutions to respond to appropriately during the enquiry. Where should you begin and how do you proceed with this section of the enquiry? You might like to take note of the steps in the scientific method as usually followed in many scientific investigations and enquiries:  

{{activity|Small group activity}} (20 mins) Go to the ‘Balancing Act’ simulation by following the link below. Play with the simulation for a few minutes and think about how you might use it in an EBL lesson. Can you come up with one or two enquiry questions that could be investigated using the simulation? Discuss with your colleagues how students would record their answers to these questions.