In 1999, I tried out the Prime Science Grade 9 Plate Tectonics module on my students. I liked the way that this module simulated the way that many scientists, working around the globe on different projects, come together to share ideas. Those ideas are debated and ultimately molded into theories.
My students loved the role playing, and took away deep understandings of the historical contexts of continental drift theory. However, Prime Science at this point moved to a fairly traditional, uninspired teacher-centered approach to teaching plate tectonics.
It occurred to me that, rather than simply tell students about plate tectonics, the symposia simulation could be repeated. The class could, in effect, "fast forward" to the early 1960's, when new data from the ocean floor, seismic studies, and paleomagnetic surveys provided scientists with a mechanism for explaining continental drift.
Using information from a variety of sources, I constructed a second mock symposium, this time on plate tectonics. I was concerned that students might be bored with the whole simulation process, but my worries were unfounded. Students were once again eager to role play, and they did a masterful job of it.
By adding the second symposium, students gained deep insights into the nature of science. Most significantly, they learned how scientific models and theories develop over time, that ideas that might not be accepted at first gain strength later as new information is added, and how science is a rich collaborative process.
On a daily basis, emphasis was placed on the understanding of the meaning of Theory, as defined in the National Academy of Sciences document, Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science. This definition is stated as follows:
Theory: In science, a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses.My hope is that by continuously emphasizing this definition, in this simulation and whenever theories are discussed (cell theory, atomic theory), students will be more accepting of Evolution as the only current viable scientific idea about how living things have arrived at their present state. In particular, emphasis on the "well-substantiated" and "natural world" portion of the definition should help students understand how supernatural explanations, no matter how valuable for moral lessons, are nevertheless not scientific.
These simulated symposia this turned out to be the richest, most authentic science experience my students have ever had. The irony is that there was no laboratory component. Future editions of this syposium will include inquiry activities designed to model seismic wave behavior and convection within the mantle. Eventually, I hope that every team in at least one symposia will use real data that they have collected, from lab or Internet.
I believe that there is the possibility that many other science modules could
be constructed this way, with students exploring multiple aspects of a single
"Big Idea" and then collaborating, jig-saw fashion, to build their own version
of the Big Idea. Of course, it is necessary to help students understand
how their models may agree or disagree with modern accepted versions of theories.
Eric Anderson
Carson City, Nevada
Symposium I: Continental Drift