Introduction
In my third grade classroom I ask my students questions and my students ask me questions, yet these questions are increasingly becoming safe, non-committal questions. I want to ask a question that I know I know the answer to, so that I can evaluate my students' answers. If my students even ask a question, they want to ask questions that show they are interested, however that they are not ignorant. My goal is to develop strategies for developing meaningful questions for both my students and myself. I want to reignite the natural, inherent curiosity of my students so they feel free to express their inquisitiveness and realize that the answer is not the goal, as this signifies the end of the journey. The goal is to uncover as much information as possible and still understand there is more to learn. The goal is to help them think like scientists!
The Bee Hummingbird, at 5cm and 2g in weight, is the smallest bird in the world. A woodpecker can peck 20 times in one second. The fastest bird, the spine-tailed swift, can fly as fast as 106 mph. Wow I know a lot about birds! Perhaps I should change professions and become an Ornithologist; slow down there, let's take a deeper look at my understanding here. I know a few quick facts, but does knowing facts equal knowing about birds? Many of my students believe that if they uncover a list of facts they have "learned" everything there is to learn about a subject (I suspect that some teachers may believe this too!).
So what is my goal here? Facts are fascinating and an excellent way to hook my students to get interested in a topic. I want to help my students see that facts are just the beginning; the journey can begin for them right at the point where the facts run out. Why has the Bee hummingbird evolved to be so small? How strong is the woodpecker's beak? Is the spine-tailed swift smaller or lighter than other birds, allowing it to reach such great speeds? Through developing this inherent curiosity that children have, I would like to present them with the steps of the Scientific Method to enhance their questioning. This process is relied upon for experimentation that is used to explore observations and answer questions.
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