Posted by Teacher 3 on Jan 17, 2020; 3:10pm
URL: https://nabble.aealearningonline.org/scientist-vs-classroom-displacement-tp15129.html



The videos I watched were about water displacement and volume.

Scientists are experts in their field.  They have a lot of background information on the topics.  The scientist knew he needed to look at the volume of objects to make an educated guess as to which object has more volume.  He compared objects just by looking at them.  He knew that weight did not matter and that the amount of space (volume) an object takes up is what makes a water level rise.  He also used cubic cm blocks to determine just how much more volume one object had over the other.

The students in the grade 4: explanation discussion believed that weight had to do with water displacement more than the volume of the objects.  The teacher did a great job of listening individually to students guesses, asked for their reasoning to their guesses, and even asked whole group for students to raise their hands.  Students still mostly believed that weight was the factor for how much the water would rise.  When they were given time to explore their hypothesis they quickly found out that they were wrong.  They had used prior knowledge to make their guess and had never before challenged their thinking.  The teacher set up the investigation with objects that the students could use to test their ideas and record their thinking.  When the students came back to the circle to discuss their thinking they agreed that water was displaced by the object, no matter the weight.  They found out that the bigger the object (volume), the more the water was displaced because two objects cannot occupy the same space.

This showed me how important it is for the teacher to keep a straight face for all guesses.  When all of the students were guessing the wrong answers, her replies never made them question themselves.  She also gave students materials to test their theories on their own.  When they came back she asked many students to explain water displacement on their own after she gave them to term "displacement".  Vocabulary and materials to test their theories are important to think about when planning lessons in science.