School Direct Trainee

Twighlight

Working Scientifically -

Investigations

Review of the Gap Task

Review your Gap Task using a Timed Pair Share

You will have 60 seconds to reflect on the success of

your gap task

Investigations?

Why do

Practical

investigation?

What

investigations

can you recall

from your

own

schooling?

What makes

an

investigation

memorable?

?????

What

challenges do

you associate

with practical

investigation?

What are the

main stages

in an

practical

investigation

KS1 & 2 Working

Scientifically

KS1 & 2 Working

Scientifically

Fears…

Killer QuestionsInvestigations are a fantastic way to engage learners but they work best when

learners are emotionally invested in the content…

A great way to do this is through a killer question, this is

a hook to engage learners in what they are doing

Eg.

Instead of “how does the height of a ramp affect the

speed of a car” try…

Kevin is out of

control! Can you

find out how much

space he needs to

stop safely on

different hills

Practical Work in a

nutshellUse Experiment to

answer a question

Adding in layers of detail as you go…

Hypothesis

Prediction

Variables

Method

Observations/Data

Fair Testing

Conclusion

Evaluation

Control

Precision

Accuracy

Reliability

Using & Designing

Planning Tools“Using planning tools with learners is a great way to scaffold and differentiate

practical investigations.”

Using the equipment and planning tool provided can you;

1. Create a killer question for this investigation to hook

in the learner

2. Plan and carry out the investigation from the PoV of

the Learner

3. Evaluate the planning tool, from different

perspectives using De Bono’s hats (each take a different role) – Focus

on the Yellow, Black, Green and Red hats

4. Think about how you could differentiate the sheet up or down for

different year groups/abilities/literacy levels

Present tool & Activity

Recording observations &

DataToday There are many ways to

record data and observations

How many can you think of?

Creativity at the end and

the beginning

All write continuous round robin –

Write as many ways as possible that

learners can share their findings with each

other and the world…

Be prepared to share

Gap TaskTake a tool:

Using one of the tools provided (or another that we’ve

provided) carry out a simple scientific investigation.

Differentiate the planning tool for different groups

Tailor the tool to suit the Key Stage/Year group you are

working with