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(posted for Kathy Swahn)

Okay - so I have been spending a LOT of time thinking about this summer Science as Inquiry AND I still conclude that students need a certain amount of background knowledge to be successful. It ties in to Brain and Behavior as well. I still believe that if we just toss a student into a lab without some "expected outcomes" we set them up for the uncomfortable feeling of failure. They need to feel secure in "not getting answers so wrong". I find that even when students have been given the background the vast majority - not all still have a tough time making connections. I will conclude that it could be the age of the student I work with (many are just emerging beyond concrete thinking patterns) and/or limited interest (even when presented with "fun labs").

Check out my wiki www.kswahn.wikispaces.com to see labs I have done so far this year (in the homework section. Newton's Laws 1 & 2 lab is an excellent example of a very basic fun lab that students still struggle with. I usually teach background and then present the labs with instruction of "how to" but little intervention beyond that point so the students still feel as if they are discovering the lab with their lab partners.