Hypothesis

Chapter 6: If Students RIP® into Termite Nature, Then They Will Build Science Understanding Because Inquiry Leads to Knowledge

by Anne McKnight

Learning about food preferences, survival mechanisms, drug (stimulant) effects, and paint deterrent, captured the interest of these students and motivated their rising to the challenge of constructing testable hypotheses in answer to their research questions about termites. Through their investigations these students learned about the nature of science, matter and energy, and organisms and the environment. Teacher Anne McKnight achieved the More Emphasis condition of Sharing responsibility for learning with students by “letting them decide which questions sparked their curiosity and were worth pursuing as topics for their inquiries” and by providing them “the necessary time to think deeply and bring the pieces together to construct their own hypotheses.” This was just one of the many adjustments made by her and her students to establish the More Emphasis conditions in their classroom.