Teacher Section

Designing an Experiment
Lesson 2:

1. Using the chart paper from Lesson 1, review the list of issues and problems.

2. For each issue, you may want to review the biotic and abiotic factors that apply to the situations, thereby giving the students some background for their experimental design.

3. The class reviews the steps in a well-planned experiment. (I use a laminated handout from a previous lesson for this.)

4. As an introduction to the activity, provide general instructions to the class: You will now be designing experiments that you can do to measure some of the factors that were identified previously. You will work in groups to develop valid experimental procedures that are based on the scientific method to explore the issues raised in the Copper Basin video.

5. Divide the class into groups (the number depends upon the number of issues.)

6. To each group, assign a problem or issue that was identified in the video. Give students the remainder of the class period to design their experiments. They should produce a list of materials and a numbered procedure for each experiment.

7. Collect the list of materials and procedures from each group.

1. Review experimental procedures. This will provide an idea of where your students are heading experimentally. Make suggestions that lead them in a specific direction, but do not correct their work.

2. Students should correct and revise their procedures. I have computers in my room and can have students type the revised procedures during class and be ready for the next few days.

3. Develop plan of action:
   
   • PLAN 1 - Each group performs only the experiment they developed and shares the results with the class.
   • PLAN 2 - All groups perform every experiment and share results among themselves. I prefer this approach, because as the students perform the experiments, they are learning through a hands-on approach.

4. Contact a local mining operation to arrange a site visit or have a representative come to your class. In Charles County, either option was possible. The classroom visit was more beneficial because the representative brought a video that depicted operations not accessible to students.

5. Classes can also link electronically with students at another school. My classes linked with a school in western Pennsylvania which conducted a similar study of the coal mines that use the stripping technique. The two groups were able to exchange data to make comparisons. Having access to the internet in the classroom made this possible.