Real-time Inquiry Assessment & Tutoring
The Teachers’ Guide
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1
WHAT IS INQ-ITS? ................................................................................................................. 1
WHAT IS INQUIRY? .............................................................................................................. 1
WHAT IS A VIRTUAL SCIENCE LAB? .............................................................................. 1
HOW DOES INQ-ITS MEET THE STANDARDS? ............................................................ 2
ABOUT US ................................................................................................................................ 2
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE .................................................................................................. 3
Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom...................................................................... 4
GETTING STARTED .............................................................................................................. 5
Sign Up .................................................................................................................................. 5
View Demo Labs and Assessment Tools................................................................................ 6
Setting Up Your Courses ........................................................................................................ 6
Accessing Your Virtual Labs .................................................................................................. 7
Planning Your Class ............................................................................................................... 7
Implementing Inq-ITS in Your Class ..................................................................................... 8
Pre- and Post- Tests ................................................................................................................ 9
Timing ................................................................................................................................... 10
Real Time Assessment of Science Inquiry ........................................................................... 10
Monitoring an individual student’s performance .................................................................. 12
Meet your pedagogical agent Rex......................................................................................... 14
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................ 14
THE LEARNING PROCESS ................................................................................................ 14
THE INQ-ITS ASSESSMENT MODEL .............................................................................. 18
FURTHER DETAIL ON DESIGNING & CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS ................ 19
The Virtual Labs ......................................................................................................................... 21
GENERAL INQUIRY VIRTUAL LABS ............................................................................. 22
Flower in Water ................................................................................................................. 23
PHYSICAL SCIENCES VIRTUAL LABS .......................................................................... 24
Phase Change.................................................................................................................. 25
Free Fall: Energy ............................................................................................................... 26
Free Fall: Speed ................................................................................................................ 27
Liquid Density .................................................................................................................... 28
Mass & Weight .................................................................................................................. 29
i
Collisions ............................................................................................................................. 30
LIFE SCIENCES VIRTUAL LABS ..................................................................................... 31
Animal Cell Functions ..................................................................................................... 32
Plant Cell Functions ......................................................................................................... 33
Mutations............................................................................................................................ 34
Natural Selection ............................................................................................................. 35
Predation ............................................................................................................................ 36
Ecosystems ......................................................................................................................... 37
Genetics: Bug Breeding ................................................................................................. 38
EARTH SCIENCE VIRTUAL LABS................................................................................... 39
Lunar Phases...................................................................................................................... 40
Seasons ............................................................................................................................... 41
Solar Eclipses ..................................................................................................................... 42
Lunar Eclipses .................................................................................................................... 43
Plate Tectonics ................................................................................................................. 44
Human Activity ................................................................................................................. 45
Additional Resources .................................................................................................................. 46
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 48
Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 49
ii
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
What is Inq-ITS?
Inq-ITS (Inquiry Intelligent Tutoring System) is an online educational environment for science.
Students conduct inquiry using virtual lab simulations aligned with the Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS) for Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth Science. Unlike other virtual lab
programs, Inq-ITS uses computer science-based algorithms to automatically assess and hone
students’ inquiry skills by guiding them through the four phases of inquiry: hypothesizing,
experimenting, interpreting data, and warranting claims. Automated assistance is given by an
animated pedagogical agent, a cartoon dinosaur, Rex, that provides support when it detects a
student is off-track. The system also generates real-time summative reports on each skill. Both
individual student and classroom-wide performance is summarized to support decision-making
on the fly during class as well as for more in-depth analysis once class is over. In brief, educators
get real-time, actionable data they can use to tailor instruction while students independently
conduct scientific inquiry.
What is Inquiry?
Contemporary views of science education have grown beyond defining scientific competency as
the skill of answering factual questions. Instead, science literacy from the view of educational
research involves deep understanding and application of knowledge. Students must become
proficient in applying ideas in diverse contexts as well as understand multiple representations
such as equations, diagrams, or textual descriptions of a concept. Furthermore, students must
learn how to challenge claims, how to become proficient in researching solutions to their own
questions, and how to develop an awareness of how their ideas mature over time. Importance is
also placed on summarizing information in order to communicate ideas to others. The backbone
to developing all these capabilities is solid scientific inquiry skills (Duschl, Schweingruber, &
Shouse, 2007).
Generally speaking, scientific inquiry embodies the skills underlying fluency at using scientific
reasoning to develop understanding within a science discipline (NRC, 1996, 2000). It is seen as
necessary for developing general scientific literacy and reasoning skills (Kuhn, 2005a), and critical
for 21st century jobs in a knowledge-based economy (Clarke-Midura et al., 2011).
What is a Virtual Science Lab?
Within Inq-ITS, students conduct inquiry and address questions within virtual science labs, also
known as microworlds. Briefly, microworlds (cf. Papert 1980; 1993) are “subset[s] of reality or a
constructed reality whose structure matches that of a given cognitive mechanism so as to provide
an environment where the latter can operate effectively. The concept leads to the project of
1
Introduction
inventing microworlds so structured as to allow a human learner to exercise particular powerful
ideas or intellectual skills (Papert, 1980, p. 204).“
With regards to science education, virtual labs enable students to study scientific phenomena in
a dynamic, interactive way. With virtual labs, students can observe concepts at various levels of
abstraction, highlighting aspects that may normally be unobservable without expensive equipment
while still affording the same level of authenticity because they share many features with real
apparatuses (Gobert, 2005). Additionally, they can enable time-stepping and playbacks to see
how an object’s or system’s properties change over time.
From the teacher’s standpoint, virtual labs offer several advantages over traditional labs. They
are efficient with class time, cost effective, and support individual student. Additionally, the realtime summary reports enable data-driven decision making around what to do next, what to do
tomorrow, and what skills and which students continue to require time and attention in order to
reach proficiency. As such, technology is appropriately incorporated into learning. The
pedagogical agent included with these labs supports teaching in today’s more crowded and
complex classroom context.
At the same time, virtual labs are not intended as a replacement for real experiences with scientific
observation and experimentation. A virtual simulation is never as rich as conducting actual
science. These labs are intended to enrich a hands-on science curriculum with the goal of
deepening understanding of inquiry skills. When students become adept and capable with
conducting inquiry, their work in the field and the actual science lab will be greatly improved and
that much more focused and productive. These virtual lab activities are powerful tools for
practicing inquiry and strengthening understanding of scientific concepts.
How Does Inq-ITS Meet the Standards?
The three dimensional nature of the Next Generation Science Standards is a new and difficult
hurdle for many teachers. Integrating Inq-ITS activities into your middle school science classroom
can simplify the process of teaching science in this new 3D Framework. Appendix A of this Guide
illustrates alignment between Next Generation Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering
Practices, as well as the Cross Cutting Concepts for grades 6 through 8. We also have provided
information regarding the alignment between Inq-ITS Virtual Labs and both Common Core ELA
and Math Standards.
About Us
Inq-ITS began in 2007 under the direction of Dr. Janice Gobert, Professor of Rutgers Learning,
Cognition & Development program. The research group (Science Learning by Inquiry;
http://slinq.org) has received over $12 million in funding from the National Science Foundation
2
Introduction
and the U.S. Department of Education for the on-going research and development of Inq-ITS. Led
by Dr. Gobert, the group is the first to provide automated, real-time assessment and scaffolding
of inquiry skills by blending and extending techniques from the fields of Educational Data Mining,
Cognitive Science, and Learning Science. Apprendis LLC is a spin-off company co-founded by
Dr. Gobert and two of her former graduate students, Dr. Michael Sao Pedro and Cameron Betts.
More about the members of the Apprendis group can be found on the Apprendis website at:
http://www.apprendis.com/.
In addition, we would like to thank our Massachusetts and Oregon teachers who have piloted InqITS in their classrooms over the past five years in order to help us make it work. Kathy Scibelli
and Pamela Perry from the Boston area and Charity Staudenraus who taught near Portland,
Oregon have all been instrumental in helping us to continuously improve our products and to
design this Guide. They have seen the value in Inq-ITS and have taken the extra steps to integrate
the activities into their curriculum. We are grateful for their efforts and enthusiasm.
How to use this Guide
The Guide has four major sections: this Introduction, followed by Part 1: Inq-ITS in the Middle
School Science Classroom. Part 1 is most useful for getting started with Inq-ITS activities and for
gaining an overview of the curricular goals. The third section, Part 2: the Virtual Labs, delineates
the Physical, Life, and Earth Science units, describing in detail the specific topics and types of
activities students can engage in. A final, fourth section provides links to resources that will be
regularly updated, a glossary of terms used, and references to research that can support
presentations to administrators, families, and other community stakeholders.
Use the hyperlinked Table of Contents above to directly link to each section. Science activity
pages, located in Part 2: the Virtual Labs section, may be printed separately. These products are
still under development so it is useful to check this online version of the Guide in order to get the
most up-to-date information pertaining to Inq-ITS and the Labs.
We welcome feedback. Please email any comments or questions to the Inq-ITS Team at
[email protected]
3
PART 1:
Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
4
Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
GETTING STARTED
Sign Up
You will need to contact us at [email protected] to set up an account. When you receive your log in
information, you can log on using a computer, laptop, or mobile device such as an iPad or tablet.
Use the most up-to-date Firefox or Chrome browser to access http://slinq.org. Click on "hrinC at
the top-right corner of the site.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
Once you have logged in you can change your password by going to Settings >> My Profile
Settings >> Change Password.
If you forget your username and/or password, please email us at info@ inqits.org and a member
of the team will resend your login information.
View Demo Labs and Assessment Tools
Visit http://slinq.org on your computer, laptop or mobile device to preview our demo virtual labs.
Click Stand Alone Demo on the menu bar to find what’s available for review:
Setting Up Your Courses
After reviewing the demos, contact us at info@ inqits.org to set up accounts for you and your
classes in order to get started using Inq-ITS virtual labs. To set up courses, you will need to
provide the Inq-ITS team with the following information: (a) a list of virtual labs that you want to
implement including approximate dates and (b) first and last name of your students. Please note
that the format of student names should be the same all year. For example, if you use a student’s
full name including their middle name in the fall then you will want to continue with that same
format all year or our system will register that person as a new student. The Inq-ITS Team will
assign usernames and a simple password to each of your students so they can log in individually.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
We are currently in the process of simplifying this process and will let our teachers know as soon
as the switch is complete.
Accessing Your Virtual Labs
Once you have signed in, click on “My Courses” to find your school name to locate the activities
you have selected for classroom use. Then click on your school name to access the virtual labs
the Inq-ITS Team has set up for you.
The screen that follows shows the current academic calendar year. Click on the activity you want
to get started.
Planning Your Class
Inq-ITS virtual labs can be used one at a time or in a sequence of your choosing with students
advancing in a self-paced manner through the inquiry process-based activities. Most often,
teachers are using Inq-ITS as a way to review before a unit test on related content. Since Inq-ITS
activities focus on the inquiry process rather than on content knowledge, they offer an authentic
opportunity to use knowledge learned and practice applying new understandings. If Inq-ITS
activities are used regularly in this way, they offer a year-long strand of practicing inquiry skills
that can augment actual classroom lab experiences and present teachers with an easy way for
tracking student progress in inquiry. Other ways Inq-ITS are being integrated into regular science
curriculum are:

As a self-paced unit on conducting inquiry that combines a variety of Inq-ITS activities;

As practice for state science gatepost exams;
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom

As review before semester or final exams;

As pre- and post- performances;

As a remediation strategy for struggling students; and

As an acceleration strategy for students who need to be challenged
Implementing Inq-ITS in Your Class
Implementing Inq-ITS is easy! Get your students
started quickly by posting the access and log in
information on a poster or board. Pass out the
appropriate Inq-ITS Virtual Lab Student Handout so
students have their log-in information in front of them
and they can see the process needed to complete
the virtual lab. Be prepared to circulate the room to
help students log in and troubleshoot any logins that
do not seem to work. Double check that your
students’ names are properly spelled on the class
list the Inq-ITS group sent you with log in
information. In most cases, you can call your Inq-ITS
contact and he or she will happily assist.
Open Chrome —>
Go to slinq.org —>
Log In [username: firstnamelastname;
password: 1234]—>
Click on…
The most common errors students make when logging in is entering “sling” (g rather than q) or
“.com” rather than “.org”. Be prepared!
After students are logged into the slinq.org website, they can work on their own. If possible, each
student should have his or her own computer, laptop or mobile device (iPad or tablet). If that isn’t
possible, partners can take turns controlling the program or one student can complete their lab on
the student handout.
Another common problem that students have when logging in has to do with their name. Often
teachers will submit class lists with middle names or multiple last names included which are then
used in the creation of the username, but the student does not routinely enter this additional
information when logging in. If the class lists that are submitted to Inq-ITS are formatted in a way
that is familiar to your students the log-in process will run much more smoothly.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
Pre- and Post- Tests
Each virtual lab is accompanied by
quizzes which can be used formatively
or summatively. Our quizzes have been
NGSS aligned and consist of a pre-test
that students can take before working
on the virtual lab and a corresponding
post-test that comes after the virtual lab.
At the right is a sample quiz question:
Teachers may view students’ scores on the quizzes by selecting an individual completed virtual
lab and then selecting Grades under the Results heading on the navigation bar to the left of the
screen. By clicking on Responses, teachers can view what answers students gave to each of the
questions on the quizzes, or they can download an Excel Spreadsheet for easier navigation and
analysis.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
Timing
Each virtual lab is typically made up of 3-4 activities that have their own distinct experimental
goals. For example, the general inquiry virtual lab, Flower in Water, focuses on three different
scenarios: the effect of red dye, the effect of salt, and the effect of sugar on the life of a flower in
a vase. The virtual lab with corresponding quizzes takes about 30 to 50 minutes total to complete.
Be sure to have a plan for students who may complete the assignment early.
Real Time Assessment of Science Inquiry
Automatic assessment reports show classroom achievement trends related to the inquiry process
and identify struggling students. Inq-ITS real-time assessment enables teachers to quickly tell
how the class is progressing and how each individual student is progressing, on each inquiry skill
and sub-skill. There are multiple views of the inquiry report available for teachers to access during
or after class.
To access the reports, first return to the Home view of slinq.org by selecting “Home” on the menu
bar. Then select Inquiry Report from the left-hand navigation menu:
NOTE: If you receive a message: No
Data was found, you are not signed
in! Login and try again.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
The first view is an overall classroom view of how students are doing in all the classes using InqITS and will look similar to the following:
The Assignment column lists participating school acronyms and task descriptions by date. The
bar chart to the right already provides a summary of how your class did on that assignment. In
addition, you can check the date and the number of students who participated. For more
information, click on the
magnifying glass for detailed information about your class and
students. The
arrow icon takes you to a preview of the activity.
When you select
, the next level view will look similar to this:
The colors of the bars above
indicate success from to low
(gold) to mid (blue) to high
(navy) achievement on
inquiry skills & sub-skills.
At this level, teachers may view the summary report for participants in a given activity. The teacher
can quickly assess which steps are giving the class as a whole the most difficulty. If “No data” is
listed that means the student did not submit any entries for that element of an investigation. In
order to view additional detail related to each student’s selections as well as the text of their
summary analysis, click on the
icon to the left of the student name. That view delineates the
sub-skills within the general skill areas of hypothesis formation, design and conduct experiments
and analyzing data. It will look something like this:
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
Note that the
turns to a
and it is easy to toggle between the more or less detailed view for
each student as well as leave certain students open while closing others.
Monitoring an individual student’s performance
In addition to looking at the class overall and where the
knowledge gaps might be for the group, teachers also
need to know how individual students are doing, across all
of the completed Inq-ITS activities. The Inq-ITS platform
provides the opportunity for teachers to view individual
student progress across all of the Inq-ITS activities.
Look for the:
on the top left to return to the overall
summary reports view.
In addition, the individual student view gives access to the text summary students submit at the
end of each investigation (this can be reached by clicking on
). At this time, Inq-ITS does not
automatically analyze text-based entries.
To visit the Student view, click on a student’s name on the class list.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
By clicking on any student name, the teacher can view all the activities individual students have
completed as well as use the
icon to find reports on achievement with the sub skills. Below is
an example:
Notice that once the student view is accessed for one student, the drop down menu on the top
left-hand corner shifts from a list of activities completed by the class to a participant list so the
teacher can move from student to student once in this view.
On the far right of each row, the
icon allows the teacher to revisit a preview of the activity. On
the far left, the
icon opens up the sub-skill view. Here, achievement with each sub-skill is
reported along with the ability to check the student’s written reflections. Below is an example:
In the example above, notice that the information given is solely based on one activity for one
specific student. The three columns to the right of the student’s name, activity, and date are again
broken up into “Hypothesis Formation”, “Design & Conduct Experiments”, and “Analyze Data”.
By clicking the
button, below the overall score for each section, it is possible to review scores
for sub-skills such as how well a student comprehends the concept of Identifying an Independent
Variable. After identifying areas where a student is struggling, the teacher can click on the text
13
Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
icon
to view that student’s summary reflections and drill down into individual student
understanding of the inquiry process. This information may be used during class to assist
struggling students, or after class to review the real-time comprehension of the concepts for each
student. The student summary reflection page can easily be printed using the PRINT feature in
the Firefox or Chrome browser.
Meet your pedagogical agent Rex
Rex provides automatic scaffolding within the
Inq-ITS activities. Students can receive oneon-one, personalized help from Rex as they
make hypotheses, collect data, and analyze
their data. Rex also automatically jumps in if
the system detects any off-track behavior.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Inq-ITS virtual labs are designed in HTML 5, which means the activities are compatible with mobile
devices such as iPads, tablets, or smartphones as well as laptops or desktops. Be sure the
devices used have updated Chrome or Firefox browsers and WIFI or Internet access.
If you are using a computer lab, a classroom laptop or iPad cart, the best option is to assign each
student his or her own device. We know that this is not always possible so we have designed InqITS Student Handouts that are specific for each Virtual Lab so that when students are sharing a
device the student who is not operating the device can complete their assignment on paper. For
some students this may be desirable even if they have a device as the process of writing out their
thoughts will help them to think their decisions through more clearly.
The Learning Process
Inq-ITS inquiry activities all have a similar look-and-feel. Each activity provides students with a
driving question (the Goal) and requires them to conduct an investigation using a simulation and
inquiry support tools to address that question. These inquiry support tools include a hypothesizing
tool, a data analysis tool, and graphs and tables for automatically displaying and summarizing
data. These virtual tools not only help students conduct experiments and keep track of their
progress, but also enable easier assessment of inquiry since these activities make students’
thinking explicit. Students’ experimentation is also structured into different stages, providing both
organizational support to students and assessment opportunities that elicit demonstration of skill.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
Consider an example from the physical science topic Phase Change:
The Phase Change virtual labs aim to promote understanding about the melting and
boiling properties of ice by addressing common misconceptions. For example, students are first
given an explicit goal to determine how one of three factors (container size, heat level, or ice
amount) affects various measurable outcomes (melting point, boiling point, time to melt, and time
to boil). One driving goal is to “find out how the size of the container affects the boiling point of
the ice.” Students then engage in several inquiry processes: formulating hypotheses, collecting
and interpreting data from various trials, warranting claims, and communicating findings, in order
to address the goal.
To support students’ experimentation, the inquiry processes are structured into different
stages: “hypothesize”, “experiment”, and “analyze data”. Students begin in the “hypothesize”
phase and use a combination of drop down menus to formulate a testable hypothesis, by choosing
an independent variable, a dependent variable, and the direction in which the variables are
related. For example, a student may state: “If I change the container size so that it decreases, the
time to melt increases.” The pull-down menus mix together independent and dependent variables,
making it possible for students to state both testable and untestable hypotheses. They also specify
one of three possible causal relationships between variables: “increases”, “decreases” or “stays
the same”. Thus, the hypothesize stage acts as an assessment of hypothesizing skill.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
In the “experiment” stage, students are shown a simulation of the phase change
experiment along with graphs that tracks the changes in a substance’s temperature over time.
Students collect data (trials) by changing the simulation’s variable values, and running, pausing
and resetting the simulation.
As students design and run experiments, the results of their trials are gathered/documented in a
table. As students collect their data, they can see the hypothesis they stated at the top of the
screen. These tools aim to help students plan which experiments to run next. Students may run
as many experiments as they like. Thus they can also just explore a bit with the tools without any
penalty when they are assessed.
When students move to the next stage to analyze their data, they must select meaningful trials to
include in their claim. Ultimately it is the trials that they choose for their “evidence” table that
demonstrate whether they are proficient at the skill of using data to create a claim and support or
refute their hypothesis.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
In the “analyze data” stage, students are shown the data they collected and, similar to
hypothesizing, students use pull-down menus to construct a claim and state whether or not their
hypotheses were supported based on the data they collected. Students also select specific from
their “evidence” table to warrant the claim they specified using the drop down boxes. If students
feel they need more data to conduct their analyses, they can return to the “experiment” stage to
collect more data.
Once students have completed their analysis, the program asks students to communicate their
findings by summarizing their experiment in an open response format. An example of a prompt
is: “Pretend that you are explaining to a friend the effects of the amount of substance on the
boiling point of that substance as if they did not do the experiment.”
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
The Inq-ITS Assessment Model
Hypothesis Formation: Inq-ITS tracks a student’s ability to formulate a testable hypothesis using
the hypothesis generator.
 Identify IV (Identify Independent variables): Identify the variable which they can control.
 Identify DV (Identify Dependent variables): The ability to correctly identify which variable
will be impacted by their chosen independent variable.
Design & Conduct Experiments: As students collect data Inq-ITS tracks whether they can
design controlled experiments and test their stated hypothesis.
 Target IV: Measures whether students target their independent variable.
 Controlled Experiment: Notes the ability to correctly control the experiment via changing
variables, and running more than a single trial.
Analyze Data:
 Interpreted IV: The independent variable selected is a variable manipulable by the
student.
 Interpreted DV: The dependent variable measured by the student.
 Interpreted Varied IV: Includes at least one pair of controlled trials that change the IV.
 Interpreted IV DV relationship: Correct relationship between variables stated, given
collected data
 Interpreted Supports Hypothesis: Linked the analysis to the hypothesis, given collected
data.
 Warranted Varied IV: Collected controlled trials for the independent variable.
 All Controlled Trials: All trials selected are controlled for the independent variable.
 Warranted IV DV relationship: Correct relationship between variables stated, given the
trials selected as evidence.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
 Warranted Supports Hypothesis: Correctly linked the analysis to the hypothesis, given
data selected by the student as evidence.
Further Detail on Designing & Conducting Experiments
As students collect data, the two main skills tracked are whether they can design controlled
experiments and test their stated hypotheses. More specifically:
•
Designing controlled experiments: This skill is demonstrated when a student designs
experiments that yield data to support determining the effects of manipulable
(independent) variables on outcomes (dependent variables). This skill is related to
understanding and successful use of the Control of Variables Strategy (CVS; cf., Chen
& Klahr, 1999). CVS entails the procedural and conceptual understanding of how, when,
and why a controlled experiment should be conducted so that one can make valid
inferences about the effects of one independent variable on a dependent variable (Chen
& Klahr, 1999; Kuhn, 2005b). We differentiate designing controlled experiments from
CVS as follows. CVS is a skill that emphasizes creating a single, contrastive and
controlled experiment (a single pair of trials) to determine the effects of a variable (e.g.
Chen & Klahr, 1999; Klahr & Nigam, 2004). Designing controlled experiments, on the
other hand, applies to the collection of an entire dataset during open-ended inquiry (e.g.
with a simulation) and could involve multiple trials and variables.
•
Testing stated hypotheses: This refers to generating data with the intention to support or
refute a previously stated hypothesis about the relationship between an independent
variable and a dependent variable. We track this in addition to designing controlled
experiments for two reasons. First, this skill can be demonstrated separately as
students collect data. Students may attempt to test their hypotheses with confounded
designs, or may design controlled experiments for a hypothesis not explicitly stated.
Second, skill at testing hypotheses may be indicative of students’ successful planning
and monitoring of their inquiry (de Jong, 2006).
It is important to note that students may collect data in many productive or unproductive ways. In
other words, the program does not assume that students collect data by changing only their
hypothesis variable each and every time. For example, a student may run repeated trials to
observe the simulation, change one variable, run a few more repeated trials, change one variable,
etc. As another example, a student may initially run pairwise experiments and then search for
interaction effects. Finally, a student may simply want to explore with the simulation by running
different kinds of trials before collecting more controlled data. The Inq-ITS scoring system aims to
identify skill demonstration even though students may demonstrate many different kinds of
behavior, all of which could lead to generation of useful, unconfounded data for analysis. There
are specific difficulties that have been documented regarding data collection that are also
captured by the system. These include: never changing variables while running trials, running
only a single trial and running repeated trials without changing any variables. We note that
students who never change variables and only run a single trial, by definition, are not designing
controlled experiments.
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Inq-ITS in the Middle School Science Classroom
20
PART 2:
The Virtual Labs
21
General Inquiry Virtual Labs
GENERAL INQUIRY VIRTUAL LABS
Date Available
Flower in Water
Performance-based inquiry skills test in which students
determine how additives (salt, sugar and red dye)
impact petal redness and the flower’s petal loss over
time.
NOW
22
General Inquiry Virtual Labs
Flower in Water
Performance-based inquiry skills test in which students
determine how additives (salt, sugar and red dye) impact petal
redness and the flower’s petal loss over time.
Goal
The goal of the Flower in Water virtual lab is to provide a base-line for student inquiry skills. It is
imperative that students complete the Flower in Water virtual lab first in order to track student growth
goals across the school year or throughout their middle school career.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills, practices, and concepts addressed in Appendix A. They fall under
the Science and Engineering Practices as well as the Cross Cutting Concepts.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students can explore a flower in water. They can investigate whether dye, salt, or sugar
will impact petal color and the flower’s petal loss over time. There are three successive activities, each
with a different stated goal:



Determine how the red dye in the water affects the redness of the petals.
Determine how the salt in the water affects the petal loss.
Determine how the sugar in the water affects the petal loss.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What are you comparing that with?
23
Physical Science Virtual Labs
PHYSICAL SCIENCES VIRTUAL LABS
Date Available
Phase Change
Determine how three factors: size of a container, amount of
ice, and amount of heat affect melting and boiling properties
of ice.
NOW
Free Fall: Energy
Understand the relationship between a ball’s mass, initial and
final kinetic and potential energy, or it’s final speed and
acceleration, when it is dropped from different heights.
NOW
Free Fall: Speed
Understand the relationship between a ball’s mass, its
final speed and acceleration, when it is dropped from
different heights.
NOW
Liquid Density
Learn more about substance properties by seeing if the
shape of the liquid’s container, the amount of liquid, or
the type of liquid (oil or water) impact density.
NOW
Mass & Weight
Simulate what normally cannot be done. Learn how
mass and weight are related by measuring different,
common everyday items on different planets!
NOW
Collisions
Experiment with different masses of balls and angles of
collision to learn about these affect speed and
momentum.
NOW
24
Physical Science Virtual Labs
Phase Change
Determine how three factors: size of a container, amount of
ice, and amount of heat affect melting and boiling properties
of ice.
Goal
The goal of the Phase Change virtual lab is to support student understanding of states of matter as well
as elements, compounds and mixtures.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-PS1:
Matter and its Interactions” and attend to the core idea that pure substances have characteristic
properties and the state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students can explore the phase change from ice to water. They can investigate whether
container size, amount of heat or amount of ice in the beaker can affect the time it takes for the ice to
melt. There are four successive activities, each with a different stated goal:




Determine how the amount of heat affects the boiling point of water
Determine how the size of the container affects the boiling point of ice
Determine how the amount of ice affects the boiling point of water
Determine how the amount of ice affects the melting point of water
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What are you comparing that with?
25
Physical Science Virtual Labs
Free Fall: Energy
Understand the relationship between a ball’s mass, initial and
final kinetic and potential energy when it is dropped from
different heights.
Goal
The goal of the Free Fall: Energy virtual lab is to support student understanding of kinetic, potential, and
mechanical energy. Students explore the effects of the mass of the ball, the height of the drop and the
decorative pattern on the ball on the time it takes for the ball to fall.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-PS3:
Energy” and require students to interpret tabular displays of data on kinetic energy and develop a written
model to describe how potential energy changes at different distances.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students can explore the types of energy involved in dropping a ball from different
heights. There are three successive activities, each with a different stated goal:



Determine how the height of the drop affects the kinetic energy at the lowest point
Determine how the height of the drop affects the potential energy at the highest point
Determine how the mass of the ball affects the mechanical energy at the lowest point
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What are you comparing that with?
26
Physical Science Virtual Labs
Free Fall: Speed
Understand the relationship between a ball’s mass, its final
speed and acceleration, when it is dropped from different
heights.
Goal
The goal of the Free Fall: Speed virtual lab is to support student understanding of speed/velocity, mass,
and acceleration. Students explore the effects of the mass of the ball, the height of the drop and the
decorative pattern on the ball on the time it takes for the ball to fall.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-PS3:
Energy” and require students to interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic
energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
Driving Question
In this virtual lab, students can explore the speed/velocity and acceleration involved in dropping a ball
from different heights. There is one activity, with a stated goal:

Determine how the height of the drop affects the time to drop.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What are you comparing that with?
27
Physical Science Virtual Labs
Liquid Density
Learn more about substance properties by seeing if the shape
of the liquid’s container, the amount of liquid, or the type of
liquid (oil or water) impact density.
Goal
The goal of the Density virtual lab is to support student understanding of mass and density for different
liquids. Students explore the effects of the shape of the container, the amount of liquid, and the type of
liquid on density.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-PS1: Matter and its Interactions” and attend to
the core idea that pure substances have characteristic properties, one of which is density.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students can explore the relationship between mass, density, and type of liquid. There
are three successive activities, each with a different stated goal:



Determine how the amount of the liquid affects the density of the liquid.
Determine how the type of liquid affects the density of the liquid
Determine how the shape of the container affects the density of the liquid
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
The density lab adds a calculator tool students must use as they
conduct experiments in order to find the density of the liquid they use
in their experimental trials. They are reminded that density =
mass/volume. But the extra, actionable step they must take in order
to run trials causes confusion for some. See illustration from the lab
below.
Remind students that the color of the liquid represents the type of
liquid in the simulation.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What are you comparing that with?
The virtual lab calculator works like most typical laptop, iPad or smartphone calculators.
28
Physical Science Virtual Labs
Mass & Weight
Simulate what normally cannot be done. Learn how mass and
weights are related by measuring different, common everyday
items on different planets!
Goal
The goal of the Mass & Weight virtual lab is to support student understanding of the difference between
mass and weight and the effect of gravity on objects.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and
Interactions” and require students to present arguments using evidence to support the claim that
gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students can explore how placing objects on different planets affects their mass and
weight. There are three successive activities, each with a different stated goal:



Determine how the planet I am on affects the weight of the object
Determine how the planet I am on affects the mass of the object
Determine how the object I am measuring affects the weight of the object
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What are you comparing that with?
29
Physical Science Virtual Labs
Collisions
Experiment with different masses of balls and angles of
collision to learn about these affect speed and momentum.
Goal
The goal of the Collisions virtual lab is to support student understanding of the transfer of momentum
between two different balls.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and
Interactions” and require students to apply Newton’s Third Law involving the motion of two colliding
objects.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students can experiment with different masses of balls and angles to learn how they
impact speed and momentum. There are four successive activities, each with a different stated goal:




Determine how the initial speed of the green ball affects the final speed of the green ball
Determine how the initial speed of the red ball affects the total final momentum
Determine how the mass of the red ball affects the total final momentum
Determine how the mass of the red ball affects the final speed of the red ball.
Helpful Hints
Common
Misconceptions
Typical Challenges
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students
Helpful Prompts
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What are you comparing that with?
30
Life Science Virtual Labs
LIFE SCIENCES VIRTUAL LABS
Date Available
Animal Cell Function
Examine an animal cell at the microscopic level. Experiment
to learn how organelles work together to sustain the cell’s
functions.
NOW
Plant Cell Function
Similar to the animal cell, learn how a plant cell’s organelles
support the cell’s basic functions.
NOW
Mutations
Simulate how mutations in one species impacts the diversity
of traits seen in the population.
NOW
Natural Selection
Simulate how different species spread over a region and how
their traits are inherited or may change over long periods of
time. Survival of the fittest rules!
NOW
Predation
Practice working predation and prey relationship by inquiring
about the effects of birth rate and initial population size
resulting in changes in the ecosystem involving seals and
sharks.
Fall ‘15
Ecosystems: Sustainability
Practice working with and reasoning about nonlinear models
by helping to create a sustainable ocean ecosystem for fish,
shrimp and seaweed.
Fall ‘15
Genetics: Bug Breeding
Breed (cross) bugs and use cause-to-effect, and effect-tocause reasoning to learn about dominance, sex-linkage, and
codominance.
Winter ‘16
31
Life Science Virtual Labs
Animal Cell Functions
Examine an animal cell at the microscopic level. Experiment
to learn how organelles work together to sustain the cell’s
functions.
Goal
The goal of the Animal Cell Functions virtual lab is to support student understanding of the relationship
between organelles and their functions within an animal cell.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-LS1:
From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes” and call on students to use a model to
describe the function of a cell as a whole including ways the parts of cells contribute to the function.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students can inquire about the different roles each organelle plays within an animal cell
and how it contributes to the overall health and functionality of the cell. There are six successive activities,
each with a different stated goal:
•
•
•
•
•
•
The cell cannot break down food. Investigate how you can fix this problem.
The cell is storing too many nutrients. Investigate how you can fix this problem.
The golgi body is not receiving enough protein. Investigate how you can fix this problem.
The cell has too much protein. Investigate how you can reduce the amount of protein.
The cell is producing too many ribosomes. Investigate how you can decrease the production of
ribosomes.
The cell is low on energy. Investigate how you can increase the cell’s energy.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
Misunderstanding of which organelle is related to which particular
phenomena/function within the cell.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
32
Life Science Virtual Labs
Plant Cell Functions
Similar to the animal cell, learn how a plant cell’s organelles
support the cell’s basic functions.
Goal
The goal of the Plant Cell Functions virtual lab is to support student understanding of the relationship
between organelles and their functions within a plant cell.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-LS1:
From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes” and call on students to use a model to
describe the function of a cell as a whole including ways the parts of cells contribute to the function.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students can inquire about different roles each organelle plays within a plant cell and
how it contributes to the overall health and functionality of the cell. There are six successive activities,
each with a different stated goal:
•
•
•
•
•
•
The cell is not producing enough food. Investigate how you can fix this problem. The cell is not
producing enough food and energy.
The cell doesn’t have enough room to store nutrients. Investigate how you can fix this problem.
The golgi body is not receiving enough protein. Investigate how you can fix this problem.
The cell has too much protein. Investigate how you can reduce the amount of protein.
The cell is producing too many ribosomes. Investigate how you can decrease the production of
ribosomes.
The cell is low on energy. Investigate how you can increase the cell’s energy.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
Misunderstanding of which organelle is related to which particular
phenomena/function within the cell.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
33
Life Science Virtual Labs
Mutations
Simulate how mutations in one species impacts the diversity
of traits seen in the population.
Goal
The goal of the Mutations virtual lab is to support student understanding of the relationship between trait
diversity and the variation seen in a population.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-LS4:
Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity” and ask students to construct an explanation based on evidence
that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of
surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students explore how variations of traits can appear in a population due to mutations.
There are four successive activities, with a different stated goal for each:
•
•
•
•
Investigate how a fur color mutation influences the presence of green short furred slinquettes.
Investigate how a fur length mutation influences the presence of red, long furred slinquettes.
Investigate how foliage influences the presence of red, short furred slinquettes living in the
environments.
Investigate how temperature influences the presence of green, long furred slinquettes living in
the environments.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
34
Life Science Virtual Labs
Natural Selection
Simulate how different species spread over a region and how
their traits are inherited or may change over long periods of
time. Survival of the fittest rules!
Goal
The goal of the Natural Selection virtual lab is to allow students to investigate how populations of
organisms may change over time, due to different phenomena, namely the effects of natural selection on
the overall populations of organisms.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-LS4:
Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity” and require students to use mathematical representations to
support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in
populations over time.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab, students explore how natural selection leads to the predominance of certain traits in a
population and the suppression of others. Students will discover how both environmental factors and the
appearance of may influence the genetic makeup/appearance of an overall population. There are four
successive activities, each with a different stated goal (and targeted variable):
•
•
•
•
Investigate the optimal amount foliage for the red short furred slinquettes population.
Investigate the optimal amount foliage for the green long furred slinquettes population.
Investigate the optimal temperature for the red long furred slinquettes population.
Investigate the optimal temperature for the green short furred slinquettes population.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
Misunderstanding that organisms choose to adapt and are able to
choose particular physical appearances of abilities.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
35
Life Science Virtual Labs
Predation
Practice working predation and prey relationship by inquiring about the
effects of birth rate and initial population size resulting in changes in the
ecosystem involving seals and sharks.
Goal
The goal of the Predation virtual lab is to support student understanding of nonlinear causal systems
through the interaction of organisms in an aquatic ecosystem.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-LS2:
Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics” and ask students to construct an explanation that
predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore how different population sizes of predators and preys affect the
patterns expressed in the predation cycle. There are four successive activities, each with a different
stated goal (and targeted variable):
• Investigate how the birthrate of sharks affects the predation cycle.
• Investigate how the birthdate of seals affects the predation cycle.
• Investigate how the initial shark population affects the predation cycle.
• Investigate how the initial seal population affects the predation cycle.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
36
Life Science Virtual Labs
Ecosystems
Practice working with and reasoning about nonlinear models
by helping to create a sustainable ocean ecosystem for fish,
shrimp and seaweed.
Goal
The goal of the Ecosystems virtual lab is to support student understanding of sustainability and the
nonlinear causal systems through the interaction of organisms in an aquatic ecosystem.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-LS2:
Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics” and require students to analyze and interpret data to
provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an
ecosystem.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore how fishing rates and population sizes of different organisms affect the
overall sustainability of an ecosystem. There are three successive activities, each with a different stated
goal (and targeted variables):
•
•
•
Investigate how fishing rate influences years of sustainability.
Investigate how initial seaweed population influences the total number of harvested fish.
Investigate how initial fish population influences years of sustainability.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
37
Life Science Virtual Labs
Genetics: Bug Breeding
Breed (cross) bugs and use cause-to-effect, and effect-tocause reasoning to learn about dominance, sex-linkage, and
codominance.
Goal
The goal of the Genetics: Bug Breeding virtual lab is to support student understanding of the cause and
effect relationship between dominance, sex-linkage, co-dominance, and survival.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-LS3:
Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits” and require students to develop and use a model to describe
why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction
results in offspring with genetic variation.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore the cause and effect relationship between dominance, sex-linkage, codominance, and survival. There are five successive activities, each with a different stated goal (and
targeted variable):
• Breed a cage where all the bugs have red bodies.
• Create a hypothesis. Which is dominant: red or blue?
• Cross bugs until you determine which trait is dominant.
• Using your data, select the choices that best describe how body color is inherited.
• Create a Punnett Square.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
The concept of changes of times.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
38
Earth Science Virtual Labs
EARTH SCIENCE VIRTUAL LABS
Date Available
Lunar Phases
Explore how the lunar phases are tied to the orbit of the
moon, as well as how lunar rotation leads to tidal lock.
Seasons
Learn how seasons differ across the equator, and how the
earth’s tilt and the day of the year impact seasons.
Solar Eclipses
Examine how solar eclipses happen, and how scientists
predict where and when solar eclipses can be observed.
Lunar Eclipses
Examine how lunar eclipses happen, and how scientists
predict where and when lunar eclipses can be observed.
Fall ‘15
Fall ’15.
Fall ‘15
Fall ‘15
Plate Tectonics
Change different geological factors to see how these affect
the layers of the earth, convection processes, and plate
convergence and divergence.
Winter ‘16
Human Activity
Inquire as to how changes in human population and
consumption of natural resources impacts the rise in global
temperatures
Winter ‘16
39
Earth Science Virtual Labs
Lunar Phases
Explore how the lunar phases are tied to the orbit of the
moon, as well as how lunar rotation leads to tidal lock.
Goal
The goal of the Lunar Phases virtual lab is to support student understanding of the factors that result in
the phases of the moon.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-ESS1:
Earth’s Place in the Universe” and require students to develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon
system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore how lunar phases are impacted by three factors including: Earth’s
orbital speed, the moon’s orbital speed, and an individual’s location on Earth. There are three successive
activities, each with a different stated goal (and targeted variables):
•
•
•
Determine the percent of the visible moon illuminated changes
Determine how the duration of the lunar orbit changes
Determine how the percent of the moon facing the sun changes
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
40
Earth Science Virtual Labs
Seasons
Learn how seasons differ across the equator, and how the
earth’s tilt and the day of the year impact seasons.
Goal
The goal of the Seasons virtual lab is to learn more about factors that affect the seasonal changes in
temperature on earth.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-ESS1:
Earth’s Place in the Universe” and require students to develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon
system to describe the cyclic patterns of Earth’s seasons.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore how changes in axial tilt, time of year, and location on Earth impact
Earth’s seasons. There are two successive activities, each with a different stated goal (and targeted
variables):
•
•
•
Determine how the intensity of the sun’s rays changes
Determine how the average temperature changes
Determine how Earth’s distance from the sun changes
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
The concept of changes of times.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
41
Earth Science Virtual Labs
Solar Eclipses
Examine how solar eclipses happen, and how scientists
predict where and when solar eclipses can be observed.
Goal
The goal of the Solar Eclipses virtual lab is to support student understanding of the relationship between
the orbital planes of Earth and the moon and how they create Solar Eclipses.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-ESS1:
Earth’s Place in the Universe” and require students to develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon
system to describe the cyclic patterns of eclipses of the sun and moon.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore how lunar phases are impacted by three factors including: Earth’s
orbital speed, the moon’s orbital speed, and an individual’s location on Earth. There are two successive
activities, each with a different stated goal (and targeted variables):
•
•
Determine the affect the angle of the moons orbit around the Earth has on the frequency of solar
eclipses
Determine the affect the speed of lunar orbit has on the frequency of solar eclipses.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
42
Earth Science Virtual Labs
Lunar Eclipses
Examine how lunar eclipses happen, and how scientists
predict where and when lunar eclipses can be observed.
Goal
The goal of the Lunar Eclipses virtual lab is to support student understanding of the relationship between
the orbital planes of Earth and the moon and how they create Lunar Eclipses.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-ESS1:
Earth’s Place in the Universe” and require students to develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon
system to describe the cyclic patterns of eclipses of the sun and moon.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore how lunar phases are impacted by three factors including: Earth’s
orbital speed, the moon’s orbital speed, and an individual’s location on Earth. There are two successive
activities, each with a different stated goal (and targeted variables):
•
•
•
Determine the effect the moon’s position during eclipse, in relation the Earth, has on the type of
lunar eclipses seen
Determine the affect the angle of the moons orbit around the Earth has on the frequency of lunar
eclipses
Determine the affect the speed of lunar orbit has on the frequency of lunar eclipses
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
43
Earth Science Virtual Labs
Plate Tectonics
Change different geological factors to see how these affect
the layers of the earth, convection processes, and plate
convergence and divergence.
Goal
The goal of the Plate Tectonics virtual lab is to support student understanding of the factors that result in
plate convergence and divergence.
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-ESS2:
Earth’s Systems” and require students to develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and
the flow of energy that drives this process as well as construct an explanation based on evidence for how
geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore how plate tectonics are impacted by three factors including: Earth’s
layers, convection processes, and plate movement. Targeted activities, each with a different stated goal
(and targeted variables), will be available when this lab is released.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
44
Earth Science Virtual Labs
Human Activity
Human Activity
Inquire as to how changes in human population and
consumption of natural resources impacts the rise in global
temperatures
Goal
The goal of the Human Activity virtual lab is to support student understanding of how increases in human
population impact natural resource consumption and global temperatures
Standards Alignment
Performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards that are addressed by this lab are
included in the NGSS table of skills addressed in Appendix A. They fall under the standard “MS-ESS3:
Earth and Human Activity” and require students to construct an argument supported by evidence for how
increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems
as well as being able to ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global
temperatures over the past century.
Driving Questions
In this virtual lab students explore how natural resource consumption and global temperatures are
impacted by human activity. Targeted activities, each with a different stated goal (and targeted variables),
will be available when this lab is released.
Helpful Hints
Typical Challenges
Helpful Prompts
Knowledge of the meaning of “increases” vs. “decreases” particularly
among ELL students.
The concept of changes of times.
What is the goal?
What do you think will happen?
What happened when you changed X?
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PART 3:
Additional Resources
46
Additional Resources
On-Line Resources
Developing Assessment for the Next Generation Science Standards: This
National Academies Press resource book develops an approach to science
assessment to meet the vision of science education for the future as it has been
elaborated in A Framework for K-12 Science Education (Framework) and Next
Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These documents are brand new and the
changes they call for are barely under way, but the new assessments will be
needed as soon as states and districts begin the process of implementing the
NGSS and changing their approach to science.
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Position Statement Scientific
Inquiry: The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recommends that all
K–16 teachers embrace scientific inquiry and is committed to helping educators
make it the centerpiece of the science classroom. The use of scientific inquiry will
help ensure that students develop a deep understanding of science and scientific
inquiry.
NGSS Middle School Evidence Statements: The evidence statements were
designed to articulate how students can use the practices to demonstrate their
understanding of the DCIs through the lens of the CCCs, and thus, demonstrate
proficiency on each PE.
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Additional Resources
References
The most up-to-date reference list of articles and reports related to Inq-ITS can be found
on the SLINQ website under the Awards and Press Releases tab and the Publications
tab.
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Appendices
49
Appendix A
APPENDIX A: Virtual Labs, NGSS, and Common Core Alignment
Virtual Lab
Common Core ELA
Common Core Math
General Inquiry
Please note that the
following ELA
standards apply to all
of the activities and
are listed here for
simplicities sake.
Please note that the
following Math
standards apply to
all of the activities
and are listed here
for simplicities sake.
Flower in Water
1-8
1,2
1-8
1,2,5,7
Physical Science
Phase Change
PS1-4
Free Fall- Energy
PS3-5
1-8
1,2,5
Free Fall- Speed
PS3-1
1-8
1,2,5
Density
PS1-2
1-8
1,2
Mass & Weight
PS2-4
1-8
1,2,3
Collisions
PS2-1
1-8
1,2,3,4,5
Animal Cell Functions
LS 1-2
1-2,4,6-8
1,2,3,4,6,7
Plant Cell Functions
LS 1-2
1-2,4,6-8
1,2,3,4,6,7
Mutations
LS4-4
1-8
1,2,4,6,7
Natural Selection
LS4-6
1-8
1,2,4,6,7
Predation
LS2-2
1-2,4,6-8
1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Ecosystems
LS2-1
1-2,4,6-8
1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Genetics: Bug Breeding
LS3-2
1-8
1,2
Lunar Phases
ESS1-1
1-8
1,2,3,4
Seasons
ESS1-1
1-8
1,2,3,4
Solar Eclipses
ESS1-1
1-8
1,2,3,4
Lunar Eclipses
ESS1-1
1-8
1,2,3,4
Plate Tectonics
ESS2-1&2
1-8
1,2,4,7
Human Activity
ESS3-4&5
1-8
1,2,4,7
 LITERACY.RST.6-8.3
 LITERACY.RST.6-8.4
 6-8.WHST.1
 6-8.WHST.2
 6-8.WHST.4
 6-8.WHST.7
 6-8.WHST.10
 6-8.MP.1
 6-8.MP.2
 6-8.MP.4
 6-8.MP.5
 6-8.MP.8
Life Science
Earth Science
50