What is a Scientist?

In an effort to get to know one another and to learn how to work in a team, we began our first inquiry question - What is a scientist?

This question became a firestorm of new questions:
What do scientist do?
What kind of scientist are there?
Can anyone be a scientist?
How so scientists learn about things?

Our discussions led us in many directions with differing ideas.  We decided the only way to really understand our questions is to begin the year doing the work of a scientist.  For the upcoming weeks we will be involved with the The Private Eye method that engages us in the skills of observation and thinking by analogy.  The purpose of The Private Eye is to "develop the interdisciplinary mind: Hands-on thinking skills, creativity, literacy, and scientific literacy."

On Friday, we organized our Private Eye notebooks and learned how to use a loupe, with the help of Mrs. Giese and Mrs. Piker.  We learned about 5 basic patterns in nature and sorted our nature objects into pattern groups.  The room was a buzz with what the students were discovering under the loupes.  Spirals, branching, explosions, spheres, and packing patterns popped in front of our eyes.

Beginning next week we will work on writing analogies and drawing.  My goal for the students is to develop the main habits of the artist/scientist:  developing a sense of wonder in looking closely at an object and thinking by analogy.  I am also looking to develop an understanding of best effort, focus, and following directions.  Our student bloggers will be posting our work and progress.