Baseline Science (Room T-247), Instructor: Jim Sinex

Welcome to Biology at Tucson High School. You’ve come through a great deal to get to this level in your education and you will (with effort) get through this course and onto the to the next level as well. Colleges and Universities throughout the country require 3 years of lab sciences and it is important that you end this year with a willingness to go to the next level. The THMS Science Department would like you to take at least one science class per year. This course is based upon standards proposed by the National Science Foundation, it will also comply with Arizona State Standards for Science and the Curriculum Standards of the Tucson Unified School District.

In order to facilitate a good working relationship in the classroom it is important to set a few ground rules. You’ll find that in order to work well within this classroom you’ll need to come to class on time, with an “engaged” frame of mind and a ready imagination. You will also need to work well together and separately from your classmates.

An inquiry-based classroom often has a more freewheeling atmosphere. Many students find that this atmosphere makes it difficult to remain concentrated on a specific task. Nevertheless, this is an atmosphere that has been shown to work best for teaching science and relating your education to the real world. Science, after all, is an inquiry-based field of study. You’ll find as you look around that students who are doing the best work are getting the best grade and those students are paying attention to detail, working methodically and are generally behaving in an “on-task” manner. Your science classroom is a place to learn about the world that surrounds you. The study of science is important and deserves proper respect. So, think of your classroom as a formal place where work is done. It's not that we won't have fun while learning. The opposite is more true, in that we can't really have fun learning in an undisciplined atmosphere.

Inquiry-based science education is not a process that figuratively throws a student into the lab unguided. The method gives various amounts of freedom in the learning process to allow students to discover scientific principles for themselves. It is said that if a teacher tells you something the information is basically owned by that teacher and you are in their debt for the knowledge. In an inquiry-based classroom the student owns the understanding of the principles discovered, because they've found the understanding of these same scientific principles for themselves. Making everything in the classroom inquiry-based is improbable in the TUSD system where students can often shuffle around and come from a variety of science classroom situations. It is also true that sometimes you just have to tell students how things work. Inquiry-based Science Education, though, is the best goal because in the end it is the one set of methods that has the data that gives us evidence that it is the best way to bring full understanding of important concepts.

(Reprint from The Science Teacher -- October 2005 (Rezba, Auldridge and Rhea -- 1999)

Level	Inquiry Level Description and Examples
1	Confirmation -- Students confirm a principle through an activity in which the results are known in advance. "In this investigation you will confirm that the rate of a chemical reaction increases as the temperature of the reacting materials increases. You will use effervescent antacid tablets to verify this principle. Using the following procedure, record the results as indicated and answer the questions at the end of the activity" (Here you are given the question, methods and solution to the problem. --JS--)
2	Structured Inquiry -- Student's investigate a teacher-presented question through a prescribed procedure. "In this investigation you will determine the relationship between temperature and the reaction rate of effervescent antacid tablets and water. You will use effervescent antacid tablets and water of varying temperatures. Using the following procedure, record the results as indicated and answer the questions at the end of the activity." (Here you are given the question and methods while the conclusion is yours to determine. --JS--)
3	Guided Inquiry -- Students investigate a teacher-presented question using student designed/selected procedures. "Design an investigation to answer the question: What effect will water temperature have on the rate at which an effervescent antacid tablet will react? Develop each component of the investigation including a hypothesis, procedures, data analysis and conclusions. Implement your procedure only when it is approved by your teacher." (Here you are given the question while the methods of investigation is guided and the conclusion is yours to determine. --JS--)
4	Open Inquiry -- Students investigate topic-related questions that are student formulated through student designed/selected procedures. "Design an investigation to explore and research a chemistry topic related to the concepts we have been studying during the current the current unit on chemical reactions. Implement your procedure only when it has been approved by your teacher." ( Here you are given the general area of study while the question, methods (guided) and conclusion are your to determine. --JS--)

Grading Scale:

Like many other classrooms you’ve been in, grades will be determined by a percentage basis. Your performance in the categories stated above will be used to compile a quarterly score. These scores will be graded as follows:

Percentage Grade: 90 – 100% = A, 80 – 89% = B, 70 – 79% = C, 60 – 69% D, Below 60% = F
(for more information, see Grading Information)

NOTE: You might notice that 60% of your grade is determined by the work that you do and your attention to it. The examination portion of your grade will not determine whether you pass, but how you pass.

Your Lab Notebook

We will be keeping a lab notebook in this class. This notebook will include material provided, your notes and graded material. Also your Inquiry Investigation results will be kept in this notebook. Your notebook will be graded regularly for organization, neatness and class-note content. This counts as an Individual Project Performance Grade (IPP).

Missed Classes

If you miss a class, then you’ll need to depend on your lab team or other students to supply you with information about what you might have missed. Conference Period opportunities will be given for missed grading opportunities within reason. Also, each day that you arrive on time or have an excused absence you will receive an "In Your Seat" Bonus of 2 points (IPP). At the end of each quarter that will add up to nearly 50 points which is equivalent to a weekly examination grade.

The graph to the right shows the dot-plot distribution comparing unexcused absences to letter grades for students during the Spring of 2006. This clear distribution showes that students who grade well tend to attend class. This may seem simplistic, but you can see that often this simple tid-bit sinks in too late.

Tardies

Getting to class on time sets the tone for understanding. Though a tardy arrival could let you finish your conversation at the expense of just a few minutes of class, data shows that it actually does effect your grade.

The graph to the right shows the dot-plot distribution comparing unexcused tardies to letter grade in students during the Spring of 2006. You can see that though you can grade poorly with no unexcused tadies, in becomes increasingly difficult to do well with a large number of unexcused tardies.

Academic Integrity

You know, I just hate this part. I wish that I could leave the academic code to the honor system, but every year I find violations that damage the learning processes of the student and their peers. Because of the real need for honesty I’ll take the liberty of being frank (read blunt).

I feel that cheating is basically intellectual cowardice. In a science classroom, the problem is amplified because scientific endeavor relies on the integrity of everyone involved. So, simply realize that the zeroing of an assignment will only be the beginning of the disciplinary actions given to any with a lax morality, who steal or sabotage other peoples work. Be courageous, safe and stay out of trouble. We’ve got work to do.

Rules of the Classroom Act in a safe and predictable manner Respect yourself and others Be responsible to your own education Listen when your Teacher or other supervisor speaks (This could easily be important to your safety) This classroom is equipped with laboratory hardware and that means that bad management can lead to dangerous situations. Act accordingly. Food and drink are not permitted except water in plastic bottles. There may be times that water is not permitted also. Pagers and phones that are heard will be confiscated, so put you pager on stun. The English system of measurement is BANNED. The THMS and TUSD Disciplinary System will be fully enforced ASU Gear? Get Real. I, the Teacher, can and will make more rules as the year goes by. Above all, act honorably Along with all that, have a great year in Science at Tucson High School!

Work, as always, in Progress