How does Scientific Inquiry through Plants (Sip3) work?
The Scientific Inquiry through Plants (Sip3) program integrates science inquiry curricula with online scientific mentorship--and delivers both to your classroom via the World Wide Web.
Sip3 inquiry units are designed to integrate with classroom learning and meet national standards. The units can supplement or replace current modules used to teach core concepts. Each inquiry unit is structured around a hands-on/minds-on inquiry activity that allows students to explore core biology concepts and develop research, problem-solving, and communication skills, while deepening their understanding of the nature of science. Inquiry-based instruction can be implemented in diverse ways to meet the basic tenets that students engage in doing, thinking, and reasoning activities to ask and answer questions. Therefore, the units are also designed to be highly adaptable to your classroom needs. We offer suggestions for implementing guided and open-ended inquiry projects. Choose a level of structure that you judge will work for your class. The materials may be used as written or viewed as a blueprint.
How does Sip3work in the classroom?
To get the most out of this experience, projects should run at least two weeks. During a Sip3 session:
Classrooms (from middle school through college) around the country explore a common topic.
Students work in small cooperative groups to investigate a research question, with guidance from their teachers and scientist mentors.
Team members brainstorm together and make team decisions about their research question, plan for answering the question, research predictions, and interpretation.
Each team member keeps a research journal and records his/her own data.
Students upload their research journals and discuss their observations and evidence along with their data.
Students communicate with peer teams and scientist mentors about research ideas and progress.
Plant science mentors facilitate student thinking and provide insight to what scientists know and how they think.
How does the Sip3 online learning environment work?
Sip3 software has been designed to support the inquiry process and scientific dialogue among students, teachers, and scientist mentors. The online environment makes student thinking visible and and provides rich opportunities of formative assessment. Through online dialogues and science journals, students develop develop scientific reasoning and communication skills. Students "think aloud" in blogs and discuss their observations and evidence along with their data, graphs, and other graphics. Scientists facilitate student thinking and provide insight into what scientists know and how they think. Students and scientists have opportunities to ask questions of each other. This dialogue encourages critical thinking, evaluating evidence, cooperative learning, and reflection.
Posting student work online for feedback can be highly motivating to students. All student work is archived on the server, so that students and teachers can browse completed projects.
An online forum for educators and scientists mentors enables them to easily exchange ideas and information; thereby enhancing their roles of facilitating student learning.
How to get ready for the Sip3 online inquiry project?
- Divide class into teams of 3-5 students per team
- Collect materials not provided (e.g., 1 growth chamber per student for seed inquiry)
- Ensure that students will have Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to prepare journals, graphs, and posters
- Ensure that students will have Internet access to upload their research and communicate with peers and scientist mentors
Send the list of complete student names to sip3@botany.org
What does Sip3 provide to teachers before the project?
- Copies of inquiry materials (and links to these online resources)
- Pre- and post-test assessments
- Permission forms
- Login information for the secure web site
- Seeds for the Wonder of Seeds inquiry
What happens next?
- We will match your student teams with scientist mentors
- Your students will register and join their team on the secure web site
- We will introduce the scientist mentors to you via the teacher/scientist forum on the web site
- We will introduce the scientist mentors to your student teams via their web pages
- Prepare your students for the inquiry with background information on the topic and how to conduct and report sound science experiments
- Engage the students in the topic with an initial exploration (see suggestions in the Teacher's Guide)
- Encourage your students to post information and comments on the web regularly, as scientist mentors will be updated daily on the student contributions to the web site
Visit the How to Participate page for information on how to register and prepare for the project. Visit the Teachers' Pages for more information on Site Security, Requirements, Setting up Access, Using Sip Effectively, and FAQs for more information.
Please send questions, comments, and suggestions to sip3@botany.org.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Enjoy Science!
