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Investigating
what the subject of science is about? By:
Kevin McColgan
INTRODUCTION You are beginning your
journey into the world of science. For
some of you this may be you first opportunity to learn about what the subject
of science is all about. For others science may be an ongoing and life long
interest. Science however means
different things to all sorts of people. In fact even what science is and how
one goes about investigating things is open to debate. Your teacher’s definition of science may be
different from yours however to be able to study the subject we need to have
some common understandings. How does
science start? In its most fundamental
form the subject of science needs to start with a question. Think about these things: (Do you know the
answers) Why are the planets round? Why not Square? Why
are some peppers hot? Why
do you Laugh? What purpose does it
serve? Why
are some people ticklish while some are not? These questions may seem
unimportant but they are questions and some scientist has investigated the
answers. Who is a scientist? Do you
need college degrees and years of class work to understand science? Being a
sixth grader in a science class are you considered a scientist? Again this may be open to debate. In this webquest
we are going to look at what science was to two different
scientist/inventors. You are also
going to develop you definition of what science is as a student of science.
THE TASK
In order to begin to
understand science we will take a look at two scientist/inventors. The first you have likely heard of his name
is Thomas Edison. The second
scientist/inventor you likely have not heard of his name is Nikola Tesla. Each
of these scientists have influenced your life and you are likely not aware of
it. In this webquest
you will be first investigating the lives of these two men. While looking
into their scientific accomplishments you should keep in mind “ What did science mean to this scientist?” You should
also be reading about each scientist and what you feel are some of the
profound creations of the inventor. As, you read about the two
scientists you need to always be thinking about what your class group’s
definition of science is. It may
change as you read and learn more. While you are creating and refining your
own definition of “What is Science”.
Your group of up to two partners will be creating a poster. This poster may be created in any computer
format you wish this may include PowerPoint, word, publisher or FrontPage.
This poster must include your group’s definition of science that you have
written. The poster must also define a definition of science, as it would relate
to Tesla and Edison. What your group feels the definition of science was from
these two inventors. Ask yourself, If I walked up to Tesla or Edison and
asked them “What is you definition of science?” how do your group think they
would respond?
THE
PROCESS
definition
of science. Be sure to highlight many (at least 10 combinded)
of the greater accomplishments of each scientist. It would also be interesting to describe inventions
that maybe one of your group members has built or
thought of. WEB RESOURCESFollow these web
links in this order. You may be required to read the entire site or just skim
as needed. These sites help you formulate your ideas and create your records page.
NIKOLA TESLA SITES
Read this site
thoroughly
NIKOLA TESLA Forgotten Scientist Read this site thoroughly
NIKOLA TESLA PATENT COLLECTION Skim TESLA MEMORIAL SOCIETY Skim for ideas Skim A bit technical
THOMAS
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Read this site thoroughly
THOMAS
EDISON AMERICAN INVENTOR
Read this site thoroughly
EDISON NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE EDISON MUSEUM THOMAS
EDISON PAPERS
Skim for ideas Skim Skim
A bit technical
GRADE
SCORING
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10pts.
10pts.
10pts.
10pts.
10pts. |
VERY GOOD JOB
|
GOOD |
AVERAGE JOB |
BELOW AVERAGE JOB |
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All criteria/rules from webquest are followed exactly as was spelled out. Final
end project was done to high quality expectations. Project is of above average
quality. Students
have made a good faith effort to produce thought ideas and insight into the
task. The group has displayed
thoughtfulness. Group
has used all class time well. Group
has read all selected webpage resources. |
Most criteria/rules from webquest are followed. Some rules may have not been followed exactly. Final
end project was done to high quality expectations. Project is of average/ above average
quality. Students
have made a good faith effort to produce thoughtful ideas and insight into
the task. The group has displayed thoughtfulness Group
has used all class time well. Group
has read all selected webpage resources. Sometimes skimming over details. |
Not all criteria from webquest followed Final
end project has portions done but is incomplete. Students
have shown little effort in analyzing ideas and thoughts. The group
displayed little thoughtfulness. Group
has used some but not all class time fully. Group
made marginal effort at reading webpages fully. |
Little
to no criteria from webquest is followed. Final
end project has hardly any portions and is totally incomplete. Students
have shown no effort in analyzing ideas and thoughts. The group has displayed
little or no thoughtfulness. Group
has used no class time. Group
has made no effort at reading webpages fully. |
