Brainball

Teaching Inquiry Science as a Team Sport

By (author) Mickey Kolis, Todd Lenz, Benjamin H. Kolis

Publication date:

18 March 2014

Length of book:

196 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

237x160mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781475808872

What is a game? You might think of cards and dice, computers, or sports. You might even think of music or theater as games. But what about Science? Games have rules, players, and objectives, but, maybe most importantly, games are fun. People play games because they think they are “fun,” and sometimes they even learn some important lessons. Classrooms are intended to teach important lessons, and sometimes people think they are fun (not nearly often enough).

Brainball (Science Edition) is designed to combine the best of both worlds! Science Inquiry is the game and learning the intended outcome! Veteran science teachers Kolis and Lenz provide small step-by-step 5E’s lessons and an inquiry-based sequence to guide you through that first learning experience so that you too can play the game of Brainball (Science Edition)!

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction

Section 1: Brainball!
Chapter 1: Brainball (Science Edition) – The Point of the Game is Learning
Chapter 2: The Big Ideas: Product, Process, and Community aligned with Purpose
Chapter 3: Brainball (SE) Beliefs (Dispositions)
Chapter 4: Brainball (SE) Key Concepts (Knowledge)
Chapter 5: Brainball (SE) Skills
Section 2: Five Coaching Tips
Chapter 6: Tip 1: Keep the End-in-Mind
Chapter 7: Tip 2: Play the Game
Chapter 8: Tip 3: Competitions as Evaluations
Chapter 9: Tip 4: Sequences matter
Chapter 10: Tip 5: Explicit Communications
Section 3: Day-to-Day Lesson Plans: Brainball Illuminated
Lesson 1: Perceptions
Lesson 2: Observations
Lesson 3: Patent Description
Lesson 4: Problem Statements
Lesson 5: Picking Problem Statements
Lesson 6: Gathering Information
Lesson 7: Gathering Information
Lesson 8: Hypothesis
Lesson 9: Null Hypothesis
Lesson 10: Experimental Procedure
Lesson 11: Experimental Design
Lesson 12: Presenting Data (Tables)
Lesson 13: Presenting Data (Graphs)
Lesson 14: Analyzing Data
Lesson 15: Writing a Conclusion
Section 4: A More Integrated Example!
Chapter 11: All together now!
Conclusion

Appendix A: Community Roles
Appendix B: S.C.A.M.P.E.R.
Appendix C: Shifting Points of View Story
Appendix D: Circle of Power and Respect
Appendix E: Why Observations Matter / SRP Chart
Appendix F: Recipe for Catalase Solution
Appendix G: Idea Evaluator
Appendix H: Checklist for Science Lab
Appendix I: Bad Directions
Appendix J: Data Table Assignments
Appendix K: Graph Assignments
Appendix L: Choosing the Appropriate Statistical Test
Appendix M: Social Contracts
Appendix N: Dialogue
Appendix O: Team / Community Building Books

Combining the best perspectives from two worlds--team sports and science classrooms--Brainball offers a fresh perspective on the learning and teaching of science. The authors contend that not unlike real science, games are the transformation of theory into practice; they require a clear goal, are dynamic, and yet have a clear set of rules. The ultimate aim of the so-called game is science learning, and Brainball is a teaching methodology that embraces the complexity of science education and brings it to life. Sections 2 and 3, along with the numerous appendixes, will appeal to novice teachers, as they offer straightforward guidance, including a chapter on assessment along with series of lesson plans that present a scripted narrative to help instructors immediately bring these ideas to the classroom setting. . . .[T]his one offers easily accessible, down-to-earth strategies for science teachers across the K-12 continuum. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate, research, and professional collections.