The value of “Real

Research”

Glen GilchristSTL Science, Newport High School

Research...

“The very purpose of research is to do something no one has done before”

Oliver Johnson – Bristol University to PhD conference

Self evident – but not what we actually do with learners in the class room

Pseudocontext - Dan Meyer (

http://blog.mrmeyer.com/)

Translation:

You catch a pike but the scales are broken. The pike weighs two kilograms plus half its weight. How much does it weigh?

Solution

45.0

2

25.0

25.0

5.02

x

x

x

xx

xx

Pseudocontext

context that is flatly untrue or implausible: “John and Ceri are discussing their experiment. John thinks that he has made it a fair test by repeating his results, Ceri thinks he is wrong. Who is right and why?

Imagine you are describing a CAT to an alien......

context that is irrelevant: Bill investigates the effect of the enzyme catalase. He uses the enzyme to break down hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water. He measures the rate of the reaction by timing how long it takes to collect 10

cm3 of oxygen. He repeats the reaction at different pH values. The table shows his results.

All 5 marks are to do with the table ONLY

Classic PseducontextRates of reaction

Classic PseudocontextRates of reaction

Reaction of marble chips and hydrochloric acid

Lovely experiment, lots of scientific principals Surface area, concentration, temperature, skills

100% Pseduocontext When will a student ever come across this in the

real world?

If they really want to know the answer, Google or Wikipedia will provide it

Shell strength of Helix Aspersa as a function of rain acid

ContextMr Gilchrist on camping holiday stayed next to a snail farm. It rained constantly and as we had been studying acid rain, it made me think ;“Should snail farmers be worried about acid rain?”

InvestigationDoes the pH of rain change the strength of snail shells?

Context

Background research Snail shells made from calcium carbonate in the form of

aragonite or calcite, bound together with a protein outer layer to reduce solubility (Google, Wikipedia)

What research has already been done? Affects of minerals in soil on strength, geographical

variation and trends over time. No one seems to have investigated acid rain on shell strength. (Google, University Library)

Would anyone be interested?• Class wrote to snail farmers and got a positive response.

Context

What to investigate Different strengths of acid (Molarity / pH) Change in mass after fixed time Change in strength after fixed time

How Science Works Fairness, reliability, repeatability, accuracy,

meaningfulness

Back to Pseudocontext We are essentially investigating concentration

of acid and reaction rate

Context

Acid rain “zone”

Conclusion(s)

Over the range of natural acid rain pH, shell strength varies by up to 15%

Mass reduction is similar

The more concentrated the acid, the more the mass / strength falls – the quicker the reaction

Sent to the British Mollusc Society!

Conclusions (Pedagogy)

Abandon “pseudocontext” Students can see through it

Let students really research something

Set realistic problems Learn something new

The value of “Real

Research”

Glen GilchristSTL Science, Newport High School