A Pioneering Way to Engage Students
in Learning While Pursuing Answers
to Ill-Structured Problems
This information was developed/assembled
by La Nelle Harvey 93rd Street School,
Los Angeles, CA. For more information
contact: La Nelle Harvey or Patricia Thompson
USC Center For Craniofacial Molecular
Biology 323-442-3169 email: pathomps@zygote.hsc.usc.edu
A. May have one/multiple parts
2. FACTS - Identify what they already know from the problem
3. IDEAS - Making hypothesis based on that knowledge
4. Identify LEARNING NEEDS - stated as questions
A. Resources
B. Plan and carry out investigations
C. Consult experts
5. Revisit hypotheses with new knowledge gained from investigation- -generate new ideas/hypotheses - RECYCLE THROUGH PROCESS
6. Complete the process for each part of the scenario
SCREAMING SKULLS
Part 1
Bob, a first year college student, could not concentrate on the article about the revisions to be made at the new Science Discovery Museum. He had his own problem to solve. He had arrived at 5:00 pm to supervise the evening, after-hours shift at the Discovery Center. While surveying each room to determine how much re-arranging his crew would need to do to prepare for the next day's visitors, he had noticed a pile of skulls lying on a table under empty shelves in the Animal Characteristics room. How did they get there? He couldn't remember having seen them at any time before, but he knew they had to be back in place before 7:00 am when his boss, Ruth Canine arrived. She had already given him an unsatisfactory on his evaluation and threatened to fire him if he didn't improve.
Bob was worried. He had little
knowledge in biology or zoology. How could he distinguish and label
the skulls based on their characteristics? While drumming his fingers
on the desk, he suddenly remembered that his young sister, Phoebe, had
studied animal characteristics in her 5th grade class and had won a first
place prize in the city-wide science fair. Maybe she could help.
It was worth a try. He picked-up the phone, called his mother, who
along with Phoebe agreed that Phoebe may be the solution. Phoebe
arrived 30 minutes later and suggested that they start with the teeth.
SCREAMING SKULLS
Part 2
By 8:30 that night Phoebe had classified the skulls as either, carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores. She had also identified the nocturnal and diurnal animals using the placement of the eye socket. Based on the evidence she had gathered Phoebe and her brother created labels for each of the skulls including the species name and placed the skulls on the shelves.
The next evening, Bob received a memorandum
from Ruth Canine congratulating him on his fine work. Ruth Canine praised
Bob for taking the initiative, and now that she was aware of Bob's "expertise"
in this area, would recommend Bob for one of the Jr. Science positions
at the center. She accounted his previous difficulties to having been assigned
to the wrong job position. Apparently, the skulls were part of a new exhibit
planned for the Discovery Center and had only arrived on the Saturday before.
Bob and Phoebe had done the work scheduled for that Monday. After reading
the letter, Bob just groaned.
Screaming Skulls
Concepts learned through this PBL case.
2. Diurnal animals are active during the day.
3. Placement of the eye socket can indicate whether an animal is nocturnal or diurnal, predator or prey.
4. Peripheral vision (eyes to the side) are required by prey.
5. Large eye sockets aid in night vision
6. Predators require frontal vision.
7. Predators are animals that eat other animals.
8. Other animals eat prey.
9. Carnivores have sharp teeth that are good for tearing meat.
10. Carnivores are meat eaters.
11. Herbivores are plant eaters.
12. Omnivores eat both plants and animals.
13. Organisms are living things.
14. Plants and animals are organisms.
15. Niche is an organism's role or function within a biological community: Producer; primary or secondary consumer; decomposer; scavenger
Activities:
1. Binary Classification System.
2. Biological drawings.
3. Skulls: hands-on investigations
4. Study and create food chains.
5. Study and create food webs.
6. Study and create food pyramids.
SKULLS
Pretest/Post Test
1. What is a carnivore?
2. What is an omnivore?
3. What is a herbivore?
Study the picture below.
4. Is this animal a carnivore, a herbivore, or an omnivore?
5. How can you tell?
6. What is a nocturnal animal?
7. What is a diurnal animal?
Study the pictures in A and B below.
8. Which animal is nocturnal?
9. How do you know?
10. How does placement of the eye sockets help an animal?
11. Study the pictures A, B, C, and D. Write three characteristics for each. Use the binary classification system (on the next page) to organize your data.
Observable Properties Yes No
Use the nut on the paper towel on your desk to answer 12, 13, and 14.
12. Make a qualitative observation about the nut. Record it on the line.
13. Make a quantitative observation about the nut. Record it on the line.
14. Make a biological drawing of the nut in the space below.
15. Study the picture. Follow
the directions on the next page. This picture is an example of a
Write the letter which is next to a:
16. consumer
17. primary consumer
18. secondary consumer
19. producer
20. What would happen if you removed the fish from the picture?
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21. Place the following objects in
their correct place on the energy pyramid: rabbit/ decomposers; wolf; plant.
22. Name a decomposer
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23. Study the food chain below. If
you removed the mice, what would happen to the plants?
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24. Study the food chain? If you removed
the mice, what would happen to the coyote?
25. What is the difference between a food web and a food chain?
Leroy, Phoebe, and Miguel found skulls and jawbones in the Shell Oil Field. They noticed differences in each of the skulls or jawbones. They wondered what factors they could use to determine which animals they were from. What did each animal eat? Were they prey or predator? Were they nocturnal or diurnal? They chose the following variables to analyze.
a.
b.
c.
Classifying and Inferring
Skull Choice
CONSTRUCTING A HYPOTHESIS
How does body-structure determine an animal’s niche?
Variable 1:
Hypothesis 1A
Hypothesis 1B
Hypothesis 1C
Variable 2:
Hypothesis 2A
Hypothesis 2B
Hypothesis 2C
Variable 3:
Hypothesis 3A
Hypothesis 3B
Hypothesis 3C
PROCESS SKILLS AND ASSESSMENT
1. Observation
A. Performance Task
2. Communication
A. Paper Pencil Checklist
3. Classifying
A. Performance Task
B. Binary Classification System
C. Multi-Stage Classification System
4. Inferring
A. Performance Task
5. Constructing
Hypothesis
A. Interview
B. Portfolio
6. Individual
Performance Within
A. Group
1. Rating Form
| Student Assessment
Activity: |
Key: 3 (frequently)
N (needs encouragement S (needs personalized attention) Date: |
PROCESS SKILL BEHAVIORS - TEACHER CHECKLIST
| This observational checklist can be used by teachers as a tool to assess the acquisition and use of specific skills. | ||||
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@USC CCMB 1996 - OK to copy for educational purposes
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STUDENT SELF-ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE WITHIN A GROUP
How did I do?. Rate yourself first - and then ask each person in your group to also rate your group behavior. They can use the column (What my group members see) on this same form.
Student Name Activity Date
Check the box that best describes how you think you did
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| Group participation
1. I actively participated in the work of the group. |
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| 2. I shared in the work of the group. | ||||||
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| 6. I offered helpful suggestions on the ideas of others. | ||||||
| Showing Consideration
7. I made good comments about the ideas of others |
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| 8. I showed sensitivity to other member's feelings.
(I didn't laugh at anyone else's ideas). |
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| 9. I gave credit to others for their ideas. | ||||||
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| Communication
11. It was easy for everyone to hear me |
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| 12. My ideas were clear and easy to understand. | ||||||
| I did a good job on: | ||||||
| I need to improve on: | ||||||
© USC CCMB 1999 Copy is permitted for educational purposes
NATIONAL STANDARDS
EARTH SCIENCES
1. Sedimentary Rocks
a. Sandstone
b. Oil shale
c. Limestone
d. Sand
II. Changes in the Earth
A. The surface of the earth changes
B. Some changes are due to slow processes such as erosion and weathering
C. Some changes are due to rapid processes such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes
1. Emerging and Converging Shorelines
a. Earthquakes - San Andreas fault
b. Glaciers - Last Ice Age
c. Uplifting
d. Mountain building
III. Structure of the Earth System
1. Rock cycle - igneous; sedimentary; metamorphic
RULES FOR A BIOLOGICAL DRAWING
The ability to draw accurately and neatly is a useful skill, especially in science. Most artists follow some basic rules to make their drawings attractive and easy to read. Below are some rules which will improve your drawing skills.
2. Draw in pencil.
3. Always print.
4. Leave at least a one-inch margin on all four sides of the paper.
5. Center the title and print it in capital letters.
6. Center the drawing on the page.
7. Never cross lines.
8. Never use the plural form of a work when pointing to a single object or part.
9. Do little or no erasing.
10. When using the scientific name of an organism in places other than the title, remember that the genus or first part of a scientific name is always capitalized. The species or second part of a scientific name is not. FOR EXAMPLE: Canis familiaris is the genus and species name for a dog. In a title it would be CANIS FAMILIARIS
11. Print your name and other information as specified by your teacher.
OBSERVING
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SCIENCE JOURNAL INSTRUCTIONS
MATERIALS:
One 7" x 19" piece of corrugated cardboard (or any other sturdy paper)
One sheet 11" x 17" white or light-colored paper (cut two 5: x 17" strips from this paper)
Two grommets
Grommet pliers
Two brads (paper fasteners)
Needle (tapestry, chenille or raffia)
30" length of narrow ribbon or yarn
One tongue depressor (acts as bone folder for creasing paper)
Small magnifying lens
Theme material to decorate cover
PROCEDURE:
2. Fold the paper in half. Crease with tongue depressor.
3. Invert so the paper makes an upside down V.
4. Fold each end up to the center crease. Crease with tongue depressor. You now have a W.
5. Turn the paper upside down to form an M.
6. Fold the left end of paper to peak 1. Crease sharply. Fold the right end of the paper to peak 2. Crease sharply with tongue depressor.
7. Put this accordion-folded paper aside and pick up the corrugated paper to make the cover.
8. With the plain side up, fold one end to make a 2" flap and the other end to make a 3" flap.
9. To make it easier to insert the grommet, make a hole through the flap and cover with a 1/8" hole punch or with the pointed end of a math compass.
10. Place a grommet on the grommet pliers and position the flap and cover between the mouth of the pliers at the punched hole and squeeze tightly so the flap will be securely fastened to the cover. Repeat this procedure with the other end of the flap.
11. Pick-up the accordion-folded paper and insert one end of the paper under the 3" flap.
12. Using the 1/8" hole punch or a math compass, initiate a hole through the flap, the accordion-folded paper, and cover of the journal at the top and bottom of the accordion-folded paper. Insert brads into these holes from the bottom up and open the prongs to secure the paper into the journal.
13. Thread a needle with a 9" length of embroidery thread (three strands are sufficient). With the inside of the book facing you, take the needle down through the center fold of the book, about 1/2" from the center. Take care to hold the end of the thread so it doesn't go through. Come up about 1/2" from the center. Still holding the end of the thread, continue to go in and out at the same points 4 or 5 times ending with the thread coming up through the hole opposite the hole where the beginning thread is being held. Tie these ends together in a knot and trim excess.
14. Thread the ribbon or yarn through the embroidery thread-loop on the outside of the book. Center the ribbon and tie a single knot. Attach the magnifying lens to one end of the ribbon then make a bow.
15. Decorate the cover with felt cut-outs, stamps, duplicated patterns, magazine pictures, or small 3-D material (rock salt, small pebbles, sequins, dried flowers, etc.) in keeping with the unit you're studying.
Vocabulario/Vocabulary
Help! How do I say it in Spanish?
| alas | wing | esqueleto | skeleton | |||
| aleta | fin | factor ambiental | environmental factor | |||
| alimento | food | grueso | thick | |||
| medio ambiente | environment | hábitat | habitat | |||
| animal de rapiña | predator | huesos | bones | |||
| apéndice | appendage | herbivoro | herbivore | |||
| alimentación | feeding | maxilares | jaw | |||
| branquia | gill | mandibula | jaw bone | |||
| cránio | skull | nocturno | nocturnal | |||
| la cuenca del ojo
(orbita) |
eye socket
(orbit) |
omnivoro | omnivore | |||
| carnivoro | carnivore | pico | beak | |||
| caja ósea | brain case | la red alimenticia | food web | |||
| cartilago | cartilage | masticar | to chew | |||
| crustáceo | crustacean | masticación | chewing | |||
| dentadura | set of teeth | la relación que tiene un organismo con su medio ambiente | niche | |||
| diente
(plural - dientes) |
tooth
(teeth) |
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| diurno(na) | dirnal | |||||
| delante | in front | |||||
| ecosistema | ecosystem |
MATERIALS NEEDED
Books (see Resource List)
Expert: (see Resource List)
Tools:
Measurement devices
Magnifying glasses
Newspapers
Maps of Coalinga/Central Coast area of California
Skulls:
| 1. Whale | 7. Quail |
| 2. Horse | 8. Coyote |
| 3. Human | 9. Mouse |
| 4. Lizard | 10. Jack Rabbit |
| 5. Shark's teeth | |
| 6. Fox |
Fossils:
Sand dollars; clams
rocks
igneous-granite, basalt
Sedimentary -
Sandstone, oil shale, limestone
Metamorphic -
Quartzite, Slate, Marble
Minerals -
Quartz, Mica, Feldspar
BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS
Life Science
| Carnivores | meat eaters | Identified by pointed and sharper teeth for grasping and tearing flesh |
| Herbivores | plant eaters | Identified by relatively strong flat teeth for grinding material |
| Omnivores | eat both plants and meat | |
| Nocturnal | active during the night | Identified by large eye sockets |
| Diurnal | active during the day | |
| Prey | animals hunted by other animals for food | Identified by eye sockets positioned on the sides/necessary for peripheral vision |
| Predator | animals that eat other animals for food | Identified by eye sockets positioned in a frontal location/good depth perception |
Extensions
Size and shape of beaks - birds
Wingspan of various birds
Size and shape of fins - fish
Claws/phalanx - birds
Compare skeletons of various animal classification - i.e. Birds/flight
Earth Science
Coalinga Area: Located along Highway 5 about 80 miles (128.8 km) NE of San Luis Obispo, CA
California is divided into 8 bio-regions based on geographical boundaries
and habitat type:
| Shasta Cascade | North Coast | Sierra Nevada | Central Valley |
| Southern Desert | Bay Area Delta | Central Coast | South Coast |
Coalinga is located in California's Central Coast Area. At present, the California coast is considered an emerging coast. Emergent shorelines can result from uplifting due to earthquakes or a falling water level. The last Ice Age began between two and three million years ago during the Pliocene epoch, although the Antarctica ice sheets is thought to have formed 14 million years ago. Added weight of the ice sheets caused a worldwide drop in sea level. The San Andreas Fault developed prior to the last Ice Age. Therefore, uplifting of the California shoreline began, then was covered with an ice sheet.
Warmer temperatures melted the ice sheet causing rising water levels,
which submerged the coast under water. (The Grand Canyon was underwater
at one time.) Uplifting continued due to earthquakes and the coast has
been emerging for the past 23 million years.
| Ice sheet | A very large, thick mass of glacial ice flowing outward in all directions. |
| Emergent coast | A Coast where land formerly below sea level has been exposed by crustal uplift or a drop in sea level or both. |
| Epoch | A unit of the geologic time scale |
| Fault | A break in rock mass along which movement has occurred |
Rock Cycle Magma cools and solidifies either beneath the Earth or on the surface. This process is called crystallization. (Igneous rocks such as granite, basalt, and obsidian are formed.) Rocks undergo weathering, and transported particles called sediments are deposited. The sediments are lithified (converted into rock) into sedimentary rocks when compacted by weight of overlying layers. (Sandstone, limestone, and shale are sedimentary rocks.) If the sedimentary rock is buried deep within the Earth, great pressures and heat will melt the rock. The result is metamorphic rock. (Sandstone turns into quartzite; limestone turns into marble; and shale turns into slate.) When metamorphic rock is subjected to even higher temperatures, it will melt the rock creating magma.
RESOURCE LIST
Experts
Dr. Robert Stull, Cal State University, Los Angeles; rstull@rockus.calstatela.edu
Material Resources - Skulls and Jawbones
Skulls Unlimited 1-800-659-skull
Natural History Museum Members Loan Service
900 exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007 213-744-3345
East Los Angeles Math, Science, Technology Center 323-261-1139
Monlux Math, Science, Technology Center 818-762-1156
Supplies for Science Journals
Pearl's Crafts
1250 LaCienega Boulevard
Pico and La Cienega
Los Angeles
Rocks
Burminco
128 S. Encintas Avenue
Monrovia, CA 91016
818-358-4478 Phone 818-358-7855 Fax
Books
Anderson, K. and Cumbaa, S. (1993). The Bones Games Book Workman Publishing, New York. ISBN 1-56305-497-3
Barroso, Paz (1994). Experimenta con el cuerpo humano Editorial Saber ISBN 84-348-4443-5
Clutton-Brock (1991). Eyewitness Books: Cats Dorling Kindersley, Inc. ISBN 0-679-81458-2
Crocker, Mark (1992). Atlas del cuerpo humano Editorial Sigmar ISBN 950-11-0888-0
Martin, James (1997). Living Fossils: Animals That Have Withstood The Test Of Time Crown Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-517-59866-3
Parker, Steve (1993). Eyewitness Science Human Body Dorling Kindersley, Inc. ISBN 1-56458-325-2
AUTHOR, (YEAR) Eyewitness Books: Skeleton Dorling Kindersley, Inc. ISBN 0-394-89620-3
AUTHOR, (YEAR) Eyewitness Books: Esqueletos. Bibliteca Visual Altea. Dorling Kindersley, Inc., ISBN 84-372-3724-6
AUTHOR (YEAR) Eyewitness Books: Natural World Dorling Kindersley, Inc. ISBN 1-56458-719-3
Smith, Miranda (1996). Eyewitness Living Earth. Dorling Kindersley, Inc. ISBN 0-7894-06444-6
OTHER Eyewitness Books related to this theme*. Dorling Kindersley, Inc.: Bird; Eagles and Birds of Prey; Dog; Elephant; Fish; Horse; Insect; Mammal; Reptile; Shark; Whale.
AUTHOR, (1991). Skeletons! Skeletons! Scholastic ISBN 0-590-46076-5
AUTHOR, (1991). Esqueletos! Esqueletos! Scholastic ISBN 0-590-46873-1
Teacher Resources
PROJECT LEARNING TREE (1994). Environmental Education PreK-8 Activity Guide American Forest Foundation, 2nd Edition.
PROJECT LEARNING TREE
1111 19TH Street
N.W., Washington, D.C., 20036
Western Regional Environmental Education Council (1995). Project Wild Western Association of fish and Wildlife Agency
PROJECT WILD
Salina Star Route
Boulder, Colorado 90302 303-444-2390
Articles
Gore, Rick (1997). The Dawn of Humans: The First Steps National Geographic, vol. 191, no.2, pp. 72-99
Johnson, Donald (1996). The Dawn of Humans: Face-to-Face with Lucy's Family. National Geographic, vol. 189, no. 3, pp. 96-117
Multimedia
Hutt, David (1994). Eyewitness Video: Skeleton. Dorling Kindersley
ADAM CD-ROM (1994). A.D.A.M. The Inside Story Animated Dissection of Anatomy for Medicine Software, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia
Eyewitness CD-ROM, Mac Version, (1995). Encyclopedia of NATURE
Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0-7894-0517-2
The Case and materials for "Screaming Skulls" have been
developed and/or assembled by La Nelle Harvey, of 93rd Street School, Los
Angeles, CA - a member of the USC California Science Project Leadership
Cohort, in conjunction with Cal State Los Angeles
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