A Q.U.E.S.T. for Earthworms Using excitement, observations, and inquiries to drive student-led outdoor science investigations
By Suzanna Joor “
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?We get to touch real earthworms?! I thought we would read about them, not touch them!” A first-grader reacts to the first earthworm
observation day in class after learning a few earthworm facts. Hands-on interactions with organisms such as earthworms never fail to create high levels of student excitement, engage- ment, learning, observations, and inquiries. “I wonder why this earthworm is going crazy and that one
looks lazy.” “Look… I can see the dirt this one ate!” “Why is this one
more see-through than that one?” As children look closely at natural organisms, it doesn’t
take long to witness a flurry of diverse observations and questions. Promoting student inquiries and exploring a range of questions are core components of student-driven science explorations. In my practice as an elementary school teacher, one challenge I face is identifying how to organize new out- door science investigations. Thankfully, there is a powerful framework to promote student-led inquiries that was created by scientists and educators at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA. This teaching tool is aptly titled Q.U.E.S.T.1 Questions and observations: Student questions are generated by initial observations of the study topic. Uncover comparative questions: Students learn how to iden-
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tify and ask comparative questions (e.g., compare organisms in different environments or different times of day, or organ- isms’ reactions to different stimuli). Explore predictions: Students learn how to make and record educated predictions. Start an action plan and gather data: Students create a step- by-step action plan, identify and gather needed supplies, and plan logistics for their outdoor science study. Think hard about the findings and share discoveries: This is the “So what?” stage. What does this data mean? Why does this matter? What did we learn? How can this guide us to be better environmental stewards? This model follows the scientific method and has inspired
multiple outdoor studies that have been featured in a chil- dren’s science magazine and television program, titled Drag- onfly Magazine and Dragonfly TV, respectively.
Why take students outside? Connecting students with nature through hands-on activi- ties is important, especially since the last few decades have shown a sharp decrease in the time children spend outdoors.2 Children’s notions of “nature” and where wild animals live often lead them to name faraway locations. With US-based children, Africa and the Amazon are common examples. Fur- thermore, children’s conversations about nature commonly turn towards climate change and plastic islands floating in the
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Photos by Suzanna Joor
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