 In fall of 2017, I attended the first-ever Camp MSS. Knowing that crosscutting concepts would be something new for both me and my students, I chose Systems and Systems Thinking as my first course for our three-day camp. The one-day course focused on the Making Sense of SCIENCE (MSS) approach to systems. The MSS model defines systems as having boundaries, components, inputs/outputs, interactions, and properties. This course layered on a new feature — black boxes |  |
Black boxes serve as a tool for listing questions about the system that you don’t (yet) know the answers to. During our investigation we explored several different mechanical systems, such as a Flying Ball and a Stud Finder. Even these relatively simple gadgets left us scratching our heads with unanswered questions about how exactly they do what they do. Having a black box as part of our model helped me feel like my questions had a place in our exploration. It gave them value, it got me excited, and I wanted to know more.
| Back in my classroom, I used the black box model with students while studying forces, and it brought about some rich conversations that may otherwise not have happened. I realized that using the black box approach could be a really effective pre-assessment tool in surfacing what students wanted to know, so I decided to start our space science unit this way. To kick things off, I broke students into small groups. Each group chose a space system and made a system diagram. They utilized their black box tool for any parts of the system they wanted to know more about. Then I had them share their models with another group. As I wandered around the room listening in on conversations, I noticed that many of the questions were “big” questions about space. There were very few simple “I can look that up” questions. It was a great way to start a unit, see where my students were in terms of their understanding, and give them a chance to express their ideas. |  |
I plan to use the black box tool again later, when my students have a base of knowledge and are forming explanations and arguments. I think it will be interesting to see which of their questions have been answered, and maybe more importantly, what new questions they now have!
This SCIENCE Corner was brought to you by Wendy Pierce. Wendy is an 8th Grade Science and English Language Arts Teacher at Chief Joseph Middle School in Bozeman, Montana. Wendy is also a Making Sense of SCIENCE facilitator. Check out her other SCIENCE Corner posts — Getting Started with NGSS, Discussing Misconceptions, and Scientific Explanations.
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