Ninth Grade Science at Watershed
Observation starts with measurement
"There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language." --William Osler
“People's minds are changed through observation and not through argument”--Will Rogers
All scientific discovery begins with observation, that careful and systematic cousin of looking. At Watershed, we think that no science education can really begin until the students are trained to be good observers.
Many of our students come with a head full of stories about science, but few of them have done science. Our aim in this first year course is to let the student become the scientist by learning how to observe, experiment, and reason in order to answer questions that they themselves propose.
Doing Science
Over the course of Observational Astronomy class, I was able to do science and learn the answers to my questions firsthand. I never liked science as it was taught through textbooks and corny videos, but have grown to appreciate science through observation and am in awe at how much is known and has yet to be learned.
Josie Davis '10
Introduction to Scientific Observation
We divide the year into three distinct areas of inquiry: Meteorology, Astronomy, and Natural History of the Woods. Each of these helps students develop the skills necessary to become competent observers.
Meteorology
During the Meterology section of the course, students learn to keep records, be timely and accurate, and to recognize meteorological patterns through daily monitoring of weather parameters. Three times a day, including weekends, students record these parameters in their meteorology journals, add to time series graphs, and slowly discover correlations and patterns that help them to refine their forecasting skills. During the second half of the term, students learn to interpret weather maps as an aid to forecasting. By the end of the term, most of the students have become "weather geeks:" heads up, looking at clouds, and often heard discussing weather during lunch or after school.
Observational Astronomy
Gathering data at the telescope
In the second term, we turn our gaze to the heavens and try to make sense of what we see in the night sky, with a particular emphasis on the moon. Continuing to journal (see a sample astronomy journal page) and record observations students learn the names of bright stars and constellations during nighttime observing sessions, and read Gallileo's Sideris Nuncius, one of the first scientific papers published, describing his astronomical observations through a telescope.
The major focus of the term is the individual observing project. This project is modelled on the actual process of doing science in today's US scientific community. It combines planning, observation, and analysis in order to answer a question.
Danji photographing Saturn
Each student must write a proposal in order to obtain "funding" and equipment to answer an astronomical question that is compelling to them and can be answered quantitatively through observation. The proposal goes through an extensive review and revision process, including peer review, and is finally approved. The students learn how to use their instruments and fine-tune their experimental methods by observing, with lots of support from faculty. When they have their data, they write a paper that also goes through several revisions and is peer reviewed. The culmination of the project is their public presentation at a symposium attended by parents, interested scientists from the community, and press.
The students are doing science in a very real way during this process. For many of them, this is the first time they've been asked to find answers to their questions about the world around them by designing and carrying out a complex experiment. They can truly be called scientists at the end of the process.
- Here is a sampling of projects. Click on the links to read the papers.
- Observations of Saturn's Movement
- The Orbital Period of Jupiter's Moon, Callisto
- The Minimum of Algol, an Eclipsing Binary Star
- The Orbital Period of Jupiter's Moon, Europa
Natural History of the Woods
Working on a field journal
As the snow melts and days lengthen, we turn our focus to the study of the familiar. In this final term, we spend most class periods outside getting to know the New England woods. Students use their now excellent observational skills to write about, draw, and ponder the riot of life that is slowly awakening after winter's slumber. Through direct observation and supporting readings, students learn about taxonomy, forest ecology, and how to maintain a useful field journal. See a sample student journal page.
Making field measurements
The term's major focus is the creation of an identification key for 15 tree species. Students make careful drawings of tree shape, twigs, buds, flowers, fruits, and bark in order to learn more about these trees. By the end of the term, each student can use their key to identify trees in the field. See a sample tree key page.
After having spent several months outside in the 9-acre patch of woods -- graciously offered for our use by a former teacher -- the students have an excellent familiarity with the forest, and many of them come away with a deep appreciation for the beauty of nature.
An Excellent Science Foundation
After a very challenging and rewarding year, our ninth-graders are adept observers of the natural world. Parents often comment on how much more aware their teenagers are after this course. Its also a bit of a "rite of passage" here at Watershed, and students are tremendously proud of their achievements during the year. It is also an excellent foundation for the 10th grade science course, Conceptual Physics, where students learn to put their observations together into a coherent and logical system.
Science and Art
Korean exchange student Chang Sun's Gray Birch drawing
This year, we received a grant to integrate art and science. Building on the work that we've been doing over the last three years, Observation students are now working with art teacher Nancy Glassman to hone their drafting skills so that they can make botanically accurate and aesthetically pleasing nature illustrations. Once a week students gather to show off their field journals and to work with Nancy to refine their skills. Training the brain to draw well adds another dimension to a student's ability to observe as a scientist.
- Some links to more tree drawings.
- Horse Chestnut drawing by Isaac Gerard '08
- Mountain Ash twig by Sali Amabebe (now a student at Simon's Rock College)
