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| PROCESS | DEFINITION | EXAMPLE |
| Basic Processes | ||
| Observing | The process of collecting data by use of all appropriate senses and instruments such us lenses and microscopes. | Students can observe to investigate the parts of a plant cell under a Light Microscope magnification. |
| Classifying | The process of sorting objects according to their observable common behavioral and physical properties. It can be binary or multistage. In binary classification, objects are sort into two major categories while in multistage classification objects are sort further to form an hierarchy of sets and subsets | Students can collect a variety of leaves. First, they can classify them into two major categories according to their vein network. Then, they can sort them further according to the shape of their margins, color, stalks, etc. |
| Communicating | The process recording, organizing and reporting observations, measurements, experiments and conclusions of an important science process. | Students can present the academic performance of their class over the last one year by using graphs and pie charts. |
| Measuring | The process of quantifying observations by assigning them standard values depending on their size, amount or degree. Special instruments and devices may be required for this process. | Students can use a stopwatch to measure the time taken in seconds for a candle to burn out when completely encloses in glasses of various volumes. |
| Predicting | The process of forecasting future occurrences of a process based on knowledge of patterns and relationships in data. | Students can establish the trend of daily average temperature over the last one month and then predict the degree of hotness or coldness ten days thereafter. |
| Inferring | The process of using knowledge and experience to fill the gaps between the observed events and knowledge. | Students can be asked to infer the reason why moisture is found on the surface of a glass of cold water. |
| Integrated processes | ||
| Identifying and controlling variables | The process of identifying the properties of an object that can change. Variables can be independent, dependent or controlled. The experimenter can control the investigation by keeping constant and varying the controlled variables. | Students can record the taken for a candle to burn in an enclosed glass. The investigation can be controlled by varying the volume of the glass used. |
| Formulating and testing hypotheses | The process of stating possible answers to the questions under investigation in a study. The validity of these possible answers can be tested through findings from experiments. | Students can test whether 60% of seedlings die if kept in darkness for three days. They can carry out an experiment and collect data of the number of seedlings that die in different samples drawn from different plants. Assuming a normal distribution of the number of deaths in the entire population, they can test the hypothesis. |
| Interpreting data | This is the process of drawing conclusions from organized and analyzed data. Interpretation of data involves making conclusions about trends and meaning of graphs, charts, results of hypothesis testing and tables. | Students can explain the graphs and charts obtained from the annual class performance analysis. |
| Defining operationally | The outline of the process of measuring a particular variable and how the measurement operations are carried out. | Stating that the age of people in a population is determined in age-groups, where the range of group size of every age-group is 5 years. |
| Experimenting | The process of gathering evidences for testing the validity of hypothesis through controlled situations. | Students can keep seedling samples of various plants in darkness for three days and determine the number of seedlings that die in each sample after three days. |
| Constructing Models | The process of representing the whole process by either a physical or mental framework. | Students can construct a food web to show feeding relationships between various organisms in an habitat |
Science Processes and Inquiry Learning
The table above explicitly describes twelve important science processes which can be used for successful learning in science classes. The processes of learning science as inquiry are essentially important for all students throughout their lifetime from Kindergarten, through the college level and even beyond.
Two major categories can be drawn from the above processes of science. The first category outlines the basic process skills which provide solid foundation for understanding science. Children for instance, could have many unanswered questions in their endeavor to understand the world around them. However, their understanding begins to unfold as they are guided through observing, classifying, communicating, predicting and inferring. The subsequent category o.............
Type: Essay || Words: 1859 Rating || Excellent
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