WBC Project Logic Model
iWonder
- Discovery phase
- Question Formation
- Define Question
- Connections
Investigation
- Investigation and research
- Upload data
- Discuss observations
- Data analysis
Action
- Solution Generation and Selection
- Dissemination of investigation results
- Communication of findings
iWonder
A practice of science is to ask and refine questions that lead to descriptions and explanations of how the natural and designed world works and which can be empirically tested.
Investigation
A practice of both science and engineering is to use and construct models as helpful tools for representing ideas and explanations. These tools include diagrams, drawings, physical replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer simulations.
Scientists and engineers plan and carry out investigations in the field or laboratory, working collaboratively as well as individually. Their investigations are systematic and require clarifying what counts as data and identifying variables or parameters
Scientific investigations produce data that must be analyzed in order to derive meaning. Because data patterns and trends are not always obvious, scientists use a range of tools—including tabulation, graphical interpretation, visualization, and statistical analysis—to identify the significant features and patterns in the data. Scientists identify sources of error in the investigations and calculate the degree of certainty in the results. Modern technology makes the collection of large data sets much easier, providing secondary sources for analysis.
In both science and engineering, mathematics and computation are fundamental tools for representing physical variables and their relationships. They are used for a range of tasks such as constructing simulations; statistically analyzing data; and recognizing, expressing, and applying quantitative relationships.
Action
A practice of both science and engineering is to use and construct models as helpful tools for representing ideas and explanations. These tools include diagrams, drawings, physical replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer simulations.
The products of science are explanations and the products of engineering are solutions.
Scientists and engineers must be able to communicate clearly and persuasively the ideas and methods they generate. Critiquing and communicating ideas individually and in groups is a critical professional activity.
Potential NGSS Standards
| 3-5 Engineering Design |
| Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. 3-5-ETS1-1 Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. 3-5-ETS1-2 |
| 3rd – Weather and Climate |
| Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season. 3-ESS2-1 |
| 3rd – Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems |
| Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. 3-LS4-3 Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change. 3-LS4-4 |
| 4th – Earth’s Systems: Processes That Shape the Earth |
| Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans. 4-ESS3-2 |
| 4th – Energy |
| Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. 4-PS3-4 |
| 5th – Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems |
| Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. 5-LS2-1 |
Human Impacts |
Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment. MS-ESS3-3 |
Engineering Design |
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems. MS-ESS3-4 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. MS-ETS1-2 |
Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems |
Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems. MS-LS2-2 Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. MS-LS2-5 |
Potential Common Core Standards
| 3rd – Measurement and Data |
Solve problems involving measurement and estimation.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.A.1
Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.A.2
Measure and estimate liquid volumes and masses of objects using standard units of grams (g), kilograms (kg), and liters (l).1 Add, subtract, multiply, or divide to solve one-step word problems involving masses or volumes that are given in the same units, e.g., by using drawings (such as a beaker with a measurement scale) to represent the problem.2
Represent and interpret data.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.3 Draw a scaled picture graph and a scaled bar graph to represent a data set with several categories. Solve one- and two-step “how many more” and “how many less” problems using information presented in scaled bar graphs. For example, draw a bar graph in which each square in the bar graph might represent 5 pets. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.B.4 Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units— whole numbers, halves, or quarters. |
| 4th – Measurement and Data |
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.2Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.3Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with an unknown factor.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.B.4Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Solve problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions by using information presented in line plots. For example, from a line plot find and interpret the difference in length between the longest and shortest specimens in an insect collection. |
| 4th – Number & Operations in Base Ten |
Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.4Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.B.5Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models. |
| 5th – Measurement and Data |
Convert like measurement units within a given measurement system.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.A.1Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.Represent and interpret data.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.B.2Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Use operations on fractions for this grade to solve problems involving information presented in line plots. For example, given different measurements of liquid in identical beakers, find the amount of liquid each beaker would contain if the total amount in all the beakers were redistributed equally.Geometric measurement: understand concepts of volume.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.C.3Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.C.4Measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units.CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.C.5Relate volume to the operations of multiplication and addition and solve real world and mathematical problems involving volume. |
6th – Statistics & Probability |
Develop understanding of statistical variability.Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, “How old am I?” is not a statistical question, but “How old are the students in my school?” is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students’ ages. Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape. Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of its values with a single number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single number. Summarize and describe distributions.Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots. Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by: Reporting the number of observations. Describing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of measurement. Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered. Relating the choice of measures of center and variability to the shape of the data distribution and the context in which the data were gathered. |
7th – Statistics & Probability |
Use random sampling to draw inferences about a population.Understand that statistics can be used to gain information about a population by examining a sample of the population; generalizations about a population from a sample are valid only if the sample is representative of that population. Understand that random sampling tends to produce representative samples and support valid inferences. Use data from a random sample to draw inferences about a population with an unknown characteristic of interest. Generate multiple samples (or simulated samples) of the same size to gauge the variation in estimates or predictions. For example, estimate the mean word length in a book by randomly sampling words from the book; predict the winner of a school election based on randomly sampled survey data. Gauge how far off the estimate or prediction might be. Draw informal comparative inferences about two populations.Informally assess the degree of visual overlap of two numerical data distributions with similar variabilities, measuring the difference between the centers by expressing it as a multiple of a measure of variability. For example, the mean height of players on the basketball team is 10 cm greater than the mean height of players on the soccer team, about twice the variability (mean absolute deviation) on either team; on a dot plot, the separation between the two distributions of heights is noticeable. Use measures of center and measures of variability for numerical data from random samples to draw informal comparative inferences about two populations. For example, decide whether the words in a chapter of a seventh-grade science book are generally longer than the words in a chapter of a fourth-grade science book. |
8th – Statistics & Probability |
Investigate patterns of association in bivariate data.Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association between two quantities. Describe patterns such as clustering, outliers, positive or negative association, linear association, and nonlinear association. Know that straight lines are widely used to model relationships between two quantitative variables. For scatter plots that suggest a linear association, informally fit a straight line, and informally assess the model fit by judging the closeness of the data points to the line. Use the equation of a linear model to solve problems in the context of bivariate measurement data, interpreting the slope and intercept. For example, in a linear model for a biology experiment, interpret a slope of 1.5 cm/hr as meaning that an additional hour of sunlight each day is associated with an additional 1.5 cm in mature plant height. Understand that patterns of association can also be seen in bivariate categorical data by displaying frequencies and relative frequencies in a two-way table. Construct and interpret a two-way table summarizing data on two categorical variables collected from the same subjects. Use relative frequencies calculated for rows or columns to describe possible association between the two variables. For example, collect data from students in your class on whether or not they have a curfew on school nights and whether or not they have assigned chores at home. Is there evidence that those who have a curfew also tend to have chores? |
