Reflection of a Guided Inquiry Experience

It is quite rewarding to look back over the past to review an experience, to gain insight and to note how the experience could have been handled differently. However, once the action is past one learns not only how to but also other ways that the experience could have been done along with short cuts.
The question I selected was how do surfaces affect the momentum of marbles? The instructional part was explained to the students along with the directions for carrying out the experiment. groups were formed, surfaces were selected and directions given and actions recorded.
The surfaces chosen: Carpeted florring, concrete sidewalk, and the ground. Experiments were carried out and timed. It appeared that student whose experiement was conducted on the concrete sidewalk had greater momentum than students whose experiements were conducted on carpet and the ground. A discussion ensued about the makeup of various surfaces and how the smoothness and roughness of the surfaces enhanced or facilitated momentum for playing with marbles.
An analysis of the observation tracks indicated that the concrete sidewalk showed the greatest momentum for marble playing.
The challenges that the class and I faced were deciding whether to use different size marbles on each surface or to use marbles of the same size on each surface. It was decided that marbles of the same size should be used on all surfaces used in the experiement in order for us to rule out the variable of differences as a possible cause of the results attained.
The experiment provided hands on experience for the students who were able to conceptualize the process and visualize the results while being guided by the teacher. The findings added to the antimated discussion that followed and stimulated some students to ask if they could replicate the experiment in order to see if their findings would differ.
We have not yet replicated the experiment. Moreover, we will continue reviewing this experiement while preparing for the next one.
In conclusion, the reflection revealed many concerns that I will use to conduct group work and illustrated and reinforced the fact that science is one of those areas that can be practical and fun.

References
www.bbc.co.uk./schools/ks2bitesize/science/physicalprocesses