Science education involves teaching both content and scientific practices to students. So while topical knowledge is central to the understanding of science, skills in the science methods are equally important. To achieve this, students can benefit from real-world activities that provide the opportunity to engage with thoughtful scientific practices.

In the lesson shown in this video, Heidi Fessenden involves her class in a hands-on experiment. She asks her students to monitor and reflect on the behavior of balls as they roll down ramps.

The lesson allows Fessenden to demonstrate principles of motion and force and help her students practice prediction and scientific observation The lesson also helps Fessenden’s students by getting them to practice ways to ensure that the experiment is set up fairly—accounting for things like variables and controls.

Fessenden’s unit will culminate in the students’ development of a large ramp system. The current lesson gets students thinking about fairness as a factor affecting the outcome of an experiment.

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