Japanese Researchers Visit p4cHI Science Class at KHS

On September 3, 2015 a group of Japanese researchers (Dr. Tanaka - Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Gifu University; Dr. Yoshio Sumoto - Social Studies Educator, Faculty of Education Gifu University; and Dr. Atsuko Morikawa - Associate Professor, Faculty of Contemporary Culture/Department of Child Development and Education) had the opportunity to participate in p4cHI inquiry with p4cHI teacher Heidi Unten’s ninth grade physical science class. The focus their inquiry was, “I get it-a square universal dwelling is stable, but if you can have a circle home that is stable, then why not?” Previous to this Plain Vanilla inquiry the students had conducted a number of labs (e.g. about the correlation between shape, total area, and convective heat transfer) to help inform them as they planned and built “universal dwellings” in small groups. During the Plain Vanilla inquiry the students drew from the findings of their labs to support their thinking. This inquiry was an excellent example of how the p4cHI approach to education can be used to promote deep thinking in science.