Interactive Science Notebook (ISN)
What is a Science Interactive Notebook?
Science Interactive Notebooks are a tool to strengthen student learning of curriculum (the input) through increased student participation (the output). They are used in class daily to help the student learn.
Why do they work? This style of notebook uses both the right and left-brain hemispheres to help sort, categorize and be creative with the newly attained knowledge. The right side of the spiral notebook is for writing down information given by the teacher (notes, vocabulary, video notes, labs, etc.). The left side of the spiral shows the understanding of the information from the right side (brainstorming, reflections, drawings/figures, worksheets, etc.).
Why Is a Science Interactive Notebook Important?
Science Interactive Notebooks are important for many reasons. The first is that writing is an integral part of the process of learning science. By using notebooks, students model one of the most vital and enduring functions of scientists in all disciplines – recording information, figures, and data. Scientists across the world record their observations, data, and conclusions, as well as comments on their research, readings and reflections. They rely on their notes, figures and diagrams when sharing their findings with colleagues and when preparing papers to share their work with the scientific community. The notebooks of famous scientists such as Galileo and Einstein have become part of the world’s cultural heritage.
A second reason for maintaining a Science Interactive Notebook is that it provides the student with a ready reference for each unit as well as a resource to consult when reviewing materials at the end of the unit. The notebook is also a means of communicating with the teacher and parents/guardians. At the end of each unit the student is required to have their parent/guardian review and sign their notebook.
Keeping a notebook enhances students’ writing skills. It gives them practice in organizing material and in expressing themselves clearly. At the same time, notebook writing can encourage students to connect science with other areas of the curriculum. A Science Interactive Notebook also encourages creativity. Extensions in the notebook can include any of the following; poems; cartoon drawings; figure drawings; stories; songs; and notes from research on any given topic.
Another advantage of the notebooks is that they get students more involved in science. Students assume ownership of their notebooks. Students are required to bring their notebooks with them to science class daily, to add work and review their notes. With each new entry, their sense of pride in what they have accomplished grows. Their confidence in science learning, as well as in their overall knowledge and skills, also grows. They are becoming life-long learners.
Lastly, the science notebook offers the teacher a unique means of assessing student progress in the classroom. The notebook, beginning with the first lesson of the unit and continuing to its conclusion, is a tool that can be used to assess the growth in students’ understanding of science as well as in their ability to summarize and express their thoughts and feelings.
Think as a scientist …
Record as a scientist …
And reflect as a scientist!
SCIENTIFIC PRACTICES RESOURCES: