Misconceptions, M&M’s, and

Making Ice-Cream: Enhancing

Middle School Science Teaching
and Learning
Andrea S. Foster, PhD
Sam Houston State University
El Paso, TX
June 26, 2006
 Let’s Warm Up!
Pour some water in the cup on your
table. Select a candy that has a nice
clear “m” on it. Place it “m” side up in
the water. Now watch carefully.
 A Sweet Discovery!
• Princeton physicist
Paul Chaikin's passion
for M&M's candies was
so well known that his
students played a sweet
practical joke on him by
leaving a 55-gallon
drum of the candies in
his office
• Little did they know that
their prank would lead
to a physics
breakthrough
 Sweet Science
• The barrel full of the • The issue of how
oblate little candies made
Chaikin think about how
well they packed in. A
series of studies have
shown they pack more
tightly than perfect
spheres -- something that
surprises many physicists
and Chaikin himself.
particles pack together
has intrigued scientists
for centuries and has
implications for fields
such as the design of
high-density ceramic
materials for use in
aerospace or other
industries.
 Wow!
• Chaikin and his colleague, chemist Salvatore Torquato,
used the candies to investigate the physical and
mathematical principles involved when particles are
poured randomly into a vessel.
• Writing in an issue of the journal Science, they said they
found that oblate spheroids -- such as plain M&M's --
pack surprisingly more densely than regular spheres
when poured randomly and shaken.
• When poured in, they said, spheres occupy about 64
percent of the space in a container. M&M's manage to
pack in at a density of about 68 percent.
 How’s that “M”?
Has it risen to the surface?
Why?
(titanium oxide)
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium (IV) oxide or
titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical
formula TiO2. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium
white or Pigment White 6. Titanium dioxide occurrences in
nature are never pure; it is found with contaminant metals
such as iron. The oxides can be mined and serve as a
source for commercial titanium.
Workshop Goals --Here’s the Scoop!
By the end of today we will have. . .
• Reviewed and analyzed some conceptual
change research literature;
• Identified some common middle school science
misconceptions;
• Explored a few powerful learning experiences in
the context of inquiry;
• Deconstructed a “good” science activity to make
it “better” (standards-based),
• Reflected on our own science teaching and
learning experiences; and
• Had a good time!
Ice Cream Breaker
• Identify the ice cream
flavor on your back by
asking colleagues only YES
or NO questions.
– For example:
Do I have nuts?
• The flavors are non-
traditional. They come
from Baskin and Robins
list of July flavors.
• You have five minutes. GO!
 What is your favorite
Ice Cream Flavor?
• Chocolate
• Vanilla
• Strawberry
• Butter Pecan
What does your choice of ice
cream flavor say about you?
• Chocolate
– Friendly, reliable, good
group worker
• Vanilla
– Highly intelligent, linear,
task-oriented
• Strawberry
– Highly creative, artistic, an
idea person
• Butter Pecan
– Party animal! Highly social
. . . also know to be a
bit preoccupied with sex! 
Interesting Ice Cream Factoids
• The United States is the
largest consumer of ice
cream; Americans eat 24
quarts per capita annually.
• Ninety-eight percent of all
U.S. households buy ice-
cream.
• The biggest consumer
group is males between the
ages of 15 and 18, who eat
ice cream once every three
days on the average.

• Source: “The Latest Scoop”

International Dairy Foods
Association
Today’s Agenda
• Warm Up Activities
• Powerful Learning
• Inquiry Teaching & Learning
• Conceptual and Procedural
Concepts
Break
• Ice-Cream Lab
• Five E Instructional Model
LUNCH (11:30 - 1)
• Understanding the Science
TEKS
• Ice Cream Cone Cartography –
Mapping Exercise
• Creating a Better Ice Cream
Lesson
Break
• Group Share
• The Ice Cream Cone Metaphor
• Reflection & Evaluation
• Good Humor Closure
• A Story
 FOCUS QUESTIONS
• What is inquiry?
• What does it look like
in your classroom?
• What are students
doing in an inquiry-
based classroom?
• What is the teacher
doing in an inquiry-
based classroom?
 Film Clips
• Is this an inquiry lesson? Why? Why not?
 John Dewey, 1916

No one has ever explained why

children are so full of questions
outside of school . . . And there
is a conspicuous absence of
curiosity about subject-matter
of school lessons.
 What is Inquiry?
• Inquiry is a multifaceted activity that involves
making observations; posing questions;
examining books and other sources of
information to see what is already known;
planning and conducting investigations;
reviewing what is already down in light of
experimental evidence; using tools to analyze,
and interpret data; proposing answers;
explanations and predictions; and
communicating results.
• National Academy of Science, 1996
 Inquiry Defined
• “Inquiry is a simple three-syllable word
that requires a paragraph to explain and a
vision to make it real.”

– National Science Foundation, 1997

Inquiry Teaching
• Inquiry teaching leads students through
the experience of scientific inquiry.
• Students build their understandings of the
fundamental scientific ideas through direct
experience with materials, by consulting
resources that include experts, and
through argument and debate among
themselves.
– Stuessy & Thomas, 1998
 Inquiry Teaching
• Inquiry teaching requires students to
orchestrate prior and new knowledge and
skills with their innate qualities of curiosity,
openness, and skepticism. Inquiry teaching
requires highly skilled teachers,
knowledgeable about content and pedagogy
who can structure learning experiences that
challenge students to formulate and ask
questions and shape their own learning.
– Stuessy & Thomas, 1998