Into the Blue Investigation

Into The Blue Investigation is a hands-on collaborative lab activity where students use their knowledge of chemistry and the scientific method to determine the reactants, products and type of a chemical reaction. This lab is designed to be a guided inquiry lab for students to collaborate and learn how to ask questions, perform tests, analyze data and argue from evidence along with using checkpoints and scaffolds to support all learners. Over a series of days in groups students will set up the reaction, make observations, perform tests, gather data and then they will create a scientific poster to communicate their findings. This project is an appropriate assessment for a chemical reactions unit and challenges students to work collaboratively. (I suggest using lab group roles and assessing them in relation to their roles.) Students need to have prior knowledge of lab safety, types of chemical reactions, balancing equations, and properties/types of bonds/substances (ionic, covalent, metallic). This relates to my fellowship because students will be generally performing the same process of testing the product of a reaction to determine their identity but it is appropriate for their skill level and chemistry knowledge base.