An In-Service Training (INSET) Package in Science

Facilitator’s Guide
Presentation Plan
Master Set of Resources

A B C D
Table 2 Color of Leaves in Each Treatment
Treatment Color of leaves Rank
 Published by the
PHILIPPINES - AUSTRALIA PROJECT IN BASIC EDUCATION (PROBE)
REGIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS CENTER VII (RLMC VII)
Department of Education, Culture and Sports
Region VII, Central Visayas
Cebu City
Copyright © 1999 by PROBE
Revised Edition 2010

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Section 9 of Presidential Decree No. 49 provides:

“No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Republic of the Philip-
pines. However, prior approval of the government agency of office wherein the work
is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit.”

This material has been developed within the Project in Basic Education (PROBE) implemented by the
Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF) of the Department of Educa-
tion, Culture and Sports (DECS) in collaboration with the Bureau of Elementary Education, Bureau
of Secondary Education and the Commission on Higher Education. Prior approval must be given
by the PROBE Management Unit lodged at EDPITAF and the source must be clearly acknowledged.

Estela B. Susvilla Lia S. Chavez

ISF Elementary Math/Science Writer/Editor Elem. Math & Sience
Bohol Division PROBE RLMC VII
Writer Co-Writer

This INSET package has been edited and produced by the PA - PROBE RLMC staff .

This edition has been revised for online distribution through the Learning Resource Management
Development System (LRMDS) Portal by Region VII-Bohol under Project STRIVE for BESRA, a project
supported by AusAID.
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

Designing an Experiment
1 FACILITATOR’S GUIDE

Description

This workshop aims to orient science teachers on designing an experiment

to help them accomplish their objectives in teaching science.

Rationale

Experimenting is one way of allowing children to make discoveries and to

solve problems. Generally, children find something fascinating about experiments.
So, in designing experiments, we should capitalize on the children’s interest in “trying
out”. It should be structured so as to help children realize that an experiment is an
important way of discovering the answer.
The activities included in this workshop serve as reminders that merely
performing an experiment according to printed directions and recording the results
in blank spaces in a book is not enough. Experiments are not performed just because
we need an activity. They make work in science more interesting and meaningful.
Designing an experiment should not be developed among teachers only.
Pupils should also be provided with experiences to design their own experiments
so that they will have plenty of opportunities for thinking, reasoning and problem
solving.

Target Audience

Grades V and VI Science teachers

Duration

2 hours and 30 minutes

Objective

• design an experiment

Evaluation

The success of this workshop will be measured by:

• observing participants’ involvement in the activity
• participants’ ability to design their own experiment

1
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

Resource List

OHPT 1 Description and Rationale of the Workshop

OHPT 2 The Problem

Handout 1 Science Information

Activity Cards

Equipment

OHP and screen

2
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment
2 PRESENTATION PLAN FOR FACILITATOR
Session Time Activity Comment

1 5 min Introduction to the

Workshop
• Present Description and • Use OHPT 1 for the
Rationale of the workshop. presentation.

• Encourage participants to
raise any questions they have
or state their expectations
about the workshop.

Ask: What is an experiment? Let participants share what

Why do you perform an they know about the topic.
experiment?
Expected answers:
An experiment is
an activity which is carefully
planned, designed and executed
in order to find out if a hypothesis
is right or wrong.It is performed
to see what will happen or to
find out how something works.

2 45 min Grouping of Participants and

Brainstorming
• Divide the participants into 5
groups with 4 to 6 members.
• Present this situation: • Use OHPT 2 for the
presentation.
In one of your readings, you
learned that rice hulls can be
used as substitute for sand in
making hollow blocks.
Suddenly, a thought came
into your mind. Since sand
is used as soil conditioner
for plants needing good
drainage i.e. sand to be
mixed with soil when
planting African daisy and
camote, then maybe rice
hulls can be used as
substitute for sand as soil
conditioner.
Should you mix rice
hulls with soil and then plant

1
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

Session Time Activity Comment

camote or African daisy right
away? Or should you make
a test to determine the
correct amount of rice hulls
to be mixed with a certain
amount of soil?
Suppose you choose the • Refer to the activity cards
second option how would you given to each group.
do it?
• Distribute the activity cards
to each group.
• Allow approximately 15 • See to it that all members
minutes for each group to of the group will
study the experimental design contribute ideas/answers to
in the activity card and 5 the questions.
minutes to answer the
questions.
• Questions: Expected answers:

Q.1. Why does the setup have Q.1. We want to find out
different amounts or which amount or
weights of rice hulls? ` weight of rice hull
mixed with soil will
produce the desired
weight and size of
camote tuber. Thus, all
flower pots in the setup
have the same conditions
except in the amount of
rice hulls.(This is known
as the experimental
variable.)
Q.2. Why does the setup Q.2. We need it to check if
include one group of camote produces the
flower pots (T-O ) without desired tuber as those in
rice hulls? the other flower pot
even without the rice
hulls.Hence, we need to
control all the variables
except the experimental
variable, which is the
amount of rice hulls. T-0
is referred to as the
control setup, while T-1
to T-3 constitute the
experimental setup.

2
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

Session Time Activity Comment

Q.3. Why do we use a Q.3. We use the universally
specific unit (grams)
accepted unit of measure
and not just cans or for the sake of uniformity.
spoons? If we use cans or spoons,
these containers or
counters may no longer
be available in the future.
Q.4. Do all experiments have Q.4. Yes. Otherwise, the
control and investigation is not called
experimental setups? an experiment.
Ask: Now, will this simple
experiment help you
answer the questions
raised at the begin -
ning? Aside from this,
are there still some
things that need to be
investigated?
• Reporting • Since all groups are
answering the same set of
questions, request for a
volunteer to render the
report. Allow 3 minutes for
the reporting.
3 15 min Discussion/Input from the
Facilitator
• Discuss the science
information found in • Refer to Handout 1.
Handout 1.
• Distribute Handout 1 to
each participant.
Ask: What is the advantage Expected answer:
of designing an To help children
experiment carefully make discoveries and solve
and correctly? problems since an experiment
is done in response to a
perplexing problem.

• Let participants ask

questions or doubts they
might have in relation to
the science information
presented.

3
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

Session Time Activity Comment

4 35 min Designing an Experiment

• Let each group design an • Move from group

experiment based on the to group to monitor the
problem. Which portion members’ participation
of the cassave stalk will and to provide assistance
you plant to produce a when needed.
healthy cassava plant?
(portion near the base, • Present the following
middle portion, or the guide questions:
portion near the tip) • What experiment can
you perform to answer
the problem?
• State your hypotheses.
• Determine what
materials you will use
and the procedure you
will follow.
• What variables will you
control? What variable
will you test?
5 Presentation of Outputs
25 min
• Request each group to • Allow all groups to
publish their output and publish their outputs in
let the group reporter 2 minutes, while each
render the report. group reporter will be
given 3 minutes for the
reporting .

6 15 min Critiquing and Synthesizing

• Let participants study • Encourage participants to
each group output. make their feedbacks that
Ask: What can you say are positive and specific.
about the outputs? • Inform pupils that the
feedbacks they are going
to give is intended to help
rather than to criticize.
• Provide additional inputs
when necessary.
7 10 min Wrap-up
• Let participants give/share • Record responses given
a sentence or two about by the participants.
the workshop.

4
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

Handout 1

SCIENTIFIC WAYS OF
SOLVING PROBLEMS

Many events in this world stimulate the curious minds of young people.
Why does rusting occur? What causes an object to weigh less when submerged in
water? Do solids pass through liquids at the same rate? To answer questions like
these, several guesses or tentative responses called hypotheses are given. Trials
are carried out to check the hypotheses. A systematic way of testing a hypothesis
is called experimentation. It requires careful planning and designing.
In experimenting, the problem must be identified first and stated clearly so
that the activity to be performed is understood. The experiment should be orderly
and carefully planned. Information obtained should be organized and recorded. It
would be wonderful to design our own setup or experiment.
When one works on his/her experiments, he/she should be able to identify
a single factor which accounts for the observed change or changes. This factor
which is to be tested is called the experimental variable. The researcher should
limit his/her experiment to testing only one variable or condition, specifically the
one involved in his/her hypothesis. Factors that are not changed in the course of
the experiment are called control variables. The experiment should undergo two
or more trials. We call this replicating the experiment/research.
An example is the study of the effect of chicken manure on the growth of a
certain species of tomato plant. Our experimental variable is the amount of chicken
manure coming from a specific source. The control variables, on the other hand
are the amount and type of soil, tomato specie, amount of water and frequency of
watering, humidity, temperature and light. These are the factors that are to be held
constant.
If the tomato plants will be placed in flower pots, the flower pots will also
be of the same size and made from the same material. The experimental design
would look like this:

X X X X T-0 (control)
X X X X T-1
X X X X T-2
X X X X T-3

Where X stands for one flower pot.

T-0 is the control group or without treatment (no manure).
T-1 is treated with 2 grams of chicken manure.
T-2 is treated with 3 grams of chicken manure.
T-3 is treated with 4 grams of chicken manure.
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

Handout 1 cont.

Notice that there are four flower pots in each treatment. The reason for this
is that if one pot in a group gets damaged, you still have three more pots to base
your findings.
Make sure that observations made will be carefully recorded. These will
include number of leaves, color of leaves, thickness of leaves, height of stem,
diameter of stem base, number of flowers, size of flowers, and other details. The
researcher will have the option when to make the observations and recordings, be
it weekly or every other week.
Testing and retesting are important facts in an investigation or
experimentation. After finding out which treatment produced the healthiest
tomato plant, one may further try to find out the effect of that treatment by using
the mixture in another plant, i.e. onions.
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

OHPT 1

Description and Rationale

of the Workshop
Description

This workshop aims to orient science teachers on designing

an experiment to help them accomplish their objectives in
teaching science.

Rationale

Experimenting is one way of allowing children to make

discoveries and to solve problems. Generally, children find
something fascinating about experiments. So, in designing
experiments, we should capitalize on the children’s interest
in “trying out”. It should be structured so as to help children
realize that an experiment is an important way of discovering
the answer.
The activities included in this workshop serve as reminders
that merely performing an experiment according to printed
directions and recording the results in blank spaces in a book
are not enough. Experiments are not performed just because
we need an activity. Experimenting makes work in science more
interesting and meaningful. It provides plenty of opportunities
for thinking, reasoning and problem solving.
Designing an experiment should not be developed among
teachers only. Pupils should also be provided with experiences
to design their own experiments so that they will have plenty
of opportunities for thinking, reasoning and problem solving.
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

OHPT 2

The Problem

In one of your readings, you learned that rice hulls

can be used as substitute for sand in making hollow
blocks. Suddenly, a thought came into your mind. Since
sand is used as soil conditioner for plants needing good
drainage i.e. sand to be mixed with soil when planting
African daisy and camote, then maybe rice hulls can be
used as substitute for sand as soil conditioner.

Should you mix rice hulls with soil and then plant
camote or African daisy right away? Or should you make
a test to determine the correct amount of rice hulls to be
mixed with a certain amount of soil?

Suppose you choose the second option how would

you do it?

INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

ACTIVITY CARD

Problem: What is the effect of the different amounts of rice hulls on the growth
of sweet potato (camote) planted in flower pots?

Materials: 16 flower pots of the same size filled with 3 kg of soil each
16 camote cuttings from the same variety of camote cut with the samelength
(count 7 leaves from the top before cutting.)
ruler for measuring the height of plant growth, diameter of stem base,
width of leaves
watering can with holes at the bottom
weighing scale
rice hulls

Procedure:
1. Get some soil from the school compost pit. Pulverize the soil and remove
sticks and other materials that are not decomposed.
2. Fill each flower pot with 3 kg of the soil. If the soil is not enough for
all the flower pots, get some more soil from the same source.
3. Place .5 gram of rice hulls to four flower pots. Mix them well with the
soil. Label the pots T-1.
4. Place 1 gram of rice hulls to another four flower pots. Mix them well
with the soil. Label the pots T-2.
5. Place 1.5 grams of rice hulls to the next four pots. Mix them well with
the soil. Label the pots T-3.
6. Label the last four pots T-0. This is the control group with no treatment
given.
7. Plant one camote cutting to each flower pot. (Measure 6 to 8 cm from
the base. This is the length to be covered by soil.)
8. Place the pots in an area wherein they can receive equal amounts of sunlight.
9. Set the time for watering with the same amount of water for all pots using
the same can. If possible assign the same pupil to do the watering.
10. Allow some time before you start recording the results.
11. Use the format below:

After 3 weeks, the following were observed:

Table 1 Physical Changes Observed in Each Treatment

Height Diameter of Width of No. of tender
Treatment Rank Rank Rank Rank Over-all Rank
of plants stem base leaves leaves

T- 0
T-1
T-2
T-3
INSET PACKAGE: Designing an Experiment

Table 2 Color of Leaves in Each Treatment

Treatment Color of leaves Rank

After 6 weeks, the following were observed:

Table 3

Treatment No. of tubers Average weight of tubers Rank

Conclusion and Recommendation: