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Introduction

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 TEACHING SCIENCE WITH INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS
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WHAT IS AN INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK?

An interactive notebook is a tool students use to make connections prior to new learn-
ing, to revise their thinking, and to deepen their understandings of the world around
them. It is the culmination of a students work throughout the year that shows both
the content learned (input) and the reflective knowledge (output) gained. Put another
way, an interactive notebook provides a space where students may take what is inside
their brains, lay it out, make meaning, apply it, and share it with their peers, parents,
and teachers. I use the term interactive to describe how these notebooks can be used.
That is to say, the notebooks support interactivity and an exchange of ideas from
teacher to student, student to student, student to parent, and parent to teacher.
Heres what one student wrote about her interactive notebook:

Its like my own piece of property that I have to take responsibility for. It
shows my personal thinking and creativity. My notebook shows that I can
think for myself and figure out where I went wrong for myself instead of
someone telling me. I like my interactive notebook because I feel like its my
own little book where I can write my own questions and answer them.
However, I think it represents me. Like if I were to look through a strangers
interactive notebook, I would get a sense of their personality, toocool.

Teachers use interactive notebooks to increase student thinking and achievement.

They provide a means of communicating, tracking, assessing, and reflecting the work
students do. Interactive notebooks provide a window into the minds of students to
reveal their true understanding and their misconceptions, and they provide an
opportunity for teachers to open up new horizons for their students to explore.

HOW ARE INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS USED?

Below is a brief overview of the process of using notebooks as part of the science cur-
riculum. In the chapters that follow, we will examine the steps of using interactive
notebooks in much greater detail.
At the beginning of each science unit, the teacher works with the class to develop
an overarching question or problem that will be researched during the unit. All
learning during the unit will be linked back to this question.
The unit continues with several lab investigations. The teacher starts each one
with a key question, giving students time to write what they think in their notebooks
and then discuss it in groups. The teacher and students explore the ideas in class,
and students individually form their hypotheses. This allows students to start thinking
about the topic and prepares students for the next step.
Students then participate in an inquiry-based investigationgathering data,
observing, forming questions, making sketches, and beginning to formulate ideas
about the topic being studied. Student interaction and probing questions by the
teacher and peers are essential parts of the process. Students record the processes
and data in their notebooks.
After the investigation is over, the students and teacher come together as a class
for a discussion (I call this an accountable talk session), where the collected data is
used to make meaning of students initial ideas and questions. This is the exciting
part of the process. Discussions may become heated as students ideas are challenged.
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The evidence that was gathered during the lab drives the entire conversation, and
some students hold on to their beliefs, while other students change theirs. Sometimes,
students discuss the idea that the data might be flawed because of too many vari-
ables. For example, during one discussion, two students debated the idea that the
tests performed on various gasses produced minimal results because the method
that some groups used to gather the gas was crude. The conversation went on for
over 30 minutes, until the class came to the conclusion that as long as they noted
whether the gas burned or not it was fine because no exact numbers were being
applied to the final conclusion.
A homework assignment completes the processing. Using their notebooks,
students write conclusions or summaries, create graphs, or complete other similar
assignments designed to push their thinking to the next level.
On subsequent days, students complete additional investigations, using their
notebooks and following this same process. Students become accustomed to and
comfortable with a process that starts with a question, introduces ideas through lab
or other inquiry experience, includes hypothesizing, collection of data, presentation
of evidence, and summarization. Keeping this lesson framework constant, with vari-
ation in the learning experiences to keep interest high, this scientific method for
investigation becomes the continuing mode through which to explore any new ideas
in class. The process, patterns, and expectations remain the same. By following an
established protocol that stays constant, the student has the teachers format to rely
on every day and every lesson.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF

USING INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS?
The benefits of using interactive notebooks can be considered from three vantage
points: developing students thinking in ways that prepare them to be part of
the 21st-century workforce, increasing communication between stakeholders, and
differentiating instruction.

Preparing Students to Compete Globally

On the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, U.S. students performed
poorly compared to their counterparts in other countries. These results have fueled an
increased sense of urgency in regard to improving science instruction in U.S. schools.
According to Wallis (2006), schools can better prepare students for the future by

Starting earlier in the students developmental stage;

Monitoring the gap between minority and majority social classes;
Providing opportunity to challenge students, to push them further;
Using computers to support instructional goals rather than just to be using them;
Providing inquiry lessons that bridge relevant content; and
Involving the community.

Using interactive notebooks in the classroom targets all of the aforementioned needs
and helps develop the globally competitive student. Notebooks address these needs by

Connecting students thinking and experiences with science concepts;

Engaging students in collaborative inquiry as a way of learning science content;
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Providing opportunities for all students;

Creating a concrete record of reflection, assessment, and connections that can
be viewed and discussed;
Developing academic language; and
Providing students with an opportunity to think critically and make informed
decisions.

The interactive notebook becomes real evidence of student learning and thinking,
a shaping tool for future productive citizens in the science world.

Increasing Communication Between Stakeholders

Notebooking promotes communication between the stakeholdersstudents,
teachers, and parents. A science classroom exposes students to shared experiences of
observable marvels or happenings. The interactive notebook is a way of capturing
these common experiences on paper, in a place where it wont get lost, so that
students can refer back to the common experiences whenever they need them as a
way of driving discourse. This provides students with an opportunity to come to
consensus and build on the knowledge that was collaboratively gained.
Consider an example based on Newtons first law of motion. As part of their
inquiry, students observed low-friction cars at rest and at a constant speed moving
in the same direction. They observed the interactions and collected data (input).
Figure 1.1 shows an example of student observations. Students used their findings
as evidence to support their ideas about the phenomena (output). The interactive
notebooks provided a means of communicating with the teacher. The teacher read
the students work and gained an understanding of their thinking processes. Student
entries become evidence not only of what they know but also of how they know it.
Entries also indicated what students dont know.
The interactive notebook also enhances communication between the student and
the parent or the teacher and the parent. Parents can simply pick up the interactive
notebook and start asking questions about the students entries. The interactive
notebook provides parents with evidence of a students conceptual understanding
and personal reflections. A notebook rubric, which is permanently affixed in the
front of the notebook, can be used by parents, teachers, and students to discuss
expectations and the extent to which the student is meeting them.

Differentiating Instruction to
Meet the Needs of All Students
When working with English language learners or students with special needs, the
interactive notebook is an effective tool for the development and reinforcement of scien-
tific or academic language. The notebook provides a safe place to practice writing and
express prior knowledge and newly acquired knowledge. The interactive notebooks can
be reviewed at meetings with intervention teachers and language specialists to provide
evidence about how students are developing in your science class. It can help facilitate
the development of intervention strategies for students with special needs.
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Figure 1.1 By looking at this sample of a students observations, one can see that the
lab experiment helped guide the student to his final concluding ideas.
His use of diagrams is helpful to the teacher because they show what he
observed, and they make it easy to follow his thinking process. The
diagrams become evidence for his final ideas. In those concluding ideas,
he sums up Newtons first law.

WHAT RESEARCH SUPPORTS

USING INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS?
Notebooks support effective science instruction in a multitude of ways. According to
How Students Learn: Science in the Classroom (Donovan & Bransford, 2005) science
instruction should
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Elicit and address students prior conceptions of scientific phenomena;

Help students build deep understandings of science subject matter and of sci-
entific inquiry (i.e., what it means to do science); and
Help students monitor and take control of their own learning (metacognition).

Thoughtful use of interactive science notebooks can help meet all three of these
recommendations. The interactive science notebook allows students the opportunity
to identify their preexisting ideas, deepen and refine their scientific ideas through-
out the learning activities, and reflect on their learning.
Beyond the connection to the general findings of Donovan and Bransford (2005)
about effective science instruction, researchers have found specific evidence of how
interactive notebooks promote student learning and increase achievement.

Science notebooks expose students thinking, providing important insights

about student understandings and serving as formative assessment tools
(Hargrove & Nesbit, 2003; Gilbert & Kotelman, 2005).
Notebooks encourage active learning and provide opportunities for students
to pursue their own interests and tackle authentic problems (Hargrove &
Nesbit, 2003; Gilbert & Kotelman, 2005).
Notebooks offer numerous opportunities to develop and enhance students
writing skills (Gilbert & Kotelman, 2005; Young, 2003).
Notebooks provide a structure and support for differentiated learning, help-
ing all students to achieve (Amaral, Garrison, & Klentschy, 2002; Gilbert &
Kotelman, 2005).
Interactive notebooks help improve students organizational skills (Madden,
2001).
Notebooks facilitate communication with parents and can be used to provide
them with evidence of student growth (Hargrove & Nesbit, 2003; Young,
2003).

Some of the research on the use of notebooks focused directly on students

understanding of doing science and the nature of science and found that

Thoughtfully implemented science notebooks use reflective writing and include

a think-aloud feature that is common to the notebooks of actual scientists as they
explore the world in a first hand manner (Magnusson & Palincsar, 2003);
Science notebooks engage students in authentic science processes, such as
recording information and data and engaging in research, collaboration, and
analysis (Hargrove & Nesbit, 2003; Young, 2003); and
Using an interactive notebook allows a student to think, record data and
observations, and reflect just as professional scientists do (Young, 2003).
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A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW NOTEBOOKS

SUPPORT EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION
We can consider notebooking from another vantage pointby examining how the
processes of notebooking correlate with the nine effective strategies identified by
Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock (2001) in Classroom Instruction That Works. Figure 1.2
shows how these strategies are integral to interactive-notebooking processes.

Figure 1.2 Interactive Notebooks and Effective Instructional Strategies

Strategies Described in
Classroom Instruction That Works Interactive Science Notebooks

Identifying similarities and differences Notebooks are used by students to record their
observations and make connections between
concepts.

Summarizing and note taking Students take notes as they complete science
investigations and write summaries during
each unit.

Reinforcing effort and providing recognition Notebooks provide an ongoing record of

student work and growth, leading to recognition
from their peers, teachers, and parents.

Homework and practice Homework assignments and practice are built

into the use of interactive notebooks, providing
valuable processing opportunities.

Nonlinguistic representations Students illustrate their observations during

each inquiry-based lab activity and create
different kinds of graphs to represent their data.

Cooperative learning Students work with partners and in teams to

complete investigations and engage in
classroom discourse.

Setting objectives and providing feedback Students help identify key questions to explore
during each unit. Notebooks allow the teacher
to provide continual, specific feedback.

Generating and testing hypotheses Students build the habit of generating

hypotheses before beginning their explorations.

Questions, cues, and advance organizers Questions are present throughout students
interactive notebooks, and the notebooks are
richly littered with graphic organizers.

The following examples of student work show how interactive science note-
books incorporate many effective instructional strategies.
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Identifying Similarities and Differences

Figure 1.3 This is an excellent example of the differences between a series and parallel
circuit. As an educator, it is clear to me that the student understands the
concept of how each works. Again, look at the use of arrows which provide
information about her understanding not only of how each circuit works,
but also how the energy flows and in which direction.
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Figure 1.4 This is a graphic that a student created to show her understanding of the
similarities and differences between magnetic interactions and electric
charge interactions.
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Summarizing and Note Taking

Figure 1.5 Under Observations, the student recorded pieces of information that
she can use later to formulate or back up claims. She was experimenting
with a wooden puck connected to a balloon to see how forces affect
motion. Her comments that The balloon slowly got smaller decreasing in
speed while gliding on a cushion of air and The puck slowed down
because it sometimes just floated in place unless you pushed it can be
used later as evidence to prove that forces affect motion.

Figure 1.6 Under Throughout Observations, the student wrote specifics about
mass and how it decreased, then she self-corrected by writing that the
mass should have remained the same both before and after. The final
bullet is a starting point for her claim, In a closed system interactions do
not change their mass, which answers the question, In a closed system,
does the mass increase, decrease, or stay the same?
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Homework and Practice

Figure 1.7 For this homework assignment, I asked students to observe an interaction
at home and create an energy diagram. At the bottom of the page, I asked
for a parent signature, which serves two purposes: one, to make the
parent check the homework; and two, to force a conversation between
the parent and student. This gave the student an opportunity to
reinforce what he learned in class by having to explain and teach the
idea to his parent.
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Nonlinguistic Representations

Figure 1.8 This student shows her understanding of an interaction by drawing

butter in a pan before and after it melts. The arrows point to the object
that changes state, and the drawing shows the butter changing shape.
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Figure 1.9 The student shows her understanding of how magnets interact, and you
can clearly see from the use of arrows that she understands how magnets
interact on both the north and south poles. The student even draws the
force field that shows the relationship to energy, revealing a deeper
understanding of the interaction between the two. This is the work of a
student for whom English is a second language, so the nonlinguistic
representations are keys to understanding her thinking processes.

Generating and Testing Hypotheses

Figure 1.10 This is an example of a hypothesis.

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Figure 1.11 This notebook sample shows a students thinking from beginning to end
in the development of a science-fair project that spans six months. She
came up with a testable question and through research developed a final
hypothesis. You can see the development clearly as you read through to
her final hypothesis.
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Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers

Figure 1.12 This student uses a T-chart as a way of sorting and organizing her
thoughts.

Figure 1.13 This is an example of a student response to a key question. A key

question is a way of tapping into a students prior knowledge and
giving the student a focus point for the days work. The student knows
that there is a source and a receiver, but he is still searching for the
how part of the concept. Every second page in the interactive
notebook begins with a key question, providing plenty of opportunity
for students to experience this way of thinking.
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MAKING CONNECTIONS

At the beginning of the year, a class was studying basic electricity concepts. Students
investigated the properties of interactions in an open and closed circuit. In their note-
books, they drew, labeled, and explained how these circuits work. They engaged in a
series of explorations in which they were trying to make a light turn on, a buzzer sound,
and a fan blow air all at the same time. They explored ways to make this happen by
using both open and closed circuits. Students inquired, Why does this one work? Why
would it be better to use that one? These were excellent questions at the time of the
lab. But, the real payoff for using notebooks came in March, when students were trying
to make meaning of chemistry ideas, and the concept of open and closed systems came
up. Because the students had learned to rely on their notebooks to generate conversa-
tion, they were able to go back and reference their lab work earlier in the year to inform
their conversations.
During an accountable-talk session, one of my students, Jason, said,

An open and closed system is very similar to open and closed circuits because in a
closed circuit the energy keeps flowing around and around, keeping the energy in
that cycle. In a closed system, nothing can come in or out, it can only move within
the system. In an open circuit, the energy can be cut off by a switch that can open
and close, allowing energy to flow in or out, making the bulb turn on or shut off.
Kind of like an open system that allows mass and volume to increase or decrease
because matter can travel in or out of that system.

The conversation continued, and when another student asked for evidence, Jason refer-
enced the data from the lab five months earlier to back up his point. Although Jason was
not completely accurate, he was able to use the notebook to identify similarities between
the two lab explorations.
From there, the students and I built on Jasons comparison to generate comments about
contrast as well as similarity. Other students found differences that also led to a rich dis-
cussion. Though the two lab explorations were 5 months apart, the students were able to
refer to their earlier learning to construct new understanding. If these students had been
completing assignments the traditional wayusing loose-leaf paper, or even science mate-
rials in packetsthe earlier data would have been unavailable, having been discarded and
recycled long ago. Because the notebook was maintained all year, Jason had it in front of
him, and he used it, which made him feel smart, and helped him draw conclusions around
another concept.
Using notebooks helps students come to see learning as integrated. Students rely on the
data and become accustomed to asking one another for evidence to back up their thinking.
This example also illustrates how interactive notebooks or journals reinforce student effort
and provide a way to recognize student work. Jason feels well armed with data and confi-
dent enough to speak out to the class with his findings and ideas. His hard work and efforts
pay off, and he feels recognized for those efforts, recognized by his teacher and, more impor-
tant, by his peers.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BEGIN

Like most effective educational practices, incorporating interactive science note-
books into the classroom is a learning process for the teacher. Becoming skilled in
their use will not happen overnight for you or your students. The implementation of
notebooks takes time in the beginning of the year to set up. You will need to set the
parameters and make the expectations very clear for your students from the begin-
ning. Chapters 5 and 6 will go into detail about the first days of school and how to
set the stage for notebooking all year.
When thinking about your expectations for interactive notebooks, try to set clear
goals that you can sustain all year long. These should be goals you care about and
believe are important to overall student learning. For example, if you want students to
write in complete sentences, you need to begin holding them accountable for this in
September, and continue with the same expectation through the school year to May.
Maintaining successful notebooking throughout the year will take time and
effort. It takes patience to work through initial problems. It will be easy to say, Its
not working, so forget it! I encourage you to start the process, maintain it to the best
of your ability, make changes and adjustments where needed, and know that you
will do better next year. If you have been using interactive notebooks for a while,
challenge yourself to add something new, or focus on a weakness with the goal of
increasing student achievement.

Figure 1.14 In my first year using interactive notebooks, I just wanted a place for
students to record their work. I wasnt thinking much beyond that. The
notebooks that year had little metacognition and were more teacher
guided. In the sample below, there is no use of color, the student writes
in incomplete sentences, and her work itself doesnt tell me much about
what she knows.
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Figure 1.15 Here is an example of a more recent notebook page. The student uses
color, text features, diagrams, and pictures to document what she is
learning. An opportunity has been provided to make meaning of the
concept; the work is more student-generated, and it shows in-depth
understanding of these new ideas.
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CLASSROOM SNAPSHOT
What should you see when students use interactive notebooks in your classroom?
You should see students constantly using their interactive notebooks! The interactive
notebook should be open at all timesduring a lab, while using the textbook, and
during student discourse.
You should see students writing. The entire interactive notebook is filled with
writing from the beginning to the end. Students get the chance to practice writing,
revise their writing, complete formal writing, do summary writing, and write con-
clusions both after labs and for graphs. Writing helps to synthesize student thinking
and is used as a way for students to communicate to teachers what they know.
When you open up a notebook, you should see work on every page. You should
see the use of text features such as highlighting, color, graphics, headings, and writ-
ing. Different parts of each page should jump out at you.
You should see the student work getting progressively better through the note-
book pages. You should be able to see the thought process of the students. You
should see thoughtful responses with self-reflection embedded in the work; you
should see revisions and students adding to previous ideas that were already
recorded in their notebook.
The classroom as a whole should be more student driven, with less and less
teacher-guided moments as the year advances. Your classroom might be noisy due
to the inquiry-type of activities the students are participating in. You might see
students talking while using their interactive notebooks as a way of driving discus-
sion. You may hear students using data to back up their claims and making connec-
tions to various labs.
You will see students experiencing a high degree of ownershipfor their learn-
ing and their work. This ownership can provide the teacher opportunities to ask for
more out of students, and because they are passionate about their notebooks,
students will go the extra mile, which leads to student growth.
You will also see an increase in student discourse. Students will talk in order to
clarify ideas, hear new ideas, build on existing ideas, and come to a group consen-
sus about concepts that are introduced in class. Students will use the evidence in
their notebooks to back up their statements.

SUMMARY
An interactive notebook is a tool used by teachers to increase student thinking and
achievement. Interactive notebooks can be used to track, reflect, communicate, and
assess the work students do. They are a record of the work done by students
throughout the year. The interactive notebook is a tool of opportunity to help bridge
the learning gap. When thinking about implementing the interactive notebook in
your classroom, it is helpful to remember to

Choose a time to begin using interactive notebooks, and just do it!

Focus on goals and components that are important to you, and stick with them;
Use interactive notebooks to help students to become better thinkers; and
Take advantage of their power as tools for interactivity between stakeholders.
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Figure 1.16 This is a fabulous example of a typical students notebook page. The
focus is on metacognition and explaining through writing what she
learned. This example shows the student questioning, self-correcting,
diagramming, processing, and understanding friction through pictures
and written examples. Notebooking enhanced her individual creative
process. Some notebooks become a source of personal pride as works
of art.
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Figure 1.17 This sample shows how students use the notebooks as a way of
self-correcting the work they do. This student added to his work after
participating in a group discussion about the various types of
interactions.