#285_Teamwork Fostered Through Gas Burner Performance Tests

I teach science at a junior high school.
This year, for the first time in a while, I conducted a performance test on gas burners, which is part of the first-year curriculum.

The procedure is as follows.
[Period 1]
1. Create an experimental plan to classify white powders.
2. List experimental methods and confirm necessary tools.
3. Learn that a gas burner is a tool used for heating experiments.
4. Develop a sense of need to learn how to use a gas burner.
5. Understand the structure of a gas burner (disassemble it to visually observe the relationship between the gas adjustment valve and the air adjustment valve).
6. Have everyone practice striking a match, and perform an activity where each group lights and extinguishes the gas burner once.
[Period 2]
1. Recall the previous period's activity and develop a desire to be able to light the gas burner on one's own.
2. Learn the procedure for the gas burner performance test.
<Rules>
- You must not check the gas burner ignition procedure in textbooks or reference materials. However, you may receive advice from one friend in the same group.
- You may ask someone in the same group to light the match. However, you must turn the gas and air adjustment valves yourself.
- Once you pass, you will be awarded a certificate and become a 'mini-teacher'.
- Mini-teachers gain the right to conduct tests. However, if the teacher re-tests a student who was judged as passing by a mini-teacher and that student cannot operate it correctly, the certificates of both the judging mini-teacher and the failing student will be revoked.
3. Set the goal for this period as 'Take the gas burner performance test and have everyone in the class (group) pass,' and encourage them to first have everyone in the group pass, and then everyone in the class.
4. Successful candidates write their names on the blackboard. Students tested by a mini-teacher write their names in parentheses ( ) to indicate this. (See photo below)

To put it simply, it was very interesting to see the children come alive.

The first person to pass was not a student who is typically good at studying, but rather one of the most energetic students in the class, known for her outstanding initiative and decisiveness.
As soon as she passed, she was called by name by many children, 'XX (her name)!', and was in high demand.

She moved around the classroom happily and ended up testing five people.

Perhaps energized by seeing that, the number of students attempting the test increased rapidly.

I only conducted the test for six students directly. All other students were tested by mini-teachers of their own choosing.

What is particularly noteworthy are the last two students who took the test.

Student A is a student who is not often seen initiating contact with friends.
I often see them alone during breaks.
Five or six students gathered around Student A, cheering them on with words like 'You can do it!' and 'Just a little more!'
This scene likely emerged because the goal was set not as 'I will pass,' but as 'Everyone in the group, everyone in the class will pass.'

The rule allowing for advice and retries also seemed to be effective.
For the mini-teachers, there may have been joy in helping friends succeed through their own efforts.

It was a practice where the rules, environmental settings, and mechanisms that motivate children to move worked well together.

What I was conscious of in this practice was the connection between the belief in 'a class where no one is left behind,' the goals, and the class structure.

To create an environment for that, I handed over teacher authority to the children.
I added conditions to prevent the lenient judgments or compromises that often occur among children.
I set rules that made it easier for everyone to achieve the goal by advising, teaching, and acknowledging each other's success.

I was able to reaffirm the meaning of the classes I had been conducting somewhat intuitively through theory.
This was a great joy.

One point for reflection is that some students ended up with idle time.
After everyone in their group passed, some students were wandering around looking bored.
A mechanism was needed for these students to support others or continue activities with a sense of purpose.

For example, the following activities could be considered:
1. Reflect in a notebook on 'Whose learning did I contribute to, and how?'
2. Organize common mistakes in lighting the gas burner or adjusting the flame and create a poster.
3. Support other groups as an advisor or cheerleader as needed.

Although challenges remain, it was a class that made me feel the potential for future expansion.

Next time, we will finally move on to applying these skills in the white powder classification experiment.
How will the skills they have acquired be demonstrated in an actual inquiry setting?
I am already looking forward to seeing the children in the next period.
The hidden potential of children is truly immeasurable.