Does How Does the Water Turn Yellow?Y

ellow?

Our classroom has taken on an interesting new twist lately. We decided to spice up the children's interactions and provide a new stimulus by changing the color of our water in the water table The children display an interest in colors, especially mixing colors and watching colors change. In order to support this interest Sarah, who was master teacher at the time, decided to use the water table to provoke questions on this concept. So in room 4 we put tub tints into the water. The first day we decided to have the children walk into the room with the water already dyed yellow. The children were invited to explore the water and question how the water turned this fascinating shade. Some of the children already had some guesses on how the water turned as the class had used these tubs tints last semester.

The next day of school the teachers decided that we would leave the water clear to start and then let the children themselves add the tablets to the water. We wanted to know the children's ideas of how the water changed color and how these colored tablets worked. The interaction with the water table involved Stefan and Brie. These two children were present for the adding of the water color and they struggled with how to understand these changes in the characteristics of this ordinary medium. Brie and Stefan were questioning how the water changed to yellow, but especially what about these tablets made the water change. The two children were wondering and struggling with the properties of the tub tints, such as where the tub tint goes, and what the tablet is made of. The whole of this provocation rested on the children's questioning of how water can change color and what characteristics of the tablets and the water allow for this discontinuity.

The color in the water table gave rise to questions in the minds of the children who explored this medium. These cognitive conflicts stemmed from the presentation of new materials to the children, and using old materials in new ways. Through the usage of these materials and some teacher assistance, in the form of guided questions, the children were able to gain knowledge and increase their performance level that would have been unattainable left solely on their own to hypothesize answers.

Stefan was the first child to experience this conflict. He was presented with questions concerning the properties of the tub tints and their effect on water. He showed this cognitive conflict by questioning what the tub tints would do and where they went. When asked what adding a second yellow tablet would do to the water Stefan was unsure of what the outcome would be. Left solely with a hypothetical situation Stefan would have been left in this state of confusion, unsure of what exactly the changes in the water would be, if any. Through the assistance of this material Stefan was able to see that putting in the second yellow tablet made the water more yellow. Stefan used this knowledge and carried it over to his exploration of the next tablet. Stefan thought that this tablet was white in color and therefore concluded that the water would turn white again. When Stefan discovered that the tablet had chalk on it and was indeed yellow, he changed his hypothesis to the tablet making the water yellow. Stefan demonstrated through the above reasoning that with the assistance of this material he was able to understand a very important characteristic of tub tints: the color of the tablet corresponds to the color the water becomes.

Stefan and Brie were also both struggling with a second property of the tablets, which was where the tablet went. Brie and Stefan were really questioning what happened to the tablet. Stefan knew that the tablet went away. He said "no we have to wait for it to be gone," referring to when you could put the next tablet in. Brie said that her tub tints just "don't go away." Brie had seen tub tints before and she knew that they didn't just leave. Brie said that the reason why her tub tints stayed was because no one drained the green water. Brie showed her awareness that the tub tints are in the water, that if the water is there then the tub tints are as well. Her understanding of this concept though is not wholly defined. When asked about where the yellow tablet went she said down the hole, because it could fit. Brie displayed her conflict over what really happens to something in water, she has not quite grasped how things dissolve in water, but with some more opportunities to explore this concept could be well on her way to understanding it. Stefan also, was struggling with what happened to the yellow tablet. He said that maybe the tablet got lost, but then he said it went away in the yellow water. Stefan knew that the tablet was in the yellow water somewhere, he was just not sure where, and he knew that the tablet went away slowly. Stefan through being questioned about what happened to the tablet and where it went,and watching the tablet was able to discern some knowledge about the tub tints. He discovered that the tints disappear and go away and that they are somewhere in the water. Brie and Stefan were both questioning the concept of a substance dissolving into another and they reached new conclusions about this idea.

The last cognitive conflict that the children faced was that of what the tablet is made of. Stefan and Brie were both unsure of what was coming out of the tablet. Once the tablet was put in the water it started to fizz, like alkaseltzer does. The tablet produced these bubbles and smoke like substance when it hits the water. Stefan and Brie wanted to know what happened to the tablet once it was in the water. Stefan thought that the stuff coming of the tablet was dust. He was very positive that there was dust coming out of the tablet. Even when asked a couple of times about what this thing was and hearing alternative answers from Brie, Stefan was sure it was dust. Stefan showed that he was not in conflict about what the tablet was made out of. He knew what it was. Stefan was able to touch the tablet and put it into the water and so he had some working knowledge of the physical properties of the tablet. Brie on the other hand did not get to touch the tablet, she just saw the bubbles coming out of the tablet. Brie thought that maybe this stuff was sparkle. She was not quite as sure about her answer as Stefan was about his. Brie was questioning what really the tablet was, because the next time she said that it was "smoky." Brie tried to relate this new material to things she has seen and has some working knowledge of. Brie really thought about what this material was and instead of coming up with what it actually was made of she described the new substance. Stefan and Brie were both questioning this tablet's physical properties and through different experiences with the tablet and different knowledge bases came up with very different, but equally intriguing answers to their quandary.

The usage of these colored tablets challenged Stefan and Brie. They were thrown into conflict by the problems that understanding this new material presented. Stefan and Brie though were able to use the material and problem solve within their zone of proximal development. Stefan used the tub tints to problem solve about how to change the water color. Stefan was able to use the tub tints and discover that the tablet turns the water a color and the color of the water correlates to the color of the tablet. Without directly experimenting with the tub tints Stefan would have been unable to gain this knowledge and his learning would have stopped. Instead through the usage of the material he was able to reach a higher level of performance and knowledge. Brie also was able to problem solve and reach a higher level of understanding through the usage of this material. Brie problem solved about where the tub tints went. She was able to gain knowledge about where the tub tint could have gone. By being able to look at the tub tint she discovered that it was possible for the tub tint to have gone down the hole in the water table, because it was small enough to fit. Both Brie and Stefan raised their level of performance with regards to the tub tints and the questions and problems that arose from them, by manipulating this material and being asked to define their thinking about the properties of the tablets. Stefan and Brie came out of this interaction with some new knowledge and also some unanswered questions. There are a couple of routes that one could take with these concepts next, in order to further enhance the children's learning. The first path would have to do with the changing of colors. In the classroom we are further developing this concept by allowing the children to mix different colors of water together, like red and blue together, or orange and green. The children are discovering what makes water change colors. The other route that one might take next has to do with the questions concerning things dissolving in water that arose from this exploration. We could develop this further by introducing other substances that dissolve in water and substance that do not dissolve in water. The children could experiment with what physical characteristics of objects allow them to dissolve in water. These are possible threads that our curriculum could run with in the future in order to more fully address the cognitive conflicts brought up by this activity.

Abby DeJackome

Room 4 Children