Black tide – oil in the water

The Black tide – oil in the water SAILS inquiry and assessment unit focuses on the study of the effects of an oil spill on our coast. Students investigate an oil spill using a model system to simulate the behaviour of oil in water and identify factors that influence the spread of oil. Students can consider the ecological impact of an oil spill, and the challenges that are posed to scientists and society. This unit is recommended for implementation at lower second level, as a bounded or guided inquiry.

This unit can be used for development of many inquiry skills, in particular planning investigations, developing hypotheses and working collaboratively. In addition, students can develop their scientific reasoning skills through collecting data and drawing conclusions, and enrich their scientific literacy by critically evaluating their investigations. Proposed assessment methods include teacher observation, student artefacts and peer- and self-assessment.

This unit was trialled in Portugal, Hungary, Germany and Greece – producing five case studies of its implementation. Four case studies describe the experiences of teachers with lower second level students, while one Hungarian implementation was with upper second level students. Students in the case studies were aged 12-16 years and of mixed ability and gender. Planning investigations was assessed in four of the case studies, while developing hypotheses and working collaboratively were also assessed in some cases.

Unit booklet

Key content / concepts

The effects of an oil spills on our coasts
Chemical mixtures (behaviour of oil in water)
Equilibrium of ecosystems

Level

Lower

Inquiry skills and competencies assessed

Planning investigations
Developing hypotheses
Forming coherent arguments
Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning

Assessment methods

Classroom dialogue
Teacher observation
Peer-assessment
Self-assessment
Worksheets
Student devised materials
Presentations

The teaching and learning activities described in the Black tide – oil on the water SAILS unit were adapted from the iLit project, developed by Cláudia Faria at the Instituto de Educação da Universidade de Lisboa (IEUL) and funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. The activities were adapted for the SAILS project.

Since the 1970s, oil spills in the ocean have been frequently in the news. The Amoco Cadiz accident, which occurred in the French administrative region of Brittany in March 1978, is one of the most well-known. This disaster spilled 1.635 million barrels of oil, equivalent to about 220 tons. The Exxon Valdez accident, discussed in this unit, spilled 260 thousand barrels, or about 35 tons. The consequences of such spills for living species (including human beings) and ecosystems are dramatic. This activity aims to explore some of these consequences, allowing students to increase their scientific literacy while developing their inquiry skills. The Black tide – oil on the water SAILS unit is recommended to be implemented as a bounded or guided inquiry, and a suggested student worksheet is provided.

This unit offers opportunities for the assessment of all SAILS inquiry skills (planning investigations, developing hypotheses, forming coherent arguments, working collaboratively) and key competencies (scientific reasoning, scientific literacy). The teacher may carry out the assessment in class through observation and classroom dialogue, or utilise the student worksheets for evaluation. The assessment should be based on aspects such as understanding the terms and concepts involved, full development of the experiment (planning and implementing), correct handling of materials and equipment, accuracy in recording data and adequacy of the proposed experimental protocol (variables tested experimentally and answers to questions).

In addition to developing students’ inquiry skills, students can gain substantive and procedural knowledge. After carrying out the tasks in this unit, students should be able to explain the behaviour of oil in water, plan experiments and record data appropriately. Through development of their reasoning capabilities, students should be able to interpret data and make inferences. In addition, they should be able to communicate scientifically, using appropriate language and presenting data and ideas in different ways. This inquiry should encourage students to be curious and creative and to pursue their investigations with rigour and perseverance.

Below you can find the full inquiry and assessment unit for download, as well as an archive with classroom materials, including student worksheets and assessment tools for teachers to be used during the activities if available.

Unit booklet Classroom materials

Activity A: Black tide – oil in the water

Concept focus	The effects of an oil spill on our coasts Chemical mixtures (behaviour of oil in water) Equilibrium of ecosystems
Inquiry skills focus	Planning investigations Developing hypotheses Forming coherent arguments Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Identification of variables
Scientific literacy	Identifying the consequences of oil spills on ecosystems
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Worksheets Student devised materials

This activity develops over four phases; first, the students engage in discussion to raise a research question – how does oil behave when spilled in the ocean? Next, the students plan an experimental activity to investigate this question. For the third phase, students relate their experimental simulations to a real-world context – the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The final phase seeks to further students’ knowledge of the impact of an oil spill on the environment, and the associated social and economic effects.

This unit was trialled in four countries, producing five case studies of its implementation – CS1 Portugal, CS2 Hungary, CS3 Hungary, CS4 Germany and CS5 Greece. All the case studies were implemented by teachers who had some experience of teaching through inquiry and most of the students had prior experience of inquiry activities. However, in CS1 Portugal and CS5 Greece, the students had no prior experience with inquiry.

The case studies detail implementation at lower second level, except in CS3 Hungary which features a 9th grade class (upper second level). The students involved in the case studies were 12-16 years old and of mixed ability and mixed gender. In CS1 Portugal, the student group represented a very good performance level in school achievement.

CS2 Hungary and CS4 Germany describe two lesson periods of 45 minutes each. CS3 Hungary describes one lesson of 45 minutes, plus a double lesson period of 90 minutes. CS1 Portugal describes four 90-minute lesson periods, while CS3 Greece was implemented over three 45-minute lessons.

The key skill assessed was planning investigations, but the teachers in the case studies also selected additional skills to develop. The assessment methods described include classroom dialogue, teacher observation, evaluation of student artefacts and peer-assessment.

The inquiry approach used in all the case studies was that of bounded inquiry, i.e. it was guided in the sense that the teacher posed the initial question but there were open inquiry opportunities in that students had freedom in addressing the question. For example, the unit activities start with the introduction of an environmental problem, and the students are asked to plan an experiment related to this problem. This can be totally open (students propose a full experimental plan and implement their plans) or can be guided (students propose and discuss an experiment, but follow a given protocol for implementation).

This activity aims to contribute to the understanding of inquiry processes, such as experimentation and argumentation, and to the promotion of thinking skills, attitudes and values required for students to take an active role in decision-making about socio and environmental concerns. The activities of this unit can be used to integrate different curricular subjects (physics, chemistry, biology, geography, mathematics, environmental education).

The students in all the case studies worked in groups throughout the lessons, although group composition varied.

The Black tide – oil in the water SAILS teaching and assessment unit was recommended to teachers for the assessment of planning investigations and scientific reasoning, however implementation has shown that this activity is appropriate for assessment of the four SAILS inquiry skills – planning investigations, developing hypotheses, forming coherent arguments, working collaboratively – and scientific reasoning. Although the skills developed during these activities are valuable contributors to a students’ overall scientific literacy, no teacher chose to assess this dimension in the case studies. However, within the case studies the students’ increase in understanding of both the properties of oil in water, and how the experiment provides a model of a real-world oil spill is observed.

The assessment was conducted through the analysis of students’ artefacts in almost all case studies, which included worksheets and presentations. The teachers also assessed students’ skills through direct observation. Some teachers used rubrics for in-class evaluation of performance, although they may also be used for evaluation of student artefacts after the lesson. Peer-assessment was used in CS4 Germany and CS5 Greece. In all case studies, the teacher provided formative assessment through oral feedback, in particular during collaborative work. In some cases, the teacher provided written feedback at the end of the activity.

Below you can find the full inquiry and assessment unit for download (excluding the case studies), as well as an archive containing all the case studies.

Unit booklet Case studies

CS1 Portugal

Concept focus	Behaviour of oil in water
Activities implemented	Black tide – oil in the water
Inquiry skills assessed	Planning investigations
Assessment methods	Teacher observation Student devised materials
Level	Lower
Age	12-14
Prior experience with inquiry	No experience

The Black tide – oil in the water SAILS inquiry and assessment unit was implemented in full, with a focus on development of students’ skill in planning investigations. The teacher prepared a rubric that detailed success criteria for three dimensions of this skill – setting objectives, defining strategies and procedures, and selecting appropriate resources. The teacher provided written feedback to the students after an initial evaluation of their work, and carried out a second analysis at a later time.

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CS2 Hungary

Concept focus	Behaviour of oil in water
Activities implemented	Black tide – oil in the water
Inquiry skills assessed	Planning investigations Developing hypotheses Working collaboratively
Scientific reasoning	Defining variables
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Worksheets
Level	Lower
Age	13-14
Prior experience with inquiry	Some experience

In this implementation, the focus for assessment was on planning investigations and working collaboratively, as well as scientific reasoning in determining variables. The assessment was based on the students' worksheets and on responses to three questions asked by the teacher: "What variables did you notice during the experiment? Which variable or variables did you think were fixed? To what extent does your experiment support the idea of the group?" Assessment was formative and each group was given oral feedback.

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CS3 Hungary

Concept focus	Behaviour of oil in water Environmental impact of oil spills
Activities implemented	Black tide – oil in the water
Inquiry skills assessed	Planning investigations Developing hypotheses Working collaboratively
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Worksheets Student devised materials
Level	Upper
Age	15-16
Prior experience with inquiry	Very experienced

This case study details a bounded inquiry activity; following a whole-class and group discussions, student groups planned investigations and carried them out. The skills assessed were planning investigations, developing hypotheses and working collaboratively. For planning investigations, the groups were given grades based on their worksheets. Students’ skills in working collaboratively (cooperation, participation) and developing hypotheses (research questions) were also assessed though teacher observation using a scoring rubric.

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CS4 Germany

Concept focus	Oil pollution – removal of oil from water
Activities implemented	Black tide – oil in the water
Inquiry skills assessed	Planning investigations
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Peer-assessment
Level	Lower
Age	12
Prior experience with inquiry	Some experience

This implementation focuses on oil pollution and the challenge in removing oil from water. Therefore, the emphasis in the experimental phase was on removal of oil from water surfaces. When planning investigations, a “market place” method of group discussion and peer-assessment was utilised, where the groups showcased their ideas to their peers. Other assessment methods were teacher observation and classroom dialogue – the teacher watched, listened and gave advice for additional experiments.

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CS5 Greece

Concept focus	Environmental impact of oil spills Behaviour of oil in water
Activities implemented	Black tide – oil in the water
Inquiry skills assessed	Planning investigations Developing hypotheses Forming coherent arguments Working collaboratively
Assessment methods	Classroom dialogue Teacher observation Peer-assessment Self-assessment Worksheets Presentations
Level	Lower
Age	12-13
Prior experience with inquiry	No experience

In this case study, students investigated both the effects of wind and current on the spread of oil and the environmental impact of an oil spill. The skills assessed during their investigations were planning investigations, developing hypotheses, forming coherent arguments, and working collaboratively. The teacher observed the students during the activities and provided feedback. The teacher prepared rubrics for use when assessing written artefacts, as well as instruments for peer- and self-assessment.

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Black tide – oil in the water

Oil in our waters – cleaning up our mess!