From Curiosity to Collaboration: Using Scientist Circle to Deepen Student Thinking (STEM)

Speaker: Joyce McHenry

Scientist Circle is a student-centered discussion strategy designed to spark curiosity, deepen thinking, and build academic discourse. In this session, participants will experience how students generate questions from a video or real-world phenomenon, then engage in a structured semicircle discussion to share observations, build on peers’ ideas, and collaboratively make sense of what they notice and wonder. This strategy leads to impressive student engagement and sustained collaboration while naturally supporting cross-curricular connections in science, reading, and writing. Participants will leave with ready-to-use structures, discussion stems, and classroom examples that support inquiry-based learning, gifted/high-capability learners, and diverse learners through voice, choice, and authentic sensemaking.

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This session qualifies for a STEM Clock Hour.

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