While studying student ideas during our meetings, teachers often segued into their own powerful science discussions. Our examination of one of these meetings of serves two purposes:

To provide an example of the rich, meaningful inquiry that responsive teachers should engage in so they can have the kind of experience intended for their students
To provide an example of teachers deepening their own understanding as one type of preparation for being responsive in the classroom

In the meeting showcased here, teachers were studying student ideas about evaporation of different liquids. The video below begins with Els telling the group that her students had wondered if the ocean evaporates, which led to an experiment comparing the evaporation of saltwater and tap water.

Video 1. Teachers discuss evaporation of saltwater and fresh water.

Examining the video.In their discussion teachers drew on several resources: the experiment in Els's classroom, information Bonnie read, the connection Kathy made to saltwater vs. fresh water for swimming pools, etc. Regarding saltwater evaporating more quickly than fresh, in lines 26 to 28 of the transcript Fred asks, Why might that make sense? How could that be accounted for? How are Fred's questions related to the practice of science? What are the teachers doing that is scientific? Scientifically, what is Donna doing in lines 35 to 39? (Donna is far left, just beyond the camera's view.)

In the next video Donna and Chris offer models to account for the saltwater's evaporation.

Video 2. Teachers discuss models for saltwater evaporation.

Examining the video. What are the two models that Donna and Chris develop? Do both models account for Els's claim that saltwater evaporates more slowly than fresh water? What are some aspects of this discussion that you would like to see in your own discussion with other teachers? What would help foster this kind of discussion?