Table 1 presents a set of claims and supporting evidence
derived from the analyses of observational and artifact data
collected on five identified students in one fourth-grade
classroom. This class was engaged in the GIsML program
of study that examined why objects sink and float. Much of
the investigation focused on (a) constructing and manipulating
the Cartesian diver system (CDS),4 (b) working within
small groups to construct an explanation for how it is that
the diver within the CDS can both float and sink, (c)
designing posters to share the group’s explanation with the
class, and (d) participating in whole-class presentations and
discussions regarding the CDS.
The five students for whom data were collected included
four students who were identified as having learning
disabilities and one student whose parents refused school
services for the learning disabled, although she had been
identified as having learning disabilities and was being
provided supplementary support outside of the school
setting. Table 1 suggests that there were different classes of
claims that arose as the profile for each child was analyzed.
Some of the claims were related to opportunities that
were fostered or denied as a consequence of the children
gaining entrée to the activity; other claims were related to
the students’ responses to the print literacy demands. Data
used to support these claims were drawn from a broad
range of sources, including observations that were gathered
in real time via field notes or that were constructed later
with the use of video records, interviews with the children,
and the students’ artifacts.
These claims were then used to inform the design of the
individual case studies. The case of Don, presented in the
following section, illustrates the pattern demonstrated by a
number of identified students who experienced difficulty
documenting their thinking in the course of the inquiry.