Don’s activity during the engage phase of GIsML is
noteworthy. Although other children struggle to build a
sensitive CDS successfully, Don is successful on his third
attempt. Furthermore, his success with this activity provides
him an occasion to share his expertise with other members
of his class. Don’s reluctance to leave the building activity
to make his lab notebook entry may be a reflection of the
success that he was enjoying, in hand with a reaction to the
challenges he is likely to confront while writing his notebook
entry. Don’s initial entry is lean and does not address
the teacher’s query: why or how can it (the CDS) do that
(sink and float). We know from the initial class discussion
that Don has some productive ideas concerning this explanation,
but these are not revealed in his written entry.