The heart of ADI

Investigations

The core of Argument-Driven Inquiry. Students explore a real phenomenon, design and carry out an investigation, analyze data, and argue from evidence to build and defend an explanation. Built for grades K to 12 and available in NGSS and Texas TEKS editions.

NGSS & TEKS editionsHands-on kitsTeacher + student booksGrades K-12

How an investigation works

The seven ADI stages

Every ADI investigation moves through the same seven stages, so students learn to plan, test, and argue from evidence the same way from kindergarten through high school.

1 Task Meet the phenomenon Explore a real phenomenon and the guiding question, and sketch an initial model.
2 Ideas Gather key ideas Read short texts on the science, concepts, and practices behind it.
3 Plan Design the investigation Tool talk, then teams plan their investigation and get peer feedback.
4 Do Collect the data Carry out the plan, collect and analyze data, and form a tentative answer.
5 Share Argue from evidence Draft an argument, defend it in an argumentation session, and revise.
6 Reflect Reflect as a class Discuss the core science, crosscutting concepts, and practices together.
7 Report Write and review Write it up, peer review with the ADI rubric, then revise and submit.

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