How do I encourage risk taking in KnowAtom science lessons?

Productive risk taking is at the heart of scientific sensemaking. Every KnowAtom lesson invites students to make claims before they are certain, test ideas that might not work, and revise their thinking in response to evidence. For many students, that can feel uncomfortable. The goal is not to remove that discomfort, but to help students experience risk taking as a normal, shared, and expected part of doing science.

This article focuses on two practical moves teachers can use within KnowAtom’s phenomena-based lesson structure: understanding what risk feels like for students, and making small instructional pivots that shift risk away from the individual and onto the ideas themselves.

What does risk taking feel like for students?

When students are asked to share an initial explanation, design an investigation, or argue for a claim using evidence, they are taking an intellectual risk. From the student’s perspective, that risk can sound like:

• What if my idea is wrong?
• What if someone else already knows the answer?
• What if I can’t explain my thinking clearly?

Research on learning cultures emphasizes that risk taking increases when students feel psychologically safe and when mistakes are framed as resources for learning rather than evidence of ability (Ritchhart, 2015). In a KnowAtom classroom, that safety is built through routines that position uncertainty, revision, and disagreement as normal parts of the scientific process.

Importantly, encouraging risk taking is not only a teacher move. The long-term goal is for students to take these risks themselves as habits of mind. When students independently ask clarifying questions, challenge evidence, or revise a claim without prompting, that is evidence that risk taking has become part of how they think and learn.

How risk shows up across grade spans in KnowAtom

Kindergarten

In early grades, risk taking often shows up as willingness to observe closely and share what they notice. In Weather in Our World, kindergarten students are asked to describe weather patterns using their own words and drawings. Saying “I think the ground feels warmer here” is a risk when there is no single correct answer yet. Teachers can support this by consistently treating student observations as data to be explored rather than judged.

Grades 1–2

In units like Animals on Earth or Land and Water, students begin forming explanations that connect structures and functions or cause and effect. Sharing an early claim about why ants behave a certain way or how water moves over land requires students to commit to an idea before all the evidence is collected. Risk taking here looks like students being willing to say “I think…” and then revise as investigations unfold.

Grades 3–5

Upper elementary students take more visible risks when they design investigations or defend claims using evidence. In Sound Waves or Matter and Electricity, students often propose different explanations for the same phenomenon. Disagreement becomes more explicit. Risk taking looks like publicly revising a model or acknowledging that data did not support an initial hypothesis.

Grades 6–8

In middle school units such as Atoms and Molecules or From Molecules to Organisms, risk taking includes arguing from evidence, questioning assumptions, and critiquing peer reasoning. Students may feel vulnerable when their explanations are challenged. At this level, encouraging risk means reinforcing that changing one’s mind in response to evidence is a scientific strength, not a weakness.

Simple pivots that de-personalize student risk taking

Small shifts in language and structure can dramatically change how safe students feel taking intellectual risks.

Shift the focus from the person to the idea

Instead of evaluating students, treat ideas as objects that can be tested and revised.

• “Let’s test this explanation against the data.”
• “What evidence supports this model?”
• “How does this idea hold up when we look at the investigation results?”

This aligns with KnowAtom’s emphasis on evidence-based consensus building and helps students separate their identity from their ideas.

Use plural ownership

Phrases like our model, our explanation, or our question communicate that thinking is shared. This reduces the feeling that one student is “on the spot” and reinforces collective sensemaking.

Normalize uncertainty explicitly

Say out loud what scientists already know:

• “At this point in the lesson, we are not supposed to be certain.”
• “Strong explanations usually change as we gather more data.”

Over time, students begin to say these things themselves, signaling that risk taking is becoming internalized.

Normalize mistakes

Mistakes are an expected part of scientific practice and can reveal important gaps in understanding. When teachers normalize mistakes, they help students see errors as data and invitations to think more deeply. Consider language such as:

• “This result isn’t what we predicted — what might this outcome be telling us?”
• “I want to pause here because this mistake could be really useful. It reveals where our model breaks down and points us toward what we need to explore next.”
• “Often our first explanations are incomplete; how could we revise this model to better fit the evidence?”
• “Thank you for putting that idea out there — even though it isn’t quite right, how does it help us think about the problem and move forward?”

These conditional prompts keep the focus on thinking and exploration rather than correctness, reinforcing that mistakes are part of learning.

Anchor risk in the investigation

When risk is tied to the process rather than performance, it feels safer. KnowAtom’s structured investigations help here. Students are not guessing randomly; they are testing ideas using materials, models, data tables, and observations. The investigation carries the weight, not the student.

Risk taking within KnowAtom’s lesson structure

Encouraging risk taking works best when it fits naturally into the existing lesson cadence:

• Phenomenon introduction: Students share initial observations and questions, knowing they are provisional.
• Concept mapping and dialogue: Multiple ideas coexist and are revisited.
• Investigation design and execution: Students test ideas rather than defend them prematurely.
• Data analysis and consensus building: Revision is expected and visible.

When teachers consistently position risk taking this way, students begin to mirror the practice. They challenge ideas respectfully, ask for evidence, and revise claims without waiting for permission. That is the habit of mind KnowAtom lessons are designed to build.

What to watch for as evidence of growing risk tolerance

Rather than looking for perfect explanations, watch for behaviors that signal healthy risk taking:

• Students volunteer tentative ideas.
• Students revise models without embarrassment.
• Students ask questions that challenge explanations.
• Students reference evidence even when it contradicts their initial thinking.

These are indicators that students are engaging as scientists and engineers, not just completing tasks.

Related KnowAtom articles

How can thinking be used to support sensemaking in KnowAtom science lessons?

References

• Ritchhart, R. (2015). Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools. Jossey-Bass.

• Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Making Learning Visible.