12 HABITS OF MIND
12C) MANIPULATION AND OBSERVATION
Upper elementary- and middle-school students who can use measuring instruments and procedures when asked to do so often do not use this ability while performing an investigation. Typically a student asked to undertake an investigation and given a set of equipment that includes measuring instruments will make a qualitative comparison even though she might be competent to use the instruments in a different context (Black, 1990). It appears students often know how to take measurements but do not know when to measure or what to measure.