Suffice to say my ImagineIt project has evolved greatly from its original inception. I was envisioning something like a project that weaves through the whole year. My thought was this would enhance my teaching practices, as well as my students’ learning. While this notion gave me some focus during my early planning stages, it really wasn’t what my heart told me this project should be. The ImagineIt project by virtue of its name is about what “can be” in my classroom, not a new name for old practices and ideas. My solution to this task is both complicated, and simple. I want to educate my students in the content standards they will need to be successful in the understanding of science, but more importantly I want to teach them the tools, and processes that will make their learning theirs.
These students are in most ways typical seventh grade students. They are in an odd point in their life, in the fact that they are pushing towards adulthood. My school is in a very diverse neighborhood, with mostly single family homes, and scattered apartments and condominiums. We have many immigrant students, and emergent English language learners. Having worked with this population for many years, I embrace the diversity and make it a part of my teaching practices, under the notion we all bring something to the learning table. I have access to Chromebooks, laptops, a computer lab, and have purchased a classroom set of webcams to expand our media presence this year. Because we are moving to new standards in the coming years, I have embedded the curriculum with opportunities to engage with these practices and content knowledge. For each unit, I will revisit previous content presentations, revitalize them with some new technology, courtesy of Prezi and Microsoft Mix, and I will make this revamped content available online, to give them more time to interact with their learning.
I have always been a backward planner. This is especially true of lesson planning. In the grade I teach, seventh, the students focus on the life sciences; Cells, Ecology, Evolution, and Genetics. Although each branch has unique learning attached to it, they tend to feed into each other in terms of their over-arching relationship. I have spent a bit of time pondering what questions my students need to be able to answer, in order to show mastery of these topics. In Understanding by Design, these are called essential questions. Questions that open the door to student understanding. Questions whose answers should be remember for life.
These questions will provide the structure for my students learning this year. We will start with some general ideas about the scientific method. A foundational topic to structure future learning. We will seek to answer the following Essential Questions:
· How can science be used to study people?
· To what extent can science be used to solve problems?
· Why is the accurate collection of data important in science?
My goal is that they understand that social decisions are made through careful examination of scientific research. During the course of this learning I will embed important skills such as multiple problem-solving perspectives, the Scientific method, how to collect data, Experimental design, how to follow lab procedures, identify constants, variables, and controls, analyze patterns in data, and how the metric system is used in science. In the end I expect them to show me they can follow procedures relating to scientific investigations including formulating hypotheses, controlling variables, collecting and recording and analyzing data, interpreting results, and reporting and displaying results. They should be able to distinguish among and answer questions about performing the following: observing, drawing a conclusion based on an observation, form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, organizing data, construct and read charts and graphs, as well as compare data. This will be achieved by immersion in hands on labs of their own design. With some guidance and materials I am hoping they will be able to develop these skills, and then document their learning in video format. I will work with them to produce a cohesive video that will capture the process and mastery of these skills.
After this we will move on to cells. Many students confuse cells with atoms, perhaps because they are both relatively tiny. It is imperative they understand the difference. To get to this learning, they need to grasp the concept that the parts of a cell work together to function as a whole. Not unlike a human body. The understandings I want them to take away are:
· How are nutrients and oxygen distributed throughout your body?
· To what extent is the cell a system?
· How do your cells maintain homeostasis?
To get to this knowledge they will have to learn cell structure, and the differences between plant and animal cells. I want them to document this learning, but this time by producing an animation to show how cells function and reproduce. Using simple tools, and materials this will cement their understanding of the cell, and of course how it is not an atom.
Ecology is our next topic. It is a subject close to my heart. I have always been ecologically concerned, and I hope to impart this concern to my students. To do this I want them to understand the dynamic nature of an ecosystem and the interactions between living and non-living factors. The essential; questions they will answer are;
· How do my actions impact my environment?
· To what extent am I responsible for the environment?
· How can we preserve our planet?
By the end of this unit they should be able to define ecosystems and biomes, know the three important cycles for the survival of living things, and explain how the number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available. Also we will examine competition among different organisms for food and shelter, and more importantly space. I really want students to understand their role in this. To document this learning, I will teach them some basic computer programing and guide them to create virtual ecosystems, to play out scenarios of their own creation to determine how ecosystems function.
After ecology we will move on to evolution. By the end of this unit they will understand that all organisms alive today are descended from ancestors that lived in the past. In terms of essential questions we will examine:
· How do species evolve?
· What is meant by evolution?
· To what extent does genetic mutation play a role in evolution?
The students will need to compare Darwin to Lamarck, explain the role of mutations, identify key events in evolution, and discuss variation and its role in evolution. To gain understanding we will create presentations using Prezi, Microsoft Mix, and IMovie. These will include identifying a modern organism, research its earliest ancestors of the organism and the intermediate forms that led to the modern animal, compare and contrast modern and intermediate specie's adaptations, compare and contrast the environmental conditions that influenced evolution, and finally describe the timeline associated with the organism’s evolution.
Finally we will tackle genetics. What I want them to take away from this is twofold. First the important content, they should understand that every person has unique characteristics that distinguish them from other people. To do this we will look at the essential questions;
· How does DNA work?
· To what extent are traits inherited?
· What are the ethics of genetics?
The ethics are very important as we enter an age where genes can be manipulated, changing the very nature of what defines living things. By the end of this unit they will be able to predict patterns in heredity, model cell division, both mitosis and meiosis, explain the role of dominant and recessive genes, analyze genetic traits, and calculate the probability of the occurrence of a trait. As far as demonstrating this knowledge is concerned, I will leave this up to the individual student. I want them to use the skills they used during the year to create a representation of this knowledge. I don’t want to put constraints on the final product that stifle their creativity, I want them to create something they will remember for life.
Effective approaches are based on evidence, and effective pedagogical practices use high quality resources and approaches that have been built around a strong evidence base. The selection of a particular approach, usually depends on the response to identified student learning needs. I tried to be careful in matching research and projects to the nature of the topic the students are examining. The various projects, each tied to a media skill will not only develop my students’ content knowledge, but also give them the ability to share their learning in forms other than the written word, and unit tests. With a strong awareness of what has been demonstrated to be effective, I am looking to make sure that every student is engaged, and able to master research-based practices that promote communication that will keep my students engaged, feel safe to take risks, and challenged to do their best.
In the end I am hoping for some meaningful connections between my students and their learning. Last spring I requested the students each have a composition book to journal in this coming school year. I am hoping to actually wrangle a computer cart to support their learning which would allow them several methods of documenting what they have experienced in the classroom. Videos, webcasts, blogs, and Google documents are all possibilities. I will take care to weave the use of technology through my plans for a purpose. This will give me the opportunity to model, and share processes with my students, and to help them build a 21st century skill set. This year we will embrace the genie that escaped the bottle, and use it to master the unknown. Because I want my students to enjoy what they are doing, I want to give back to my classes. To do this, I will allow them one day a week to work on media skills and projects of their choice. I am thinking they will use this time develop the skills that interest them most, and find other students with common interests to build upon each other’s knowledge. In formal terms this is a “20 percent” project of their own choosing. Within the most basic of guidelines, they will be in charge of their learning for one day a week. The goal is to have them produce a project of their choosing, while working collaboratively with their peers. I will group them by interest, and have the groups report out their progress and discoveries on a regular basis. In the short term Google documents will serve as a classroom communication tool, enabling me to monitor and review their work.
These students are in most ways typical seventh grade students. They are in an odd point in their life, in the fact that they are pushing towards adulthood. My school is in a very diverse neighborhood, with mostly single family homes, and scattered apartments and condominiums. We have many immigrant students, and emergent English language learners. Having worked with this population for many years, I embrace the diversity and make it a part of my teaching practices, under the notion we all bring something to the learning table. I have access to Chromebooks, laptops, a computer lab, and have purchased a classroom set of webcams to expand our media presence this year. Because we are moving to new standards in the coming years, I have embedded the curriculum with opportunities to engage with these practices and content knowledge. For each unit, I will revisit previous content presentations, revitalize them with some new technology, courtesy of Prezi and Microsoft Mix, and I will make this revamped content available online, to give them more time to interact with their learning.
I have always been a backward planner. This is especially true of lesson planning. In the grade I teach, seventh, the students focus on the life sciences; Cells, Ecology, Evolution, and Genetics. Although each branch has unique learning attached to it, they tend to feed into each other in terms of their over-arching relationship. I have spent a bit of time pondering what questions my students need to be able to answer, in order to show mastery of these topics. In Understanding by Design, these are called essential questions. Questions that open the door to student understanding. Questions whose answers should be remember for life.
These questions will provide the structure for my students learning this year. We will start with some general ideas about the scientific method. A foundational topic to structure future learning. We will seek to answer the following Essential Questions:
· How can science be used to study people?
· To what extent can science be used to solve problems?
· Why is the accurate collection of data important in science?
My goal is that they understand that social decisions are made through careful examination of scientific research. During the course of this learning I will embed important skills such as multiple problem-solving perspectives, the Scientific method, how to collect data, Experimental design, how to follow lab procedures, identify constants, variables, and controls, analyze patterns in data, and how the metric system is used in science. In the end I expect them to show me they can follow procedures relating to scientific investigations including formulating hypotheses, controlling variables, collecting and recording and analyzing data, interpreting results, and reporting and displaying results. They should be able to distinguish among and answer questions about performing the following: observing, drawing a conclusion based on an observation, form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, organizing data, construct and read charts and graphs, as well as compare data. This will be achieved by immersion in hands on labs of their own design. With some guidance and materials I am hoping they will be able to develop these skills, and then document their learning in video format. I will work with them to produce a cohesive video that will capture the process and mastery of these skills.
After this we will move on to cells. Many students confuse cells with atoms, perhaps because they are both relatively tiny. It is imperative they understand the difference. To get to this learning, they need to grasp the concept that the parts of a cell work together to function as a whole. Not unlike a human body. The understandings I want them to take away are:
· How are nutrients and oxygen distributed throughout your body?
· To what extent is the cell a system?
· How do your cells maintain homeostasis?
To get to this knowledge they will have to learn cell structure, and the differences between plant and animal cells. I want them to document this learning, but this time by producing an animation to show how cells function and reproduce. Using simple tools, and materials this will cement their understanding of the cell, and of course how it is not an atom.
Ecology is our next topic. It is a subject close to my heart. I have always been ecologically concerned, and I hope to impart this concern to my students. To do this I want them to understand the dynamic nature of an ecosystem and the interactions between living and non-living factors. The essential; questions they will answer are;
· How do my actions impact my environment?
· To what extent am I responsible for the environment?
· How can we preserve our planet?
By the end of this unit they should be able to define ecosystems and biomes, know the three important cycles for the survival of living things, and explain how the number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available. Also we will examine competition among different organisms for food and shelter, and more importantly space. I really want students to understand their role in this. To document this learning, I will teach them some basic computer programing and guide them to create virtual ecosystems, to play out scenarios of their own creation to determine how ecosystems function.
After ecology we will move on to evolution. By the end of this unit they will understand that all organisms alive today are descended from ancestors that lived in the past. In terms of essential questions we will examine:
· How do species evolve?
· What is meant by evolution?
· To what extent does genetic mutation play a role in evolution?
The students will need to compare Darwin to Lamarck, explain the role of mutations, identify key events in evolution, and discuss variation and its role in evolution. To gain understanding we will create presentations using Prezi, Microsoft Mix, and IMovie. These will include identifying a modern organism, research its earliest ancestors of the organism and the intermediate forms that led to the modern animal, compare and contrast modern and intermediate specie's adaptations, compare and contrast the environmental conditions that influenced evolution, and finally describe the timeline associated with the organism’s evolution.
Finally we will tackle genetics. What I want them to take away from this is twofold. First the important content, they should understand that every person has unique characteristics that distinguish them from other people. To do this we will look at the essential questions;
· How does DNA work?
· To what extent are traits inherited?
· What are the ethics of genetics?
The ethics are very important as we enter an age where genes can be manipulated, changing the very nature of what defines living things. By the end of this unit they will be able to predict patterns in heredity, model cell division, both mitosis and meiosis, explain the role of dominant and recessive genes, analyze genetic traits, and calculate the probability of the occurrence of a trait. As far as demonstrating this knowledge is concerned, I will leave this up to the individual student. I want them to use the skills they used during the year to create a representation of this knowledge. I don’t want to put constraints on the final product that stifle their creativity, I want them to create something they will remember for life.
Effective approaches are based on evidence, and effective pedagogical practices use high quality resources and approaches that have been built around a strong evidence base. The selection of a particular approach, usually depends on the response to identified student learning needs. I tried to be careful in matching research and projects to the nature of the topic the students are examining. The various projects, each tied to a media skill will not only develop my students’ content knowledge, but also give them the ability to share their learning in forms other than the written word, and unit tests. With a strong awareness of what has been demonstrated to be effective, I am looking to make sure that every student is engaged, and able to master research-based practices that promote communication that will keep my students engaged, feel safe to take risks, and challenged to do their best.
In the end I am hoping for some meaningful connections between my students and their learning. Last spring I requested the students each have a composition book to journal in this coming school year. I am hoping to actually wrangle a computer cart to support their learning which would allow them several methods of documenting what they have experienced in the classroom. Videos, webcasts, blogs, and Google documents are all possibilities. I will take care to weave the use of technology through my plans for a purpose. This will give me the opportunity to model, and share processes with my students, and to help them build a 21st century skill set. This year we will embrace the genie that escaped the bottle, and use it to master the unknown. Because I want my students to enjoy what they are doing, I want to give back to my classes. To do this, I will allow them one day a week to work on media skills and projects of their choice. I am thinking they will use this time develop the skills that interest them most, and find other students with common interests to build upon each other’s knowledge. In formal terms this is a “20 percent” project of their own choosing. Within the most basic of guidelines, they will be in charge of their learning for one day a week. The goal is to have them produce a project of their choosing, while working collaboratively with their peers. I will group them by interest, and have the groups report out their progress and discoveries on a regular basis. In the short term Google documents will serve as a classroom communication tool, enabling me to monitor and review their work.