Curriculum Strategies
Students will be encouraged to think independently and make sense of the data discussed in class or observed in lab work. I have found that having students work on data collection and data analysis on their own makes them think harder, and put more effort into their understanding of a topic. I don't like to assign labs where students just fill in blanks and don't come to a good understanding of the topic. Also based on my prior experiences with labs, I will have students work in collaborative groups of three or four. I also do intend to use direct instruction, such as PowerPoint or chalkboard notes throughout the unit as a means of communicating larger ideas and concepts that are not amenable to lab studies. For example, I will need to go over the bonds in the various molecules, and explain how to calculate bond energies. This is because I do have students who will be in the middle of Chemistry in their 11 th grade year, and will not have seen bond energies calculated in Chemistry class yet. Videos as well as video clips and web based instruction will also be a big portion of the classes. I have videos that show farming techniques, and I will show these to illustrate the carbon inputs necessary for ethanol production.
Lab work will form a large component of the unit. Students will start by studying historical data about biofuels and their use as a motor fuel. This will familiarize them with and standardize their data collection techniques. Each collaborative group will ultimately present their own data and opinion paper on the benefits and challenges of various biofuel production and use.
Students will be placed into research groups that will research and present their research and lab work to the class. Each student will be given relevant articles about different aspects of biofuel production and use. Articles will also be posted to my web page for them to read.
Content related lectures and hands-on labs will help to generate curiosity and the interest of the students as the unit progresses. Having the students choose the format of their presentation will help heighten the interest of the students in the subject matter and may facilitate better questioning by the students.
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