Teaching Strategies
Before I teach any new concepts, I usually begin by adminstering a pre-test, which can be conducted in a variety of ways. A KWL chart is an effective way of assessing the knowledge in a whole group format informally. Students are given time to contemplate what they know about the subject, any background knowledge they know about the concept, what they want to know including any questions they might have, and then what they learned about the topic after engaging with it. This is also a great time to clear up any misconceptions as I am able to engage in a class dialogue as we collabratively write on our KWL charts. Another informal way of assessing any pre-knowledge that a student might have is by using technology as a brief assessment. An example of this is Plickers. Students are able to manipulate a physical QR code to give a letter response to a multiple-choice question. After the content is completed, students are able to take the same Plickers assessment to observe what they have learned. My students are given the opportunity to graph their scores, from pre-test to post-test, to observe their learning.
As an introduction to new learning material, I begin by making a connection to the real world. Many times in the classroom I hear students as the same question: “Why do we have to learn this?” When I am able to relate a concept to my students’ background knowledge and actually engage in them in their learning, students will be able to apply their learning outside of the classroom. This can be achieved by having a class discussion, showing a short video clip, or doing a demonstration to explain a natural phenomena.
After answering the question of why they are learning about specific concepts, I will engage students with the content in interactive note taking. The information being learned can be presented in different forms such as a video, a teacher-made powerpoint, or any other type of media. Close notes, traditionally known as fill in the blank, is the first step in exposing students to new vocabulary. Any new vocabulary terms will be presented on a strategically placed word wall so students are constantly reminded of new vocabulary. Word wall words can be reviewed each day in the form of an exit ticket. By using the word in a meaningful sentence, or drawing a picture to demonstrate the concept, students can make further connections with initially unfamiliar words.
Demonstrations of scientific concepts can be done in both the introductory phase of the unit, and the interactive note taking phase as well. Tangible and visual demonstrations give students hands-on experiences to connect with their learning. Demonstrations for this unit inlcude: creating a teacher powerpoint with close notes, demonstrating evaporation with boiling water, measuring the temperature differences between the blacktop and grassy areas, measuring the temperature difference of areas with a tree canopy and areas with a tree covering, measuring the temperature difference of light colored surfaces and dark colored surfaces, and measuring the temperature differences of an area that has been cooled due to evaporation (which can be done by spraying a fine mist into the ambient air) compared to an area that has not been.
When engaging in the Scientific Method students are able model experiments as a scientist may in the real world. Another key benefit of this is exposing students to a grwoth mindset approach to learning. Often following an incorrect hypothesis, many young students will get frustrated and upset simply because they aren’t correct. The scientific method assists students in correctly engaging in a process and working hard to prove an answer, without regard to the correctness of their answer. This shift from a fixed to a growth mindset will help to dissect why they were wrong, and will propel students in solving questions that they don’t initially understand. For this unit, students will conduct scientific investigations into temperature differences. To model research-based strategies to mitigate urban heat islands, investigations will be done by measuring temperature differences of light and dark colored materials, differences of temperatures with tree canopy and without tree canopy, and differences in a permeable surface such as soil compared to an impermeable surface such as a blacktop containing asphalt. Materials for measuring these differences can be high-tech by utilizing a Temperature Gun. Other low-tech measuring tools can be done with a classroom thermometer placed on various surfaces, or even placing thermometers in beakers of water on different surfaces.
My students are often subject to multiple-choice based assessments to demonstrate their growth and learning. While this is necessary to achieve statewide testing goals, there are a wide variety of more engaing and authentic summative assessments. A great way to do this is for students to engage in Project Based Learning. Students are able to create and solve a real world problem for multiple class periods, in this case as it relates to urban heat islands. A final product will be created by individual students or small groups.
Student-led station learning is an effective way to utilize students who quickly absorb new information and present for leadership opportunities in the classroom. Students may receive specific directions from a teacher to either faciliate conversation and/or materials so that the rest of the group meets their learning outcome.
For this unit, students will engage in the iterative writing process to convey what they have learned to local leaders, such as city councilors. This includes, but is not limited to, brainstorming, writing a rough draft, editing for spelling and grammar, and synthesizing a final draft. A final draft can be hand-written or typed depending on students typing abilties and time constraints.
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