Modeling Earth Instructional Plan Reflection

Plate tectonic was the content that my instruction plan explored. There were several goals in the lesson such as: the students will learn various plate tectonic activities, plate settings and the biodiversities and ecosystems as an effect of these settings, along with plates shift and the influence on landforms and ecosystems. I chose to use modeling so that student could recognize patterns in the location of the mountain ranges on the different continents. Kenyon, Schwarz, and Hug (2008, October) define a scientific model as “a representation of a system that includes important parts of that system (along with rules and relationships of those parts) to help us think about and test ideas of the phenomena.”(p.41). There were aspect of the lesson that were successful and some that I would alter if taught again.                                                    
  I really feel that my goals were met as the students conducted their research on the internet. The students were successful in researching news articles and information describing the causes and effects of the events caused by natural disasters. I was able to direct the students’ attentions towards geological disasters and they brainstormed a list of adjectives that can be used to describe the events. By the end of the lesson the students gain a greater understanding of plate tectonics through an online tutorial from the PBS Savage Earth website, Hell's Crust: Our Ever changing Planet. The students were able to draw, label and describe each type of tectonic settings described in the Hot Zones animation section of the tutorial. My students were also able to explain that the shifts in plates on Earth's surface are responsible a great deal of land formations, such as volcanoes, mountains, and valleys.                                                              
            Researching was most effective in this lesson. Guided Inquiry which is when the students investigate teacher-presented questions using student designed/selected procedures as discussed by Banchi, and Bell (2008).  During the inquiry portion of the lesson, the students were very interested and excited about their discoveries which encouraged them to inquire more. Actually seeing and cutting out the different plates in the model was successful in helping them understand how the plates fit together to make the crust a whole. The students were visual, verbally, logically, and kinesthetically stimulated which is supportive for different types of learners. I would like to teach the origin of the continents in a previous lesson. Learning about Pangaea and the continental drift would help the students understand that the plates have always moved and will continue to do so causing alterations to the land. If the students were able to create the plate and actual simulate the different types of plate tectonic settings they would have more concrete knowledge on how the plates move and influence landforms.  The students would be able to test, evaluate and revise the model or use it to predict and explain a phenomenon according to Kenyon, Schwarz, and Hug, (2008, October). This also would add depth to the concept of plate tectonics and could be taught in a unit study. More time was definitely needed to complete the model portion of the lesson. Students took longer than the time allotted to complete the model. Next time this lesson should be instructed over a three day span, if taught during my 45 minute planning time.

Overall the lesson went as expected. A small group of my 6^th grade students were pulled from their exploratory class, my planning period, for this lesson.  This was somewhat a challenge to teach since this our district is in a TCAP prep mode. Everything must be centered on our state test that will be administered the week of April 11^th. The students really enjoyed learning about plate tectonics for this content in not in the 6^th grade curriculum. I have deepened their background knowledge for when they explore it in 7^th grade. Models and visual aid make any lesson more interesting, hands-on and memorable.

References

Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science & Children, 46(2), 26–29.

Kenyon, L., Schwarz, C., & Hug, B. (2008, October). The benefits of scientific modeling.

Science & Children, 46(2), 40–44.

As our heart grows: natural disasters...

 If we only knew….

 If we only knew about the warning signs and the aftermath we could better prepare.

If we only knew then lives would not traumatically end, a life that a spare.

If we only on knew we could prepare prevent and beforehand repair.

Natural disaster should be a topic often discussed. There could be commercials and advertisement to display the cause and effect of natures work. Often times we hear about the natural disaster but we do truly know the devastation its has caused. The citizens need to know, it should be put out there not just on a fact sheet. If the community was educated about natural disasters they can prepare by evaluation or any other form of security measures.  So that my student are aware I would: Create a list of 15 to 20 nations recently affected by natural hazards, enough to assign one nation to every two students in your class. Your collection should show a broad range of events and consequences. Have copies of articles and Web addresses ready to distribute to students on the day of the lesson. Ask students to list natural hazards around the world. Record their contributions on the board. A few may have stories to share of their personal experiences with these events. Ask students to examine the list carefully and to write a personal definition of the term "natural hazard." Provide another opportunity to add to or edit the original list. Make sure students have included hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, volcanoes, storms, droughts, earthquakes, forest fires, and insect infestations. And make sure that human-caused disasters are taken off the list. During the discussion, rank the disasters by typical degree of severity, suddenness, and occurrence of associated hazards.  I would like for my class to volunteer at the American Red Cross. The Red Cross involves annually matching knowledge, skills, interests and experience of individual's with opportunities to serve their community. Knowledge is power, we must educate about natural disasters.

Curious? Ask A Scientist, deepening my knowledge:Viruses- HIV/AIDS

I recently visited a web site where you could ask a scientist a question call Ask a Scientist at http://www.askascientist.org.  So I asked , “Has there ever been a case of some one’s body being immune to a viral disease? Is this possible why or why not? How could this help in the search for the HIV/AIDS cure?” I asked a scientist and there no results found. So I then sent a request for the answers to the previous questions. Still there was no response, not what I expected. This type of web site would be very beneficial to my students if the intent was successful.  Being able to interact and gain insight from real scientist would be  a motivator in the science fields. Through my own research I have discovered a lot about HIV immunity. I know that our immune system detects a wide variety of agents and determines if they are foreign or not. Foreign agent are often killed and destroyed. To be protected, people must inherit the genes from both parents; those who inherit a mutated gene from just one parent will end up with greater resistance against HIV than other people, but they won't be immune. Studies have been done all over the world. Cases have been presented with studies of groups or people who are constantly exposed to HIV and show symptoms or no signs of HIV.

According to Teacher’s Domain (2003) a genetic mutation that prevents the HIV virus from entering the cell has been found. HIV enters white blood cells through the CD-4 and CCR-5 receptors on the cell's surface; some individuals have no CCR-5 gene, which means that HIV cannot enter their cells (Teacher Domain, 2003). CD-4 cells are deep inside the body and not on the surface (i.e. skin) such as other CD markers, in which HIV/AIDS virus cannot enter as discussed by Tillery, Enger and Ross (2008). This is the evidence behind why HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted through the skin or by touching. There are different types of cells to perform different duties.

I was then curious about plant cells and viruses. I wondered about plants getting viruses. I was informed by my professor (Dr. Lyman) that plants are cellular so they can be invaded by viruses just like we can. He also stated that some of the earliest studies of viruses were done on the Tobacco Mosaic Virus - a virion that damages tobacco crops and costs tobacco growers lots of money.

References

Teachers' Domain.(2003). HIV Immunity. Retrieved from:http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.gen.hivimmunity/
Tillery, B., Enger, E., & Ross, F. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Evaluation of 2.0 tools....

Evaluation of 2.0 tools.

Prezi has really shown itself to me. I have always loved Power Point, but Prezi has stolen my heart. I feel that Prezi is like a new and improve Power Point.  The animations are eye catching and will keep any crowd attention.  Power point is often literature in a presentation and can get very boring.  A Prezi Presentation puts on a show for the audience. I think that Prezi would be beneficial for getting students involve and keeping them engaged while promoting 21^st century technology. Prezi is very versatile in its ability to present information. This would be a great tool to use for any project. The only down fall would be its stability. I would hate for my student to put together a presentation and all of their hard work is lost or erased! I know how it feels to have documents lost or erased and it is very discouraging.

Slideshare would be beneficial to students and they would be able to share their presentations, documents, and videos.

 Power point I believe is most user friendly, which is what students need. Through Power Point they can still incorporate graphics, videos, music, pictures and more in the presentation.

Viddix was also very interesting. This tool uses video presentation and will for sure promote 21^st century skills. Slides, images, text, links, polls, blogs, and other links can be posted. Web browsers can be used to invite viewer and the presenter can even poll the audience. It should be more user friendly.I think that this tool would be most beneficial to a business or college professor but not middle school students.

Grabbing their Eyes: keeping students motivated and interested in science.

Getting students interested and motivated about Science is one of teacher’s newest concerns. Careers in the STEM’s field are in high demand as America is encouraged to keep up the latest discoveries.  So I first explored various web sites that provide opportunities for teacher to motivate and keep students interest.  NOVA is the highest rated science series on television and the most watched documentary series on public television. This is the most powerful website that I have encountered. Through PBS’s NOVA Science programming on air and online students can explore various topics of science. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ is the home page for PBS NOVA. The interactive pages, slideshows, interviews, inquiry activities, video segments and so forth are geared to motivate students about science. Various exploreable question such as “How did life begin, Is there life on Mars, and Are we alone? Teacher resources are available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/.  I challenge you to explore the various topics such as  anthropology, earth science, physical science, engineering, forensic science, geography, health science, paleontology, space science, technology, environmental science and more.

An activity that I feel would be engaging for students is called “New Ways to Catch Rays.”  This activity is located at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/tech/new-ways-catch-rays.html.    The students would learn about the eight  latest solar technologies: thermal trough, mirrored dish, power tower, thin film, concentrated sunlight, solar paint, evacuated-tube collectors, and sun-grown biofuel. This would be explored during a unit on global change, global warming, solar and renewable energy The student would look at photos, an illustration, and text to investigate how these technologies can provide environmentally friendly solutions. Other online physical science interactive activities are located at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/search/results/page/1/include-teachers/only?&facet%5b%5d=dc.subject_teacher%3A%22Physical+Science%22.

Other websites and teacher resources to motivate students and promotes development of  21^st century skills are listed below:

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/search/page/6-8/science/-/-/index.cfm

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/5-8/index.html

http://ippex.pppl.gov/  Interactive Plasma Physic Educational Experience -Interactive lessons and activities about matter, energy and fusion.

http://energyquest.ca.gov/index.html  Energy Quest- History and sources of energy includes many illustrations and Flash animations. Extensive games page has many puzzles and crosswords that can be printed or completed online.

http://www.miamisci.org/af/sln/index.html  -The Atom’s Family- A series of interactive puzzles hosted by famous monsters. Various energy concepts are taught as the students solve the problem

http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/ Amusement Park Physic- Try to design a roller coaster that works in accordance with Newton's laws of physics.

If you can not take the heat-Get out the kitchen!

To start the experiment I use four glass mugs, a pot to boil water and a cup of room temperature water. The temperature of the water was 24˚C and after being boiled it 50+˚C.I would pour one cup of boiling water into each cup, covering it with specified material and seal with a rubber band. The four types of materials that I selected consist of aluminum foil, wax paper, a wash cloth and plastic sandwich bag.  I chose these materials they are commonly used in the homes of America. After 30 minute I would measure the temperature of the water for each cup and note observation of materials. Between measurements I place the thermometer into to the cup of sink water, which served as a reset or base temperature.

I then reflected on my prediction made for each mug and material. I predicted for cup1 the foil, would be a very good insulator of heat because the steam from the hot water would not be able to escape to cool the water, thus causing the water to remain hot. Cup 2 was cover with wax paper where I predicted it would somewhat be a good insulator because wax just like a candle would not allow the heat to escape. My predictions for cup 3 suggest that the plastic sandwich bag would be the best insulator because the water vapor could not escape. I then thought that the plastic might to thin and the heat might damage the plastic causing it to stretch or weaken and maybe tear/melt and allow the heat to escape. I was most concerned about cup 4. Cup 4 was covered with a wash cloth that I thought would be the worst insulator since the material was woven and had many escape wholes for the water vapors which would allow the water to cool off.

I was quiet surprise at my findings. All four did have condensation along the inside walls of the mug. The temperatures varied as well as the effect of the steam on the material. Below is chart of experiment observations:

Cup #	Material	Effect on materials after 30 minute wait: notes	Boiled water’s temp. after 30 minute of wait
Cup 1	Aluminum Foil	-Felt hot to touch                                                    –No condensation on the foil                                      -The foil was discolored, looked as if was burned; the foil was a metallic, foggy, cloudy, dusty graying bronze color.	50˚C
Cup 2	Wax Paper	-Felt warm to touch                                                -A lot of condensation on the wax paper               -Wax paper absorbed the water vapors making it weak.                                                                        –Wax paper tore when pressure was applied to the top.	48˚C
Cup 3	Plastic Sandwich Bag	-Felt very hot to touch                                          - A lot of condensation on the bag.                            –The plastic was more flexible when I applied pressure to the top.	54˚C
Cup 4	Wash Cloth	-Felt slightly warm to touch.                                        – There was no condensation on the towel; it did not retain any moisture from the vapors.	52˚C

The best insulator was the plastic sandwich bag followed by the wash cloth, which really surprised me.  These were the two best insulators because they allowed the water to remain at the highest temperatures. The wash cloth being a good insulator totally went against my prediction. If I had to conduct the experiment again I would use the same materials and add newspaper, wood and card board. I would like to explore if the vapor would be absorbed by the material.I know that on the inside of every cup (glass mug) there was once water that reached their boiling point and turned into vapors, then the vapors changed into liquid are known as condensation point (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008). The second law of thermodynamic was also prevalent as the heat transferred to the objects with cooler temperatures such as the mugs and the materials. Throughout this experiment convection occurred. Convection took place on the stove when heat was transferred from the eye to the pot then to the water and into the cup, from the water to materials and so forth.  The biggest challenges I faced was how to organize my notes when making my observations.  This is how I came up the chart. I was not sure what information belonged in the chart or just into the side notes.

The experiment overall was a success I really enjoyed analyzing my own predictions and discovery what made more or less accurate. I did not expect the vapors to be absorbed by the wax paper, which cause it to not to be a good insulator. I was also intrigued by the aluminum foil changing colors as if burned. This was a stimulating experiment that I would one like to take to my class. Instead of using hot water I would like to use hot cocoa. The task would be for the student to best insulate the hot cocoa for the longest time period, or to make a cup using material that would do the same.

Got Momentum?

I chose the question, “How do different surfaces affect the momentum of marbles?” First I had to brainstorm, I thought what could I use to set up an experiment with different surfaces? I chose to use a hard wood floor, carpet and rocky gravel for my surface types. Then I thought how will test the momentum that allows a small and large marble to start at the same speed while testing out the different surfaces? I chose a piece of card board box that was 9 inches long and 6 inches wide to create an incline plane. The incline plane at the highest point, where the marble would be was set at before testing, is 3 inches high held in place by a small box underneath it. Lastly, I had a yard stick and ruler so that I could measure the distance of both marbles after testing each surface to determine which marble had the most and least momentum on a specified surface  type.                                               

      Once questions were answered and procedures designed, the experiment began. I started with the small marble on the hardwood floor rolling down the incline plane, followed by the larger marble on the same surface. I discovered that the both marbles continues to roll until they were stopped by another object, the wall. They hit the wall and began to roll the opposite direction. So, I decided to time each ball to see how many seconds it took for the marble to hit the wall so I could differentiate between momentums. I found that it took the small marble 3.78 second to hit the wall while it only took the larger marble 3.53 seconds to hit the wall. On the smooth surface the larger marble’s momentum was more than the smaller marbles. Next, I tested the carpet which provided a bumpy surface for the marbles. To my surprise the marbles did not travel far at all. The small marble once at the bottom of the incline plane travel for 12 inches while the larger marble traveled for 15 ½  inches. This proved that the larger marble had more momentum than the smaller marble. The finally test of surfaces was the rocky gravel (the sidewalk) which provided a rocky surface. To my discovery, the small marble traveled 83 inches which is 11 inches longer than 2 yards, the larger marble traveled for 98 inches which is 10 inches short of 3 yards. There was a 15 inch difference between the two marble which finally concludes that the larger marble has more momentum than the smaller marble. I discovered that there is more friction from the carpet than the gravel from outside. I also discovered carpet alter the momentum of the objects more than the rocky gravel.                                                                               

  There are several challenges that I encountered throughout this experiment. I should have expected the marble to continue to roll since the smooth surface would not interfere with straight line of motion. I was unable to use measurements of distance to explore the difference in momentum. I would modify the experiment by providing a stopping point or finish line in which the marbles would be time in correlation to specified distance obtained. I would like to modify the experiment in one of two ways. I would like for experiment to consist of measuring the momentum by timing the object in second to reach a specific distance on various surface. The other modification would be to measure the distance the objects traveled in an unrestricted area. I would like there to more consistency in the variables so that the first test would not have to be modified to due area restrictions. I could have made predictions before each test as well. I could also use toy cars verse marbles due to the friction level produce from the wheels. I also think that the student would like using hot wheels verse marbles. If I used toy trucks we could weigh rocks and fill the back of the trucks up before beginning our test, this would make it more interesting. We could also relate this to construction work and dump trucks.

   This experiment would be very beneficial to my students.  Guided Inquiry is one of the more student involved inquiry types because the teacher only provides the question, leaving the students to figure out the rest (Banchi & Bell, 2008). I know that the students might face the challenges I experience with restrictions on test area. I would want my students to learn that the greater the mass the greater momentum an object will have. My students should also learn that the more friction a surface has the less momentum an object will be able to create. The students should be able to explain the correlation between their discoveries and Newton’s Laws of motion. This will building on prior knowledge, tying information together to make the experience more meaningful. Throughout the guided inquiry experiment the student will be building on,  according to Hammerman (2006) the ability to brainstorm, design the procedure (method) to test their question, test, recording data, explain results and modify and retest, thus providing deeper scientific thinking (Banchi & Bell, 2008).

Through my own engagement of the process I now better understand the thought process of designing procedures that the student would encounter in guided inquiry. This is a more involved type of inquiry according to Banchi and Bell (2008). Engaging in this inquiry experiment helped my understanding of Newton’s First law of motion that was seen in my test. The marbles both would have continued to roll in the straight line motion if they were not interrupted with the wall (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008). The difference in marble sizes provided a visual and concrete experience for fact that the more mass an object has the more inertia (the resistance to change in motion) it possesses as discussed by Tillery, Enger, & Ross (2008). The concept of focus for this experiment was momentum affected by various surfaces.  I now have a better understanding of how mass and friction (from various surface types) affects the momentum of an object. I also understand how size can affect an object momentum as well.  I can now tie in different aspect of science to this one experience thus building on prior knowledge. I learned what I would want my students to learn during this experiment.

 

References

Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science & Children, 46(2), 26–29.

Engineering design process. (No date). Teach Engineering: resources for k-12. Retrieved January

            16, 2011, from http://www.teachengineering.org/engrdesignprocess.php

Hammerman, E. (2006). Modified five Es lesson plan format. In Becoming a Better Science
            Teacher (pp. 81–87). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Tillery, B. W., Enger, E. D., & Ross, F. C. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York:

            McGraw-Hill.