How can you make the light bulb light?  (You just completed science methods class; Here is how I would write a science lesson using the LP format above) Mara Maric September 23, 2002 Science, Technology Grade 3  or 4 Estimated length:  1-1 1/2 hours Standards:   Science as Inquiry Physics (Electricity) Science & Technology  Outcomes/Objectives:   Students will understand that to produce light, a battery, bulb and wire must be connected so that there is a continuous path that circles in and out of two different points on  the battery, two different points on the bulb, and two different points (ends) of the wire. (Main Idea) Students will Develop understanding from their data. Communicate their ideas to others. Develop an understanding from their data that electrical circuits require a complete loop (closed path) through which an electrical current can pass. Communicate investigations and explanations. Use the terms circuit for the continuous closed path and circuit elements for the components of the circuit. Vocabulary: circuit, circuit elements Materials: Each group of 2-3 students needs a flashlight, battery, and bulb, one insulated conducting wire (approximately half-meter long), data collection sheet, newsprint for each group, markers, and worksheet of diagrams. Procedure (incorporates learning cycle, an ongoing assessment and at least two different representations;):    Students will work in groups of 2 or 3. ENGAGE (the concept): "How can you make a light bulb light with only one flashlight battery and one wire? (optional pre-assessment: Can you draw a picture?)   EXPLORE (the concept):   One student from each group gathers materials from the materials table. They work until they have identified at least 1 arrangement that makes the bulb light. Teacher will assess prior knowledge by observing first attempts of each group. They record a working and a non-working arrangement with pictures on large sheets of newsprint. Possible teacher questions are  What have you tried? (Students show either a drawing or model a situation) What else could you try? (Teacher might need to decide that some minimal hint is necessary and ask some additional questions to give some guidance to the students.) Can you find another arrangement that works? (CONCRETE)   EXPLAIN (Getting the idea of the concept; term introduction): Students will write a sentence with the newsprint diagrams to explain what works and place the newsprint on the wall. As newsprint explanations are reviewed, students are given an opportunity to improve upon their explanations. Teacher will emphasize the words they've used to describe the circuit, e.g., continuous, path, loop. Possible teacher questions: Is it important to use both ends of the battery? the wire? What about the light bulb? Do you think there's a path inside the light bulb? (Yes/No) Why? How do you know? (I can see it; I don't know.) What might happen when a light bulb "burns out"? (Wire is broken?) Can you have a circuit with just a battery and a wire? What evidence did you observe? (heating) Does it matter which direction the battery and bulb connections are set up? (i.e., bottom of bulb to + or - of battery) If necessary, teacher introduces the word circuit, once when everyone is clear what is meant by this word (see the main idea).   EXPAND (EXTEND, APPLY) (the concept): Students will complete a worksheet (handout) that suggests various battery/bulb arrangements. They first predict whether a given arrangement will work, then they test the arrangement. Students can use this as a self-assessment. Two groups join together and produce arrangements with 2 bulbs, 2 wires, and 2 batteries. They draw working diagrams and trace the circuit path.  (PICTORIAL) Teacher will ask for explanations of the drawings, or suggest sharing between two groups.    EVALUATE ( understanding of the concept): Worksheet (AMES, pp.32).   EXTEND (2) = Inquiry Where could this go? What could we investigate? (brainstorm)  (This is a good place to discuss with students what they would like to explore next, related to what they just did. For example, they may ask:  WHAT IF we use two batteries? Is the light going to be brighter? Is the circuit going to work if the wire is uncovered in the middle and bulb is connected at that place?   Monitoring and ongoing assessment takes place during this activity - about the progress in work, necessary guidance, team-collaboration, classroom management, ...  References: Marek, E. A. (1997). The Learning Cycle, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. pp. 116-118. Electrical Connections. (1991). AMES Education Foundation. pp.32-34. Reflection:     This is a  lesson appropriate to  fourth graders because the materials are familiar, the experiences are concrete, and the phenomena are easily observed. Some third graders are capable of doing it. Younger children would probably be confused by the path that disappears inside the battery and the bulb. The manual dexterity required may be a challenge even for fourth graders.  This learning cycle also offers an excellent opportunity for children to experience concrete representation and communicate first in pictures and then verbally.    POSSIBLE VARIATIONS for class discussion: If results in EVALUATE are not satisfactory, I plan to extend the lesson in the following way:  EXTEND/EVALUATE (the concept): Combine AMES worksheets on p. 32 and p. 33  - Cut and paste pictures of circuits that you think will work into the "Lights R us" shop windows. Test with batteries and bulbs. Draw repairs in the "Sparky's repair shop" windows.  EXTEND/EVALUATE (the concept): Two groups join together and produce arrangements with 2 bulbs, 2 wires, and 2 batteries. They draw working diagrams and trace the circuit path.  Teacher will ask for explanations of the drawings to evaluate understanding. Possible teacher questions: Can you show me the circuit? Could you make a circuit with only 5 of the circuit elements instead of 6?

Consent Form available here.

1. Explore children’s responses to lessons in mathematics
2. Reach a deeper understanding of children’s developmental differences
3. Gain experience with teaching strategies including strategies for authentic assessment

1. Use Piagetian tasks related to the concept that you are teaching or other appropriate pre-assessment
2. Adapt mathematics problem from your DRF into a learning cycle lesson
3. Prepare appropriate tasks/questions to assess understanding (EVALUATE part)
4. Collect and interpret data (video-tape, transcript, lessons, ...).
5. Share data with peers and interpret aggregated data
6. Reflect on lessons and strategies

Each student will inquire into the learning of a child between the ages of 6 and 12 and complete two related assignments. The topic of the first assignment is volume. The second topic is fractions.

Requirements

Submitted assignment has to include a parent-signed permission form and supporting documentation (lesson plan, videotape, child's work, if appropriate).

1. Describe the child you interview. DO NOT TEACH YOUR OWN CHILD. Include
   1. age
   2. general physical appearance
   3. obvious personality traits
   4. other characteristics that might be pertinent, and
   5. explanation of your acquaintance with the child, e.g., child of a close friend, neighbor of my mother, etc.
2. Describe the lesson delivery and the child's responses. Include your interpretations. Give careful attention to details about
   1. teaching the child something new about volume/fractions and
   2. assessing child's understanding about that concept
3. Explain what you learned about
   1. the child
   2. the child's understanding of the concept and
4. Copy problems from your problem set related to volume/fractions (DRF) (without solutions) and describe where exactly your lesson fits in that sequence. If you do not have volume/fractions problem set in your DRF, list 2 activities (problems) that are less complex and 2 that are more complex than your lesson plan. What could you teach your child next time? What would be appropriate to teach before your lesson plan?
5. Explain what you learned about teaching volume/fractions (PCK).

Self Evaluations 

You may choose your own format but it needs to include enough detail for me to understand how you are progressing in this class; at least one paragraph long report on each of the following questions. For the full number of points, question #1 will probably require more than one paragraph - select concepts that you find most significant, and go from there...:

1.  What did I learn? Be very specific and give enough details. Think about this as being a test on what you have learned so far. Or, if you do not like tests, consider this a journal entry about the pedagogical content knowledge that you have acquired so far. Carefully select what you want to write about. Remember to support your statements.

2. What would I like to learn/change?  be very specific. Include dispositions (both for yourself and me).

3. The following two weeks I will focus on . . .  What can YOU do to enhance your learning related to this class? Include dispositions (both for yourself and me).

4. What is your point-average at this moment? How do you feel about it? (Attach a spreadsheet with your grades.)

DEVELOPING MATHEMATICS UNIT

~ guidelines ~

 Working in a cooperative group, each student will be asked to prepare a lesson plan as a part of the unit. Topic will be determined in the classroom. The cooperative groups will be teaching portions of their unit in class.

Choose a topic (an organizing theme)

	Does the topic interest you as a teacher?
	Interest your students?
	Does it fit in with your local and state outcomes/standards?
	Is it aligned with your curriculum?

	Brainstorm with students about this topic (a strategy for assessment of prior knowledge - before the first lesson, first lesson  or part of the first lesson; Begin with general question and follow with more specific ones, if necessary) Individual brainstorming Group brainstorming Class discussion
	Classification by concept is done after brainstorming - You need to group together concepts that have similar characteristics. For example, if the theme is "Colors in nature" you can group together colors of plants, animals, ... ( For K-2 you need to do it;  Upper levels: have students categorize)
	Brainstorm across the curriculum (or Subject Matter Areas) as a theme that goes across all disciplines: Language Arts, Social Studies, Art, Music, Science, Math, Teaching and Learning Strategies
	Find activities: The integrated unit is a set of THREE lessons that are related by a single theme. Each lesson could be a separate Learning Cycle, or  two or more lessons will be combined in each Learning Cycle. For instance, the Engage, Explore and Explain could constitute one lesson; next lesson might be found as Expand/Evaluate.
	Formulate Guiding Questions for the Unit

The purpose of the questions is to direct the unit by posing higher level thinking questions (according to Bloom's taxonomy). These questions are for the teacher.

Find activities to Help the Students to Answer the Guiding Questions -

	The activities should answer the guiding questions.
	Eliminate activities that are not developmentally appropriate and that are not in district standards.

o       The group will agree on a topic and decide on individual lessons that provide a range of approaches to the topic. The lesson assigned to each group member should emphasize that person's assigned Process Standard. Communication standard has to be incorporated within all lesson plans.

o        The group will also prepare a cover page that includes

§         Theme, names,  … (see rubric below)

§          Rationale for the unit; how each lesson fits into the unit, and 

§         Unit reflection (see rubric below)

o        The group will choose one of the lessons to present as a 15-20 minute micro-teach. (It is understood that the lesson may have to be modified to fit the time requirement.) Each person should have an active part in peer microteaching.

o       Submissions: Electronic format (a) a complete unit in one piece (for the web)  AND (b) 4 (5) separate pieces: cover pages and each lesson separately (for grading).

MATH UNIT Evaluation 

Name _____________________________________________________  

PTWS: Practice Teacher Work Sample

A Teacher Work Sample is a performance assessment in which a teacher or a teacher candidate provides evidence of his or her ability to facilitate learning.

 

What we are doing is Practice Teacher Work Sample so that you develop skills to do TWS, when necessary. Rubrics, directions and requirements are adaptations of work from the Renaissance Partnership for Improving Teacher Quality Project  (http://fp.uni.edu/itq).

 

Guide to Practice Teacher Work Sample:
Practice Teacher Work Sample is a written document that includes

A. Integrated unit (4 mathematics lessons; language arts integration explicit; other integration ideas  included)

 

B. Written documentation organized according to the following sections (if you click on the section title you will be able to access an outline for that section):

1. Contextual Factors

2. Learning Goals

3. Assessment Plan

4. Design for Instruction

5. Instructional Decision Making

6. Analysis of Student Learning

7. Self-Evaluation and Reflection

 

	Teacher work sample
	Renaissance Partnership for Improving Teacher Quality Project: http://fp.uni.edu/itq
	Renaissance Teacher Work Samples (RTWS): http://fp.uni.edu/itq/RTWS/index.htm
	Scored TWS Exemplars Produced by Student Teachers : http://fp.uni.edu/itq/Scored_TWS/index.htm

DEVELOPING INTEGRATED UNITS of STUDY
 The Interdisciplinary Concept Model

Each student will prepare an integrated unit on a theme that is determined in consultation with their cooperating teacher. The unit will include 3 lesson plans focusing on mathematics standards and  integrating language arts. Grading rubric is available (see below).

 

Choose a topic (an organizing theme)

	Does the topic interest you as a teacher?
	Interest your students?
	Does it fit in with your local and state outcomes/standards?
	Is it aligned with your curriculum?

	Brainstorm with students about this topic (a strategy for assessment of prior knowledge - before the first lesson, first lesson  or part of the first lesson; Begin with general question and follow with more specific ones, if necessary) Individual brainstorming Group brainstorming Class discussion
	Classification by concept is done after brainstorming - You need to group together concepts that have similar characteristics. For example, if the theme is "Colors in nature" you can group together colors of plants, animals, ... ( For K-2 you need to do it;  Upper levels: have students categorize)
	Brainstorm across the curriculum (or Subject Matter Areas) as a theme that goes across all disciplines: Language Arts, Social Studies, Art, Music, Science, Math, Teaching and Learning Strategies
	Find activities: The integrated unit is a set of THREE lessons that are related by a single theme. Each lesson could be a separate Learning Cycle, or  two or more lessons will be combined in each Learning Cycle. For instance, the Engage, Explore and Explain could constitute one lesson; next lesson might be found as Expand/Evaluate.
	Formulate Guiding Questions for the Unit

The purpose of the questions is to direct the unit by posing higher level thinking questions (according to Bloom's taxonomy). These questions are for the teacher.

Find activities to Help the Students to Answer the Guiding Questions -

	The activities should answer the guiding questions.
	Eliminate activities that are not developmentally appropriate and that are not in district standards.

Adapted from:
Ackerman, D., Hays Jacobs, H., & Perkins, D. (1989). Interdisciplinary curriculum:  Design and implementation. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Evaluation
(Please turn this page in with your integrated unit) 

Name ______________________________________________________  

	possible points	your points
Theme title with your name(s) grade level, school, date,   table of contents	2 points
Brainstorm	5 points
Classification by concepts	5 points
Brainstorm across subject matter areas	5 points
Guiding question(s) for the Unit	5  points
Rationale for the unit (answer a student - "Why do we need to know this stuff?")	5 points
Assessment for the Unit (a unique assessment, not a collection from lessons)	5 points
Individual lesson plans graded according to existing rubric (4 x 30 points)	120 points
TOTAL possible points	150 points

 

Adapted from: Ackerman, D., Hayes Jacobs, H. & Perkins, D. (1989) Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Design and Implementation. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

PTWS presentation

Final Exam: Reflecting on two essential questions about teaching and learning mathematics:

1. Where do you see your teaching in the continuum of teaching methodologies? Explain.

Expository (Direct)----------Guided Inquiry------------Free Discovery

2. How will multiple diverse perspectives enhance the teaching of mathematics in your classroom?
   

 

August 2005
	These pages are always under construction: I am trying to keep them up-to-date  with my activities :) Questions and/or comments are welcome!	Maintained by:  Mara Alagic Mathematics Education Curriculum & Instruction Department Wichita State University Wichita, Kansas  67260-0028