In order to maximize student enthusiasm and motivation, I attempt to use engaging ways to start a lesson or unit of study. Often, I will attempt to identify some of the more exotic or unique aspects or extensions of a topic, and begin the unit with an activity focused on these entertaining yet informative ideas. Two such examples of “setting the hook” of student interest in this way are my use of short web-based investigations into the topics of weightlessness (for use in my unit on mass and weight) and the strange behaviors of solids liquids and gases under the different conditions of temperature and pressure found in the solar system and in exotic locations on Earth. Linked below are these two introductory web investigations:
MASS, GRAVITY, AND WEIGHTLESSNESS WEB INVESTIGATION
STATES OF MATTER WEB INVESTIGATION
Some topics of study pose challenges that are unique to the other topics or units within the whole course curriculum. For example, the method of unit conversions, or dimensional analysis, is a difficult mathematical and logical skill for students to master, yet is an essential one. In order to walk students through the unit conversion process initially, and to provide a tutorial that I could post on my website that students who are struggling with the concept can refer back to at need, I created a PowerPoint Dimensional Analysis PowerPoint that takes students step by step, both textually and visually, through several problems. I also utilize a web-based unit conversion interactive that students can use to practice this essential skill. The web interactive also poses additional challenges for more advanced students, as it can utilize units that are squared or cubed. This additional degree of complexity makes this resource challenging for learners of all levels. These resources are linked below:
DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS TUTORIAL POWERPOINT
DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS WEB INTERACTIVE
Another topic that poses a particular challenge to many students is that of plate tectonics, which my students review prior to taking the Grade 8 Science/Technology/Engineering MCAS examination. My grade 8 students have not covered plate tectonics, an Earth Science topic, since the 6th grade, yet I cannot dedicate a great volume of time to reviewing this topic due to the time constraints of completing my own physical science curriculum before the MCAS exam. Additionally, this is a particularly broad topic, with many terms and concepts that must be considered systemically. Achieving understanding of this topic is a challenge utilizing traditional pedagogical means, given the time constraints I am operating under in conducting this review. So, I utilize two web-based interactives so that students can review concepts in an interactive and engaging manner, and can easily access and conduct additional practice and exploration as often as necessary. One of them includes an investigation sheet that I developed, so that I can check their initial grasp of essential concepts at the onset of the short review unit. This resource is linked below:
PLATE TECTONICS WEB INTERACTIVE
The second online resource for this topic features an assessment quiz that can be taken upon completion of the tutorial. I allow students to take this quiz as many times as they like, so as to encourage persistence towards attaining mastery. This online interactive tutorial and assessment is linked below:
PLATE TECTONICS INTERACTIVE TUTORIAL AND PRACTICE ASSESSMENT - Use your browser's back arrow to return to this page
Once students have achieved a level of proficiency in acquiring essential vocabulary and concepts, in order to advance their learning through the unit, I next employ lessons that those require student application of fundamental concepts towards attaining a deeper understanding of more abstract and complex and concepts and ideas. Grade 8 students are of widely varying levels of cognitive ability and maturity; therefore, varied methods of content presentation are called for to instruct them effectively. I have found the use of technologically based animations and simulations to be most effective in presenting concepts and ideas that are not easily or naturally conceptualized by grade 8 learners, or are outside the sphere of their everyday experiences.
Linked below is a lesson that I developed that accompanies an online, animated tide simulator. This simulation puts the Earth and Moon in motion, and shows how interactions between the oceans and the gravities of the Moon and Sun cause varying types of tides to occur. A link to the accompanying lesson, and to the simulator site, are below:
TIDES ONLINE INTERACTIVE SIMULATION STUDENT LESSON
TIDES ONLINE INTERACTIVE SIMULATION SITE - Use your browser's back arrow to return to this page
Another abstract concept that can be difficult for students to conceptualize is that of the gravitational interactions between the Sun and the planets, and how the planets’ unique distances from the Sun and their particular momentums help to produce stable orbits. Students can manipulate these factors, and predict and observe their consequences, via an online interactive applet, which makes a very inaccessible concept for some students much easier to grasp. Linked below are the animation site, and the tutorial lesson that I developed so that students could interact with the animation in an instructive and educationally meaningful way.
SOLAR SYSTEM GRAVITATION SIMULATOR: STUDENT ACTIVITY GUIDE
SOLAR SYSTEM GRAVITATION SIMULATOR- Use your browser's back arrow to return to this page
With regards to homework, I have begun to utilize QUIA homework assignments on my website. Using the QUIA platform, I can quickly access student scores, number of attempts made per assignment, and time spent on the assignment. The QUIA assignment delivery platform also allows me to instantaneously provide effective feedback to students upon completion of an assignment. This feedback can be used to remediate, and the new understanding gained via the feedback can allow students to score better on the assignment, and better master the concepts, on their subsequent attempts.
ELEMENTS, COMPOUNDS, AND MIXTURES PROBLEM SET ASSIGNMENT B-1 - Use your browser's back arrow to return to this page
ELEMENTS, COMPOUNDS, AND MIXTURES PROBLEM SET ASSIGNMENT G - Use your browser's back arrow to return to this page
Finally, once a unit has been completed, and the assessment lab and test scores have been calculated, some students’ scores will indicate an incomplete mastery of the content. At this point, remediation is necessary. I will hold after-school help sessions to review the fundamental and core concepts of the unit, and then will utilize, via the QUIA quiz platform on my teacher website, remediation assessments to accurately measure the effectiveness of my teacher interventions with struggling students towards their mastery of content. Below is the link to my QUIA retakes (remediation) quiz page. Any of the quizzes is accessible to the viewer of this portfolio for examination:
QUIA Test re-take/Remediation Assessment Site - Use your browser's back arrow to return to this page
You may use the links below to navigate to other pages, or can simply “x out” this page to return to the Introduction page, and navigate from there.
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