Based on work done in Week 6, and incorporating suggestions and critiques from class members, complete inquiry-based science lesson on Google Classroom.
Assignments:
Assignments need to specify what you are expecting from the student.
Activities should utilize commonly available household materials, websites, or simulations
There is no on best or 'correct' lesson or set of lessons for any of the topics you have selected. At most you should have 2 activities in your lessons- perhaps one research-oriented, where the students pose research questions, and try to find out the answers, and one more hands-on, where students build or model something they have chosen, such as building a weather instrument, measuring steps walking in an hour, food eaten, model of a disaster-resistant structure. or model of a planet.
The main point of this course is teaching using inquiry- while you as the teacher may provide an introduction to the topic content, and teach them needed skills( such as how to research information, how to document designs, how to record data and observations); the emphasis is on student choice in learning-- this can be either structured inquiry( for example, they get to choose which weather instrument to build or city's temperature to graph), guided inquiry( they choose the methods and do the research) or open inquiry ( they research a question or create a design of their own choosing).
3) Autonomy: Do the students have some control( autonomy) over what they get to study, to build, or to investigate? The ideal investigation should be one in which students need a common set of skills or base knowledge, but are able to make end products that are unique. As we discussed, a sense of autonomy, mastery, and purpose is essential to motivation.
Assessment:
Unit needs to contain an assessment that makes learning visible-
This can be:
A traditional quiz made using Google Forms(part of Google Classroom)- See Tutorial https://youtu.be/I-GgDeAaZow
A Word document with questions;
A project-based assessment, or
Digital media- a slide show, short video, Prezi, etc.
West Point Bridge Designer https://youtu.be/3VNuJkO6QSw
Building Straw Bridges https://youtu.be/C7wlQG0-3vw
Drawing for Understanding https://youtu.be/MbF_pKxvBXI
Building Straw Bridges-2 https://youtu.be/QMVeUBpqT00
Using Google Slides and/or talking to the camera(optional), create a 1 minute promotional screencast video for your science lesson using Loom ( https://www.loom.com/ ). Post the link to the video on Blackboard.
The purpose of the video, other than getting used to the tech tools, is practice in expressing the rationale for your lesson- why should kids be interested? What questions will it answer? What will they come away learning
(If you are more comfortable using another video create tool, such as ScreenCastify or I-Movie, that is OK too.
Loom is free, it seems to be the easiest, and it also hosts the video on its server. You can sign in using your Google ID).
Don't be embarrassed if it is rough; you get better with practice!
Fluency in creating video is now a basic literacy skill for both teachers and students- it is how the world communicates these days.
Links and Tutorials: https://blackboard.aic.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/blankPage?cmd=view&content_id=_1282529_1&course_id=_24984_1
Steps:
(1) Write out a short script(one paragraph) of what you plan to say- this can be:
A series of questions
What you will explore in the lesson
Why it is interesting or important
What students will come away learning
(2) In Google Slides, create a short slideshow consisting of text highlights, images, or both;
(3) Log in to Loom using your Google Identity or login;
(4) Start Recording;
(5) Present your slideshow while recording your voice-over;
(6) Trim extraneous bits from the beginning and end;
(7) Share your Loom video link on Blackboards.