Jasmeet Virk's ETEC 533 journey

 I was excited to know that a method I use for teaching many of my science lessons has a name! GEM!

For me, the enquiry model I use has evolved out of my constructivism class (Etec 530) where I got totally sold on the instructional model created by Driver and Oldham (1986).

Orientation	Activation  of Prior knowledge
Elicitation	Interact with the students to figure out their ideas
Reconstruction of Ideas:	Help students develop their ideas further through additional physical and mental activities
Application of idea:	Students apply their new knowledge to answer questions and solve problems
Review

 When I examined GEM, I found many similarities. GEM stands for generating relationships, evaluating relationships and modifying relationships.  Both models are based in the inquiry model which wants students to create their own learning while teachers facilitate and scaffold.

• GEM demands that there needs to be relevant prior knowledge present before the process starts.
• The Elicitation is very much like generating ideas and evaluating them.
• The reconstruction phase is similar to modifying ideas based on new information.
• Applying ideas is similar to extending the relationships learned to newer ideas!

 The underlying idea of allowing students to use processes that are similar to the ones employed by scientists to identify a problem and gathering information has a lot of merit. It established active learning as student create and recreate their mental models of concepts as they examine new evidence and arguments. Instead of giving students the facts, it is more meaningful for them to connect the dots themselves to figure out the relationships and facts.

 Adding technology to this mix enhances the students learning. As a teacher it is a challenge to create a lesson which applies technology, pedagogy, and content in an effective manner. In another study I had examine when looking at use of virtual manipulative (Suh, 2007)  it was stated that use of such tools reduces the cognitive load and allows the learner to focus on higher level thinking and problem solving issues. I think the same principle applies when using simulation. Simulation not only makes ideas and relationships visible and tactile, but also allows students to try out their predictions and hypothesis.

 However it has to be the amalgamation of suitable technology within the constructivist learning method which will make such learning effective. Here my only concern is whether the pedagogical beliefs and practices of the teacher will sustain this constructivist model.

 Reference:

Khan, S. (2007). Model-based inquiries in chemistry. Science Education, 91(6), 877-905.
Khan, S. (2010). New pedagogies for teaching with computer simulations. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(3), 215-232.

 Suh, J. & Moyer-Packenham, P. (2007). The application of dual coding theory in multi-representational virtual mathematics environment.

http://www.emis.de/proceedings/PME31/4/208.pdf

 Sample Lesson

Challenging Concepts: How oceans affect weather

 In teaching grade 4 science in the last 5 years, I have found students struggling with this concept. Despite understanding that cold air moves hot air and that air over water is warmer than air over land in winter and vice versa, the transfer of knowledge can be hard.

 The technology I will be using here is the Internet Website: Weather Channel:

 

Phases of Instructions	Teaching strategy	Teacher Guidance
Generate relationship from information:	Ask students what is the relationship between latitudes and temperatures.   Show location of Prince Rupert and Kelowna on the map to see that PC is at higher latitude and ask which one will be colder in winter.   Then use the weather network sites for Prince Rupert and Kelowna to examine the current temperatures and show that the above established relation is falsified.   Examine the 14 day trends available on the site and the pictures of flora and fauna to see that PR is warmer than Kelowna in winter.   Ask students to discuss and hypothesize “Why”	Help examine the map                   Read data from the site     Draw a quick graph to highlight the difference   Prompt them to examine the map thoroughly   List the hypothesis of each group.
Evaluate the Relationship	Go back to the weather network site and then look at the weather patterns and trends of Prince George. It is very close to PR but is colder than Kelowna   Then we go back to the site and check the weather of Campbell River which is on similar latitude as Kelowna.	Ask students to go back to the maps and figure out why this is happening.     Ask how the weather difference between PR and PG relate to that of Kelowna and Campbell River.
Modify the Relationship	Check their hypothesis now with new information       Ask them to apply their new knowledge to other locations	Ask them to see the similarities between PR and Campbell River and that of PG and Kelowna and examine the trends.   Is Vancouver Warmer that Kelowna? What about Powell River?