Online Instructional / Workshop Lesson
Leslie Dawes April 3, 2012
ETEC 530 Constructivist Strategies for E-Learning
Instructor- Dr. Diane Janes
University of British Columbia
Science Classification Lesson / Grade One
1. Question– Is it a Mammal? (60 min)
2. Objectives– Students will be able to complete a KWL chart, classify by exploring (mammal/ not mammal), understand characteristics of mammals, work collaboratively in pairs, group work, individually, participate online, and use manipulates to demonstrate learned knowledge. Students will participate in a song to integrate music, science, and technology.
3. Context / Prior Knowledge – Lesson addresses a) Grade One PLOs- classify living things, b) Processes of Science – Communicate their observations, experiences and thinking in a varity of ways (e.g. verbally, pictorially, graphically), classify organisms.
Classification and characteristics are conceptualized after prior knowledge of animal’s habitat, food, and hiberation patterns learned in the Fall. This class is discovering that animals belong in family groups and the characteristics that identify their classification.
Constructivist teaching and learning are grounded in the constructivist learning theory which emphasizies the importance of students’ prior knowledge – Kereen Tathan-Maye
4. Essential Understanding– Learners will identify the classification/characteristics of animals
- Orientation- learners participate in an online science lesson/animals by working in pairs (2 learners per one computer) ; and groups of 4 for collaborative discussions and worksheets. Pupils are given the opportunity to develop a sense of purpose and motivation for learning a topic. (CIM)
5. Materials Needed– online lesson, ‘You Tube’ video on What is a Mammal?; KWL sheet; bucket of plastic animals; chart paper; characteristic sheet.
6. New Vocabulary– Mammal, Taxonomists, Classify, Characteristics, warm-blooded
7. Inform learners of the objectives– by saying,“We are going to discover what family group a whale belongs to. We will also discover other animals that belong. We will be working in pairs, in groups and individually.” Teacher will inform learners that cooperation and collaboration are expected for completing all tasks. Teacher informs learners that they may ask for assistance at anytime.
Teacher informs learners of their responsibilities, tasks, and the evaluation at the end.( self/ peer). Stating objectives clearly and concisely sets the expectations and evaluative process for the learners.
8. Instructional Procedures–
a) Teacher starts with showing the learners a hook– a plush toy, Orca Whale. (CIM) Engage students with a hook/material that makes connections from new to known, lays the groundwork for their tasks, identifies relevance. (5 min)
b) Teacher asks learners specific questions to elicit thinking and discussion. “What kind of animal is this? and What animal family do you think it belongs to?” (CIM, CCM) This leads learners into inquiry thinking and helps teacher identify prior knowledge of learners. (5 min)
c) Teacher facilitates a think, pair, share for learners to focus on the questions. (CIM, CCM) This drives the inquiry process as teamwork is used to share and build the knowledge base. (5 min)
d) After the verbal exchange and sharing of ideas learners choose job roles that leads to the recorder printing everyone’s idea on the KWL chart. Teacher guides learners to contribute to “What do they already know and what do they wonder about?” (CIM, CCM) This also helps to identify prior knowledge and engages learners to further inquiry. (5 min)
e) The next task is for learners to make a ‘prediction’ as to why an animal belongs to the Mammal family. Teacher records each response and tells learners that we will revisit the chart later in the lesson. (POE) This focuses on the question and promotes deeper individual conceptualizing that is shared with their group. (5 min)
f) Learners then watch (observe) the ‘You Tube’ video on Mammal characteristics.This leads learners into a discussion about the various characteristics.The recorder prints everyone’s responses. (POE) ( CCM) (CIM) By observing the ‘You Tube’ video learners will formulate new knowledge and compare it with their existing conceptual framework. (3 min)
g) Next, the online lesson guides learners into a sorting task where they collectively group their pail of animals (group of 4) into categories. Explaining their strategies for grouping is shared together. (POE) (CIM) (CCM) Learners are given time and opportunity to share what animal groupings they have made and explain their criteria for classifying. (5 min)
h) Learners will then participate in a ‘Walk About’ where they can observe other group’s classifications. There is an extension activity of moving online animals that offer learners a challenge to identify the groupings. (CIM) (CCM) (POE) Learners explain and elaborate of their thinking and reasoning as to groupings and explore other groups findings. Compare/ Contrast is encouraged to further knowledge building. This is also support the evaluation process. (5 min)
i) For the next task, each group’s recorder prints down what characteristics define Mammals. (CIM) (CCM) (POE) Elaboration of new knowledge helps learners to expand their knowledge; clarifies misconceptions; explains conceptual understanding; connects to similar concepts; encourages application to other situations. (7 min)
j) Final task involves learners to revisit the KWL chart and the recorder prints what their group found out (collaborative discussion). (CIM) (CCM) (POE) (5 min)
k) Evaluation is a self-assessment and a group assessment questionnaire for students.Teacher evaluation is written sticky notes during lesson ( formative) and a (summative) evaluation is a rubric. Next lesson could include a follow up worksheet to check for understanding. (CIM) (CCM)
Constructivism includes personal reflections.This encourages learner’s to think back on their acquired knowledge and understanding. This also encourages learners’ to take responsibility for their performance and supports self-efficacy and self-regulation. Allowing time to reflect, review, supports meaningful learning and can lead to further instructional needs. (5 min)
l) Teacher provides a challenge activity at the end of the lesson for early finishers and to integrate learning with another subject-Music. (CCM) ( CCM) This activity is introduced in pairs on the computer and then reinforced as a class. It provides an integrated fun closure to this online lesson constructed with Constructivist models. (5 min)
Constructivism maintains that students should be actively engaged in the learning process rather than being mere recipients of information from their teacher. Consequently, constructivism proposes that the role of the teacher is to facilitate learning through modeling, coaching, and scaffolding (Jonassen, 1999). There are many constructivist-inspired teaching methods used in lesson plans and teaching. Driver and Oldham (1986) described constructivist teaching as being characterized by a number of stages:
9. Conclusion– Teacher gathers learners at the carpet and reviews/debriefs. (What did they learned?). Teacher gives learners a moment to reflect about the characteristics of Mammals and then shows poster of mammals with the characteristics and point to each when mentioned. Closure-Sing Raffi’s “Baby Begula” song as a whole class. (5 MIn)
10. Assessment and Evaluation– Teacher does formative assessment during the lesson (observations on stickies) and summative (rubrics chart) at the conclusion.
11. Reflection – Teacher makes notes based on observations noting how learners worked through the affordances of the online lesson. Notes should address individual learners and how smoothly the lesson went including the time allotment. What worked well? What could be improved?
References
Driver, R., and Oldham, V. (1986). A constructivist approach to curriculum development. Studies in Science Education, 13, 105-122.
Jonassen, D. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. In C. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional design theories and models: Volume II Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.