T-GEM Model with assignment (aimed at grade 4 Science):<\/p>\n
For this activity, I chose to focus on evaporation due to the fact that students often have a variety of misconceptions related to \u201cphase changes of water\u201d (p. 4), as is identified by Laura Henriques (2000) in \u201cChildren\u2019s misconceptions about weather: A review of the literature.\u201d Henriques identifies that rather than understanding \u201cwater left in an open container evaporates changing from liquid to gas,\u201d children may believe the water \u201cis absorbed by the container\u201d or simply \u201cdisappears (Bar, 1989; Osborne & Cosgrove, 1983);\u201d that it \u201cchanges into air or disappears and turns into air ((Bar, 1989; Brody, 1993; Lee, et al., 1993; Osborne & Cosgrove, 1983);\u201d or that \u201cthe water dries up \u2013 it is not steam, it just dries up and goes into the air (Bar, 1989)\u201d (p. 5). Henriques points out that \u201call the misconceptions here (except water being absorbed by the container) are basically true since water vapor is a legitimate component of air,\u201d however, students generally \u201cwere not viewing the evaporated water as a component of air because air to them is nothingness\u201d (p. 5).<\/p>\n
G \u2013 Generate:
\nTo access prior knowledge, check for misconceptions, and generate ideas about the topic, evaporation, I would begin with a few different activities to activate thinking and knowledge from different angles.<\/p>\n
1) First, students would complete a \u201cWhat-So-What?\u201d activity. Students would be given a handout with a t-chart on it. The left column of the chart says \u201cWhat?\u201d and the right column says \u201cSo What?\u201d Students would be shown two pictures and would be expected to respond on \u201cWhat\u201d they see and why each thing they see might be of importance (\u201cSo What?\u201d). The pictures will be projected through a projector\/proxima to a screen for them. The first picture would be of a bowl\/container filled with water, perhaps sitting near a window or outside on a sunny day. The students would be given a set amount of time (I usually allow only one minute) to list as many things as possible that they see in the picture. They are then given additional time (I usually give about two minutes) to respond to why each thing they saw might be important in the \u201cSo What?\u201d column. Next, students would be presented with a picture of the same container, except this time it would be empty (time and weather could change, but container and its location would remain the same). They would repeat the \u201cWhat-So-What?\u201d process. I would then do a \u201cWhip Around\u201d to have each student share one idea they came up with from the pictures \u2013 students are allowed to expand on an idea already shared by a peer, but must make it \u201ctheir own.\u201d<\/p>\n
2) Originally, I had thought that I would have students generate ideas they had about the term \u201cevaporation\u201d by doing an idea web on paper. However, having read Khan\u2019s (2012), \u201cA Hidden GEM: A pedagogical approach to using technology to teach global warming\u201d I decided I would borrow an idea from Khan\u2019s generate strategies and use the Cmap program discussed in the article. Cmap software was developed through research by the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) and “empowers users to construct, navigate, share and criticize knowledge models represented as concept maps” (IHMC, 2014). It is marketed as a software that can be used by all age groups, as individuals, as well as within schools and institutions (http:\/\/cmap.ihmc.us\/<\/a>). I had never used Cmap before, but found it very easy to download and to use at basic level. I feel that my grades 4\/5 students would be comfortable using this application.<\/p>\n Using Cmap, I would ask students to create an initial map of ideas they can generate about their beliefs related to evaporation. This would likely include ideas they generated through the \u201cWhat-So-What\u201d activity, from the \u201cWhip Around\u201d activity, as well as from their own prior knowledge. I would allow students to work in partners to encourage discussion about evaporation and ideas generated. Students would create a basic Cmap at this point. At this point, students would be asked (with their partner) to create a hypothesis based on the question: “What happens to water when it is left in an open container?”<\/p>\n (N.B. \u201cWhat-So-What?\u201d is a strategy I use quite often with my students, especially in Science and Social Studies lessons. I do not have an exact reference for this strategy, but it was shared by Faye Brownlie during a presentation she gave when visiting the district where I work a couple of years ago. The following is a link to her website: http:\/\/fayebrownlie.ca\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n E \u2013 Evaluate:
\nFor example:
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/files\/2017\/03\/Cmap-Evaporation-300x224.jpg\")
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\nWhen I began searching for interactive simulations online, I found an interactive evaporation simulation that seemed to fit well with both the grade level I am aiming at (primarily grade 4) and the curriculum content that students will be expected to know \u201cSolids, liquids and gases as matter\u201d (B.C. Ministry of Education, 2016). Working in pairs to allow for discussion, students would use the online evaporation simulation to evaluate the ideas they generated in their Cmap. Students will be able to experiment with the following variables: how humid their environment will be (full sun, sun with clouds, clouds with rain), air temperature (between 10 and 40 degrees Celsius), and container shape (flatter and wider versus taller and thinner).
\nAs students progress through the simulation, they will record\/graph their findings taking into account the changes in variables.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/files\/2017\/03\/Evaporation-simulation-info-screen-300x225.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/files\/2017\/03\/Evaporation-simulation-mainscreen-300x225.jpg\")
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