First, I have to say that the resources that we were introduced to and explored further were a bit overwhelming (MyWorld GIS, WorldWatcher, ArcGis, and Google Earth). I say “introduced to” because many of them were new to me and I was shocked that I had not heard of most of these as some of them are great for getting students excited and motivated about what they are learning in the classroom. The only program that I had any knowledge or experience with was Google Earth. I however, have only explored it at a very basic level with my students. One of my goals this year, is to try and find ways to connect what my students are learning to real life situations or experiences. Far too often, our students are learning different concepts and they don’t understand how it was important to their life or when they would ever use it again. I definitely will need more time to explore these applications and programs, but this week was a great start to get me thinking about how I can integrate them into my grade 7 class.
“The Learning-for-Use [Lfu] model is a description of the learning process that can be used to support the design of content-intensive, inquiry-based science learning activities” (Edelson, 2001, p. 355). The new BC curriculum encourages teachers to move away from the focus being on reciting and memorizing, but rather focus on a deeper conceptual understanding. This can be done by providing students with opportunities to communicate, collaborate, critical think, question, ponder, infer and make predictions. Lfu is based on a three-step process that includes motivation, knowledge construction, and knowledge refinement. Students are motivated when they find the concepts/activities relevant and interesting. As they are “constructing knowledge,” students are guided by the questions that interest them or that they wonder about. These questions/wonders can be discovered by having them complete a KWL chart or allowing them to brainstorm in small groups or partners. I often do a “pair-share” activity to get students thinking and collaborating on a new topic. Finally during the “knowledge refinement” stage students should be provided with lots of time to reflect upon their learning and apply their understanding to real life situations or scenarios (Edelson, 2001).
Since, I am teaching grade 7 this year, I wanted to explore a topic in the science curriculum. The topics include evolution, chemistry, electromagnetic forces and climate change. One area that I was interested in exploring a little further (as it is a unit that I am currently developing) is climate change. We will be starting an earth challenge in April and May, and the four main topics we will be covering are water-wise, waste-wise, invasive species and air quality. At the end of the month, we will be having a “challenge” game with the other grade 7 classes. Each team of students will be asked questions on these different topics in a Jeopardy style game setting.
As an introductory activity (and to get students motivated), I would have the students brainstorm what they already know about Climate Change (if anything). I have a range of students in my class, so I would most likely have students work in random groupings of 3-4 students and have one student record all of the ideas. This way students would all be able to participate, regardless of whether or not they can write down the ideas (I have a few students with written-output issues). This activity would guide my future lessons. If students have very little knowledge of what climate change is, we would participate in some introductory activities. Nasa has some great activities, including fun facts, videos and interactive activities to get students’ excited and to give students a basic understand of what climate change is (https://climate.nasa.gov/). There are quick one minute videos on a variety of topics to pique students’ interest (Greenland Ice, Sea-Level Rise, etc.), as well as some quizzes and 3D virtual videos. Once students were given some time to explore this site, I would let them break into groups to discuss what they found interesting, what they still had questions about or didn’t understand. and what they wanted to explore more about.
The next activity (I found on the ArcGIS website) is about climate change and how it has affected temperature. It is a geoinquiry map investigating regional patterns to changes in temperatures. Students are able to explore different parts of the world to see how temperatures have changed from year to year. This would lead into an activity that has the students choose a city (could be any place in the world) and month of the year. They would create a graph (math connection) of how the temperature or precipitation has varied from year to year. Another map that I found on ArcGIS is called “Climate Change Stress Index” and it focuses on the degree of change in temperature, precipitation, vegetation and habitat between history and the (projected) future. Depending on time (and student interest), I might have students explore only one or two of these topics.
Once my students have a basic understanding and are excited (that’s my goal!) about climate change, they will choose a topic (water or waste-wise, air quality or invasive species) that interests them and form small groups. The students will be allowed to present the information that they discover in anyway they choose (poster, PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.). This allows students to be as creative as they want. To help students refine their knowledge, they will be given opportunities to think about what changes in their life they can make in order for them to reduce their carbon footprint. Another possibility is for the students to implement a program at the school to help with the climate change issue (school community garden, composting, etc.). Much of this last part will be determined with student input.
Edelson, D.C. (2001). Learning-for-use: A framework for the design of technology-supported inquiry activities. Journal of Research in Science Teaching,38(3), 355-385.
Hi Nicole,
I also found the depth of resources available on ArcGis and My World GIS to be slightly overwhelming. I feel like I just explored the very basics but also decided that, with further investigation, it could be an excellent tool to use in my classroom. You’re idea on a LfU unit based on climate change was great! I really liked how you mentioned several times that the lessons must be flexible and adapt to the students’ prior knowledge and needs. I often myself too set on what i’ve planned, even when it doesn’t best suit the students. Further, I think your overarching goal about getting the students excited about studying climate change is excellent. This sentiment will help the students do deepen their engagement and knowledge levels. Thanks
Kathryn
Thanks for your comments Kathryn!
I completely agree that these resources could be an excellent tool for all of us to use in our classrooms. The struggle is finding the time to dive deeper and move beyond the basics. I have started a google doc of all the resources that we have been introduced in this course (as well as other course in the MET program). My goal is to spend some time finding ways to integrate them into the classroom. We’ve all made some great connections with others’ in this program so I’m hoping that will help us in years to come. Have you found that many of the resources that we have been introduced to are new to you?
Nicole
Hi Nicole
I like the fact that you and others in this course have indicated that you have not been introduced to resources. With all the resources that available — I am not sure how you would survive in the classroom. Which one to use? After you picked one and spent hours preparing a new resource comes out…do you start over or continue with the one you were using?
I wonder how much time a teacher looks for new resources and develops new content for their classes?
A good next step might be to look at your own practice and think about how often you should be looking for new resources or ideas.
Christopher
Hi Christopher,
After reading through this week’s posts, there are a few of us that mentioned not knowing about these resources. It’s interesting to me as I feel like I spend a lot of time conversing with other teachers, sharing ideas and looking for ideas on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.), as well as attending professional development workshops that are offered within my district and other districts. I am not a teacher that likes to teach the same thing over and over, which is why I choose to switch grades every few years. I like to keep things fresh and interesting (not just for me, but for my students). I always remember knowing what novels I was going to read or what projects I was going to be completing in a class because I had an older sister. It seemed like everything was always the same year after year. You raise an excellent point though, how often should teachers be looking for new resources? Every 6 months? Every year? every two years? I think the problem is that there isn’t a fool proof way to find these new resources or a place to go to find “tried and tested” resources. If they aren’t presented in workshops and other teachers that we are connected to aren’t using them, where do we find them? It is definitely a struggle to keep our ideas current and exciting in our classrooms.
Nicole
Hi Christopher,
I was also thinking that maybe the reason some of these resources are new to us is because many teachers in this course are primary or elementary teachers. I have taught grades K-3 for the last seven years. This is my first time in seven years teaching grade 7 and the first time that I have taught at a middle school. Maybe the students in the MET program could create a shareable document that everyone can add resources and ideas to? Just trying to think of ways for us to share all the great ideas we are learning.
Sorry for the double response, but your post got me thinking!
Nicole
Hey Nichole,
I love how your activity gets your students working with real data (the whole point of GIS systems, I suppose) with the goal of having them come to their own conclusions about climate change. I’d be very interested to see how your students’ data would shake out; which cities have increased in temperature over time, which have decreased, which have stayed the same, which have varied. I think it’s important for students to understand that “global warming’ is kind of a misnomer and that climate change is an utterly complex phenomenon.
Another layer that could be explored is digital literacy as it relates to climate change and global warming (mis)information. Misinformation and, for lack of a better term, “anti-truthers” are at an all-time high, with “fake news” (ugh) being almost fashionable at this point. Having students come to their own conclusions using hard data could help to plant that seed of objective curiosity, something that may help them as the world gets increasingly… well… weird.
I have a co-worker (science teacher of 30+ years, yes, SCIENCE teacher) that believes in every conspiracy theory I’ve ever heard of – flat earth, humans are an alien species, climate change is fake, mass shootings are theatrics performed by crisis actors, we’ve never landed on the moon; you name it. He’s passionate about it and will discuss it with whoever asks, both on and offline. It’s very upsetting to me. It’s a hard pill for me to swallow to reconcile that a well-respected, seemingly-intelligent man could be so obsessed with something I believe to be utter nonsense. It makes me wonder what the root cause of such views are, and to what end. it causes me to try and determine how we can better support our students to come to conclusions that aren’t so… science-phobic.
Anyhow, bit of a tangent there. Thanks so much for sharing!
(sorry for spelling your name with an h)
No problem! For some reason, lots of people do that:)
Hi Scott,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you that allowing students to research, explore and create their own data could eliminate some of the scientific misconceptions that we face. I think that the media has a lot to do with “spreading” these misconceptions. I do think that teaching our students to ask questions and think critically can help them. How do you deal with the situation with your colleague? What do you do when students talk to you about the conspiracy theories that he discusses with them? I would definitely have a hard time dealing with this!
Nicole
Hey Nicole, in short I no longer deal with him. I have tried to engage in thoughtful academic discussion with him and it always ends up tangentially spiralling towards more and more absurd claims that are very upsetting to me. Passionately discussing (preaching?) how most, if not all, mass shootings are organised by crisis actors is a very difficult topic for me to dive into. It seems whole-heartedly disrespectful and I’ve found it easiest to simply disengage. Thankfully he rarely discusses these points with students so I have not had to deal with any students talking about the things he’s interested in. In they did come to me with concerns, though, i would likely take time to carefully explain my take on the issues he has discussed. All in all though I don’t know. It’s a sore spot for me.