Key Area 3
Technology Applications
For this key area, I have chosen to showcase my Instructional Design Project. It is a unit of study based upon the fourth grade content standards relating to weather prediction. Many technologies were incorporated into this unit while maintaining a firm grasp on fundamentals. The rubrics and the web site used for the unit were self created and worked very well to guide the students in their exploration and discovery of weather prediction. The students really enjoyed this particular unit when I taught it.
Instructional Design Final Project
Delesa
Bosworth
Children do not need to be taught what to learn, but how to learn. Learning is, in and of itself, is a skill that needs to be developed by our children. Once a basic set of skills are attained, children need to make learning their own. Knowledge is not something that can be replicated by the student, but must be constructed on his or her own. Children need to discover knowledge by exploring, researching, and creating a means to learn for themselves.
The instructional problem that I will be facing is as follows: How can a web-based discovery-learning unit be best incorporated so that the students complete it at the most independent level possible?
Some of the major issues I will be facing include that the students will be fourth graders who have not been exposed to this type of unit before. Will extra training and guidance be necessary to ensure the success of the students? What changes will be necessary to ensure that the integrity of the content standards being covered is not jeopardized by the format used for presentation?
The intended setting will be in the fourth grade classroom and/or the computer lab. This unit will require a great deal of access to the Internet and hands-on time on the computer. The unit will take at least two weeks to complete and will require a minimum of forty-five minutes daily – some days more.
The participants are the fourth graders in my homeroom class.
The intended change that I am expecting is that through completing a unit such as this one, my students will become more independent learners. The purpose of this is for the students to discover and build their own knowledge about weather prediction. My role as a teacher is to facilitate that discovery and provide feedback and direction along the way. I also intend for the students to master the fourth grade Earth/Space content standards in science equally as well or better than students completing a traditional text-based unit.
Age: 9-11 years old
Sex: Both male and female
Educational Level: part way through the fourth grade year
Achievement Level: will vary among the students – some may be as low as two years below grade level and some as high as two years above
Prerequisite knowledge and skills: students will know how to log onto a computer and open a designated program. They will have navigated through games, but have probably done very little research on the Internet. Many of the prerequisite skills may have to be taught.
Socioeconomic Background: all students come from a small, rural, agricultural environment. Some have access to computers and Internet at home, but some only have access at school.
Learning Style Preference: the students will vary in their learning styles, but this will be a new experience for all. By allowing them to work in partners and by providing a wide variety of learning activities within this unit, I hope to work into several learning preferences.
Motivation: the students will be highly motivated at the beginning of the project simply because of the new technology related format. However, once students begin the actual labor of the unit, they may think it is too much work. I am incorporating activities and projects along the way to hold interest and not simply relying on the technology to do so.
Attitudes: most of the students are hard workers and keep themselves on task. However, once some of them note the amount of work required with the unit, their attitude may become less positive.
Expectations: I expect that all of the students will be successful in this unit because of the fact that I will be allowing them to work through in partners and I will be evaluating all along the way and will be able to redirect the learning as necessary.
Instructional Environment: The instructional environment that will be necessary for the completion of the ID project includes the regular fourth grade classroom setting and access to the computer lab on several occasions. The fourth grade classroom has three networked computers that have Internet access, which will allow the students to find daily weather reports. We will have to go to the computer lab on several occasions so that each student team has an individual computer to work on. There will be at least six teams in my classroom so we will need access to that many computers throughout the unit. This will require advanced planning to ensure we have the access we need, when we need it.
Some use factors that I am concerned with include the experience level of my fourth grade students. Various individuals within my class will move throughout the online unit with little trouble, but others may be very intimidated by the format the information will be presented in. To address this issue, I have planned for students to work in teams of two or three to provide support for each other throughout the project. Our schedule will vary from day to day depending upon the project in the works for that particular time slot. Students will need to be prepared in advance to the fact that this unit will not be the typical text-based unit that they are used to experiencing. The learners will have to be more involved and take more personal responsibility than is usually expected.
Critical to the success of this design is scheduling enough time and access to the computers so that students are not rushed. Also critical is realizing that the equipment may not run as expected every day. We will need to have an alternative schedule that could be followed in case of such an emergency. We will also have to keep in mind that the key goal that we want to accomplish is the mastery of the fourth grade Earth/Space science content standards. The format it is presented in should not be the primary focus. Rather, the students’ learning needs to be that focus. I want to make sure that this format aids that learning, not hinders it. If I feel that the students are not mastering the content at any point, I will step in and initiate some review.
My main goal is that my fourth grade students will independently (with little help from the teacher) complete a web-based weather prediction science unit. The students will work with a peer partner on most activities.
Given a specific set of circumstances, the students will be able to write reasonable weather predictions for the situation.
Students will use a discovery-learning model to gather the information necessary to make accurate weather predictions in accordance to fourth grade content standards.
Part 6: Content
Analysis
Content |
Conceptual Title |
Objectives or steps necessary for completion. |
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1. Independently use Web-based technology to complete a unit on weather prediction. |
Psychomotor- -Basic fundamental movement. Cognitive- -Knowledge |
Practice using a web-based activity so that students will focus on the content, not on the presentation format. |
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2. Daily graph the local temperature and barometric pressure. |
Cognitive-Comprehension |
Students will have a visual representation to use for drawing conclusions about changes in our local weather. |
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3. Build a thermometer and barometer. |
Psychomotor--Basic fundamental movement. Cognitive-Comp. -Analysis |
Students will build weather prediction instruments to monitor the changes in weather and analyze what these changes mean. |
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4. Know three different tools used to measure changes in weather and discuss each in writing. |
Cognitive-Knowledge -Analysis -Synthesis |
Students will be able to write what each tool is for and how they would be useful for predicting weather. May need to be taught note-taking skills when reading through and gathering information. |
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5. Recognize three major cloud formations and discuss in writing. |
Cognitive-Knowledge -Analysis -Synthesis |
Students will be able to write what kind of weather change could be expected to come with different cloud formations. |
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6. Know the different types of air masses and explain about them in writing. |
Cognitive-Knowledge -Synthesis |
Students will explain in writing what happens when 2 different air masses meet. |
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7. Given a set a weather circumstances, students will write a logical prediction of what will happen. |
Cognitive-Knowledge -Analysis -Synthesis -Evaluation |
Students will synthesize all of their previous learning from the unit to predict the weather activity from a given set of circumstances. |
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Student self-monitoring |
Rubric given to the student at the beginning of the unit for students work through and monitor their progress. Instructor and student will conference at the end of unit to determine point totals. (*Rubric in attached file.) |
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Participation monitoring |
Teacher kept rubric for the teacher to monitor individual participation throughout the unit. (*Rubric in attached file.) |
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Formative evaluation |
Discussion board postings, research projects, and other assignments monitored by the instructor to ensure comprehension of the material so that reteaching and review can be implemented as necessary. |
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Final evaluation |
Use
the final end of unit evaluation from the text to determine if the
students effectively mastered the information. |
Part 8: Instructional Media
Media MaterialsWeb-based instructional unit requires a computer with Internet access. We will also use text-based materials to gather information. Students will use publishing software to graph the findings from their logs. Discussion Boards and Email |
Learning Goals & ObjectivesWill be used to meet my main learning goal and all three objectives. The postings and email will be used for assessment throughout the unit. |
Media MaterialsInternet Discussion Boards & Email Text Based Materials Publishing Software |
Rationale Will use recent sites and information to ensure the content is up to date and will meet content standards. Allows teacher to monitor progress. Text Based Materials for discovery of information. Publishing Software to create a final product from the graphic information kept throughout the unit. |
Issues If the sites are reliable and factual. There will be issues with student writing skills and abilities to use the publishing software. |
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Lessons or Activities Students research information about weather prediction instruments, cloud formations, and atmospheric pressure. Reading assignments Research project Hands on experiments Journaling Discussion Boards Make graphs on computer. Final evaluation on-line |
Rationale I have tried to provide a wide variety of activities that will ensure that students are able to master all of the goals and objectives. The lessons will be beneficial to children with numerous learning styles and ability levels. They will explore and discover new information to use in drawing their conclusions in many different ways. |
Issues Providing ongoing assessment throughout the entire unit to make sure that no students are left behind and that all the content standards are mastered. |
Instructional Event |
Possible Instructor Action |
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1. Gaining Attention |
The media we will be using will be the attention getting tool. This will be the first lesson in the unit. |
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2. Informing the learner of the objective. |
Will read the instructions on the web-site. Today they will be introduced to weather prediction tools. |
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3. Stimulating recall of prerequisite learning. |
This is the introductory lesson, so there is not a great deal of recall. Students could make predictions of which weather prediction instruments we will be looking at today and what each one is for. We will also review how to move around in the web-site and retrieve the needed information. |
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4. Presenting the stimulus material. |
The students will read and take notes from the Power Point provided on the web-site about weather prediction instruments. They will then download and print the instructions for making a thermometer and barometer. Within their team, the students will decide what supplies they will need to bring. Students will make and monitor their instruments over the next days. |
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5. Providing learner guidance. |
Instructor posts penetrating questions on the discussion board. |
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6. Eliciting the performance. |
Students write responses to guiding discussion questions on the discussion board about what these instruments are and what each is used for. Students also graph daily temperatures and atmospheric pressure. Monitor these to help determine what is causing our weather changes outside. |
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7. Providing feedback about performance correctness. |
Instructor reads and responds to discussion board postings of individual students. |
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8. Assessing the performance. |
Students are given a chance to reply to the instructor. The responses are kept on log. Instructor also makes notations on participation rubric for performance to this point. |
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9. Enhancing retention. |
Repetition of lesson or individual student tutoring as necessary to ensure comprehension of the material. |
What |
How |
Effectiveness1. Were the students able to complete the unit independently? 2. Did the learners master the content standards? 3. Was the design followed through to the end or did it require modification? 4. Did this design allow for teachable moments and for unforeseen problems with the technology? |
Achievement End of unit evaluation Journals and graphs Discussion postings Rubrics |
Appeal
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AttitudesNotes from participation rubric Observations Instructor self-analysis Interview with the students |
Efficiency
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UseObservations Questionnaire
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Learning Outcomes: Ta start with, a person must have a goal in mind to drive the entire process. You must know what your are aiming for.
Student Needs Assessment: Ask, “Where are the students at? Do they need pre-teaching, or is this too easy?” If necessary, go back to the Learning Outcomes and make necessary adjustments based upon the student needs.
Learner Objectives: Once the Student Needs Assessment is complete, break the large goal down into manageable chunks of information. These are more specific and provide the steps necessary to achieve the Learning Outcomes.
The next planning phase includes six particular fields to be considered before moving on to the next phase.
Media: Ask, “What media suits this certain instructional problem that I am facing at this time? What will enhance the model and make it better, not just bog it down with gadgetry? What media are available and reliable?”
Lesson Plans: Plan what will happen during each phase of the presentation.
Presentation Style: must decide which presentation style best suits the Learning Outcomes. Choose from lecture, demonstration, discussion, text, etc.
Time Constraints: Ask, “How much time can I realistically allot for theses Outcomes? Will students be burdened with large amounts of out of class work? Do I need to cut parts out, or will I have time for enrichment activities?”
Strategies: How will the students go about learning this information? What will happen if reteaching is necessary? Plan for flexibility (Plan B).
Materials: What will need to be on hand? Do I need to order supplies ahead of time, or is everything easily accessible?
Conduct Instruction: Implement the plan. Evaluate progress throughout the implementation.
Ongoing Needs Assessment: Formative assessment conducted throughout the entire planning and implementation of the unit. The results may take you back to earlier design stages for revisions and reteaching.
Summative Evaluation: An ending point to aim for and let you know you are finished and goals are met. One may decide even at this point to go back and revise and reteach if necessary.