Recent research into the development of the brain indicates that the optimal time frame for introducing spatial and temporal learning is between the ages of eight and eleven. Laying down the framework for spatial and temporal senses at this age will make subsequent learning easier. These are areas of development that have been underemphasized in the elementary classroom. This often results in middle and high school students who have difficulty developing the spatial and temporal concepts that will lead to success in higher-level studies, especially in the areas of math and science. This project focuses on activities that promote spatial and temporal contextual learning at a developmentally appropriate stage in the children's lives. The activities in this project are inquiry-based and focus on the learner, the content knowledge and process skills, and the learning environment, facilitated through rich experiences with technology. Activities selected for project integrate learning within the math and science disciplines, as well as across the curriculum. They are standards-based, addressing the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, and the National Math and Science Standards.
Professional Development
This project will encompass the 2001-2002 school year, beginning with professional
development for teachers in August of 2001, and continuing throughout the school
year. In an attempt to understand the metacognitive processes inherent in the
field of education, both in student and teacher, cadre members will continually
consider their own level of understanding and competence. They will chart a
course that leads them to greater understanding and proficiency through seeking
a means for constructing knowledge and skills in the geoscience and pedagogical
aspects of teaching. This plan will provide experience, background information,
content and skills development and practice, as well as a system of ongoing
support for participating teachers.
Through Encino Park's aligned professional development cadre TEACHERS IN S.T.E.P. (Inquiry-based Science and Technology for Encino Park), participating teachers in grades three through five (at least two classes per grade level, plus library and administrative staff members), will meet to explore the impact of teaching through an Earth Systems Science focus. Throughout the process of learning about Earth Systems Science as a focus for the curriculum, teachers will be introduced to recent brain research and its implications for teaching and learning. They will explore models, such as the Modified Bransford's Model for Enhanced Learning, and determine how the integrated project they are participating in fits in to the Learner-Centeredness, Knowledge-Centeredness, Assessment-Centeredness, and Community-Centeredness of this model, and how its goals are achieved through an emphasis on Information Technology in Science. The cadre will have the opportunity to become familiar with basic concept mapping programs such as Inspiration and they will discover the basics of modeling by using Star Logo and Stella to model some of the concepts in the unit. Cadre members will participate in both synchronous and asynchronous learning activities, as they develop their skills with various technologies. Since this component of the professional development will be ongoing, participants will have ample opportunities to progress from wherever they are on the road from novice to expert, collaborating and learning as they go. Progressive formalization will be a continuous goal, as these teachers reach out to their peers, sharing their experiences and celebrating their successes.
In addition to this ongoing process, the structure of this plan will be presented at CAST 2001 during a share session presented by Presidential Awardees.
Student Activity Highlights
A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO CONSTANCY AND CHANGE
~Eleven Moons~
An Integrated Look at Constancy and Change
Over the Course of an Academic Year
Target Group:
This project will target Fifth grade students at Encino Park Elementary School
in San Antonio, Texas.
Previous Understanding of Science Content and Process
Skills:
At the fifth grade level, most students are able to make and document sequential
observations, identify simple patterns, and communicate their findings. They
are able to understand cyclic changes and use this knowledge to predict and
generalize. With guidance, they are able to begin to understand dynamic processes
and the interaction of several components. The fifth grader has had experience
observing and describing properties of objects and organisms in their environment.
They can identify and describe a variety of natural resources. They are able
to compare and contrast similarities and differences, and identify parts and
their function within simple to increasingly more complex systems. They can
manipulate, predict, and identify parts that, when separated from the whole,
may result in the part or the whole not working as efficiently. Fifth grade
students are beginning to understand the basic properties as well as the importance
of earth materials and gases of the atmosphere, and classify them as renewable,
nonrenewable, or inexhaustible resources. They can identify and describe the
roles of some of the organisms in living systems. They can predict and draw
conclusions about what might happen if part of the system is removed. The fifth
grade student can illustrate that certain characteristics of an object remain
constant, even when other characteristics may be changing. The fifth grade student
understands that past events affect present and future events. They can observe
and identify events that require time, and are beginning to develop a temporal
sense.
Science Standards Addressed in this Unit:
The focus will be on Systems, Constancy and Change, and Process Skills.
Science Concept TEKS- 5.5 a, b; 5.6 a, b, c; 5.7 a, b, c, d; 5.8 a; 5.9 a, b,
c; 5.10 a, b; 5.11 a, b, c; 5.12 a, b, c.
Science Process TEKS: All fifth grade Science Process Skills will be addressed
in this unit.
TEKS- Addressed Science Tools:
Balances, beakers, calculators, calculators, cameras, compass, computers, hand
lens, magnets, microscopes, rulers, safety goggles, test tubes, thermometers,
timing devices, weather instruments, in addition to a variety of other tools
and technology.
Other Content Areas and TEKS Addressed in this Unit: This unit will be totally interdisciplinary, guided by the standards in all academic and supporting areas, focusing on the Science, Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies content areas.
Language Arts: Listening and speaking for a purpose (5.1), Critical listening and speaking for analysis and evaluation (5.2), Listening and speaking for appreciation (5.3), Listening and speaking to gain and share awareness and common elements of culture (5.4), Effective communication for audience, purpose, and occasion (5.5), Word identification (5.6), Understanding appropriate level of difficulty in textual reading (5.7), Reading for a variety of purposes (5.8), Extensive vocabulary development through reading and semantic word study (5.9), Comprehension (5.10), Expression and support of responses through observation, connection, speculation, interpretation, etc. in response to written material (5.11), Inquiring and conducting research using a variety of resources (5.13), Increase cultural awareness (5.14), Write for a variety of audiences and purpose (5.15), Write original text applying the conventions of written language (5.16), Proficiency in spelling (5.17), Proficiency in grammar and usage (5.18), Selection and use of writing process in self-initiated and assigned activities(5.19), Evaluation of own writing and that of others(5.20), Writing as a tool for learning and research (5.21), Interacting with writers inside and outside the classroom (5.22), Understanding and interpreting visual messages and meanings (5.23), Analyzing and critiquing the significance of visual images, messages, and meanings (5.24), Production of visual images, messages, and meanings (5.25).
Math: Number, operation, and quantitative reasoning through an understanding of place value to represent whole numbers and decimals (5.1), Number, operation, and quantitative reasoning through the use of fractions in problem solving (5.2), Number, operation, and quantitative reasoning through the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to solve meaningful problems (5.3), Estimating to determine reasonable results (5.4), Generalizing based on observed patterns and relationships (5.5), Description of mathematical relationships (5.6), Generation of geometric definitions using critical attributes (5.7), Modeling of transformations (5.8), Recognition of the connection between ordered pairs of numbers and location of points on a plane (5.9), Use of appropriate procedures for measurement (5.10), Application of appropriate measurement concepts (5.11), Description and prediction of results in a probability experiment (5.12), Problem solving through collecting, organizing, displaying, and interpreting sets of data (5.13), Problem solving connected to everyday experiences (5.14), Communicating mathematics using informal language (5.15), Using logical reasoning to make sense of the world (5.16).
Social Studies: Understanding important issues and events (5.5), Use of geographic tools to collect, analyze, and interpret data (5.6), Conceptualization of regions (5.7), Location and pattern of settlement and geographic factors that influence where populations live (5.8), Adaptation and modification of the environment (5.9), Impact of supply and demand on consumers and producers (5.13), patterns of work and economic activities (5.14), Impact of science and technology on life (5.24), Using critical thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of sources including electronic technology (5.25), Communication in written, oral, and visual forms (5.26), Using problem solving and decision making skills while working independently and with others, in a variety of settings.
Time Frame:
As the title of the lesson Eleven Moons indicates, this will cover the span
of one school year. Immediately upon the return to school, students will learn
the required protocols for defining and graphing the campus, identifying and
setting up a witness plot, data collection, recording, analysis, and communication.
Throughout the year, students will be required to do various integrated activities
with the information about the environment they are studying, on a daily to
weekly basis. At the end of the year, the students will be challenged to design
extensions of this project for continued research and applications.
Partners and Resources:
GeoITS at Texas A & M University, International GLOBE Project, Arc Explorer,
Lab Quest, Marco Polo, Translingual Earth Systems Science Project - TAMU-CC.
Project Overview:
In cooperative research groups, students will map and then plot the entire campus
area on a grid, indicating all pertinent features. The area will be divided
into quadrants and carefully described in journals. Using this initial quantitative
and qualitative data, students will make generalizations, speculate on what
happened in these areas in the past, and predict change, and rate of change
for the future. Each student will select and describe in detail ten observable
square meter areas that vary in composition and characteristics, identifying
coordinates. Students will predict occurrence and degree of change for each,
graphing their predictions for future referral. This data will be compared with
collected data at the end of the school year, conclusions will be drawn, and
generalizations will be made in project summary.
Students will participate in the GLOBE Project, collecting and submitting data
according to established protocols. Students will use past and current data
to predict future events. In learning about various weather influences such
as El Nino, students will look for patterns that correlate with the San Antonio
flood record, and draw conclusions based on their findings. Students will look
at demographic trends that are affecting their community, as it rapidly develops.
They will explore the history of San Antonio, as a city, and its northern movement,
making predictions as to when Austin and San Antonio might join as a metroplex,
basing their conclusions on evidence obtained through layers of maps, both self-made
and generated by GIS programs. Students will study the Edwards Aquifer and surrounding
recharge zone, and write narrative passages and persuasive letters with regard
to their beliefs as they develop.
Upon discussion of what is appropriate and required for a developing witness plot, students will reach consensus upon the most desirable location, and set up a 10X10 ft. witness plot to be observed over the course of the year. Through observations of this microcosm, as well as through the study of various environments and biomes, students will discover how the Earth's processes are dynamically changing our planet at various rates. Students will observe and experiment with many of these processes, to better understand the effects of weather, erosion, deposition, anthropologic factors, and other natural influences that continually shape the planet.
The importance of balance in nature will be emphasized through games and activities such as Hawks and Mice. Various books such as Drylongo, The Green Book, and The Thirteen Moons series will be used in supporting literature units. Students will participate in interdisciplinary activities that will provide them with a cultural perspective of constancy and change through historical time line projects, personal interviews, research, and creative writing. Students will form interest groups and select a related cause to study and become politically involved in, through persuasive letter writing and editorializing. Through discovery activities and the inquiry process, students will relate the health of the planet to their personal health and well being, and determine through a critical decision making process where intervention is best attempted and best avoided.
Technology will be an important component of this interdisciplinary unit, as students use various data collectors, scientific tools, and computer hardware and software applications throughout the activities. Students will utilize concept mapping and basic modeling programs to illustrate their knowledge constructs.