Spreadsheet Lesson.

Rationale for teaching science.

Education is viewed as fundamental to the overall development of Trinidad and Tobago. As articulated in a report during the Sub-Regional Seminar on Curriculum Development for Learning to Live Together (2001) The Education Policy Paper 1993 – 2003 indicates that “the future of Trinidad and Tobago demands a philosophy of education which stresses the need to be relevant to each individual in the process of schooling.” This espoused philosophy of education goes on to say that that “every child has an inherent right to an education which will enhance the development of maximum capability regardless of gender, ethnic, economic, social or religious background.” It is against this background that the importance of teaching science in the schools of Trinidad and Tobago is underscored. Learning science will contribute to the realization this philosophy for all students.
The goals of education indicate that formal education in Trinidad and Tobago must aim to provide opportunities for all students to develop numeracy, literacy, scientific and technological skills. It is also important to help all students acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to be intelligent consumers. Science teaching must therefore seek to make use of technology in order to foster these goals.
It is against this background that this lesson was developed for use at Moruga Composite School. It allows students to make use of technology in an attempt to solve a real world problem which involves principles of physics. The activities used in the lesson include the creation of tables which offer a quick and easy way of organizing repetitive data and graphs which offer means of visually representing this data. Among the features of this lesson is that it attempts to be student centered and it targets students’ higher order thinking skills. Throughout the lesson students are involved in decision making and critical thinking. The role of the teacher is as a facilitator of learning.

Science Principles supported by this lesson.


Problem solving:

Students are faced with a real world problem which they are required to solve. Students must recognize and implement strategies to effectively investigate the problem.

Decision making:

Students have to decide how they can most effectively achieve the objectives of the lesson. They must decide what variables are important to their investigation, how to effectively collect and display this data and how to perform suitable analysis. Finally decisions must be made on how to communicate findings to different audiences.

Use of technology:

Students will make use of computers and programs in order to process ideas and communicate results. Students will be exposed to the relationship between science and technology.

Working as part of teams:

Students will understand that as scientists they are required to work individually as well as members of teams. Working in groups they share responsibilities, data and results. They will understand that communication is essential for effective group interaction.

National Educational Technology Standards addresses in this lesson.

1. Creativity:

In this lesson students will engage in the use of a technological model to explore the behavior of a complex system. Students will demonstrate creative thinking as they decide how best to use the tool in order to generate a product which meets specific standards.

2. Communication and collaboration:

Students will be immersed in a digital environment and required to communicate and work collaboratively in order to create a product and solve a problem. They are required to communicate ideas effectively to multiple audiences which will require the use of different formats. In addition they are required to contribute to a project team to solve a problem.


3. Research:

Students are required to plan strategies, synthesize information, process data using technology and report results as part of this lesson.

4.Critical thinking:

During this lesson students will plan and manage activities in order to complete a project. They will collect and analyze data to make informed decisions.

5.Technology Operations and Concepts:

In this lesson students will use technology systems. They are required to select and use applications effectively and productively as they create tables, graphs and laboratory reports.

Assessment Strategies:

A combination of formative and summatries assessment strategies are used throughout the lesson in order to evaluate student learning. These are specified in the lesson plan below. The formative assessments are used to guide development of the lesson. If students are having difficulties at any stage of the lesson these can be quickly addressed by conducting mini interventions in order to facilitate the completion of the activities.

Activities which involve the use of summative assessments are clearly shown in the list of activities below. In this lesson summative assessments are made using rubrics. These rubrics are displayed in the appendix at the end of the lesson plan. All relevant materials (problem situation, objectives, and rubrics) will be handed out at the beginning of the lesson so that students will know what standards are required for each stage of the exercise.

Reference:

Melville-Myers, I. (2001). Learning To Live Together - Country Report - Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved October 21st 2007, from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/curriculum/Caribbean/CaribbeanPdf/trinidad.pdf




Checklist for applying technology integration planning model.


Phase 1:

Determining the "Relative Advantage"—Why Use Technology?

•What is the relative advantage of the technology-based solutions?

Students will integrate three disciplines in this lesson:

Physics, communications, information technology.


. Is the relative advantage sufficient to justify the effort involved in adopting these solutions?

Yes, the integration of disciplines should prove motivational for students. In addition a problem based approach is used which makes the lesson more authentic which should stimulate the students.

Phase 2:

Planning Assessments — What Are Appropriate Assessment Strategies?

•What kinds of performances do I expect from students to show they have learned the topic?

Mastery of the tasks assigned.
Engagement in deep reflection.
Production of quality products.

•What is the best way for me to assess students' learning progress and products?

A checklist will be used to make formative assessments. Summative assessments will involve the use of rubrics developed for this lesson.

Phase 3:

Planning Instruction — What Are Appropriate Integration Strategies?

•Instruction will be interdisciplinary (physics, communication, information technology).

•The instructional activities will be individual and group activity.

•Activities will be mainly constructivist in nature.

Have I allowed students enough time to get used to materials before beginning a graded activity?

Yes they have been integrating the use of Microsoft Office in their assignments and are familiar with the uses of all the programs. Additionally they have the opportunity to practice skills.

Phase 4:

Logistics- How Do I Prepare the Classroom Environment and Instructional Materials?

•How many computers and copies of software will be needed to carry out the activities?

Eight computers readily available with Microsoft Office 2002 installed.

•How many computers and copies of software are available?

Eight computers readily available with Microsoft Office 2002 installed.

•Over what time period and for how long will technology resources be needed?
17th – 18th October 2007 period 3 and 4 each day.

(Class could spill over into lunch time but it would not be a problem but an advantage)

•Do I need to schedule time in a lab?
Yes I do.

•Have I checked out the legality of the uses I want to make?
Software is legal.
•Have I provided for students’ privacy and safety?

Yes.

•Have I become familiar with troubleshooting procedures specific to the piece of hardware or software package being used (equipment and software manuals often list such procedures)?

Yes.

•Have I built in time to back up important files? Have I trained students to back up theirs?

Yes.

Do I have a backup plan if I cannot use the resources as I had planned?

Yes, hardcopies for each student. Session will have to be rescheduled if power fails.

Phase 5:

Evaluating and Revising Integration Strategies — How Do I Know It's Working?

•Have I identified an instructional problem to solve? Yes.

•Have I identified types of evidence that will indicate to me whether or not the strategy is solving or might help solve the problem? Yes, Formative assessments throughout will provide feedback on the progress students make towards solving the problem.

•Have I used instruments to collect data on the impact of the activity? Yes, Reflections of students in their science journal should allude to the impact of the activity.

For my own reflections.

•Have I considered alternative ways to set up equipment to make the activities go more smoothly?

•What do I need to change to achieve better impact?




DATE: ______________________

CLASS Lower 6

TIME: 4 Hours (Divided into two 2 hour sessions).

UNIT Dynamics.

TOPIC Projectile Motion.




Problem situation.

A young golfer has indicated to you that she is finding difficulty hitting the ball hard enough to reach the greens in one shot. This is affecting her game and she wants to overcome this problem as soon as possible. She has approached your sports consultancy company to help her solve her problem.
You were invited to attend her games and you make several observations.

1. Most of her shots are struck higher than those of other more experienced golfers.

2. The balls go higher than other golfers but not as far.

3. Smaller golfers are hitting the ball further than your client.

Your initial insight is that your client may be having problems with her golfing technique and strength may not be the problem. Your company has recently developed a range calculator using Microsoft Excel. Your supervisor thinks this tool may be useful in this situation.

Objectives of lesson.

1.Develop a plan with your partners indicating the best way of analyzing the problem.

2.Create a standard laboratory report using programs found in the Microsoft Office Suite.

3.Modify the report in order to present to your client who does not have a scientific background.

Guiding Questions:

1.What are the important variables in this system?

2.What type of investigation should be carried out to help the golfer solve her problem?

3.How should the report be presented to your supervisor and to the client?


REFERENCES

Advanced Level Physics –Tom Duncan.

Microsoft Office For Windows – Steve Sagman.

PREREQUISITES:

Knowledge: Students should know that

• Valuable information on the behavior of physical systems can be obtained from spreadsheet analysis.

Skills: students should know how to:

• Use a spreadsheet to conduct what if analysis for physical systems.

• Use a word processor to complete a standard laboratory report.

• Tabulate data according to approved standards.

• Use a spreadsheet program e.g. Microsoft Excel to graph data.

• Deduce information based on graphical analysis.

• Import charts and tables from Microsoft Excel to Microsoft Word.


MATERIALS & RESOURCES

FOR TEACHER

• Handout outlining scenario, lesson objectives and guiding questions.

• Video clip showing golfer teeing off.


FOR EACH GROUP/STUDENT

• Range calculator developed in class for analysis of projectile motion.

• Computer with Microsoft Office installed.

• Handout outlining scenario, lesson objectives and guiding questions and rubrics.


CONCEPT STATEMENT.

Various technological tools exists which help scientists model, investigate and gain insights into the behavior of complex systems. Spreadsheet analysis allows students to act like scientists and gain conceptual understanding of the complex behavior exhibited by physical systems such as projectile motion. Student interaction with technological tools are essential elements for the promotion of science education in global context.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Plan and communicate procedure to use technology to analyze a system,(Synthesis).

2. Create a standard laboratory report using programs found in the Microsoft Office Suite,(Synthesis).

3.Modify a report to communicate information to specific clients,(Synthesis).

4.Summarize ideas,(comprehension).



PROCESS SKILLS:

During this lesson, student will be engaged in:


Observing.

Recording data and observations.

Interpreting and evaluating data and observations.

Communicating scientific ideas, observations and arguments.

Applying scientific ideas and methods to solve problems.

Decision-making based on examination of evidence.

Extracting from available information data relevant to a particular situation.



Activities.

Introduction:


1) Shows short video clip of a golfer teeing off during a tournament.


2) States the objectives of the session and describes his role as a facilitator.

Students:

1) Observes the motion of the golf ball after it has been struck by the club.

2) Describes the path of the ball.

2) Arrange themselves in predetermined groups of four.

Assessment:

Students’ articulation of the golf ball’s motion.
(Formative)


Students are ready to work.
(Formative)


Development:

Teacher distributes handouts with problem situation and guiding questions.

Rubrics for assessment of activities are also provided to students.

Observes student activities which follow, conducts formative assessments and

intervenes when asked to or it is determined necessary.

Uses rubrics to conduct summative assessments.


Students:

1) Read the handouts and asks questions to clarify any problematic issues which may arise.


2) Discuss among themselves about possible strategies for accomplishing the

objectives of the session.

3) Formulate a plan of action in order to solve problem.


4) Open Spreadsheet Range Calculator.


5) Manipulate variables and observe how the calculator responds.

6) Identifies data to be collected for investigation.

7) Choose an appropriate program from the Microsoft Office Suite for creating data table.

8) Create a suitable data table.


9) Choose an appropriate program from the Microsoft Office Suite for graphing data.

10) Create a suitable graph in order to display data.

11) Students create a word processed laboratory report.

12) Students modify the report to suit a non scientific client.


Assessment:

1) Students articulated conceptions of the tasks.
(Formative)


2) Active participation in discussions related to the accomplishment of tasks.
(Formative)

3) Students construct a flowchart or similar system showing their approach to

solving the problem.

(Summative, Objective 1)

4) Students able to open the calculator for use.
(Formative)

5) Students ability to manipulate variables successfully. (Formative)

6) Student choice of variables for investigation.

(Formative)

7) Student chooses Microsoft word or Microsoft Excel.

(Formative)

8) The table created has all the required components.

(Summative, Objective 2.)

9) Students choose Microsoft Excel to construct graph.

(Formative).


10) The graph has all the stipulated requirements.

(Summative, Objective 2).

11) Lab report has all the required components.
(Summative, Objective 2).

12) Students reorganizes the report in a meaningful way.

(Summative, Objective 3).


CONSOLIDATION

Students summarize their learning from the session in their journal.

(Summative, Objective 4).


Rubrics were created for assessments. However the formatting was destroyed when

posted so this part of the lesson was deleted.