Final Project

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario

Dwayne Buchanan

Brief Overview: In this RILS the students will be grouped with students who have chosen a similar science fair project. The students will then conduct research and share their findings using Google docs. Students will collaborate through Google docs to discuss their research and share notes they are taking about their experiments. The students will share with each other the findings of their final experiment and create a graph using the spreadsheet and graphs portion of Google docs. To finalize the project the students will create a presentation using Google Docs presentation and then present it to the class.

1. Target Audience- Eighth grade students at Union Academy that will be completing a science fair project.

2. Materials–

§  Google Accounts for students/

§  Rubrics to be uploaded to Google docs.

§  End of project survey for Google docs.

3. Objectives- At the end of this scenario the learner will be able to                                          Design an experiment that meets or exceeds the expectations in the rubric.

Compare their research notes with other students in their class.

Assess two other student’s rough drafts of the experiment using a rubric.

Discuss the findings of their research with students that have similar experiments using Google docs.

Analyze the data of two other students using Google docs.

1. Procedure–

§  Students will be assigned partners and teams based on their topic for a science fair project.

§  After the students have started their research they will receive a Google docs invitation for their group.

§  Post the rubric in Google docs for all the groups to see, this way they know the expectation in advance.

§  Take the students to the computer lab to begin the process of collaboration while in the confines of the school and your supervision.

§  Monitor the students as they begin to share information on their topic with the team.

§  As class comes to a close assign the students a project for homework. (After you get home create two posts in your Google docs to be reviewed during the next class).

§  The students during class will evaluate the quality of each post in their groups document.

§  Monitor the groups as they continue the process with their research.

§  When the research is completed the students will implement their experimentation portion of the project.

§  The students will create a spreadsheet in Google docs to record their data as is it is collected.

§  After the data is shared and collected the students will then work collaboratively in Google docs to analyze the data and create a graph showing the results of their experiments.

§  The students will then work cooperatively to create a presentation in Google docs presentation.

§  After the students have completed the project they will then present their collaborative piece of work to the class.

§  The students will then choose the best project from their class.

§  After each class has chosen a winner, they will be connected by Skype to our sister school in Tennessee. They will present one per class and we will present one per class.

2. Web 2.0 Tool–                                                                                                               Google Docs is a web based document system the enables you to collaborate with others on a project. https://docs.google.com

Social Participation/Social Learning– In this scenario the students will be sharing research topics and research ideas with other classmates using Google Docs. The students will use Google docs to evaluate other student’s experiment and to analyze the data of others.

3. Making Connections– The learner will connect in the following ways;

a) Students will take information that they have learned in science class and discover       new ideas through collaboration with their teammates. 

b) In order to make this scenario relevant for the students, they are encouraged to pick a topic that they want to learn more about or a topic that interest them. If they are interested they will invest their time to produce a quality project.

c) The students will collaborate with their team to have a local audience, they will also share the experiments with a sister school. The sister school is in Tennessee and this will allow for time differences in each class.

1. Create/Produce – The students will create a science fair project and collaborate with team members to create a better project.

2. Assessment -

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 Idea Independently identified a question which was interesting to the student and which could be investigated. Identified, with adult help, a question which was interesting to the student and which could be investigated. Identified, with adult help, a question which could be investigated. Identified a question that could not be tested/investigated or one that did not merit investigation. Variables Independently identified and clearly defined which variables were going to be changed (independent variables) and which were going to be measured (dependent variables). Independently identified which variables were going to be changed (independent variables) and which were going to be measured (dependent variables). Some feedback was needed to clearly define the variables. With adult help, identified and clearly defined which variables were going to be changed (independent variables) and which were going to be measured (dependent variables). Adult help needed to identify and define almost all the variables. Hypothesis Development Independently developed an hypothesis well-substantiated by a literature review and observation of similar phenomena. Independently developed an hypothesis somewhat substantiated by a literature review and observation of similar phenomena. Independently developed an hypothesis somewhat substantiated by a literature review or observation of similar phenomena. Needed adult assistance to develop an hypothesis or to do a basic literature review. Descripton of Procedure Procedures were outlined in a step-by-step fashion that could be followed by anyone without additional explanations. No adult help was needed to accomplish this. Procedures were outlined in a step-by-step fashion that could be followed by anyone without additional explanations. Some adult help was needed to accomplish this. Procedures were outlined in a step-by-step fashion, but had 1 or 2 gaps that require explanation even after adult feedback had been given. Procedures that were outlined were seriously incomplete or not sequential, even after adult feedback had been given. Data Collection Data was collected several times. It was summarized, independently, in a way that clearly describes what was discovered. Data was collected more than one time. It was summarized, independently, in a way that clearly describes what was discovered. Data was collected more than one time. Adult assistance was needed to clearly summarize what was discovered. Data was collected only once and adult assistance was needed to clearly summarize what was discovered. Conclusion/Summary Student provided a detailed conclusion clearly based on the data and related to previous research findings and the hypothesis statement(s). Student provided a somewhat detailed conclusion clearly based on the data and related to the hypothesis statement(s). Student provided a conclusion with some reference to the data and the hypothesis statement(s). No conclusion was apparent OR important details were overlooked. Collaboration with Diigo Student provided detailed feedback and provided helpful information to at least two team members. Student provided somewhat detailed feedback and provided helpful information to at least two team members. Student provided somewhat detailed feedback and provided helpful information to at least one team member. Student provided no feedback and provided no helpful information to any team member. Collaboration with Google docs Student provided detailed feedback and provided helpful information to at least two team members. Student provided somewhat detailed feedback and provided helpful information to at least two team members. Student provided somewhat detailed feedback and provided helpful information to at least one team member. Student provided no feedback and provided no helpful information to any team member.

                                                                                               

3. Reflection – The reflection for the RILS must have two parts.

a.     The students will be sent a survey in Google docs to evaluate the task and to evaluate themselves.

b.     After everything has been completed the teacher will collaborate with the other science teachers and write a reflection of the process, both positive and negative, and then decide what needs to be changed to improve the scenario.

I think I was a little too ambitious with this project. I was trying to set up a scenario that I knew would work for my class. Of all my former students that I contacted I only had one that would take the time to help me out. She only completed a small part of the research. This project in my classroom is usually stretched out over a twelve-week time frame. I plan to implement this during the fall semester when my students are working on their science fair projects.