Challenge 6B

Symbols: Symbols play a large role in research and data collection. Symbolic forms are also displayed in photos, videos, facial expressions, graphs and scientific data.

Cognitive Process: Students will design a research project which will involve data gathering, anaylsis and drawing conclusions. The data will be collected in a spreadsheet that the students will create.

Discourse: By developing a research project and presenting the findings to the class in a powerpoint presentation, they students will be using many discourse forms: books, spreadsheets, photos, videos, word processors, internet and podcasts


Content Standards:
This 4th grade unit was developed using the Wisconsin State Educational Standards. This research project and presentation unit will meet these science standards.

A.4.1 Make observations, ask questions and plan environmental investigations

A.4.2 Collect information, make predictions, and offer explanations about questions
asked

A.4.3 Develop answers, draw conclusions, and revise their personal understanding as
needed based on their investigations

A.4.4 Communicate their understanding to others in simple terms

Authentic Activities:
A1 Develop an understanding of wild chimpanzee behavior
A2 Understand the definition of enrichment, how it can be used and how to create items
A3 Determine if offered enrichment changes chimpanzee behavior
A4 Share the results through a presentation

Building activities:
B1a - Students will visit the Jane Goodall Website to
B1b - Students will be given an informational chart describing chimpanzee activity levels
B1c - Students will be given the book- The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior by Jane Goodall.

B2a - Students will view enrichment podcasts from the Oregon Zoo
B2b - Students will be given the book Shape of Enrichment by David Shephardson
B2c - Students will be given the American Association of ZooKeepers Enrichment Handbook on CD

B3a - Students will review the process for creating a research project.

B4a - Students will receive a tutorial on PowerPoint usage.
B4b - Students will receive a tutorial on Creative commons and learn how to search for photos and videos


Construction Activities:
C1 - Students will create a one page summary about chimpanzee behaviors including a Chimpanzee daily activity table
C2a - Students will create a one page summary on what enrichment is and how it can be used in captive environments.
C2b - Students will gather enrichment items and create enrichment activities for the chimpanzees
C3a - Students will design a research project
C3b - Students will collect behavioral data for a time period when the chimpanzees do not have enrichment and then again when for an hour after enrichment is given.
C3c - Students will analyze data between the two data collection times.
C4a - Students will gather photos and videos that pertain to studied subject
C4b - Students will create a powerpoint


Sharing Activities:
S4a - Students will share their powerpoint with the school and the zoo educators.
S4b - Presentation will be shared at the zoo's Primate Awareness Day celebration.


Tools:
Students will use the following tools throughout the unit:

* Webpages
* Podcasts
* Books
* Videos
* Photos
* Database program
* Desktop publishing program

Poor Richard's Thoughts on Literacy

Letters...you won't be literate without them

Connecting with one's environment is one key to literacy.

21st century success depends on one's ability to use symbolic forms.

One must not only recognize the message embedded in symbolic information, one must correctly interpret it.

Those who can navigate each form of discourse will come out ahead.

You must first learn to encode your experience into a symbolic form before you can decode your symbolic forms into thought and experience.

Comprehension is greater when one is taught cognitive strategies.

Experience it first, then communicate through your own symbolized representations of your thought.

Reading and writing has a purpose...to learn.

Top Ten Benefits of Handhelds in the Classroom

Computer games played in schools

Pupils in Scottish schools will be playing computer games to teach them how to think and act correctly under pressure.

Design Challenge Five - Part 1

Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Designs for Problem-Solving

Thinking about new ways to socialize cranes, I use inductive reasoning. I need to learn from past mistakes/successes and refine and modify them, if necessary. When thinking about why specific crane pairs won't lay eggs I couldn't just assume it was because of the weather or enclosure conditions. I needed to use deductive reasoning and really determine what was true. I didn't know how much I really learned until I got out into my field and practiced those skills and knowledge. The knowledge I had after I completed my research on water usage by cranes wasn't really tested until I created a poster presentation and shared it at a national zoo conference. When I actually think about what I am doing or learning, I become better at that subject. I better understand the concepts when I have a design for learning anchored into a project. I learned about the A,B,C's....Authentic Activities, Building Knowledge Activities, Construction Activities and Sharing Activities. The knowledge we gain when activities and a culture of practice is separated from that knowledge is inert. Authentic activity is the link to the knowledge we need in our culture of practice. The best way to learn might be to intermingle general problem-solving strategies with context-specific background knowledge. I need to learn facts but I also need to have these facts connected to and organized around important concepts. Maybe the teachers shouldn't be the base of a learning opportunity...a problem should.

Design Challenge Four - Part 2 Analyzing Curriculum Standards

Economics - Disciplinary Structures

Market(role-playing), society(role-playing), economic policies, institutions and systems, rate of exchange, supply and demand, budgets, circular flow model,

Economics - Disciplinary Processes

Communication, analyze, evaluate, compare, define, role-play, research, critical thinking, decision-making, cooperation, money management

Design Challenge Four - Part 2

Weather - Disciplinary Structures

Barometers, understanding air pressure, Coriolis effect experimentation, thermometers, weather vanes, psychrometers, weather maps, understanding of isobars, photographs, understanding of jet streams and El Nino, globes and area maps

Weather - Disciplinary Processes

Encyclopedia search, research, experiments, analysis, cause and effect relationships, map reading, logic, note keeping

Design Challenge Four - Part 1

Content and the Disciplines - The Concept

Don't stray far from

The humanities and the hard/social sciences

if you're up to par

you'll go far

Content and the Disciplines - Importance

Facts, concepts and theories

Yes, you might be bored

But if you dig deeper

You'll find the core

Disciplinary Structures - The Concept

So you like structure?

Key principles and concepts

This organized knowledge, however.

Will not increase your biceps.

Disciplinary Structures - Importance

When your students don't understand

How the bird can fly

Teach them the basics of aviation

And the knowledge will not die!

Disciplinary Processes - The Concept

You don't get the theories of Economy?

You might understand more

If you opened and managed

A very large store.

Disciplinary Processes - Importance

Your students might not get it

Understanding the world is hard

Until they practice the theories

They may feel awkward.

Discourse and the Disciplines - The Concept

You only really know the answer

When you can see the creation

Of a perfectly, re-creatable

Logically constructed explanation.

Discourse and the Disciplines-The Concept

Why are all of the frogs dying

Your biology students ask

To pin down the exact reason

Will be a huge task

Narratively, some say climate change or habitat loss

But expository discourse

Is the empirical truth's boss!

The FACTS Model in 25 Words

Before designing opportunities for students to learn, educators need to consider five pieces of the design puzzle: Foundations, Actions, Contents, Tools and Systems of assessments.

Foundations: We need varied opportunities to gain certain skills for success: knowledge, problem solving, literacy, information using and community awareness and participation.

Activities: Educators must use real-world resources, create concept-based activities, witness observable performances of understanding and allow knowledge sharing.

Contents: The "something" of education is based on a national standard but the content can come from particular interests, current news/issues or the prescribed curriculum.

Tools: Learning opportunities must correlate with the correct learning tool, such as telecommunications for communicating beyond the classroom to hypermedia to cross the linear with nonlinear.

System of Assessment: When students learn given a wide array of tools, educators need to assess outcomes with numerous tools, such as rubrics, peer critiques and exhibitions.

A Diamente Poem Describing Teachers

Designer
Unique, Worthwhile
Creating, Structuring, Planning
Tools, Activities, Foundations, Assessments
Constructing, Designing, Inquiring
Thoughtful, Motivating
Creator

A Cinquain Poem describing Teachers

Designer
Thought Provoking
Engineering, Inventing, Planning
Equal and Learning Member
Architect

A Learning Design

Step One: Define a Learn Goal

Students will learn about basic genetics and captive management in North American accredited zoos.

Step Two: State Objectives

1. Learner will work through and complete a punnet's square given any basic gene combination.

2. Learner will understand and be able to compose a definition of recessive/dominant genes.

3. Learner will understand and describe what a Species Survival Plan (SSP) is and describe the main the role of the SSP Coordinator.

Step Three: Sequence Instruction

SSP definition: The zoo Curator will discuss the definition of an SSP and ask students to be aware of the SSP sinage near the exhibits that distinguish SSP animals held at the zoo. Role of the SSP Coordinator: An SSP coordinator will attend the class and discuss what they do as an SSP coordinator. Students are welcomed to ask questions throughout this informal session. Punnet's Squares and Genes: Using the website http://tinyurl.com/cxunjt, we will learn about recessive/dominate genes and also how to set up and use a punnet's square.

Step Four: Determine Learning Success

After all is discussed, each student will be asked to work with another student to enter their definition of an SSP, Recessive/Dominant genes and punnet's square into the wiki we have set up for the class. They will be asked to list three things that an SSP Coordinator does for a particular SSP species. There will also be a punnet's square added onto their separate page and they will need to complete 3 squares, given basic gene combinations. They will then describe the characteristics of each of the 4 offspring created in the squares.

A Reflection and Critique of the Design

Students are participating in a way that includes traditional textbook information but also they are engaged in the subject by having an actual SSP coordinator attend their class. They are able to discuss their questions with the person who actually does the work and not just read about the subject from a book. The students are also using technology by the means of a wiki page. They are using technology that many use on a daily basis instead of the typical pencil and paper. They are accessing another website to learn about recessive/dominant genes ad punnet squares. The site is fun and engaging. Although they are not able to enter their information directly on the site, they will be given practice punnet squares printed from this site. The students will also be observing all of the animal exhibits and will record what animals have an SSP sign displayed on their sinage. We will then discuss which animals at the zoo are under an SSP and why. With this plan, the students are getting a wide range of learning tools and ways in which to learn them. They are using traditional classroom techniques, but also using real life experiences, many sources of learning, and many individuals to learn from. The learners will be working as a team and need to work through possible conflict. Students will not only learn though their textbook descriptions, their experiences and others experiences will play a large role, as well.

Top 10

Top 10 Principles of the Efficiency Model

10. Learning small, isolated skills and facts

9. Books are the primary source of the information

8. Teachers present what should be learned and how

7. Knowledge is independent of the situation in which it is learned and used.

6. Teachers present information in a sequential series of small steps or frames.

5. There needs to be clear and precise behavioral objectives

4. Learning is an individual process

3. Education focuses on general learning

2. Everyone is taught the same ideas and in the same way.

1. The teacher is the leader!

Top 10 Challenges to the Efficiency Model

10. How do I get students to learn communally instead of individually.

9. How do I teach everyone different materials at a different time.

8. How do I involve students in reflections and resolution of cognitive conflict?

7. How do I teach within the learners "zone of proximal development"?

6. I need to become more of a facilitator instead of transmitter.

5. What challenges can they master and what problems can they solve?

4. How do I teach with more interactive and nonsequential tools.

3. They can't just absorb information, they need to learn how to navigate and how to learn?

2. The other teachers in my school don't know how to use these tools and approaches!

1. Are you saying that I am not the bearer of all knowledge?