Constructivist Science lessons analyzed
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Within your collaborative group, create two separate lesson plans that are supported by the theory of constructivism. Describe the components within the lesson plans that reflect the constructivist theory.
(1) Use science standards from the National Science Education Standards (NSES) to select standards and create learning goals and objectives.
(2) Include a written component that examines constructivism and its influence on the teaching of science in various grade levels.
(3) You must include within your discussion some of the major contributors of constructivist teaching (e.g., Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky, Dewey, and Gagne).
(4) Identify the major tenets or principles of constructivist teaching.
(5) Explain and give examples showing how these tenets support science literacy.
(6) Describe how the theory of constructivism supports learning through inquiry.
(7) Which of the 12 science processes were used in the lesson plans?
(8) What types of assessments (formative, summative, informal, formal, authentic) were used in the lesson plans and why? Every type of authentic assessment must include an example of how it is used within a specific content or to support a specific process evaluation.
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Solution Summary
Two Web-based constructivist lesson plans with analysis, and discussion of Constructivist theories and Constructivist thinkers, with Web-based references and URLs.
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To be sure I have addressed every aspect of this multi-task posting, I have copied and pasted here the assignment instructions, and addressed each component in turn.
Within your collaborative group, create two separate lesson plans that are supported by the theory of constructivism. Describe the components within the lesson plans that reflect the constructivist theory. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE TWO LESSON PLANS I SUGGEST HERE- this site is a portal site which contains links to MANY science lesson plan resource sites for teachers, any of which you could access to use for ideas on the two lesson plans you need to create: http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edsci.htm
I am assuming your group is like a lot of other collaborative groups that I have worked in, and that YOU are having to do the work of the entire group - thus: two science constructivist lesson plans: The part that makes them "constructivist" is the inquiry-based teaching method. The students get an experiment to perform, or a problem to solve, and they work through the steps of the scientific method to solve it. It's that simple.
The first lesson is from site: http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/k12/TRK12-remodelled-lesson-4-6.cfm#404
And is copied and pasted here for you to see in total:
The Human Skeleton
by Evelyn De La Paz Rios, Rice Elementary School,
Objectives of the Remodeled Lesson
The Students Will:
? make their preconceptions about the skeleton explicit by drawing it
? draw another skeleton after learning more about it, thereby examining, evaluating, and modifying their preconceptions
The students' text has a brief discussion of the human skeleton with the names of the different bones.
Critique
Children in the elementary grades have certain ideas about the human body. Some of these ideas are correct and some are not. We must give children the opportunity to correct those which are incorrect by comparing what they do know with what they do not know and actively make their own modifications.
Strategies used to remodel
? thinking independently
? examining or evaluating assumptions
? evaluating evidence and alleged facts
The students will be divided into partners and will take turns drawing each other's body outline as the person lies on the paper. After drawing the outlines, the students will exchange papers with their partners so that everyone will have an outline of his or her body. Without referring to a text book, each student will draw his or her skeleton in the outline. These drawings will hang in the room while the students gather information about their bodies, comparing it to other animals, machines, and artificial parts.
As students gather the information, they will record and map it out on a second body outline. By critiquing their initial ideas, the students will have a better understanding of the process of expanding their information base.
The students will construct a model of a 5' skeleton using plaster of paris, old sheets, and cardboard tubes. The students will work in groups of 2, 3, or 4 to construct some part of the skeleton. After constructing the parts of the skeleton in proportion to the whole, they will assemble the skeleton.
With the modified knowledge about the human skeleton and the interest and humor engendered by making the models, students will be asked to write some creative response: a short comedy, a mystery, or perhaps a poem.
Editor's note: What were you right about? How did you know those things? What were you wrong about? Why did you think that? How could you have been wrong?
The second lesson plan : from URL : http://www.col-ed.org/cur/sci/sci35.txt
TITLE: "OH DEER!"
AUTHOR: Patty Dalton, 5th Grade Teacher, Reno, Nevada
GRADE LEVEL: 4-6, Science-Environmental Education
OVERVIEW: This lesson in environmental education is
necessary to show children the interdependence of animal
life with their environment.
PURPOSE: With our planet in the serious condition it
exists today, children need to see the plan of nature so
that they can understand the need to preserve and protect
our resources.
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:
1) identify ...
Education
- BFA, University of Georgia
- BSEd, University of Georgia
- MED, University of Georgia
- EDd (IP), Northcentral University
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