Classroom Layout
Above is a sample of how the desks will be organized for the unit, with students in pods of three or four to allow for effective collaboration. These same set-ups for the activities will still allow for collaboration but the instructor can mix up the groups of students. The main board and projector is viewable by all students for when groups present their preliminary work from the activities. Additionally, the teacher desk is towards the back of the room to discourage students from coming to ask about answers for all of their questions without some discovery using the resources of their peers and computers. This is also designed for a 1 to 1 school, so each student would be equipped with a laptop. However, if this is not the case in other schools, it would be easy to adapt to obtain a laptop cart with at least one laptop per group. The desks could easily be rearranged into a U shape for the final presentations, facing the projector/white board.
Above is a sample of how the desks will be organized for the unit, with students in pods of three or four to allow for effective collaboration. These same set-ups for the activities will still allow for collaboration but the instructor can mix up the groups of students. The main board and projector is viewable by all students for when groups present their preliminary work from the activities. Additionally, the teacher desk is towards the back of the room to discourage students from coming to ask about answers for all of their questions without some discovery using the resources of their peers and computers. This is also designed for a 1 to 1 school, so each student would be equipped with a laptop. However, if this is not the case in other schools, it would be easy to adapt to obtain a laptop cart with at least one laptop per group. The desks could easily be rearranged into a U shape for the final presentations, facing the projector/white board.
Focus on Teacher
Facilitation and Debriefing
Each day and through each activity, the instructor will guide student discussion on the events with redirection back to the standards and objectives expected for learning that day. In order to encourage student thinking without giving away answers, each event will contain some potential guiding questions for the teacher to say to help direct the students to discovering their answers. The direction of discussions and what to discuss during the debriefing of the activity are discussed by week in the following links:
Group roles
Students are allowed to choose their own groups for the main investigation. They may work in groups of three or four. The teacher will talk with the students about group size – if they choose to work in a group of four, students will be expected to do more than students in a group of three. Otherwise, students may choose to work in larger groups in order to avoid doing work. The teacher will monitor the amount of work students are doing throughout the project and will talk to groups that seem to be slacking off.
During activities, there are times when students choose their own groups and times when they are assigned to a group. Students may choose their own groups (pairs or groups of three) for the Entry Event, the Class Trip. During the Carbon Cycle activity, the teacher will assign students to stations, or biospheres, and the students will be mixed up during the activity. For the Lemonade Mix activity and Candle Lab, students will be able to choose which activity they want to do, but the teacher will assign specific groups of three. In the Lemonade Mix activity, students will be assigned roles of Recorder, Mixer, and Taster. This should help students learn that group roles are useful, and they may want to assign them during their large group project.
No specific roles will be assigned to students in the group, except role of Techie. The Techie will be in charge of the platform that group uses to present their project and will attend a mini resource and training session on the platforms. While students are not being assigned specific roles, the teacher will encourage them to consider what roles group member might take on or fall into naturally. The students will be provided with a list of possible group roles that they may choose to use.
Group Goals
At the beginning of each group work time, the students will write down at least one thing that they want to accomplish that day. The students should use the questions in the “direction of conversation” section if they do not agree initially. The teacher will be there to help overall, but the teacher will encourage the students to agree on their own. The teacher will check to see if the students meet these goals when she collects the exit slips that ask the students what they did during the group time that day.
Effective Group Work
The teacher will plan for the groups to be using their time effectively by giving the students their focus points for that day. If the students are working on other things, the teacher will redirect the students’ attention by bringing them back to the focus point(s) for that day. The groups must also get each item checked off by the teacher, either during class or submit it at the end of class for review by the next day. The teacher will also look at the exit slips to see what each group member is contributing to the project. A final assessment of each group member’s contribution will be seen fully in a final peer evaluation as well as in their reflection.
Focus on Students
Inquiry - The teacher will establish a nurturing environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and being able to investigate them. The teacher will model this by asking questions about their projects so the students are beginning to deepen their understanding. Many of the questions should have the word 'why' in it so the students are having to explain something and not just reply with a 'yes' or 'no'. An example of this is when students are thinking about what questions someone may have who has not been working on their project. They will do this on their exit slip on the Tuesday before their presentation.
Student Engagement – The driving question would be relevant to the students because it is about their school. They also have the opportunity to make an impact on the transportation system. The students either ride the bus or know someone who rides the bus. All of the activities are interactive and the students will get to work in different groups so they don’t get bored with the same people. Every day there are a lot of different activities so the students have a variety of things to keep them interested. If a student is not interested in the project, the teacher should ask questions to try and figure out how to get the student motivated. Possible questions could be:
Direction of Conversation – The teacher will go over the ‘rules’ with students for working in groups on the first day. The teacher will also ensure that these are posted in the room. These things include questions such as:
Something else that may happen is that students will be discussing topics that are not related to the project or activity. If this happens, the teacher should remind the students to get back on task. The teacher could also ask some questions like:
Tools and Techniques for Student Engagement
Debriefing
Students will be expected to complete an exit slip almost every day. The exit slip will serve as a way for the teacher to see what progress the group has made in terms of the project. Also, within the exit slips, the students will specifically state what they did to contribute to their project that day. By looking at this, the teacher will be able to see what each students role has been. Also with some of the activities like the Lemonade Mix, the students will explicitly state what each group member’s role was. For the content being learned, the students will present their findings to their class at the conclusion of each activity as well as during gallery walks. There will also be questions on the exit slips that the students will answer that relate to what they learned that day as well as looking for connections that the students are making. The teacher will debrief on the progress of the project, how well groups are working together and any difficulty relating to content (math or biofuel) at the beginning of class or during class discussions.
Reflections
Students will develop and reflect on their skills throughout the unit. Students already have some collaboration skills from working in groups previously. However, the teacher will still assess them through the students completed exit slips as well as the peer evaluation which will be completed on the last day. The students will also be expected to complete a final reflection, where they talk about how they think the overall project went and how well they thought they contributed to the group.
Facilitation and Debriefing
Each day and through each activity, the instructor will guide student discussion on the events with redirection back to the standards and objectives expected for learning that day. In order to encourage student thinking without giving away answers, each event will contain some potential guiding questions for the teacher to say to help direct the students to discovering their answers. The direction of discussions and what to discuss during the debriefing of the activity are discussed by week in the following links:
Group roles
Students are allowed to choose their own groups for the main investigation. They may work in groups of three or four. The teacher will talk with the students about group size – if they choose to work in a group of four, students will be expected to do more than students in a group of three. Otherwise, students may choose to work in larger groups in order to avoid doing work. The teacher will monitor the amount of work students are doing throughout the project and will talk to groups that seem to be slacking off.
During activities, there are times when students choose their own groups and times when they are assigned to a group. Students may choose their own groups (pairs or groups of three) for the Entry Event, the Class Trip. During the Carbon Cycle activity, the teacher will assign students to stations, or biospheres, and the students will be mixed up during the activity. For the Lemonade Mix activity and Candle Lab, students will be able to choose which activity they want to do, but the teacher will assign specific groups of three. In the Lemonade Mix activity, students will be assigned roles of Recorder, Mixer, and Taster. This should help students learn that group roles are useful, and they may want to assign them during their large group project.
No specific roles will be assigned to students in the group, except role of Techie. The Techie will be in charge of the platform that group uses to present their project and will attend a mini resource and training session on the platforms. While students are not being assigned specific roles, the teacher will encourage them to consider what roles group member might take on or fall into naturally. The students will be provided with a list of possible group roles that they may choose to use.
- Leader
- Researcher
- Note Taker
- Content Experts (math, biofuels)
- Graphic Designer
- Questioner / Idea Challenger / Checker
- Planner / Organizer
- Cheerleader
- Proof Reader / Finisher / Polisher
- Creative Spark / Idea Generator
- Facilitator / Mediator
- Materials Manager
- Time Keeper
Group Goals
At the beginning of each group work time, the students will write down at least one thing that they want to accomplish that day. The students should use the questions in the “direction of conversation” section if they do not agree initially. The teacher will be there to help overall, but the teacher will encourage the students to agree on their own. The teacher will check to see if the students meet these goals when she collects the exit slips that ask the students what they did during the group time that day.
Effective Group Work
The teacher will plan for the groups to be using their time effectively by giving the students their focus points for that day. If the students are working on other things, the teacher will redirect the students’ attention by bringing them back to the focus point(s) for that day. The groups must also get each item checked off by the teacher, either during class or submit it at the end of class for review by the next day. The teacher will also look at the exit slips to see what each group member is contributing to the project. A final assessment of each group member’s contribution will be seen fully in a final peer evaluation as well as in their reflection.
Focus on Students
Inquiry - The teacher will establish a nurturing environment where students feel comfortable asking questions and being able to investigate them. The teacher will model this by asking questions about their projects so the students are beginning to deepen their understanding. Many of the questions should have the word 'why' in it so the students are having to explain something and not just reply with a 'yes' or 'no'. An example of this is when students are thinking about what questions someone may have who has not been working on their project. They will do this on their exit slip on the Tuesday before their presentation.
Student Engagement – The driving question would be relevant to the students because it is about their school. They also have the opportunity to make an impact on the transportation system. The students either ride the bus or know someone who rides the bus. All of the activities are interactive and the students will get to work in different groups so they don’t get bored with the same people. Every day there are a lot of different activities so the students have a variety of things to keep them interested. If a student is not interested in the project, the teacher should ask questions to try and figure out how to get the student motivated. Possible questions could be:
- Do you ride the bus?
- Do you know someone who rides the bus?
- Have you ever ridden the bus for a school-related activity?
- Do you have brothers/sisters who ride the bus?
- How could this project impact other things around the school?
Direction of Conversation – The teacher will go over the ‘rules’ with students for working in groups on the first day. The teacher will also ensure that these are posted in the room. These things include questions such as:
- I agree with you because ___________________.
- I disagree with you because _________________.
- Do we all agree on this?
- Why do we not agree?
- Does anyone have any other ideas?
- That is a good idea but ___________________.
Something else that may happen is that students will be discussing topics that are not related to the project or activity. If this happens, the teacher should remind the students to get back on task. The teacher could also ask some questions like:
- Are you on task?
- What should you be working on?
- Have you accomplished the task for today?
- How far along are you on your project?
- How does that relate to your driving question?
Tools and Techniques for Student Engagement
- Encourage on task behavior out loud
- Arranging the desks since they are working in groups
- Activities are interactive
- Variety of activities each day
- Students have choice with the activities that they are doing, their group members, and what their group is researching
- Videos
Debriefing
Students will be expected to complete an exit slip almost every day. The exit slip will serve as a way for the teacher to see what progress the group has made in terms of the project. Also, within the exit slips, the students will specifically state what they did to contribute to their project that day. By looking at this, the teacher will be able to see what each students role has been. Also with some of the activities like the Lemonade Mix, the students will explicitly state what each group member’s role was. For the content being learned, the students will present their findings to their class at the conclusion of each activity as well as during gallery walks. There will also be questions on the exit slips that the students will answer that relate to what they learned that day as well as looking for connections that the students are making. The teacher will debrief on the progress of the project, how well groups are working together and any difficulty relating to content (math or biofuel) at the beginning of class or during class discussions.
Reflections
Students will develop and reflect on their skills throughout the unit. Students already have some collaboration skills from working in groups previously. However, the teacher will still assess them through the students completed exit slips as well as the peer evaluation which will be completed on the last day. The students will also be expected to complete a final reflection, where they talk about how they think the overall project went and how well they thought they contributed to the group.