My lesson is a first grade science lesson. And for the students to reach ultimate master of the content, they must be able to identify the basic parts of a plant such as the roots, stem, and leaves. They must also know how these parts help the plant grow and survive.
Here is a list of skills necessary for students to reach this mastery:
- Students must be able to pull from and consider their previous knowledge and understanding of plants.
- Students must be able to explore and examine plants.
- Based on knew experiences, students must be able to build on what they already know about plants. The new experience with plants will either confirm or challenge their ideas of plants and their parts.
- Students must be able to work together to explore, examine, discuss, and challenge each other's ideas about the plants.
I would structure learning activities where students get both individual and group time. This way they can construct their knowledge of plants based on their own thoughts and from what others believe. Each student will also get to participate in a hand's on activity to provide them with a chance to explore. Each student may be given a plant to take care of over a period of time. This gives them a somewhat authentic experience.
Here's an interesting article I found on constructivism.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000811.htm
Here's an interesting article I found on constructivism.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000811.htm
Allison, this was another great post from you. I really like the activity that you've structured and the goals you made for each student to qualify as had mastered the material.
ReplyDeleteHaving both individual and group work is an excellent idea, it's good for them to think for themselves, but then be able to group back together and bounce ideas off of each other. Of course I love the hands on component!
I love this lesson idea. Assigning each student a plant to take care of will allow students to experience ownership and responsibility. Through this activity, students will become somewhat emotionally invested in the survival of their plants. Hopefully, the students will store the information they learned about the plant cycle and plant parts in their long-term memory. Because of the emotional connectivity of this lesson, students will (hopefully) be able to easily retrieve this information.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, Allison.
ReplyDeleteI think you really grasp the element of constructivism that it's the process - learning about the different parts of the plant in order to understand the entire plan itself. I like your inclusion of both individual time and group work because that definitely allows for students to think about about what they already know and how the new knowledge they're acquiring may change that.