Introduction
Overview of the Unit
This unit teaches various forms of energy and conversion between them. Students are first introduced to the work of a successful Pakistani architect whose work is in disaster relief shelters; then they are challenged to develop and present a written “energy plan” which is a report on how recovering communities in these disaster relief homes can gather energy from nearby available resources and convert that energy into usable forms while the community is off the grid. Students will be given a map of an area on which the community lives, then develop an energy plan based off of it, including a timeline and a diagram of the land and the energy sources obtained from it. While this unit introduces a variety of types of energy and the conversions, students will primarily investigate three main types:
What is Project Based Instruction?
Theory of PBI
PBI, or Project-Based Instruction, is an educational approach that focuses on student-driven learning and is based on major ideas in learning sciences: active construction, situated learning, social interaction, and cognitive tools (Krajcik, 2006).
In active learning, students "construct and reconstruct what they know from new experiences and ideas, and prior knowledge and experiences" (Krajcik, 2006). Research in learning sciences has also demonstrated that learning is more effective when situated in authentic, real-world context in which students can see the value of the content; this, in turn, helps learners acquire information in ways that facilitate making connections rather than simply rote memorization of discrete facts (Krajcik, 2006). The important role of social interaction in learning is "one of the most solid findings to emerge from learning sciences research" (Krajcik, 2006) -- when students are allowed to share and discuss ideas among each other and in a community of learners, they are able to refine their ideas and practice using scientific discourse, "working together in a situated activity to construct shared understanding" (Krajcik, 2006). Finally, the role of tools in learning can amplify and expand the range of what students can learn. Using technology to access, collect, analyze, and share data in formats such as graphs, models, and multimedia documents allows students to not only engage with natural phenomena in ways that would not otherwise be possible, but also to utilize the tools of the trade in scientific research and engineering (Krajcik, 2006).
Each of these major ideas is encompassed in the 5 Elements of project-based instruction, as described by Krajcik and Blumenfeld (2006):
What isn't PBI:
Activities such as passive reading, often employed in science classrooms, don't allow students to engage with the content in ways that are interesting, and "when science is not made active or tied to a larger picture that has meaning for students, it can become a routine and uninteresting way of learning" (Krajcik, 2007). An additional element of project-based instruction, as described by Short (2008) is a focus on phenomena. This occurs through inquiry and research-based methods, allowing students to actively engage with the content. Additionally, mere process science does not constitute sustained and authentic inquiry. Process science allows students to work with the tools and some of the parts of the scientific process; however, "observations are not connected to new ideas or to answering questions" and the skills "learned in isolation are often not transferred to new situations" (Krajcik, 2007). When students participate in process science, they often cannot apply the same procedures outside of the classroom; however, when students acquire information "in a meaningful context and relate it to their prior knowledge and experiences, they can form connections between the new information and the prior knowledge to develop better, larger, and more linked conceptual understanding" (Krajcik, 2006).
PBI and this Unit
Five Elements of PBI
There are several key components of a project-based learning environment which are utilized in this unit project:
What makes the project meaningful?
Students are challenged to develop an energy plan which would be able to support the communities in shelters on the path to rebuilding. The launch video highlights one part of the world, but disaster strikes swiftly and unexpectedly. Students can also relate this to current events (the hurricane in Mexico, 2015; Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, 2013; the earthquake in Haiti, 2010; and even hurricane Katrina, 2005 which was very close in proximity to Texas), and can think about realistic ways for communities and people to rebuild their homes. In this way, students are able to engage with people’s needs and to participate in humanitarian aid. This context is authentic and relatable, and students "can easily see the value and meaning of the tasks and activities they perform" (Krajcik, 2006).
Considerations for Equitable Instruction
In this unit, students will be formatively assessed via construction of a concept map. Additionally, some of the slideshows used for direct instruction include graphic organizers. Organizational strategies such as these function as assistive technology for students with cognitive disabilities "who have difficulty managing large amounts of information" often presented in large chunks of text (Watson, 2007). In addition, visual aids such as these, as well as pictures and diagrams, benefit English language learners, or ELL students, who do not have the fluency of academic English and can benefit from multiple representations of content (Edmonds, 2009). Certain markers, such as numbered procedures or headings, are included to aid ELL students to get back on track if they get lost (Edmonds, 2009), and chunking content into shorter portions allows students with various learning disabilities and memory or attention deficits to also maintain better focus (Steele, 2008). Students are allowed to answer questions using multiple methods of output (e.g. using diagrams in addition to written language) to assist in the acquisition of academic language, which poses a significant challenge to ELL students (Edmonds, 2009).
References
Krajcik, J., & Blumenfeld, P. (2006). Project-Based Learning. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 317-333). New York: Cambridge Press
Krajcik, J. & Czerniak, C. (2007). Chapter 8: Instructional Strategies that Support Inquiry in Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Project-Based Approach (Third Edition). New York: Routledge (pp. 247-285).
Short, Lundsgaard, & Krajcik (2008). How do geckos stick? The Science Teacher.
Watson, S. & Johnston, L. (2007). Assistive technology in the inclusive science classroom. The Science Teacher.
Edmonds, L. (2009). Challenges and solutions for ELLs: Teaching strategies for English Language Learners’ success in Science. The Science Teacher
Steele, M. (2008). Helping students with learning disabilities succeed: Teaching strategies can help students with learning disabilities improve their performance in the science classroom. The Science Teacher
This unit teaches various forms of energy and conversion between them. Students are first introduced to the work of a successful Pakistani architect whose work is in disaster relief shelters; then they are challenged to develop and present a written “energy plan” which is a report on how recovering communities in these disaster relief homes can gather energy from nearby available resources and convert that energy into usable forms while the community is off the grid. Students will be given a map of an area on which the community lives, then develop an energy plan based off of it, including a timeline and a diagram of the land and the energy sources obtained from it. While this unit introduces a variety of types of energy and the conversions, students will primarily investigate three main types:
- chemical energy via calorimetry,
- mechanical energy by collecting data from moving objects using Photogates
- electrical energy by building series and parallel circuits and evaluating the transfer of electrical energy in those circuits and a variety of conductive materials.
What is Project Based Instruction?
Theory of PBI
PBI, or Project-Based Instruction, is an educational approach that focuses on student-driven learning and is based on major ideas in learning sciences: active construction, situated learning, social interaction, and cognitive tools (Krajcik, 2006).
In active learning, students "construct and reconstruct what they know from new experiences and ideas, and prior knowledge and experiences" (Krajcik, 2006). Research in learning sciences has also demonstrated that learning is more effective when situated in authentic, real-world context in which students can see the value of the content; this, in turn, helps learners acquire information in ways that facilitate making connections rather than simply rote memorization of discrete facts (Krajcik, 2006). The important role of social interaction in learning is "one of the most solid findings to emerge from learning sciences research" (Krajcik, 2006) -- when students are allowed to share and discuss ideas among each other and in a community of learners, they are able to refine their ideas and practice using scientific discourse, "working together in a situated activity to construct shared understanding" (Krajcik, 2006). Finally, the role of tools in learning can amplify and expand the range of what students can learn. Using technology to access, collect, analyze, and share data in formats such as graphs, models, and multimedia documents allows students to not only engage with natural phenomena in ways that would not otherwise be possible, but also to utilize the tools of the trade in scientific research and engineering (Krajcik, 2006).
Each of these major ideas is encompassed in the 5 Elements of project-based instruction, as described by Krajcik and Blumenfeld (2006):
- Driving question or problem to be solved. This question should be meaningful and important to students, and acts as a guide for instruction which all inquiries and concepts can be related to. This addresses active construction and situated learning.
- Authentic, sustained, and situated inquiry. In a project-based learning environment, situated inquiry means that students explore the driving question using new ideas over a sustained period of time. This also addresses the ideas of active construction and situated learning.
- Collaboration, in which “students build shared understandings of scientific ideas.” This addresses social interaction.
- Use of technology. Technology falls in the category of cognitive tools, and can be used by students to actively construct knowledge. Additionally, technology can be used to gather, analyze, and share information.
- Artifacts. These are external representations of the students' constructed knowledge demonstrating what has been learned. The artifact is centered on the driving question, so the situated performance task demonstrates student proficiency by applying the content to the context.
What isn't PBI:
Activities such as passive reading, often employed in science classrooms, don't allow students to engage with the content in ways that are interesting, and "when science is not made active or tied to a larger picture that has meaning for students, it can become a routine and uninteresting way of learning" (Krajcik, 2007). An additional element of project-based instruction, as described by Short (2008) is a focus on phenomena. This occurs through inquiry and research-based methods, allowing students to actively engage with the content. Additionally, mere process science does not constitute sustained and authentic inquiry. Process science allows students to work with the tools and some of the parts of the scientific process; however, "observations are not connected to new ideas or to answering questions" and the skills "learned in isolation are often not transferred to new situations" (Krajcik, 2007). When students participate in process science, they often cannot apply the same procedures outside of the classroom; however, when students acquire information "in a meaningful context and relate it to their prior knowledge and experiences, they can form connections between the new information and the prior knowledge to develop better, larger, and more linked conceptual understanding" (Krajcik, 2006).
PBI and this Unit
Five Elements of PBI
There are several key components of a project-based learning environment which are utilized in this unit project:
- Driving Question: The driving question “How can you gather and use energy to restart a community after a disaster?” serves to link the various concepts of energy that students explore into a meaningful context within chemistry and physics topics. Students will find their interest piqued in this question as natural disasters are a common news topic as well as the relief following such an event.
- Situated Inquiry: Over the course of a unit, students will engage in investigations ranging from learning how to build a calorimeter and measure the amount of energy in various biomass fuels to designing a roller coaster and determining the kinetic energy of an object.
- Collaboration: In this unit, students will have many opportunities to collaborate in discussing the pros and cons of their energy plans both within a group and as a whole in a classroom-wide critique session.
- Technology: This unit incorporates technology by having students use PhET computer simulations in order to visualize direct current, photogates, and excel spreadsheets to collect and analyze data among other tools. Technology allows teachers to enhance student understanding with interactive tools when a simple presentation is incapable of showing the full breadth of a topic.
- Artifacts: The artifact of this unit is an energy plan where students will report on how they gather energy from available resources and convert energy into a usable form. The artifact ties together all the ideas from the investigation concerning chemistry and physics over the five week period.
What makes the project meaningful?
Students are challenged to develop an energy plan which would be able to support the communities in shelters on the path to rebuilding. The launch video highlights one part of the world, but disaster strikes swiftly and unexpectedly. Students can also relate this to current events (the hurricane in Mexico, 2015; Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, 2013; the earthquake in Haiti, 2010; and even hurricane Katrina, 2005 which was very close in proximity to Texas), and can think about realistic ways for communities and people to rebuild their homes. In this way, students are able to engage with people’s needs and to participate in humanitarian aid. This context is authentic and relatable, and students "can easily see the value and meaning of the tasks and activities they perform" (Krajcik, 2006).
Considerations for Equitable Instruction
In this unit, students will be formatively assessed via construction of a concept map. Additionally, some of the slideshows used for direct instruction include graphic organizers. Organizational strategies such as these function as assistive technology for students with cognitive disabilities "who have difficulty managing large amounts of information" often presented in large chunks of text (Watson, 2007). In addition, visual aids such as these, as well as pictures and diagrams, benefit English language learners, or ELL students, who do not have the fluency of academic English and can benefit from multiple representations of content (Edmonds, 2009). Certain markers, such as numbered procedures or headings, are included to aid ELL students to get back on track if they get lost (Edmonds, 2009), and chunking content into shorter portions allows students with various learning disabilities and memory or attention deficits to also maintain better focus (Steele, 2008). Students are allowed to answer questions using multiple methods of output (e.g. using diagrams in addition to written language) to assist in the acquisition of academic language, which poses a significant challenge to ELL students (Edmonds, 2009).
References
Krajcik, J., & Blumenfeld, P. (2006). Project-Based Learning. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 317-333). New York: Cambridge Press
Krajcik, J. & Czerniak, C. (2007). Chapter 8: Instructional Strategies that Support Inquiry in Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Project-Based Approach (Third Edition). New York: Routledge (pp. 247-285).
Short, Lundsgaard, & Krajcik (2008). How do geckos stick? The Science Teacher.
Watson, S. & Johnston, L. (2007). Assistive technology in the inclusive science classroom. The Science Teacher.
Edmonds, L. (2009). Challenges and solutions for ELLs: Teaching strategies for English Language Learners’ success in Science. The Science Teacher
Steele, M. (2008). Helping students with learning disabilities succeed: Teaching strategies can help students with learning disabilities improve their performance in the science classroom. The Science Teacher