insulation: graphing a cooling...
TRANSCRIPT
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
1
Subject: ScienceAgeofstudents: 12-13yearsHardware: SurfaceoriPad,temperatureprobeSoftware: LoggerProsoftwareFunctionalities:IdentifyingandRespondingtoConceptual
DifficultiesTime: 10minutesbeforethelesson,two40-minute
classes(oronedoubleclass)and10minutesinafollowingclass(orhomework).
FaSMEdpartner: MaynoothUniversityShortAbstract: Inthislessonteachersexplorestudentmisconceptions
andhowthesemightimpactasciencelesson.Studentscarryoutapre-assessment.Teachersusethispre-assessmenttoplanforthefollowinglessonstocarryoutaninsulationactivitywithstudentsusingtemperatureprobes,dataloggingsoftwareandSchoology.ThisactivityadaptedfrommaterialsfromDiscoverSensorsIrelandwww.discoversensors.ie.Studentssetupanexperimenttographacoolingcurveusingtheloggersoftware.Thestudentsthentorecordtheiranalysisoftheirgraphswithingroups.
FaSMEdRaisingAchievementthroughFormativeAssessmentinScienceandMathematicsEducation
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
2
1. ContentIdentifygoodandbadconductorsofheatandcompareinsulatingabilityofdifferentmaterials.
2. Activity2.1 AimsLearningOutcomes:ContentKnowledge:
• Temperatureisameasureofthehotnessofsomething.• Metalsarepoorinsulators.• Materialsthataregoodinsulators.• Aconductorletsheatthroughiteasily.• Aninsulatorisabadconductorofheat.
Process:
• Studentswilllearnhowtocarryoutafairtest.• StudentswillbecomefamiliarwithusingLoggerProandtemperaturesensors1.• Studentswillinterpretgraphsinrealtimeastheycollectdata.• Studentswillassociatetheslopeofthegraphwiththerateofcooling.
Skills:
• Informationprocessing-recording,presentinginformation.• Criticalandcreativethinking–examiningevidenceandreachingconclusions.
Communicating• Workingwithothers
2.2 Structure/MethodologyIntroduction:Thislessonunitisstructuredinthefollowingway:
• Beforethelesson,students’workonapre-assessmenttaskdesignedtorevealtheircurrentunderstandinganddifficulties.Youreviewtheirworkandcreatequestionsforstudentstoanswerinorderforthemtoimprovetheirsolutions.
• StudentswillbeintroducedtotheGo!temptechnology(youmayusethevideoslistedbelow)andwillinstallsoftwareontheirlaptops/iPads.
• Studentswillparticipateingroupworktogetfamiliarwithtemperatureprobes.• Awholeclassdiscussionprovidesstudentswithanopportunitytodiscussthe
technologyandanyproblems/commentstheymayhaveaboutit.• Theteacherwillthenintroducetheinsulationexperimentanddiscusssafety
regulations.• Studentswillcarryouttheinsulationexperimentingroups.• StudentswillgatherandinterprettheirdataandpostresultsonSchoology.• TeacherwillanalyseresultsonSchoologyandgivegroupfeedbacktotheclass.
1TemperatureSensorsavailableat:http://www.vernier.com/products/sensors/temperature-sensors/
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
3
• Finallystudentsreturntothepre-assessmenttaskandtrytoimprovetheiroriginalresponses.
Pre-assessmentTask(10minutes)Setthistask,inclassorforhomeworkafewdaysbeforethisformativeassessmentclass.Thiswillgiveyouanopportunitytoassessthework,andtofindoutthekindofdifficultiesstudentsarehavingwithit.Youwillthenbeabletotargetyourhelpmoreeffectivelyinthefollowuplesson.Giveeachstudentacopyofthepre-assessmenttask.Brieflyintroducethetaskandhelptheclasstounderstandtheproblemanditscontext.Readthroughthetaskandtrytoansweritascarefullyasyoucan.Itisimportantthatasfaraspossible,studentsareallowedtoanswerthequestionswithoutyourassistance.Explaintostudentsthatbytheendofthenextclass(es)theyshouldbeabletoanswerquestionssuchastheseconfidently.Thisistheirgoal.Assessingstudents’responses:Collectstudents’responsestothetask.Makesomenotesonwhattheirworkrevealsabouttheircurrentlevelsofunderstandingandtheirdifferentproblemsolvingapproaches.Wesuggestthatyoudonotscorestudents’work.Theresearchshowsthatthiswillbecounterproductive,asitwillencouragestudentstocomparetheirscoresandwilldistracttheirattentionfromwhattheycandotoimprovetheirmathematics.Instead,helpstudentstomakefurtherprogressbysummarizingtheirdifficultiesasaseriesofquestions.Wesuggestthatyouwritealistofyourownquestions,basedonyourstudents’work,usingtheideasthatfollow.Youmaychoosetowritequestionsoneachstudent’swork.Ifyoudonothavetimetodothis,selectafewquestionsthatwillbeofhelptothemajorityofstudents.Thesecanbewrittenontheboardattheendofthelesson.SuggestedLessonOutlineTechnologyIntroduction(30minutes)BegintheclassbyintroducingthetemperatureprobesandLoggerProsoftware.Youmayusethevideoslistedabovetofamiliarisethestudentswithhowtheprobeswork.Allowstudentstimetoinstallthesoftwareonthelaptops.Teachersshouldsupervisethisactivitycloselysothatstudentsarefamiliarwiththetechnologyforthenextactivity.Organisestudentsintogroupsforthenextactivity,makesuregroupsaremixedabilityorchosenusingthe‘lollipopstick’method.Assigngrouprolesandemphasisthateverystudenthasaparttoplayintheexperimentaswellascontributingtothegroupactivity.StudentsaregoingtotestouttheirtemperatureprobesandtheLoggerProsoftwareusingbeakersofhotandcoldwater.Remindstudentsthatdataneedstobegatheredontheircomputerwhiletheyaretestingouttheprobes.ShowstudentshowtoadjustthetimescaleontheLoggerProsoftware.
• Nowwearegoingtotestoutourtemperatureprobesbyplacingtheminthebeakersofwater.
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
4
• Makesurethatyouarecollectingdataonthelaptop/iPadwhileyouarecarryingouttheexperiment.
• Makealistofanyproblemsthatyouarehavingwiththelaptopprogrammeorthetemperatureprobe.
• Writedown3commentsthatyouhaveaboutthisactivity,wearegoingtohaveagroupdiscussionafterthis.
Followingonfromthisyoushouldleadawholeclassdiscussionorbrainstormaboutthefirstactivity,makingsurethatallgroupsunderstandhowtousethetechnologyaccurately.ActivityIntroduction:InsulationExperiment(20minutes)Itwillbeimportantthatyouleadintothisexperimentbylinkingitwiththepreviousone.Makesuretodiscussanysafetyissuesthatmayariseduringtheexperiment.Againassigngrouprolesandemphasistheimportanceofstickingtotheroleaswellasparticipatingfullyingroupwork.Thefollowingmethodcanbeusedforthisactivity:Introducingtheinvestigation(samplequestions):
• Whydocafésandgaragessellcoffee“togo”incardboardorpolystyrenecups?• Whydohotwaterbottleshavewoollencovers?• Whyarewetoldtoputalaggingjacketonthehotwatercylinderinourhouse?• Ifweweretocarryoutaninvestigationonhowgoodofaninsulatoramaterialwas
whatwouldwedo?• Howcouldwemakesureourexperimentwasafairtest?
Procedure
1. Boilthekettle.2. Gettwocansandwrapathickwadofkitchenpaperaroundoneofthecans.3. Placeexactly100cm3oftheboiledwaterintobothcontainers.4. Placeacoffeecuplidoneachofthecontainers.5. Placethetemperaturesensorthroughtheholeineachlidsoitreachesthehot
water.6. SetthetimerontheLoggerProsoftware
tocollectfor10minutes(600seconds)7. Startcollectingtemperaturedata.8. Stopandautoscalethegraph.9. Savethegraph.
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
5
Results
Thisisthedatacollectedbythetwotemperaturesensors,andthegraphgeneratedbythesoftware.Eachtimetheexperimentisrepeated;thetrendintheresultsisthesame.
Questionsarisingfromtheexperiment
• Whatwastheinitialtemperatureofthewaterineachcontainer?(Andifthekettlewasjustrecentlyboiled,whywasthewatertemperaturenot100°C?)
• Whatwasthetemperaturelossineachcontainerafter10minutes?• Canyouexpressthisasapercentagelossineachcase?• Wasthisafairtest?• Whatwastheonlyvariablewechanged,andwhy?• Whatwaskeptconstant–whywasthisimportant?• Woulditmatterifthelidswereleftoff?• Whatwouldhappenifthelayerofinsulationwas(i)thicker(ii)thinner(iii)adifferent
material?• Canyoupredictifthetrendinresultswouldbethesameforlargerbodiesofhot
water?• Whatmakesamaterialagoodinsulatoragainstheatloss?• Whyarewealwaysadvisedtowearlayersofclothingincoldweather?
SampleGraph
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
6
AnalysingandInterpretingtheData:(10minutes)Thereisadefinitetrend–wecanseethetemperatureisfallinginbothcontainersofwater.Thetemperatureisfallingmorequicklyinthe‘bare’container,moreslowlyinthe‘wrapped’container.Thismustbebecausethelayerofkitchenpaper(orwhatevermaterialused)ispreventingtheheatenergyfromleavingthewaterasquicklyasinthe‘bare’container.
StudentsshouldnowhaveagraphwithalloftheirexperimentresultsontheLoggerProprogramme.Encouragestudentstoanalyseandinterpretthisdata.Nowstudentswearegoingtolookatourgraphsandseeifwecandrawupanyconclusionsfromthisexperiment.IwantyoutouploadyourgraphtotheSchoologygrouppageandleaveacommentabout
whatyourgroupconcludedaboutinsulators.Thisactivitymaytaketimeasstudentsmayfinditdifficulttouploadthegraphs.Youshouldpracticethisyourselfbeforecomingintoclasssothatyouarefamiliarwiththeprocess.Onceallgraphsareuploaded,youshouldanalysetheresultsyourselfaftertheclassandpickthekeyconceptualdifficultiesthatgroupsarehavinganddiscussthemintofollowingclass.Improvingindividualsolutionstotheassessmenttask(10minutes)Returntothestudentstheiroriginalpre-assessmenttask,aswellasasecondblankcopyofthetask.Lookatyouroriginalresponsesandthinkaboutwhatyouhavelearnedthislesson.Usingwhatyouhavelearned,trytoimproveyourwork.Ifyouhavenotaddedquestionstoindividualpiecesofworkthenwriteyourlistofquestionsontheboard.Studentsshouldselectfromthis
listonlythosequestionstheythinkareappropriatetotheirownwork.Ifyoufindyouarerunningoutoftime,youcouldsetthistaskforhomework.
2.3 Technology• VideoClips: BluetoothDevice:http://vnr.st/v190:USBDevice:http://vnr.st/v19• Eachstudentwillneedtwocopiesofthepre-assessmenttaskandaccesstotheir
individualSchoologyaccount.• Eachgroupwillneedatemperatureprobe,kettle,water,twoplasticcontainerswith
lids,thickwadofkitchenpaperandelasticband• Eachgroupwillneedaccesstoalaptop,SurfaceoriPadfortheLoggerProsoftware.
StudentresponsesonSchoology
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
7
2.4 AspectsofFormativeAssessmentTheformativeassessmentstrategiesofnoteduringthisseriesoflessonsincludedengineeringeffectiveclassroomdiscussionsandlearningtaskssuchasgroupbasedinsulationinvestigations,whichelicitevidenceofstudentunderstanding,providingfeedbackthatmoveslearnersforward,andactivatingstudentsasinstructionalresourcesforoneanother.Thiswasfacilitatedthroughthefollowingformativeassessmentpractices:
• Assessingpriorknowledgeusingapre-assessmenttask.• Co-operativelearning.• Higherorderquestioning.• Usingtechnologytogatherinformationonstudentunderstandingtoinformfeedback
practices.
3. FurtherInformation• Establishingwherethelearnersareintheirlearning.
Theteachermadeuseofapre-assessmenttasktoassesspriorknowledgearoundinsulationbeforethelessonbegan.Heanalysedstudentresponsesandusedthistobuildstructuredfeedbacktothegroupbeforetheinvestigationbegan.
Duringthegraphingactivitytheteachermadeuseofeffectivequestioningtoestablishwerethelearnersareintheirlearning.Hedidthisatthebeginningofthelessonwhenheengagedstudentsinabrainstormactivityabouttheirinvestigation.Fieldnotesillustratedhowhewasaskingstudentshigherorderquestionsthroughouttheentirelesson.Towardtheendofthelessonwhenstudentswerebeginningtodrawupconclusionstotheirexperimentsvideodatashowedhowtheteacherwasmovingaroundtheclassroomandengagingdifferentgroupsindiscussion.Heprobedstudentsforunderstandingbyaskingthemfortheirreasoningbehindtheirconclusionsandheaskedstudentsaboutwhattheylearnedfromtheirgraphs.
• Establishingwheretheyaregoing.
Theaimofthelessonwasforstudentstoexploregraphingandalleviateanymisconceptionsstudentsmayhavearoundtheconcept.Itwasalsoimportantforpupilstounderstandhowagraphworksandhowtheycandrawconclusionsaboutanexperimentusinggraphs.
• Establishingwhatneedstobedonetogetthemthere.
Throughoutthelessontheteacheractivatedstudentsasresourcesforoneanothertohelpthemunderstandtheconceptofgraphing.Videodatademonstratethatthestudentsworkedinco-operativegroupsoffourduringthelessonwitheachstudentassignedaspecifictask.Thestudentswereassignednumberandwerenotinformedastowhattaskeachofthemwouldbecompletinguntilafterthenumberswereassigned.Thismeantthatallstudentshadtheopportunitytohaveanyroleinthegroupincontrastwiththemoreoutgoingstudentstakingovergroupwork.Studentswereengagedinco-operativeworkfortheentirelesson.
Duringco-operativeworktheteacheractivatedstudentsasownersoftheirownlearningbygettingthemtoworkonindividualtasks.Thishelpsstudentstobuildontheirself-regulatoryskills.Withinthetaskthestudentswereaskedtoanswerthequestions“whatarewedoing”
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
8
and“whyarewedoingit?”Thiswasaidedbytechnology,asstudentswereabletoworkonthesehigherorderquestionswhilesimultaneouslygatheringdataontheiriPads.Thiswouldnothavebeenpossiblewithouttechnology,asstudent’stimewouldhavebeentakenupwithgatheringdatatocreateagraph.Duringthelessontheteacheralsoencouragedthestudentstodrawconclusionsabouttheexperimentwithouthelpfromothergroupsandwithoutapprovalfromtheteacher.Theycouldsharetheseonthesharedspace(Schoology)andlookforfeedback.Againthisishighlightinghowtheteacherwastryingtoencourageself-assessmentamongstudentsandnottolooktohimforguidance.
Technologyplayedacrucialroleintheteacher’sfeedbackprocessesinthelesson.Thestudentsweretocomeupwiththeirownconclusionstotheexperimentafteranalysisofdata,andpostthemtotheclassSchoologypage.Afterthelessontheteachercommentedonhowhewouldanalysethisinformationpriortothefollowinglessonandusethedatagatheredtobuildstructuredfeedbackforthestudentsinthenextclass.Attheendofthelesson,studentswerealsoaskedtocompleteanExitTicketwherebystudentswereaskedtocompletethefollowing:
1. Writetwothingsyouenjoyedabouttheexperiment.
2. Writetwothingsyouhavelearnedfromtheexperiment.
3. Writeonethingyouwouldchangetomaketheexperimentbetter.
Thiswasameansfortheteachertodiagnosewhatimpactedthestudentsduringtheactivityandusethisfeedbacktoinformhisfuturelessons.Italsoprovidedstudentswiththeopportunitytoselfassesstheirownworkanddecideonhowtheywouldimprove.UsingtechnologyfortheExitTicketmeantthattheteachercouldaccessthisinformationatanytimeandstudentsintheclasscouldalsoaccessthisinformationintheirowntimeandlearnfromtheirpeer’scomments.Thiswouldbeofbenefittostudentsasitprovidesthemwiththeopportunitytoengagewithscienceoutsideoftheclassroomtoaidthemintheirlearning.TheteachercommunicatedtothestudentswhyhewasaskingthemtocompletetheExitTicketsothatthestudentscouldunderstandtherationaleforcompletingthetask.
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
9
Teacherand/orstudentscomments
Pre-Assessment:InsulationWhatmaterialdoyouthinkwouldmakeagoodinsulator?_______________________________________________________________________________________Howwouldyoutestthisinthelab?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Howwouldyoumakesurethatyourtestafairone?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Youhavemadeasnowman.Youthinkitisthebestoneyouhaveevermade.Whatcouldyoudotomakeitlastforawhilewhentheweatherstartstogetwarmer?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Insulation:Graphingacoolingcurve FaSMEd
10
4. References
Bell,B.,&Cowie,B.(2001).Thecharacteristicsofformativeassessmentinscience
education.ScienceEducation,85(5),536-533.
Black,P.,&Wiliam,D.(1998).Assessmentandclassroomlearning.Assessmentineducation,5(1),7-74.
http://www.discoversensors.ie
Schoologywww.schoology.com
Anydevicewithamodernwebbrowser–smartphones,tablets,PC’s,laptopsetc.(availableasaniPadapp)
Onlinelearningenvironmentthatallowsteacherstocreateandmanageacademiccoursesfortheirstudents.Itprovidesteacherswithamethodofmanaginglessons,engagingstudents,sharingcontent,andconnectingwithothereducators.
Loggersoftwareusedinconjunctionwithhandheldsensortechnologywww.vernier.com
AnydevicethatisBluetoothcompatibleorhasaUSBport
Forexampletemperatureprobes.Usedtogatherdatainrealtimetofacilitateindepthanalysisofgraphscreatedviatheloggersoftware(LoggerPro).