Satellite ScienceCross school collaboration to engage 21st Century learners

Tracy Staley

Children learn by doing and finding success in the doing (Charney, 2002, p. 17).

•In the classroom, students conduct science experiments in groups to develop collaborative skills while exploring scientific concepts

•How will working with partners from another school deepen student understanding of scientific concepts and the Nature of Science?

•The following lessons will:

▫Allow students to explore Physical Science concepts as well as the Nature of Science

▫Provide opportunities for collaboration within and beyond the school walls

▫Strengthen verbal, written and media literacy through the use of various methods including video conferencing and blogs

Websites/Software Used

•www.kidblog.com•Skype•Microsoft Excel•Google custom search engine•Microsoft Movie Maker•Photo software•Screen capture software

Cross School Collaboration

•I will be working with a colleague at Madeira Beach Elementary School in Pinellas County

•Our students will work collaboratively to complete this project

Part 1• Display a list of physical science topics:

Electricity, Gravity, Friction, Motion, Sound Energy, Light Energy, Thermal Energy, Matter, Physical & Chemical changes, etc.

• On a scratch piece of paper, have students list their top 3 choices for further exploration

• Place students into partnerships based on interest• Allow partnerships to research information about

their topic using a teacher created search engine http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=004666705308599471608:9ribgz-q4v4

• Inform students the purpose of their research is to come up with a list of 5-7 questions they have about their topic

Distribute the Digital Story Planning Guide (right)Students will use this guide throughout the project to document their work

Story Planning Guide

How did you decide which question you would explore? How will you show this to the audience? What materials will you need to conduct your experiment? How will you show this to the audience? How will you show the audience how to follow your directions?  How will you document your experiment? Who will conduct the experiment? Who will take the photos/video? How did you analyze your data? What did you learn? How will you show this to the audience? Did you experiment turn out like your cross school partner’s? Why do you think your experiment turned out the way it did? How will you show this to the audience?  What did you learn by working with students from another school? How will you show this to the audience?

Blog

#1What topic are you and you partner

interested in studying? List 2-4 questions you have

about your project.

Cross School Collaboration

•At the end of the day, I will video conference with my colleague to review our partnerships

•We will create groups of four by blending partnerships from each school

Part 2•Using Skype, the teachers will introduce

students to their cross county partners•The teachers will remind students how to use

Skype, then send partnerships off for their first team Skype conference

•During this conference, students will share their list of questions and narrow down the list to the top 3 experiments they would like to conduct

•The group must present their experiment ideas to the teacher for approval before moving on

Skype Conferences

•During each Skype conference, students will use a form like the one below to document their conversations. This form will be turned into the teacher for a grade.

Date Students Present

Topics Discussed Action Plan What will be done by the next conference?

Cross School Collaboration

•Teachers will review then approve experiment ideas for groups

•Students needing assistance selecting an experiment will have a conference with their teacher

Part 3

•Students will continue to have Skype conferences to:▫Share ideas▫Create a materials list▫Write directions for completing their

experiment

Blog#2What materials will you need to complete your experiment? Compile your list then visit at least 2 other classmates’ blogs. Read over their materials list and comment on whether or not they have forgotten anything.

# 3List the directions to complete your experiment. Remember to use metric measurements and to start each sentence with a verb. After completing your list, visit at least 2 other group’s blogs and review their directions. Did they forget something? Let them know!

Part 4

•Using the directions created by the team, school partnerships will conduct their experiments, documenting their work using still or video cameras

•Students will use Microsoft Excel to collect the data they collect

Part 5

•Using the data they collected, students will create a graph on Microsoft Excel

•School partnerships Skype to review their graphs looking for trends and discussing why they feel their experiment turned out the way it did

Blog#4Compile your data using Microsoft Excel and use the data to create a graph. Take a screen capture of your graph and post it on your blogso your partners at Madeira Beach can see your results. Then, compare your graph to theirs. What is similar? Different? Explain your thinking.

Part 6

•School partnerships will use their Digital Story Planning Guide to create a storyboard for their digital story

•Partnerships will select and import the images they will use into Microsoft Movie maker, record their voice-over and add any text, screen shots, music etcetera to their digital story

Part 7• Students will share their learnings with their

schoolmates by presenting their digital stories• After viewing the class’s projects, the teacher will lead

students in a discussion about what they have learned through this process▫Discussion should focus on the results of their

experiments▫If students completed their experiments correctly, their

results should mirror those of their cross school partners. If they do not, something was not done correctly. This is a Nature of Science concept students struggle with, therefore seeing multiple groups attain similar results should reinforce this concept

Blog

#5What did you learn by working with

scientists from another school? Did you enjoy this experience? Why or why not?

Sample Experiment Digital Story•Below you will find a link to a VoiceThread

created by Heather Sullivan•Ms. Sullivan is a teacher who uses

VoiceThread for her student’s lab reports•This is an example of what how students

can document their learning using multimedia tools

•http://voicethread.com/?#q.b167884.i893744

Contact Me

Tracy Staley5th Grade Math/Science

Ponce de Leon Elementarystaleyt@pcsb.org

References:

Charney, Ruth, S. (2002). Teaching children to care: Classroom management for ethical and academic growth, K-8. Greenfield, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children.