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It’s always great to discover new ways to make a job easier. Described
below are helpful hints offered by experienced SEPUP users. You will
find teaching tips related to:
Organizing Student Ideas
Using Analysis Questions
Facilitating Discussion
Materials Management
Using SEPUP Assessment Tools
Issues, Evidence and You
CHEM-2
Thanks to the following teachers for providing teaching tips:
Robert Baxter, Buffalo, NY; Pam Boykin, Louisville, KY; Kathaleen
Burke, Buffalo, NY; Cheryl Dodes, Queens, NY; Richard
Duquin, Kenmore, NY; Michael Lach, Chicago, IL; Shelley Lee,
Madison, WI; Donna Markey,
Vista, CA; Liz Martinez, Naperville, IL; Bill Mocnik,
Los
Angeles, CA; Gary Morrissey, Chicago, IL; Liz Nelson, Tucson,
AZ; Mike Reeske, Vista,
CA; Stacey Thomson, Buffalo, NY.
Organizing Student Ideas
At the start of the school year, I have students set
up an appendix in the back of their science journals.
Every time we
come to
a key skill that they will need to use during
the year, they put it
in their
appendix
so it is easy to find. So far, we have: the ten
parts of a perfect graph, the format for a full lab report,
the
components
of a "good experimental
design." Whenever I give an assignment that
relates to one of these ideas, I ask them to check
their appendix to make sure the assignment
is complete. I believe this follows the SEPUP
philosophy that we need to make sure students
understand the expectations of complete and correct
work.
SEPUP teachers often ask students to extract and
apply information, and we find that using graphic
organizers helps students
to clarify their thinking. In a number of activities
in Issues, Evidence and You, teachers
discuss with the class what is most important
about the activity.
After that, it is useful to have students work
in teams of two to display how
they believe concepts and terms relate to each
other by completing a concept map or hierarchical diagram.
One helpful computer
program
to
try is "Inspiration," a graphic organizer
tool that provides three dozen templates for organizing
information, including a concept
map and persuasive writing template.
In many SEPUP experiments, different groups explore
slightly different variables and then share
their results with
the class, sometimes
over a period of several days or several weeks.
Students then use the data
from all the groups when analyzing the results
of the activity. It becomes important for all
the students
to report and
record all of the data.
Use a class chart to record the ongoing observations
and measurements of all groups.
I use chart paper in the classroom to keep track
of changes in student thinking over time.
For example, we may brainstorm
ways of
disposing
of waste in an opening activity. As we write
the ideas
down, students realize they don’t have
all the answers, and it creates a need to know
for the next activities. As they progress through
activities,
collecting evidence and weighing their ideas,
they modify what is on the chart. Students end
up making a record of the progress of their ideas.
We use chart paper for creating word banks.
As students do an activity, they realize
they need a
new word
to make fine distinctions,
such
as a solution you can see through, but the
image is fuzzy (translucent)
versus a solution you can see through and
the image is in focus (transparent).
It’s very different from a vocabulary
list because students collect words so they
can use them in the right context to describe
the science.
The SEPUP activities are very open-ended
in that you can design many other kinds
of investigations
once you get
started. You
can teach kids
how to design an experiment and how to
use the results of the experiment.
Tips related to using Analysis Questions
Use an Analysis Question as a warm-up
the day after you do an activity in
class. You
can review
the
previous day’s work and get students
thinking and discussing in their groups.
Another way to use Analysis Questions
is to assign different questions
to each pair
of
students within
a group of
four. Each pair is
responsible for sharing its responses
with the other pair. This is only
appropriate occasionally and does
not work for some
questions.
Tips related to Facilitating Discussion
During a class discussion, begin
questions with why, what if,
explain more, compare,
or interpret.
Usually
these words indicate
a question
will be open-ended and promote
critical thought.
Have students call on each other.
This takes you off center
stage and encourages students
to speak
to and
listen to
each other!
After a student responds to
a question, pause for three
seconds or more.
Then find a student
who will
build on or analyze the
first student’s
idea.
I use PowerPoint slides
of the discussion questions
in a
post-lab
debriefing
game. Each question
appears one at
a time
in a
timed sequence. Students
are paired and have a
white board
and pen.
They discuss and
then write down their
answers and flash me the white board.
The ball
is first
tossed to
the
first contestant,
the
one who flashes an answer
first. After the first
pair reads its response, the
students must
pass the ball on to another
pair of their choice to
read their answer—called
a steal. I allow 3 steals
or more depending on the
general accuracy of answers.
Then students vote on which
was the most thorough answer
and
the winner gets to spin
our wheel of fortune for
prizes. I can pretty much
get the idea what needs to
be retaught from the lab
from previewing
their responses.
Tips related to Materials
Management
I use the wide colorless
packaging tape to
wrap around the labels
of the dropper
bottles when
I get a new
kit. This prevents
the labels from getting
wet and worn.
Use nail polish or
permanent marker
to color code
dropper bottles
with their tops.
Although SEPUP materials
are designed to
make materials
management more manageable,
they
can still pose
distribution problems.
Cafeteria trays
are easy
to
get and are very
useful for distributing
materials.
Table or group
sets of common
materials (like scissors,
rulers, etc.)
can
be held in the
clear plastic
cylinders that
tennis balls are sold
in.
Cleaning up
is always
a management challenge.
My latest
solution
is to assign
the
each member
of a group
of four students
a number (1–4).
If the date
we do a lab is
an odd number,
students 1 and
3 clean up. When
I did Activity
1 on September
7th, students
2 and 4 got the
materials,
and students
1 and 3 cleaned
up. Now when
students ask "Whose
turn is it to
clean up?" I
say, "What
is the date today?"
If you put
together
a model of what
each group
will need,
assembling the class
set is a
snap,
since all
of
the thought
work was
done for
the model. This
speeds up
the process
and lowers the
stress
level
of
getting
it right.
Replacing
and refillling
materials
at the
end of the
year is
a momentous
task on
top of everything
else
that needs
to be done.
To
make this
easier,
I
obtained
a restock
list at
the start
of the
school year.
When I use
up an item,
I highlight
that item.
At the
end of the
year, I
know exactly
what needs
to be ordered.
Tips related
to using
SEPUP
Assessment Tools
To introduce
the
idea of a scoring
guide
within
the
SEPUP
Assessment
System,
our
class creates our
own
rubrics
for
various
simple
things—parties,
songs,
chocolate
chip cookies—so
students
get the
feel for
how they’re
used. I
then introduce
the SEPUP
scoring
guides
with an
appropriate
activity.
To help
students
understand
how
the
SEPUP scoring
guides
are
being
used,
laminate
the
scoring
guides.
Use
erasable
markers
to
indicate which
element
is
being assessed
or
to highlight
particular
points
of
interest. Distribute
the
guides
along
with
any
other materials
required
for
the
activity.
Students
may at
first have
problems improving
their work
in response
to open-ended
assessment items.
Have groups
of four
students use
the scoring
guides to
examine their
work in
a group and
score it
in a
moderation session.
This focus
on student work
and exchange
amongst students
has led
to vast
improvements in
student performance.
Tips
related
to
Issues,
Evidence
and
You
In
our
school
district,
we
have
to
emphasize
narrative
procedure
and
narrative
account
in
science.
Issues,
Evidence
and
You
is
chock-full
of
opportunities
to
do
this.
I
had
students
write
a
narrative
account
of
their
water-tasting
experiment
(Activity
1, "Drinking Water Quality").
When we get to Activity 4, "Mapping Death," I have them
write a persuasive essay to convince the Czar of Water—me—to
shut off the London water tap that is spreading cholera. The
high interest
level encourages the students to do their best work.
Tips
related
to
CHEM-2
I
was
demonstrating "Mystery Spill" at a teacher’s workshop
about CHEM-2, so I set up a toy car and dump truck with the unknown
substance spilled from the truck. I asked the teachers to observe
the accident
scene as they entered the room. I pulled on my safety gear—coat,
hard hat, goggles, etc.—and explained to the group that
we were all going to the "Mystery Spill" scene and I
needed their help to determine the identity of the substance on
the road. The entire setup
took just 2–3
minutes and really got the audience involved in the activity.
It
might be even more effective with kids.
For
the
CHEM-2
Sound
Activity,
an
alternative
to
help
kids
see
sound
is
to
use
a
laser
sticker
and
laser
pointer
with
the
speaker,
instead
of
the
plastic
bits.
Attach
the
laser
sticker
to
the
front
of
a
boom
box
speaker,
and
shine
the
laser
pointer
at
it.
Look
for
the
reflection
on
the
wall
behind
where
you
are
standing.
Then
turn
up
the
volume
on
the
boom
box,
and
you
and
your
students
can "watch" the
sound waves.
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