Reflection

While completing this assignment I felt comfortable with the design. I think this is a logical way to plan lessons, and it is how I tend to design my units. It actually happened by accident! As a first year teacher, I was handed a binder (from the teacher I replaced, who retired, and was my former teacher) that contained EVERYTHING you could possibly need during your first year. Tests, quizzes, labs, worksheets, inquiry activities, and all the answer keys. Needless to say, while I worked hard to design my own style and lessons, I did take advantage of all the tests and answer keys. I worked 'backwards' to figure out how to teach my students what they needed to know to do well on these activities, and assessments I was handed. Being a science teacher I also like working towards having my students be able to demonstrate something practical, or an observable behavior.

UBD lesson
Marisa Sierchio
Earth Science
9th Grade
Time: 1-2 weeks

Minerals

ESTABLISHED GOALS:

STANDARD 5.1 (Scientific Processes) All students will develop problem-solving, decision-making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results.

STANDARD 5.8 (Earth Science) All students will gain an understanding of the structure, dynamics, and geophysical systems of the earth.


ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
How was Earth made?
What is a mineral?
How are minerals formed?
How can you identify a mineral?
How are minerals useful in our lives?

UNDERSTANDINGS:
-Minerals are solid, naturally occurring, have a definite chemical composition, have a specific crystalline shape, and are inorganic.
-Minerals form from the pressure process and the magma process.
-Minerals are used in the manufacturing process of just about any object, or used to make the object itself.

STUDENTS WILL KNOW:
-key terms: luster, color, streak, moh’s hardness scale, crystallography, inorganic, specific gravity.
-the steps to the pressure process and the magma process
-variables that influence the color and texture of minerals
-the seven crystalline shapes
-the characteristics of the sulfides, oxides, carbonates, and silicate mineral groups

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
-Identify minerals using the tests performed in class
-Identify crystalline shapes
-Identify in their homes where minerals are used

PERFORMANCE TASKS:
-Mystery Mineral- using the tests explained in class identify a given sample. Create a poster showing your mystery minerals uses.
-Moh’s Hardness lab- using the lab kit, identify the hardness of each mineral.
-Crystallography- create the seven crystal shapes out of paper. Label each face

OTHER EVIDENCE:
-Crystal shape quiz
-Lab reports: mineral lab, moh’s hardness lab

SELF ASSESSMENT:
-self asses the Mystery Mineral poster using a rubric.
-self assessment of lab reports using rubric
-reflect on the extent to which you feel comfortable identifying a mineral using the steps provided.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
W- KWL chart on minerals to elicit prior knowledge
H- activity: How many minerals does it take to make a lightbulb? Students will research using computers what minerals are needed to make a lightbulb. Students will also complete a scavenger hunt in their homes identifying where minerals are located.
E- Observe hand samples, view animations of how minerals form, mineral lab activity, Moh’s Hardness lab activity
R, T, E, O- Mystery Mineral project

Did You Know???

*My initial reaction...
My first two reactions were "wow, I feel small and insignificant" and "wow, I better catch up technologically so I can be halfway behind".
*I know the Earth's population is expanding rapidly but I never knew saw the actual statistics. It is shocking and alarming to see how many people our planet needs to be able to support, both financially and physically.
*As a college freshman if someone told me I was preparing for job that did not exist yet, or that I was preparing to solve problems that did not exist, I would find that very discouraging and frightening. Two terms that came to my mind were: flexibility and adaptability (in terms of thinking and schooling). Today's graduates and teachers must posess both skills.
*How are these changes manifested in both my personal and professional life....
As an undergraduate here at MSU 8 years ago it was rare the a professor would ask for a paper/project be emailed and now it is rare to print out and hand it in! I did not have text messaging in college, no picture phone, and my home computer was huge, slow and unreliable. As a first year teacher in 2004, I did my attendance and gradebook by hand, now I use an online program for both. Also, my homework is posted online instead of just written on the chalkboard. Parents also email more often to check on student progress, instead of playing phone tag.
In my personal life, email and text messaging have become the primary form of communication with my friends. Any single friend I have has at least perused match.com for a potential suitor.
*What skills to students and teachers need to survive...
Both students AND teachers need to remain open minded and adaptable in terms of technology and problem solving. As a teacher I am trying hard NOT to become 'set in my ways' and not to be intimidated by trying out a new strategy or technology such as wiki's, or blogs, or making a mash up! At age 28, if I allow myself to shy away from learning new technology skills I will fall exponentially behind my students. I think in order to be a good teacher I must bring forth some technological skills to my students, even if it is only used occasionally in class. Computer literacy and problem solving skills are essential to the future of education.
*What challenges must we overcome...
I think we need to move slightly away from the standardized testing. These tests are inhibiting creativity and flexibility in the classroom. Which could be causing the lag in our students from those in other countries. Does Japan rely on standardized test scores?

*In conclusion, this is a great eye opening video. I puts into perspective the changes occuring in the world and how they need to be addressed in the educational field. The bottom line is that as educators we need to remain open to the idea that 'shift happens' and that we are doing a disservice to our students by using the same old lesson plans and materials year to year.

Goin with the flow!

After reading these two articles I must say that I agree with the notion of using flow in education. Why else are we putting students through the educational process other than so someday they may enter an occupation that will make them happy and fullfilled? When a teacher asks kindergarden students what they dream of being when they grow up isn't that to evoke happiness, and ignite the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators? I think so! Life should be more about seeking happiness than the almightly dollar. People usually do gravitate towards professions or subjects in school that they are naturally have control and competence in.

Instituting the 'Flow' method as the Key School has done might be another story. Probably easier said than done. Some aspects can easily be integrated such as team projects and small learning communities. In my undergrad science education classes a big focus in lesson planning was using the behavioral objective. The students need to be able to demonstrate a task to show understanding. I think this is similar to the main idea behind the flow method.

What happens when a student learns using the flow method from k-12, then graduates and moves on to a university where most courses are taught as mass lectures? How then does the flow method serve them? Perhaps the flow method has already instilled enough motivation to keep the momentum going through college?

Pink

This book is fantastic and I agree with most of what it says. Today's schools need to work harder to develope both sides of the brain. The jobs of the future are going to require a multitude of skills and not just test taking abilities. The current emphasis placed on teachers to achieve high test scores is serioulsy inhibiting the development of the six skills outlined. If you had told me in 1998 when I started as an undergrad that I would be attending gradschool via the internet I probably would not have believed it. I agree with Pink that our students need to be flexible in their thinking, and be adaptable to new technological changes.