Project-Based Education and Learning Cycle Report

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Introduction

Project-based learning was a reform that shifted the focus of science education on learning through activities. The two primary aspects of it are: participation in science and learning about how science functions (Krajcik, McNeill, & Reiser, 2007; Marek, 2008; Simon, 1994). Project-based education allows students to understand how scientists gain and utilize knowledge as well as its connection to the natural world.

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National Standards

This plan is created with the use of the Learning Cycle, and its first phase lies in the identification of national standards. National standards K.8A, K.8B, and K.3C will be the focus of the plan (“Instructional focus document,” 2017). K.8A and K.8B are focused on observation and exploration of patterns of change, while K.3C introduces the role of scientists in the research of the natural world.

Development of Learning Performances

The eighth unit titled “Day and Night” of “Texas Go Math!” will be utilized for additional student resources. Students will observe the sky during daytime and night time. Then they will explain if they noticed the changes in patterns between the times of the day. Students will have to compare the skies during different times of day to show what they learned. Then, they will take their form to register further observations.

Contextualization

During circle time, the students will be connected to the learning goals of the unit through conversation and discussion. The topic of discussion will be “What is in the day sky?” Students’ observation forms will be used to discuss the information they gathered. Students will pay attention to the environment that surrounds them and examine it through the tasks provided by the teacher. The driving question of the class is “why does the sky change?”

Learning Tasks

The learning tasks will include materials from the unit. At first, it will be the earth rotation task. It will be used to introduce students to the concept of living on planet Earth. Its rotational cycle and how it can be observed from the ground will be discussed. Subsequently, weather changes and seasonal changes will be observed through the same tools.This alignment of the goal will allow students to better appreciate how concepts can be utilized.

Specifically, the concepts of repeating patterns in nature, their monitoring, and the reasons behind them, will be explored. Such topics as earth rotation and perspectives will be discussed in the video attached to the unit. These tasks are designed to teach students the basics of scientific theory, astronomy, and meteorology. In the future, they will be able to use these skills to monitor experiments and the movement of stars in the sky.

Instructional Sequence

Patterns of change will be examined over a 20 lesson period, with 45 minutes per lesson. The sequence will be separated into four parts. Each part will provide information and will be focused on developing the skills and knowledge base required for the completion of the following parts.

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Part one will be focused on the topic of “Day and Night,” with the SCI.K.8B used as the main standard. It will last six lessons. During the first half of the lesson, the students will monitor the sky and write down their observations. Aspects such as the color of the sky, the types of clouds, their color, shape, size, and speed would be some of the elements that students should notice. The second part of the lessons would be spent on the students discussing what they saw and what it could mean. After the class is over, the students are tasked with monitoring the sky during evening or night and recording the same types of observations. The differences between daytime and nighttime sky are then discussed in class. During explanations, the concepts of repeating patterns and their observation will be discussed.

Part two will be dedicated to weather observations with SCI.K.3C and SCI.K.8A used as standards. It will last for seven lessons. During the second part, the students will combine their observations of the sky with weather observations. The first half of the lesson will again be dedicated to monitoring. This time the students will be encouraged to write about the weather conditions such as wind, humidity, rain or the lack of it. The reasons for different weather patterns will be explained in the second half of the lesson based on the observations provided by the students. Gradual changes in weather will be recorded twice a day, over the course of this part. The students should be able to understand why the weather changes day after day and how it may repeat.

Part three will be examining changes in seasons based on SCI.K.4B, SCI.K.8A and SCI.K.8B standards over seven lessons. Culminating lessons will be dedicated to the observation of seasonal changes in the sky. By the beginning of this part, the students will be familiar with earth rotation and weather patterns. They will use their knowledge gained through previous observations to monitor seasonal changes in both the weather and the sky.

Once again, the lessons will be split into two parts: observation and discussion. The elements that students will have to examine are temperature, times of sunrise or sunset, the presence of weather conditions such as snow, rain, hail, fog, humidity, and any other observations that they choose. During the discussion portion, the examined changes will be explained and compared to the observations of other students. The students will record information during both day and night.

Part four will extend, review, assess and reteach the material, if it is necessary.

Assessments and Feedback

To assess the students, the “Sum It Up!” sections of the unit will be used. They consist of images that depict various weather and seasonal conditions that the students will have to identify. New cards may be created by the teacher if the observed conditions are not represented on the cards. The students will be evaluated based on their understanding of the conditions depicted on the cards.

Feedback from the students and their families would be used to further benefit the learning cycle. Student feedback consists not only of their opinions but also the written materials that they worked on during class, their contribution to discussions and other aspects. The parents’ feedback will be concerned on whether the tasks prevented any home activity and if the student has shown the understanding of the topic at home.

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References

Instructional focus document. (2017). Web.

Krajcik, J., McNeill, K., & Reiser, B. (2007). Learning-goals-driven design model: Developing curriculum materials that align with national standards and incorporate project-based pedagogy. Science Education, 92(1), 1-32.

Marek, E. (2008). Why the learning cycle? Journal of Elementary Science Education, 20(3), 63-69.

Simon, M. (1994). Learning mathematics and learning to teach: Learning cycles in mathematics teacher education. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 26(1), 71-94.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "Project-Based Education and Learning Cycle." May 9, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/project-based-learning/.

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