Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan

Teacher Name: Natscha Cox

Lesson Title: Plate Tectonics, Faults, and Volcanoes

Subject(s) and Grade Level: Science, 8th Grade

Standards:

MTT Domain-Competencies

I. The Master Technology Teacher effectively models and applies classroom teaching methodology and curriculum models that promote active student learning through the integration of technology and addresses the varied learning needs of all students.

II. The Master Technology selects and administers appropriate technology-related assessments on an ongoing basis and uses the result to design and improve instruction.

III. The Master Technology applies knowledge of digital learning competencies including Internet research, graphics animation, Web site mastering, and video technology.

IV. The Master Technology Teacher serves as a resource regarding the integration of assistive technologies and accessible design concepts to meet the needs of all students.

V. The Master Technology Teacher facilitates appropriate, research-based technology instruction by communicating and collaborating with educational stakeholders; mentoring, coaching, and consulting with colleagues; providing professional development opportunities for faculty; and making decisions based on converging evidence from research.

Content TEKS: §112.24. Science, 8th grade

8.12 Science Concepts. The student knows that cycles exist in Earth systems. The student is expected to:

a. Analyze and predict the sequence of events in the lunar and rock cycles.

8.14 Science concepts. The student knows that natural events and human activities can alter Earth systems. The student is expected to:

a. Predict land features resulting from gradual changes such as mountain building, beach erosion, land subsidence, and continental drift.

TA TEKS

Uses a variety of strategies to acquire information from electronic resources, with appropriate supervision.

4A Use strategies to locate and acquire desired information on LANs and WANs, including Internet, intranet, and collaborative software.

4B Apply appropriate electronic search strategies in the acquisition of information including keyword and Boolean search strategies.

Uses appropriate computer-based productivity tools to create and modify solutions to problems.

7A Plan, create, and edit documents created with a word processor using readable fonts, alignment, page setup, tabs, and ruler settings.

Content and Cognitive Goals:

1. At the completion of the session, the mentor will be able to:

Use cognitive coaching skills to facilitate teacher thought processes to focus on student objectives, student learning, and student outcomes.
Carefully phrase questions giving the mentee time to process and solve her own ideas and solutions.
Collaborate with the campus technologist, administrators, librarian, special ed chair, ESL, Dyslexia, and GT teachers to ensure student and teacher success.
Gather information analyzing ideas that may be successful for students.

2. At the completion of the session, the teacher will be able to:

Improve modification of the lesson plan to include all populations.
Collaborate with the other members of her science team and with the special education teacher assistance in being successful.
Improve classroom management when working with groups of students.
Continue searching and discussing with peers in science and in other areas ways to manage a classroom while they work in groups.
Further incorporate technology into writing the paper and presenting the data through power point presentations.

3. At the completion of the session, the students will be able to

Understand mechanisms of plate tectonics, earthquake faults, and types of volcanoes.
Research plate tectonics, faults, and volcanoes using the Internet, by searching teacher-provided URL sites.
Collaborate in groups to compile the information gathered.
Understand and apply the writing process.
Produce a final paper detailing characteristics by answering specific teacher-designed questions dealing with: Plate tectonics, earthquake faults, and types of volcanoes.
Orally present their data gathered from research to the rest of the class using their poster and written paper.

Learning Connections:

Natascha Cox and Toni McAfoos met three times a week for one to two hours a meeting. These meetings were established in order for Toni to fulfill the responsibilities of the Master Technology Teacher requirements of mentoring. The meetings were to enable Natascha the ability to independently implement a technology-enhanced lesson that focused on and utilized higher level thinking skills.

Toni received cognitive coaching from her MTTC classmate Bonnie Barnes throughout her mentoring experience.

In this lesson students will understand the mechanics of plate tectonics, faults, and volcanoes. Through research, students will be able to answer teacher-designed questions and apply the data giving an oral presentation, writing a two-paged written report, and designing a poster demonstrating this data. Students had received pre-requisite skills regarding plate tectonics earlier in the year and had also been taught on how to research on the Internet. The large group work was the new area attempted in this unit. Along with the understanding of plate tectonics, presentation skills and a written paper as a collaborative group was the intended outcome of this lesson.

Students researched and analyzed data to answer teacher-designed questions. The large groups were broken down into three smaller groups, all led by a student facilitator, where students gathered and compiled data to complete all areas required by the teacher. If more research was needed after attending the computer lab, chosen students were able to go to the library computers to gather further information. Back in the classrooms, student facilitators then split the group into task groups - one completing the poster, one completing the written paper. The group facilitators were responsible for: assisting the group in compiling all data required; assigning students in the group to complete the poster demonstrating the points of the paper; and, assigning students in the group to write a one to two-paged typed paper covering the data following the rubric guidelines for the paper. Each group then gave an oral presentation. Each student in the group had 1-2 minute parts of the group presentation to give. Each group was assessed by the teacher with an oral presentation rubric and by a teacher whole project rubric. Each group was also responsible for giving themselves a group evaluation.

Procedures for Learning Activities/Tasks:

1. Students were able to identify and organize materials required by the teacher-led questions.

2. Students were able to demonstrate understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions and stating main ideas in written form.

3. Students were able to examine and break information into parts, making inferences and finding evidence to support generalization.

4. Students were able to compile information together in a different way by combining elements in a poster form.

5. Students were able to orally present and defend their opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas or quality of work based on a set of criteria.

Assistive and Diverse Learners

Students with cognitive or learning disabilities, including visually impaired, were the diverse learners that the teacher experienced in this year's class. Implementation of peer tutoring and recommendations by the ARD committee in meeting the student's IEP was addressed with the special ed personnel and other team members.

Teaching/Instructional Strategy

Instructional groups strategies, group management strategies, extensions for diverse needs of learners, accommodations and modifications for learners IEP correlated when needed, variety of technologies, variety of uses of technologies.

Internet research, teacher-designed questions, pen and paper tasks, presentations, discussions, collaboration, cooperative grouping, peer tutoring, questioning, and reflection are all needed within the groups.

Groups were teacher-designed providing for the needs of the diverse learners. The teacher appealed to the visual learners by presenting concepts in multimedia presentations. Handouts and examples were provided for all students demonstrating expectations. Cooperative groups will assist reluctant students in the research process, the writing process, and the oral presentation process. Teacher-designed URL sites and questions led the students towards the data and concepts desired for the lesson. Working with her team teachers, Natscha was able to mold this lesson to cover the Science TEKS and the TA TEKS also required at this level. All students were able to perform at a high level due to peer assistance throughout the project.

The teacher will implement Word Processing and Internet Research during this unit. She will present the concepts using handouts and examples.

Student Work Samples:

Authentic digital images, scanned images, video clips, audio clips, multimedia, charts, graphs, web pages

Student Work Samples

Technology Connection:

Developmentally appropriate hardware, software, peripherals, classroom technology arrangement, software customized to support diverse needs, adaptive/assistive technology to support special needs

Learning Goals and Instructional Strategies	Target Technologies or Desired Tool Functions supporting planned strategies (possible assistive technologies in parentheses)
I. Understand mechanisms of plate tectonics, earthquake faults, and types of volcanoes.
1. Research plate tectonics, faults, and volcanoes using the Internet, by searching teacher provided URL sites.
Teacher Presentation	PowerPoint and Presentation projector attached to teacher computer. (Screen magnifier for visual impaired student)
Student Research (Individual)	Internet Research (Peer student assistance for visual impaired student)
Student Discussion, Reflection	Paper and Pen for student journaling, classroom (Student peer assistance for visual impaired student)
Silent Reading	URL websites (Screen magnifier for visual impaired student)
2. Collaborate in groups to compile the information gathered.
Facilitating/collaboration	Pen and Paper for beginning stages of writing process (Student peer assistance for visual impaired student)
Reflecting/questioning/discussion	Pen and Paper for journaling (Student peer assistance for visual impaired student)
3. Understand and apply the writing process.
Facilitating/collaboration	Pen and Paper for beginning stages of writing process (Student peer assistance for visual impaired student)
Group Reflection/journaling	Pen and Paper for journaling (Student peer assistance for visual impaired student)
4. Produce a final paper detailing characteristics by answering specific teacher-designed questions dealing with: Plate tectonics, earthquake faults, and types of volcanoes.
Presentation/discussion	Pen and Paper for journaling (Student peer assistance for visual impaired student)
Facilitating/collaboration	Pen and Paper for beginning stages of writing process; Microsoft Word for final stage of paper process. (Student peer assistance and Screen magnifier for visual impaired student)
5. Orally present their data gathered from research to the rest of the class using their poster and written paper.
Presentation/discussion	Pen and Paper for note taking; Poster board, construction paper, colored pencils for designing poster. (Student peer assistance for visual impaired student)
Facilitating/collaboration	Pen and paper for note taking. (Student peer assistance for visual impaired student)

Technology Management Strategy:

Materials:

Instructional materials: teacher designed handouts, URL sites
Hardware: 30-networked computers, printers
Software: Microsoft Word
Student Instructional Materials

Assessments:

Student Rubrics and Teacher Evaluations

Portfolio, demonstration, self-assessment, peer assessment, checklist, rubric, process and product

1. To enable continuous/frequent feedback between the teacher and the students

Formal: Rubrics for paper and oral presentation
Informal: discussion, debriefings, journal writings, and reflections

2. To encourage the students to reflect on their learning progress and achievement

Formal: Rubrics on group evaluation
Informal: discussions, collaborative discussions

3. To determine the student's learning progress and achievement

Formal: Teacher rubric on oral presentation and on project
Informal: Teacher led questions to groups, reflections

Reflection:

Please rate the following indicators using a scale of 1-5.

(1=Poor, 5= Excellent, NA if not applicable)

Rating	Classification
4	Technology instruction was effective and students/educators achieved curricular goals.
5	Technology instruction was effective and students/educators or I achieved targeted goals.
5	Technology instruction was effective and I achieved my professional goals.
5	Students/educators were motivated by the use of technology.
3	Technology was critical to the success of this lesson.
5	Varying abilities of students/educators was supported through the use of the technology.
3	Equipment was sufficient for the number of students/educators completing the activity.
2	Equipment and software functioned properly.
5	Overall rating of lesson.

Reflection Time: (Use the following questions to reflect on your lesson.)

Questions to Ponder: (Natscha Cox’s answers in blue italics)

1. Was this lesson worth doing? Yes

2. In what ways was the lesson effective? It gave them a different approach to learning the material.

3. What evidence do you have for your conclusion? Due to prior units over other topics, classes were enthusiastic, their writings were better, their project better more complete.

4. How would you change this lesson for teaching it again? I would have facilitators take more of a managerial position, and require more information to research to fulfill the two-paged paper.

5. Did your students/educators find the lesson meaningful? Yes. Students were reflecting on how eruptions could affect populations, and how faults, and plate tectonics, change the land we live on.

6. Did the lesson motivate your students/educators to “go beyond” what was required? No.

7. Did you achieve your goals met/in progress in the required criteria? Yes.

_____________________________________

Date: February 24, 2006

Coach Signature

_____________________________________

Date: February 24, 2006

Participant Signature