Describe where simulations or games might be appropriate to use to enhance learning in your lesson.
In a sense, I am providing students with a simulation of real leaves in my observation exercise. Students are viewing pictures of leaves and interacting with them as if they are real objects by using color charts and movable rulers to examine the leaves.
Although I did not get quite that far in my current storyboard layout, the place I could truly see a game being useful is in the classification section of my storyboard. In order to learn how to classify objects, I would give students a set of familiar household objects - in real life I used a variety of kitchen implements - and ask students to make as many different groups of objects out of the set as they could in a limited time span. As an example, say I gave students images of the following objects:
white spoon
white fork
white knife
white spork
silver spoon
silver fork
silver knife
silver spork
blue spoon
blue fork
blue knife
blue spork
I currently have them classified in groups by color. I could also classify them by edges - spoons are smooth, forks and sporks have limited points, knives have many points - or by purpose, spoons and sporks for liquids, sporks and forks for stabbing, knives for cutting - or by the styles of their handles, or perhaps by size of implement, with spoons being shortest and knives being longest...
This activity could be turned into a game in different ways, and would not be done until students had at least one worked example of a classification system presented to them in order to provide them with the preknowledge to succeed at the game. One game could be to give students a random set of objects and ask them how many different classification systems they could come up with in a set time, and give them points based on how many they can come up with, then change the set of objects and challenge them to find the most sets again. Another game would be to give students a set of objects that are already in a classification system and the students have to figure out what the classification categories are, in which case they would be getting points for correctly identifying the categories. Alternatively, in the same scenario of an established classification system, students could be given one object which they would have to place into the system, and they would receive points for placing it correctly. What I would probably do is a mix of all three, because each exercise gives students a different perspective on the classification systems. The first is to design their own system, the second requires them to consider the classification categories, and the third requires to understand and use someone else's system. In addition, I would supplement each game scenario with thought questions that would require the player to justify his or her answers, in order to ensure that the player was not just playing the game for points but actually considering the underlying meaning.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Evaluate how you applied research-based guidelines to your lesson and how these guidelines enhance learning.
I used research-based guidelines when applying e-learning principles wherever there were relevant guidelines available. In some cases, I had to do my best to make my lesson work with the current research best practices.
Evidence shows that students respond better to an agent, because it gives learner the appearance that the computer program has a personality. Learners also preferred when that agent communicated in an informal, friendly tone of voice rather than a formal, professional style (Clark & Mayer, 2011).
Providing a worked example allows students to see the thought process and underlying steps they should be focused on when working on problems (Clark & Mayer, 2011). Ideally, the example should be faded so that the last steps are left out, because this requires students to actively think about the example and what needs to be done. This is more challenging in this lesson because making observations is an individual act. However, I instead tried to ensure that students are actively involved in the lesson by requiring them to interact with the program in another fashion such as picking a color or moving a ruler.
The images used were realistic and highly relevant to the lesson, as well as being placed near the text discussing and/or questions about the images. Using minimal and realistic image prevents students from being distracted with unnecessary visual stimuli (Clark & Mayer, 2011). The audio statements made by the agent provided information in addition to the text information provided, which was limited to new vocabulary words and directions. This meant that students could use their audio and visual communications channels separately and also meant that they had critical information available for rereading or reviewing (Clark & Mayer, 2011). The audio was also limited to relevant speech and did not include extraneous speech or noises in order to allow for optimal audio processing (Clark & Mayer, 2011).
Directed feedback captured the moment when students answered a question incorrectly and tried to redirect their attention to the correct answer. This takes advantage of the learning opportunity that comes with a mistake (Clark & Mayer, 2011).
This lesson is considered a basic and fundamental science lesson, so although learners may have prior experience making observations or classifying, this is an important prerequisite skill for the rest of the year. Thus, I aimed the lesson at inexperienced learners who apparently benefit from less learner control (Clark & Mayer, 2011). Students who have prior experience making observations should have quickly been able to correctly answer the observation questions and move on to the classification questions which may prove more challenging.
One way to potentially improve the storyboard in the future is to create a pre-test page that allows learners to skip some of the observation lesson if they can demonstrate pre-knowledge. In addition, I need to remain aware of the use of graphics and diagrams in order to choose ones that are as simple as possible while yet expressing the necessary information.
There are many areas of ongoing education research that Clark & Mayer (2011) discuss which are relevant to future improvements to this storyboard. In particular, I would want to remain current on research that impacts the placement, size, color, location, etc. of graphics and diagrams, as these are fundamental for understanding science. In addition, further information about introducing new vocabulary terms to students as well as evaluating and building upon pre-knowledge are highly relevant areas where additional research could result in drastic changes to my storyboard design. I think science teachers have a particular responsibility to incorporate current research-based educational best practices as our field relies upon building upon prior research, and now that I am aware that online educational strategies are equally relevant to Powerpoint or other computer presentations, I will do my best to create storyboards and lessons that are compatible with current research.
References: Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumer and designer of multimedia learning (3rd ed.) San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
I used research-based guidelines when applying e-learning principles wherever there were relevant guidelines available. In some cases, I had to do my best to make my lesson work with the current research best practices.
Evidence shows that students respond better to an agent, because it gives learner the appearance that the computer program has a personality. Learners also preferred when that agent communicated in an informal, friendly tone of voice rather than a formal, professional style (Clark & Mayer, 2011).
Providing a worked example allows students to see the thought process and underlying steps they should be focused on when working on problems (Clark & Mayer, 2011). Ideally, the example should be faded so that the last steps are left out, because this requires students to actively think about the example and what needs to be done. This is more challenging in this lesson because making observations is an individual act. However, I instead tried to ensure that students are actively involved in the lesson by requiring them to interact with the program in another fashion such as picking a color or moving a ruler.
The images used were realistic and highly relevant to the lesson, as well as being placed near the text discussing and/or questions about the images. Using minimal and realistic image prevents students from being distracted with unnecessary visual stimuli (Clark & Mayer, 2011). The audio statements made by the agent provided information in addition to the text information provided, which was limited to new vocabulary words and directions. This meant that students could use their audio and visual communications channels separately and also meant that they had critical information available for rereading or reviewing (Clark & Mayer, 2011). The audio was also limited to relevant speech and did not include extraneous speech or noises in order to allow for optimal audio processing (Clark & Mayer, 2011).
Directed feedback captured the moment when students answered a question incorrectly and tried to redirect their attention to the correct answer. This takes advantage of the learning opportunity that comes with a mistake (Clark & Mayer, 2011).
This lesson is considered a basic and fundamental science lesson, so although learners may have prior experience making observations or classifying, this is an important prerequisite skill for the rest of the year. Thus, I aimed the lesson at inexperienced learners who apparently benefit from less learner control (Clark & Mayer, 2011). Students who have prior experience making observations should have quickly been able to correctly answer the observation questions and move on to the classification questions which may prove more challenging.
One way to potentially improve the storyboard in the future is to create a pre-test page that allows learners to skip some of the observation lesson if they can demonstrate pre-knowledge. In addition, I need to remain aware of the use of graphics and diagrams in order to choose ones that are as simple as possible while yet expressing the necessary information.
There are many areas of ongoing education research that Clark & Mayer (2011) discuss which are relevant to future improvements to this storyboard. In particular, I would want to remain current on research that impacts the placement, size, color, location, etc. of graphics and diagrams, as these are fundamental for understanding science. In addition, further information about introducing new vocabulary terms to students as well as evaluating and building upon pre-knowledge are highly relevant areas where additional research could result in drastic changes to my storyboard design. I think science teachers have a particular responsibility to incorporate current research-based educational best practices as our field relies upon building upon prior research, and now that I am aware that online educational strategies are equally relevant to Powerpoint or other computer presentations, I will do my best to create storyboards and lessons that are compatible with current research.
References: Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumer and designer of multimedia learning (3rd ed.) San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
Analyzing the e-learning principles in my storyboard
Explain the e-learning principles your lesson includes and how they promote critical thinking skills.
My storyboard about the observation and classification of leaves contains a variety of e-learning principles. The first principle used in the storyboard is that of personalization, which can be seen in the immediate introduction of an agent (Arbor) who speaks in a casual, friendly tone of voice when giving directions and describing assignments. Learners will be shown any scientific terminology on the screen, in order to provide visual support for the new words. Students are given pre-training about the process of observing leaves via a worked example using a sugar maple leaf. The worked example is segmented into steps during which students make observations about color, size, edges, and other aspects of the leaf. The visual component of the lesson includes realistic photos of a variety of leaves as well as the animation of Arbor, and minimizes distracting additional images. Throughout the lesson, Arbor will speak to students using a calm, accent-less voice will provide additional information to the text provided on the screen. This allows students to use both their visual and auditory learning channels. All labels and questions will be placed near the graphics they discuss, which enables readers to see the question and the graphic without having to track back and forth across a screen and struggle to remember where they were looking. For practice questions, students are given the same questions that were asked in the worked examples but applied to a variety of 10-15 different types of leaves. As students answer each question in relationship to one leaf, they are guided with directed feedback that will ask them to pick more colors if they only pick one color for a multicolored leaf or directed to a help video of how to make metric measurements if they are not within a certain measurement range that was selected by the teacher. This feedback is designed to immediately respond to student errors and guide them to the correct answer. Learners have minimal control, as they cannot advance until the practice questions are answered correctly, and there is little point in going backwards once they have correctly answered a question. Additional help and support are available at every question through Arbor. Collaboration occurs once students reach the classification segment of the lesson. Once students have worked through examples and practice questions on classification systems, they will be given a leaf to place in other students' classification systems and can leave comments and feedback on those other systems regarding how challenging the classification systems are and whether they found flaws in the systems. These various e-learning principles are combined in the lesson to promote critical thinking skills by providing support for students as they learn the basics of how to observe and classify leaves, then extend from that basic knowledge to challenge the students to create their own classification system using the leaves they have just observed.
My storyboard about the observation and classification of leaves contains a variety of e-learning principles. The first principle used in the storyboard is that of personalization, which can be seen in the immediate introduction of an agent (Arbor) who speaks in a casual, friendly tone of voice when giving directions and describing assignments. Learners will be shown any scientific terminology on the screen, in order to provide visual support for the new words. Students are given pre-training about the process of observing leaves via a worked example using a sugar maple leaf. The worked example is segmented into steps during which students make observations about color, size, edges, and other aspects of the leaf. The visual component of the lesson includes realistic photos of a variety of leaves as well as the animation of Arbor, and minimizes distracting additional images. Throughout the lesson, Arbor will speak to students using a calm, accent-less voice will provide additional information to the text provided on the screen. This allows students to use both their visual and auditory learning channels. All labels and questions will be placed near the graphics they discuss, which enables readers to see the question and the graphic without having to track back and forth across a screen and struggle to remember where they were looking. For practice questions, students are given the same questions that were asked in the worked examples but applied to a variety of 10-15 different types of leaves. As students answer each question in relationship to one leaf, they are guided with directed feedback that will ask them to pick more colors if they only pick one color for a multicolored leaf or directed to a help video of how to make metric measurements if they are not within a certain measurement range that was selected by the teacher. This feedback is designed to immediately respond to student errors and guide them to the correct answer. Learners have minimal control, as they cannot advance until the practice questions are answered correctly, and there is little point in going backwards once they have correctly answered a question. Additional help and support are available at every question through Arbor. Collaboration occurs once students reach the classification segment of the lesson. Once students have worked through examples and practice questions on classification systems, they will be given a leaf to place in other students' classification systems and can leave comments and feedback on those other systems regarding how challenging the classification systems are and whether they found flaws in the systems. These various e-learning principles are combined in the lesson to promote critical thinking skills by providing support for students as they learn the basics of how to observe and classify leaves, then extend from that basic knowledge to challenge the students to create their own classification system using the leaves they have just observed.
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