Week 4

Week 4

1. Which parts did you find clear, and which were confusing?

The parts that I find clear are the importance of photosynthesis and how it is the start of the food chain. Without it, we wouldn't be able to live. I also understand why plants go through cellular respiration all the time. This makes sense because they use the oxygen and glucose they produce to generate energy, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. While humans and animals need oxygen to survive, plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, keeping the cycle going. What is still confusing is the germination process. So if a seed isn't a living thing, when is the exact moment that it is alive? When it starts going through photosynthesis. It makes sense how a seed isn't the living thing but produces it, but for some reason, the whole process is just confusing. 

1. How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future?

This week, I learned that it is important to create tests that assess students' knowledge while also allowing them to succeed. In this week's exam, I felt challenged, but not in a way that made me fear failing. As a future teacher, I want to apply that it is important to include different types of questions in a test, such as short answer, multiple choice, and matching. I also liked the bonus questions because they give confident students a chance to earn extra points without penalizing those who choose not to answer.

1. What are new or remaining questions? 

When creating an exam, how do you know what questions to ask? Or what do you pull from? Assignments, Lecture notes, class discussions?

Online Lab: Reflection Questions and Link to full assignment.

 

Reflection questions: 

a.     What happens during the engage phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the engage phase?

 

The teacher asked about the student’s prior knowledge of ants, anthills, and honeybees in a hive, as well as other prompting questions to encourage students to think before learning new information. This relates to the function of the engage phase because the teacher is accessing the learners’ prior knowledge to help them become more engaged in future learning and to encourage curiosity.

 

b.     What happens during the explore phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the explore phase?

 

During the explore phase, students read and took notes on articles about the different castes of social insects. They collected new ideas through lists and graphic organizers to help them structure their new knowledge. This relates to the function of the explore phase because students actively process new information and make connections to their prior knowledge.

 

c.     What happens during the explain phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the explain phase?

 

Students shared the information they had learned from their reading and then worked together to create a compare-and-contrast analysis of the two different social insects. They also created a summarized graphic organizer after learning about the insect they had not previously studied. This relates to the explain phase because students demonstrate their understanding of concepts, processing, and skills with each other. However, one missing element is that the teacher did not provide an explanation to guide further understanding.

 

d.     What happens during the elaborate phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the elaborate phase?

During the elaborate phase, students created a presentation about the social structures of the insect colonies they studied. They were able to choose how they wanted to present their findings and collaborated with other students to prepare the presentation, which they would then share with the class. This activity relates to the function of the elaborate phase because it encourages students to develop a deeper understanding by presenting their information in different ways. However, once again, there was no challenge from the teacher to extend students’ conceptual understanding beyond what they had already learned from the readings.

e.     What happens during the evaluate phase of this lesson? How do these activities relate to the function of the evaluate phase?

During the evaluation phase, students performed their presentations for the class, and parents could attend if they chose to. The teacher recorded the presentations to review later. This relates to the function of the evaluate phase because the teacher used the presentations to assess students’ progress toward the learning goals set at the beginning of the lesson.

 

f.      Is the lesson “How do the social interactions and group behavior of ants and honey help to maintain their colonies?” a good example of a 5E lesson? Why or why not?

I think that, yes, it is a good example of a 5E lesson. It includes the main parts of the 5E model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate). However, I do think that in some phases, like Explain and Elaborate, more needed to be done by the teacher. Also, Explore was a little dull, with it just being an article read and not like an experiment or other ways to explore. Despite this, what was included still serves as a good example of how to incorporate the 5E model into a lesson. I also think that the evaluation phase was a strong example of how to assess student learning in different ways, not just through worksheets, assessments, or quizzes, but in collaborative and creative ways. As an example, it is just supposed to show you how you could include it in your teaching. I think this did a good job of showing you a foundation of 5E lessons. 

 

Week 4 Modeling Activity