I am a big believer in making a model of systems.  I beleive that making models helps a student see the system and how it works much better than if you try and learn it from a book.  In my inquiry experience I had students create a model of a continental margin our of clay or by drawing it.  The margin that they created could have been one of two types (either active or passive) based on the location in the world that I gave them.  This type of activity stimulates the students thinking and makes them apply knowledge of the system while making their model, demonstrating higher forms of thinking.  I think my model project went fairly well and I think the assessment data suggests that for the most part my students learned the objectives.  I have attached a few pictures of the stduents' work for your review.

I like the idea of using natural disaters to help educate students about how they occur as well as how to become better citizens.  Here in West Palm Beach, Florida we tend to talk alot about hurricanes and flooding, the two major natural disasters that we have here.  There was a hurricane here in 1925 that caused Lake Okeechobee to overflow.  When this happened it wiped out several communities. and killed thousands of people.  The reason that this hurricane is so important to talk about is not the loss of life and destruction but the reaction of the government and people who were in charge.  They decided that the deceased minority people should be shipped here to West Palm Beach and buried in a mass grave (no coffins, etc...).  Family members of the deceased were not allowed to look for their loved ones or bury them themselves.  Deceased white people were given back to their families for burial.
The grave site is still here in West Palm Beach.  It has been built over and the bodies dug up a few times and moved around.  A few years ago the community asked to make the site a park and recreate an area for the dead to rest.  It is amazing that the disaster happened less than 100 years ago.  I like to take my Marine Science class to this park when we talk about how the ocean can affect weather.  I remind them that although we appear to be integrated these days the school district of Palm Beach County was not desegregated until 1970.  We have a long way to go when it comes to inequalities and they often become apparent when we have a disaster.  Reminding them of this and educating them on racial issues is important in preparing them to be better citizens.

Backward Design Lesson Implementation

Last week I taught a group of four "student" volunteers.  I had three ex-students and my son (an interesting combination when trying to get something done over the summer).  In my lesson I asked the students to describe the ecosystem (abiotic and biotic factors) in a part of the intercoastal waterway (the turning basin in the Port of Palm Beach).  This was a lesson based on the principle of guided inquiry, where I gave them materials but they had to plan the lab, accomplish it, and analyze the results.  Given this is during the summer, I had to forego the testing and multimedia presentation that I had planned on giving in this lesson, as it was the lesson took about 4 hours to accomplish.  Students decided to use nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrogen, potassium, temperature, salinity, secci depth, a bottom dart, and forel ule for the aboitic factors and water column description.  They used a Niskin bottle for collection.  They also accomplished a video survey at different depths for the critters and a plankton trawl for the net plankton.  They forgot the fact that many autotrophs in the ocean are too small for the plankton net and had a hard time finding the right amount of primary producers (and detritus as DOM) for the consumers present.  After I reminded them about this their data lined up pretty good.  I think I need to cover this a little better in the form of a mini-laboratory when I get to lessons on the littoral and estuary zones to help them out with this point in the future.  Overall I think the students had a good time and seemed to hit my goals: planning a experiment, accomplishing it with scientifically acceptable procedures, and communication of the results.  While doing this they were able to describe a sub littoral community in the Lake Worth Lagoon.

Project Peer Review

Hello all, I am writing for a little help with a review of my project on the West Indian Manatee (my selected endangered species for the project).  I used Prezi with Microsoft PowerPoint, MovieMaker, Paint, and Sound Recorder to complete the assignment.  It is available at http://prezi.com/n-etwly_ttxo/manatee-project/.  It is a large file and has some trouble on line (at least with my old computer), I download it to the .zip file to run it off line where it runs a little better (the sound lines up better with the presentation, and the presentation does not look "jerky").  Can you guys take some time and evaluate this for me and let me know what I need to change?  Thank you for the time and I will repay the favor.

I put my question on Ask a Scientist but have not yet heard back.  I will keep you guys posted on the results.  The question was "Why does a cell have a theoretical maximum life span upon which it must die?"

New Course Project SCIE6662S-2

For my most recent project given to me by Walden University I decided to look over the project in terms of the technology that I would need to produce a multimedia presentation.  I think in order to do this I need to be able to merge into one presentation video, music, pictures, slides, words, and voice.  With this as a starting point I looked at Microsoft Movie Maker first to see if all of these things would be easily done there.  Although it is relatively easy to add film, voice, and pictures to Movie Maker it is a little more difficult to add a finished slide show with voice. 

I decided that it would be better to have presentation software that allows me to keep all of the formats inside it and play what I want in the order of my story board.  The program that I am leaning toward is Prezi (www.prezi.com), a non-linear presentation software program that allows me to develop all of the parts, group them, and play them in my selected order with appropriate transitions.  Keeping this software as my base I would then need to use a slideshow format, pictures, video, voice, and music.  I will be using PowerPoint for the slideshow and MovieMaker for the video.  I will be using .bmp formats for my pictures so it will be able to be incorporated into all of these programs as well as .wav files for the sound and music.  I can make my voice recordings through Sound Recorder.

I selected all of my program types for ease of use and compatibility with each other.  They all seem to work relatively seamlessly with each other.  This is important since I remember trying to use a PowerPoint in my blog page a few classes back and found that it was not supported by blogspot (www.blogspot.com) so I needed to convert it using Slideshare (www.slideshare.net).  This complicated what should have been an easy thing to do and took time learning a new program just to achieve somewhat unsatisfactory results (one of my blog group members could not view the slideshow).  Microsoft programs come with a good degree of support and most people have these programs preinstalled on their computers.  This allows a person to use help, have it on multiple computers, and you do not have to rely on an internet connection until you are building the parts as a storyboard to share.  This is important here in Florida since there are often power outages in the summer time and maybe a hurricane or two.  It should keep my frustration level down a little.

Periodic Table Resources

     This week we were talking about chemistry so I decided that it would be nice to do a little research on items that are available on the internet to describe trends on the periodic table.  The first one that I found was the Periodic Table Song (www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFIvXVMbII0).  There are a few other ones that have Spongebob singing them or other more exciting characters.  Another good resource is to use the comic book periodic table (www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/) where references to the periodic table are made by comic book heros.  Trends on the periodic table can easily found with a little searching, one good one is chemistry.about.com/od/periodictableelements/a/periodictrends.htm.  Teachers have made a nice little presentation of different properties of elements on the periodic table at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T9IAOeb0qo.  A good overall website can be found at http://www.chemicool.com/ where a lot of questions can be answered about almost any topic having to do with elements.  
     Using the internet to find solutions to questions and problems allows a student time to look for the answers themselves which can help with their overall understanding and make the learning experience more hands on.  It can also teach them valuable research tools and computer skills.  These will all aid in developing their 21st century technology skills. 
    An example of a lesson using the www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/ website might be to give students time to look over the periodic table and answer a worksheet on atomic number, atomic mass, electron configuration, and symbols.  After this they would be given a "fake" element that has not yet been discovered that they would have to make up their own comic for using a comic generator like Make Beliefs Comix (http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/) selecting the appropriate atomic number, mass, electron configuration, and inventing their own name and symbol for the element.  This should demonstrate if students have grasped the concept of atomic structure, organization on the periodic table, and their tie in to atomic number and mass.  Since we could run this as an authentic task where we are role playing the finding of a new element it should be able to spark students' interests.  The major issue with this type of assignment is just trying to find the time and computers for the entire class.  This can be overcome in my school by scheduling the time in the computer lab at least two weeks before we need to use the lab.

Insulative Properties Experiment

Insulation of Covers and Heat Loss

This week I worked on an experiment involving boiling water, a set of identical ceramic cups, and different materials to use as a lid.  The idea of the experiment was to predict what type of cover would better insulate the liquid in the cup, using temperature measurement as a result.  The assumption would be that the better insulator we had the better heat would be retained in the liquid.  Heat transfer can happen in one of three ways, conduction, convection, and radiation (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008).  I believe that the major way that cooling will occur in this test will be through conduction.  This is where energy is transferred from molecule to molecule (Tillery et al., 2008).  I believe that the ceramic cup will block most of the heat radiation as well as the effects of convection that will occur in the test. 

One of my hypotheses is that most of the heat will be lost to the atmosphere through the top of the cup where the conduction of the heat will flow from water, to the air in the cup, to the lid, to the atmosphere.  Given this as a starting point for the experiment, I will then postulate that if heat is going to transfer through conduction.  The better insulator the lid is, the slower the energy will dissipate to the atmosphere.  I selected a few different types of materials for this; a book, plastic bag, ceramic plate, and aluminum foil.  With this I added a control with no cover.  Looking at my hypothesis I will predict that after one hour the water will be hottest in the cup with the ceramic, then the book, the plastic, the aluminum, and finally the control.  I believe that this will be the case because of the mass of the objects in the book and ceramic.  Mass is an integral part of the calculation of specific heat (Tillery et al., 2008) and the higher the mass the more resistant it is to temperature change.  The aluminum is a little different case, I know that the other materials I chose are of mostly organic origin and do not contain a conduction band.  The aluminum (being a metal) has a conduction band so it follows that it is a poor insulator while the plastic should be better.

In the appendix I have recorded my results.  The results of each of the materials were very similar, with there only being one degree separation between the different lid types.  I was a little surprised by my results so I ran the test again and achieved similar results.  It is interesting that these results go against what I saw as something that I knew the results of before I ran the test.  I am reminded that this is what students must feel like every time we have them make a prediction on an experiment before they really know what is going to happen, it can be a little embarrassing to be wrong.  This strengthens my belief that it is essential for teachers to establish an environment that is safe and comfortable to students (Laureate Education, 2010).  I believe that the test could be better improved by further insulating the ceramic cups to eliminate heat loss through the sides.  It would also be a better test of insulative properties if we were able to have cups constructed of the same material as the lids. 

I can explain my results in several ways, the first being that the cups that I used were not completely filled with water and there was a large air gap between the cup lid and the water surface.  This would override the insulative properties of the lid since air is a great insulator.  This is demonstrated with the aluminum cover where it is well established that aluminum is not a great insulator but did well in this test as a cover.  I believe that this test will show that any cover would perform similarly.  Before I assigned this as a laboratory in my classroom I would need to perform this test a few more times to ensure that I understand why I achieved the results I did.  I would also modify the test to achieve more differentiation between the insulators.  An example of this would be to change the material the cup is made of to be the same as the cover.  

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Virtual Field Experience™: Managing the Differentiated Classroom [Video webcast]. In Teacher as professional. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Tillery, B. W., Enger, E. D., & Ross, F. C. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Marbles and Surfaces: Guided Inquiry

In considering motion of objects, the force of friction is often overlooked and underappreciated.  In learning about Newton’s three laws of motion the force of friction is not immediately apparent.  The first law states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion while an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless an outside force acts on it (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2008).  One of the major forces that apply to stop inertia is friction. The other force is air resistance, although this is in general less than that of the force of friction.  I have often noticed that students coming into my classroom have a good understanding of the basic laws of motion but have trouble with prediction of what will happen based on what they know and have trouble explaining their results.  In this article I will be discussing the completion of a guided inquiry lesson that I was given to complete on how different surfaces affect the momentum of marbles.  I will then discuss issues that occurred during the testing and how I could implement this type of guided inquiry in my classroom.

I looked at this assignment as an opportunity to develop a lesson for my students.  In reviewing the question I thought back to a few pieces of information that I have been given.  In Forces and Motion (Laureate Education, 2010), Osborne was accomplishing a structured inquiry lesson on how far different cars travel.  In this lesson she made a big deal about the wheels and axel types that these cars had and correlated this to the distance that a car can travel.  In this lesson Osborne was trying to establish a correlation between distance traveled and the forces of friction.  This lesson seemed to be successful but the objectives of the class also contained discussions of mass, speed, and inertia and did not cover the applied mathematics of the motion.  Since I teach students that are a little older than Osborne I feel that my students would benefit from a guided inquiry lesson that requires them to use a little more of the math and design their own test.  This will mean that I will only cover the concept of friction in my lesson.  I then reviewed the concept in Tillery, Enger, & Ross (2008) for the application of Newton’s laws that I would be covering.

Next, I formulated a hypothesis that if friction is involved in stopping a marbles momentum, then the more friction that is applied the marble will stop faster.  In this case, more friction would be applied in softer surfaces that allow more of the ball’s surface area to come in contact.  This hypothesis can be supported by a forum (Cognaq, 2008) where a posting says that if friction were not in play then the ball would not roll, but slide down the decline of the hard surface ramp.  This was an interesting thought and one that I had not considered in a very long time.  I liked that I was given time in this experiment to do some independent research on the topic, without this I would not have thought about this intricate point on the evidence of friction besides the ultimate slowing down of the ball.  I probably need to allow my students time to research topics a little more, I can often rush them and they might overlook some of these more detailed discoveries.

The next step was to plan the test.  I decided to use three different surfaces for the test; tile, newspaper, and a towel.  I also used a standard sized marble and a fixed ramp to ensure that the only change in distance traveled by the marble had to do with the surface that it traveled on.  The ramp that I used consisted of two books as the height and a hard bound book as the slope.  I used three replications of the test with each surface types used and obtained a result of 80.5 cm for the newspaper, 125 cm for the tile, and 73.5 cm for the blanket.  When I tested the newspaper I noticed that the folds in the newspaper provided extra resistance that was not really friction.  I believe that if I were to do this test in my class I would modify the materials that I would supply my students to include the option of cardboard since it is flat.  I still think that the use of newspaper would be beneficial since it would teach the students to be more critical of their results.  In the experiment I obtained the results that I was expecting, the harder surfaces allowed the marble to travel farther.

I believe that guided inquiry lessons are extremely beneficial to use in a classroom since students will take more accountability for their laboratory than if they were instructed what to do.  This makes the activity a little higher order thinking (Banchi & Bell, 2008).  This will benefit my students by making them think about the topic a little deeper, have them design a laboratory, and be a little more critical of their procedure and results.  I think the challenge of this type of activity really comes down to students’ acceptance of accountability in their education and willingness to think a little more.  In order to achieve my goals and help students learn the benefit in this I will have to monitor my student groups carefully, place my students in groups according to their skills and abilities (differentiate), and allow them time to think about what to do and to analyze their results.

I thought that this exercise was effective in teaching me the benefits of a guided inquiry lesson, especially in ensuring that I had time to research the topic a little more before planning the experiment.  This is one major lesson that I know now that I have get better at.  There are a few challenges in implementing this type of lesson, most having to do with student motivation.  With good classroom management techniques as well as student knowledge of the benefits of this type of lesson I believe that the challenges can be overcome and I can enable the students to take greater accountability for their education and they can increase their learning in a more meaningful way.

References

Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science & Children, 46(2), 26–29.

Cognaq (2008, October 11). Rotation caused by friction on a sphere. [Discussion group comment]. Retrieved from http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=263405

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Forces and motion. In Exploring the Physical World. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Tillery, B. W., Enger, E. D., & Ross, F. C. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

This week's lesson and my reflection on the results.

Over the last few weeks I have developed, planned, and implemented a structural inquiry lesson plan for my AP Environmental Science class at Riviera Beach Maritime Academy.  Inquiry lessons in science are a method recommended by the National Science Education Standards (Buxton, & Provenzo, 2011) and is a common professional development standard.  This type of lesson starts with a question that will ignite the curiosity of students, engage them with an open ended idea, and then have the students answer the question (Laureate Education, 2010a).  During my lesson I was focusing on the process of photosynthesis and the idea that mass gain in plants come primarily from carbon fixation in the air.  This lesson started off with the basic question “Where does mass gain in plants come from?”  In this paper I will be reflecting on the results of my lesson, what went right and what could be dome better, and my opinion of the success of my lesson on students learning the concepts I was attempting to teach.

Students are often taught the process of photosynthesis but they seem to have a hard time correlating that with the fact that plants grow because of the energy produced by sugars from photosynthesis.  This also leads into discussions of whether plants respire, energy flow, entropy, food chains, and ecosystems.  It is an important concept in biology that plants start the food chain and this happens through photosynthesis.  I was amazed by the answers I received when I initially asked the leading question.  Most of the answers had to do in some way with the soil.  When I posed questions about aquatic plants there was a similar answer, water.  I really thought that this lesson went well in teaching the students the answer to this question.  Based on the presentations, laboratory papers, and the resulting research and discussions I believe that my students now understand this concept.

I did think that the laboratory was a little simple for the students in the class.  In the future I will try to use guided inquiry lessons with the students developing the laboratory procedures as a class (so they can use results from different groups to compare).  Structured inquiry offers a little more thought by the students and will get them a little more involved earlier on in the process (Banchi, & Bell, 2008). 

Another improvement that I need to make is teaching my students to be more descriptive in their writing.  This applies in particular to their procedures where detail needs to be such that anyone reading the procedure report can accomplish the procedure themselves (Environmental Protection Agency, 2007).  The other issue that dealt with format is that the references used were not in APA format.  Although I was specific in requesting this format (both verbally and in the rubric) I did not give the students a reference of where to get this information, thinking that they would research it themselves.  All student groups failed to do this right.  In the future I need to provide them with proper training and resources to do this correctly.

The KWL chart used in the lesson was helpful in determining holes in the students knowledge and testing for misconceptions.  I did think that the results from what the students would like to learn did not teach me anything and tended to have the students guessing what I wanted to read.  In the future I will eliminate this section which will provide me with more space for the students to write down what they have learned (in particular). 

One of the major improvements that I need to accomplish is the use of a handout that has questions on it relating to the topics that I want the students to cover before they start the laboratory.  I believe that although the students can now answer the desired big idea questions I missed an opportunity to teach the students some finer details about energy flow through an ecosystem, in particular about the first and second law of thermodynamics and their tie into photosynthesis.  A handout will slow them down just enough to allow them time to absorb all of the new information that has been given to them and allow them to write down the answers.  Since note taking and summarizing is one of the best strategies for student improvement (Laureate Education, 2010b) this should be sufficient to allow the students to pick up the ideas.  I should see the results of better knowledge in the laboratory paper as well as in the presentation.

It is important for a teacher to evaluate their performance and their lesson to guide improvement in their teaching (Laureate Education, 2010c).  I believe that although I was happy with the results of my lesson and the students learned several new things and can now see the connection between mass gain and photosynthesis, there are several areas that I can improve on in teaching this concept in the future. I have attached some work accomplished by my students on this. 

http://www.slideshare.net/DSellepack/mass-gain-lab

http://www.slideshare.net/DSellepack/plant-primary-productivity-laboratory

References

Buxton, C. A., & Provenzo, E. F., Jr. (2011). Teaching science in elementary & middle school: A cognitive and cultural approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science and Children, 46(2), 26–29.

Environmental Protection Agency. (2007). Guidance for preparing standard operating procedures.  Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/quality/qs-docs/g6-final.pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010a). Interview with an expert: the nature of science. In The Nature of Science. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010b). Education today. In Designing Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010c). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. In Teacher as Professional. Retrieved from http://www.courseurl.com

Question 9: Polar Ice Caps Melting

In the experiment on the polar ice caps melting I found that when my ice cubes melted, there was a little overflowing of the cup (but not a lot).  After thinking about it a little I believe that this is due to the density of the ice versus that of the water. Since ice is less dense than water it floats, this means it has less mass/unit of volume.  When ice melts it takes up a little less room than it did before the phase change.  This can be demonstrated by putting a soda into the freezer and letting it freeze.  The results are: the can deforms, explodes, and I get to clean the freezer (or as clean as my wife makes me)! 

We can think of the question of sea level rising due to global warming as a example of this.  There will be a little sea level rise from the glaciers that are already in the water.  It is important to note though that the effect of global warming is not just melting ice in the form of glaciers but also ice that is on the continents.  Because of this, the experiment can be considered to be understating the effect of melting the polar ice caps. 

This experiment paves the way for a whole bunch of questions that will have to be "cleaned up" before the end of the segment.  Students should know what causes global warming, what scientists think the effect will be, what levels they are predicted to raise to, and what other effects will global warming have on the environment.  Tied to these concepts is the question "What can we do about this and how do we stop it?"  It is easy to get the students involved in the topic of global warming, the issue is trying to imact them enough to help do something about it.

Week 2: STEM Strategies Lesson Plan Comments

This week I constructed a science lesson plan for a Marine Science One, honors class that I teach at Riviera Beach Maritime Academy.  I am a little concerned over the amount of time that it took to use the lesson plan format given to us by Walden.  I am not sure it is very practical to use this on a daily basis.  I think it goes into the category of something that I would need to implement over the summer for a class.  Several of the techniques that I have learned at Walden seem to fall in this category (like unpacking standards from two classes ago).  I really did like the 5Es model in planning, this seems to help layout the class a little better than my current format (a general heading that says "Heading Overview").

The lesson I designed is on the energy flow through the epipelagic system.  This invariably will end up in talking and experimenting a lot with plankton.  It is often difficult for students to see the life in this area of the ocean (besides the big fish) even though it produces 1/2 of the earth's primary productivity (sugars).  This is because the system's autotrophs are small (it is not like taking a walk in a field and asking where the primary producers are).  I think the only way for students to understand and learn this concept is by the use of inquiry in a unique task.  The attached lesson plan has the students researching, planning, conducting, and reporting the energy flow through the system and the biodiversity (evenness, richness, and dominance).  We will then have the groups prepare a multimedia presentation.  After the presentations they will compare their results to each other as well as to marine biologists from our county who have accomplished a similar study.

Lesson Plan:

Instructional Plan Template

Candidate’s Name: David Sellepack                                 Setting/Grade Level: 9-12

Subject(s): Marine Science 1                                            School: Riviera Beach Maritime Academy      

Date: 1/14/2012                                                                 Theme/Title: Plankton in the Epipelagic

Composition of Class:          Male_14__   Female_12__   ELL_0__   IEP_4__ 

1.      PLANNING
Learning Outcomes/Goals What will students learn?	Students will learn about trophic levels in the epipelagic, predation, energy flow (food webs and food chains), and biodiversity (evenness, richness, and dominance).  They will also learn that the base of the food chain in the epipelagic is diatoms and dinoflagellates and their importance in this system and the other systems in the ocean.
Unifying/Common Theme(s)	Which apply: _X__ Scientific Inquiry _X__ Nature of Science _X__ Systems and Energy _X__ Models and Scale ___ Patterns of Change _X__ Form and Function (See course resources.)
Historical Perspectives	Which apply: ___  Displacing the Earth from the Center of the Universe ___  Uniting the Heavens and Earth _X__  Relating Matter & Energy and Time & Space ___  Extending Time ___  Moving the Continents ___  Understanding Fire ___  Splitting the Atom _X__  Explaining the Diversity of Life ___  Discovering Germs ___  Harnessing Power
Learning Objectives What will students do? Use data when possible and ensure objectives are measurable.	1. Students will plan and accomplish an experiment that describes the  plankton populations in the Lake Worth Lagoon off the Palm Beach Inlet. 2. Students will communicate their results in the form of a scientific paper and media presentation to their peers.
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Which level(s) of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy is targeted?	Remembering  Understanding  Applying  Analyzing  Evaluating   Creating
Standards Addressed	Which national content standards does this lesson address? NSES (National Science Education Standards) A.1., Abilities necessary to do science inquiry. B.3., Transfer of energy. C.1., Structure and function in living systems. C.4., Populations and ecosystems. C.5., Diversity and adaptations in organisms. F.2., Populations, resources, and environments. G.1. Science as a human endeavor. NSTA (National Science Teachers Association Standards) Science as inquiry.  Interdependence of organisms. Matter, energy, and organization in living systems. Energy in the earth system. Science as a human endeavor NBPTS (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) Fostering Science Inquiry. Assessing for Results. Other (e.g., Project 2061)
	Which state content standards does this lesson address? LA.910.2.2.3: The student will organize information to show understanding or relationships among facts, ideas, and events (e.g., representing key points within text through charting, mapping, paraphrasing, summarizing, comparing, contrasting, or outlining). MA.912.S.1.2: Determine appropriate and consistent standards of measurement for the data to be collected in a survey or experiment. MA.912.S.3.2: Collect, organize, and analyze data sets, determine the best format for the data and present visual summaries. SC.912.L.17.1: Discuss the characteristics of populations, such as number of individuals, age structure, density, and pattern of distribution. SC.912.L.17.2: Explain the general distribution of life in aquatic systems as a function of chemistry, geography, light, depth, salinity, and temperature. SC.912.L.17.6: Compare and contrast the relationships among organisms, including predation, parasitism, competition, commensalism, and mutualism.
	Other
Lesson Context What real-world contexts are included in the lesson? If not included, please explain why real-world contexts are not appropriate for this lesson.	In this learning experience students will be asked to put themselves in the place of a scientific research group who want to study the epipelagic zone to determine where the system transfers the sun’s energy into sugars, establish a food chain, and determine the biodiversity of the system (evenness, richness, and dominance) in both the zooplankton and phytoplankton.  Students will be required to research and conduct experiments to explain the system and then communicate the results to their peers.
Student Information	Description of Class Including Diverse Populations (cultural, gender, exceptionalities, language, geographical area, special needs issues, etc.) This class is predominantly white, with some black and Hispanic students present (50%, 30%, and 20% respectively).  Most students come from a lower socioeconomic background.  Nationalities present are US, Jamaican, Cuban, Spanish, and Mexican.  There are no ELL students but there are 4 students with an IEP.  They need extra time and benefit from collaborative learning. Prerequisite Knowledge Needed Students will need to know that the base of a system has to start with autotrophs.  They also need to be able to use all of the laboratory equipment and the format for a scientific paper and experiment.  They also need to know the definition of plankton and main categories that exist. Specific Environment Considerations This experiment will be conducted aboard the Trident, a research vessel.  All standards of safety must be maintained as well as contingency plans developed for unsafe weather conditions.
Collaboration Was collaboration with other professionals, families, or community leaders included for this lesson? Describe the collaborative effort. If collaboration was not included, please give a rationale of why it was not needed.	Collaboration with the county’s Environmental Resource Management (ERM) was obtained.  The department helped us standardize our tests to be comparable to scientific research completed at the department.  This will allow the students to compare their results to scientists who have accomplished the same tests.
Connection to Developing Scientifically Literate Citizens	How does this lesson help to develop scientifically literate students? This assignment is designed to excite the student in seeing an environment that is in their backyard and trying to figure out how it works (inquiry).  The results of the lesson will be to present their results to their peers who have also accomplished the same lesson.  This should generate some good discussions while comparing and contrasting results.

2.      METHODOLOGY
Learning Experience/ Activity                                                                                              List the activities, including how you activate background knowledge and bring closure to the lesson. Please make sure you can demonstrate student engagement throughout the lesson.	Introductory/Anticipatory Set Day one: Students will be introduced to the laboratory equipment necessary to complete the task and will prepare a KWL chart on their knowledge of the topic.  They will then be split up into groups and assigned their roles.  Students have already been prepped for this class by a series of discussions and a DVD on the epipelagic zone, creatures in the system, and biotic and aboitic limiting factors of the system. Building/Applying Knowledge and Skills by engaging students in their learning Day one: Students will work on preparing a timeline for completion of the project, planning their experiment, and researching any prior data on the system so they can formulate a hypothesis. Extension/Enrichment/Transfer or Generalization of Knowledge that engages students in their learning Day two and three:  Students will accomplish their laboratory, record, and interpret the data. And prepare their laboratory journal for a formal write up and presentation.  During this period they should be determining the primary base of the food chain and the biodiversity components. Synthesis/Closure Day 4: Students will prepare their laboratory write up and complete their multimedia presentation of their findings.
LEVEL OF INQUIRY	Choose the level of inquiry associated with this plan. Ensure that it is described in the 5 E’s Section of this instructional plan. ___ Confirmation Inquiry: Students confirm a principle through an activity when the results are known in advance. ___ Structured Inquiry: Students investigate a teacher-presented question through a prescribed procedure. _X__ Guided Inquiry: Students investigate a teacher-presented question using student designed/selected procedures. ___ Open Inquiry: Students investigate questions that are student formulated through student designed/selected procedures.
5 E’S MODEL PLANNING GUIDE (Instructional Plan description goes here. Complete all relevant sections.)
Questions	FOCUS FOR INQUIRY Explain the energy flow in the epipelagic system, propose a food chain, and define the plankton in terms of biodiversity. PROMPTS FOR CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING What is the energy flow in the epipelagic system? What is the base of the food chain in the epielagic? How do the rest of the oceans systems rely on the epipelagic functioning properly and why?
1-Engagement	BACKGROUND INFORMATION & CONNECTIONS TO PRIOR EXPERIENCES Students will have some background on the epipelagic system and the creatures there.  They will also know the difference between a heterotroph and autotroph.  Students have been prepped with the assignment and the big idea before the class. PARTICIPATORY SET/INTRODUCTION Students will be presented with the assignment and asked to study the epipelagic zone making sure to find the base of the food chain, energy flow, and biodiversity of the plankton in the system.  They will then be split into groups of five: a captain, deckhand, microscopist (2), and a biologist. MISCONCEPTIONS Will be tested for with a KWL chart completed the first day.  I will also monitor the groups during the planning phase to ensure that students understand the tasks completely.
2-Exploration	Building/Applying Knowledge and Skills by engaging students in their learning Students will need to plan their experiment by researching data that is available on the system and formulating their own ideas.  They will then need to apply their knowledge by carrying out the experiment.
3-Explanation	Transfer of Knowledge that engages students in their Learning Students will use the data from their experiment and prepare a laboratory report and presentation that draws the conclusion on what starts the food chain in the epipelgic, biodiversity, and how the energy flows through the system.
4-Elaboration	Introduction/Participatory Set Students will discuss their results and compare them to results from other groups.  They will then discuss their results as a class to the results accomplished by ERM and other marine biologists.
5-Evaluation	Misconceptions Evidence of learning will be accomplished by a completed KWL Chart, the final scientific paper, and the group presentation.
Instructional Strategies What instructional strategies/methods will you use?	Constructions Nonlinguistic Representations Cooperative Learning Peer Editing Discovery Practice/Drill Discussion/Questioning Practicum Experiment Problem Solving Field Study Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers Graphic Organizers Reflection/Response Generating and Testing Hypothesis Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition Homework and Practice Reporting Identifying Similarities and Differences Role-playing Independent Learning Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback Journal Simulation Laboratory Summarizing and Note Taking Lecture Viewing/Listening/Answering Library Research Other (Please specify):       Why did you choose these instructional strategies/methods? Cooperative learning will be utilized throughout the assignment.  This is used as an aid to the 4 IEP students that are present as well as being able to take advantage of student’s strengths and weaknesses (areas that they need to develop). Discovery, Discussion/Questioning, Generating and Testing hypothesis, Peer editing, Role-playing will be utilized in the preparation of the experiment, research, and at the explanation stage.  All of these strategies are intended to generate more excitement and personal investment in the project. Graphic Organizers will be used in the form of a KWL Chart and the graphs and charts compiled in the research paper.  These are selected to promote student’s knowledge of the expected outcomes, test for misconceptions, and provide examples of student learning. Problem Solving will be used throughout the lesson.  Students will need to answer the selected questions by development of their own testing.  This should develop their involvement.  In addition it is selected to allow students to make mistakes they will have to find solutions for during he assignment.  How will you group students for instruction (individual, small group, large group, or whole class)? Small group instruction grouped according to strengths or areas that need to be develped.
Safety Plan Include safety measures put in place including reference to equipment, environment, procedures, space, etc.	Students will be required to post a deckhand on the vessel to maintain a safe distance with other vessels and ensure all safety rules are followed. Students will all follow the USCG operational procedures for safe operation of a vessel. Students have been trained on all safety procedures and will be briefed again before vessel departure from the dock.

3.      MATERIALS

Materials Used T = FOR TEACHER S = FOR STUDENT

T S Materials used T S Technology utilized Microscope Cassettes/CDs Slides Graphing or Scientific Calculator Taxonomic Keys Slides Plankton net Tape Recorder Gloves VCR/TV/DVD/Laser disc GPS Assistive Technology Computer Cell Phone/Mobile Device Microscope camera Digital/Video Camera RV Trident Concept Mapping Software Bus Social Networking Assignment Virtual World (e.g., Second Life) Timer Interactive Gaming       Interactive White Board (e.g., SMART Board)       Distance Learning/Webcast       Computer Software       Weblog (Blog)       Wiki       Internet Research/Website       Podcast/Vodcast       E-mail       Presentation Software (e.g., PowerPoint)       Virtual Field Trip       Interactive Gaming       Other (Please specify):

4.      ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION

Assessment Options

Application Exam Objective Test Concept Mapping Observation Parent Evaluation Contract Peer Evaluation Checklist Self-Evaluation Performance Inventory Portfolio Quantitative Scale Rating Scales Rubric Scored Discussion Journal Problem-Solving Assessment Other (Please specify):        Why did you choose this assessment(s)? How will the chosen assessment(s) help you determine if your students met the goals/objectives? Concept Mapping:  This assignment was selected to test for misconceptions and describe learning.  I chose this assignment as a quick way to see what students already know, their interesting the project, and whether they have developed any misconceptions thoughout the lesson.  It is also something that I can monitor easily and reinforce with specific questions to certain groups. Rubric: I chose this method to ensure that students were very aware of their learning goals as well as the expected outcome of the lesson.  The scientific paper and presentation also allow students to go into higher learning stages (dive deeper) than normal application exams given to test a wider range of knowledge. How will you use this assessment data to inform your instruction? The concept mapping will allow me to have a pulse on what students know, their misconceptions, and what they need to know to complete their assignment.  Evaluation of the current level will allow me to quickly see any issues arising and plan a way to correct the students if they are loosing focus on the topic.  The rubric allows me to help accomplish this redirection by asking a few simple questions about the required outcomes.

5.      LEARNERS
Differentiation	How will you differentiate curriculum to meet diverse student needs? Differentiation will be accomplished though selection of the groups who will be at different levels.  The outcome (scientific paper) rubric will have different expectations of students based on their current level of understanding.  An example of this would be students in lower performing groups will be required to provide a conclusion that says whether their hypothesis was met while a higher level group will need to prepare a conclusion that not only says whether their hypothesis met their prediction but also whether their results met current research on the area. How will you differentiate instruction to meet diverse student needs? Instruction can be differentiated by the amount of time that I spend with student groups.  More time needs to be spent with the highest and lowest groups, the first to push them to higher learning and the second to assist in learning the concepts.  The middle groups should be able to work with less involvement. How will you differentiate assessment to meet diverse student needs? My assessment will be differentiated by the application of the different levels of rubrics given.  Higher performing groups will have more in depth and higher level analysis than the lower performing groups.
Diversity	How will you address the needs of diverse students (e.g., IEP, 504, readiness level, cultural/linguistic background)? In this class there are 4 students with an IEP.  They all will benefit from group work and the ability for me to provide examples of the different levels of performance when compared to the rubric.  If they need extra time this will be given as well as extra tutoring if necessary.
Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles	What multiple intelligences will you address?   Visual/Spatial    Verbal/Linguistic    Logical/Mathematical     Bodily/Kinesthetic   Musical/Rhythmic    Interpersonal     Intrapersonal      Naturalist      Existential What learning styles will you address?   Sensing-Thinking          Sensing-Feeling            Intuition-Thinking           Intuition-Feeling