Showing posts with label Hands-On Learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hands-On Learning. Show all posts

Thursday 14 June 2018

Understanding History Through Artifacts

Providing an authentic learning context for students is one way to deepen student engagement. A recent Grade 7 History class was a good example of this approach to learning. 
 
By examining artifacts like rebillion boxes, students can gain a deeper understanding of the reasons behind the rebellion.
 
In Grade 7 History, students learn about the Rebellion of 1837. One of our teachers shared the story about a relative of his wife who marched with the rebels and was imprisoned for taking part in the rebellion. While in prison, the prisoners made small boxes from firewood. As a means of telling their story and maintaining their spirits, the prisoners carved messages into the boxes. Many of these boxes were smuggled out of prison and given to family members, and some still exist, like the one referenced by our teacher.
 
Students created their own rebellion boxes out of construction paper

With this story as a context for the lesson, the students worked in small groups to identify patterns within a sampling of messages inscribed in the boxes. Doing so helped the students understand the reasons behind the rebellion, as well as the depth of contempt for the Family Compact.
 
Students looked at examples of rebellion boxes
 
Using construction paper, students worked individually to create their own rebellion box, which served as a creative and hands-on way to express their understanding of the causes of the Rebellion of 1837.

Wednesday 18 April 2018

Developing Unique Solutions to Open-Ended Problems

The ability to develop solutions to open-ended problems is an important skill in a knowledge-based economy. Our Grade 9 Science students had an opportunity to gain practice with this skill through the culminating project in the Electricity unit.
 
Using knowledge developed in the unit, students had to design and build an electrical gadget. This gadget had to include an energy source (battery), conducting wires, and multiple loads (lights, motors, etc.) Students also had to use ammeters and voltmeters to measure their gadget’s current and voltage, and predict how much energy the gadget would use over a 24 hour-period.

 
Very few initial designs produced the desired result. Consequently, students were forced to continually re-think their initial assumptions and try another approach, which is a key element of effective problem solving. This process also enabled students to demonstrate perseverance and engage in meaningful teamwork, another essential element of problem solving.
 
 
Overall, this project enabled students to take risks in thinking and creating, which will be immensely helpful as they move forward with their learning at Greenwood and beyond.

Thursday 1 March 2018

Understanding Urban Sustainability

Our Grade 11 and 12 Green Industries program offers students a great opportunity to think critically about issues related to sustainability in urban environments. Recently, students in the Grade 11 class worked in small teams to plan and build sustainable farms.



This activity built on prior learning in which students looked at the components of soil. As part of this study, students learned how to use food scraps, newspaper and worms to maintain vermicomposters. This device produces “black gold,” a nutrient-dense soil additive.




Students then worked to design and build their sustainable farms; these farms include important real-life elements as seeds, aeration, and irrigation, as well as the aforementioned “black gold” soil additive. Having to develop a marketing plan for the promotion of their farm prototype adds another authentic learning dimension to the activity.



Students in this program have many opportunities for the kind of hands-on learning described in this entry. Besides engaging them fully, this approach also helps students learn to be adaptive problem solvers.

Wednesday 15 November 2017

Doing and Understanding

The latter part of the old saying, I hear and I forget, I see and I know, I do and I understand, is an important component of progressive education, as there is a strong link between hands-on learning and deep learning. 

This principle was evident in a recent Grade 9 Geography class on the rock cycle. In this lesson, students completed activities to develop an understanding of:
  • the classification of rocks by type;
  • how rocks are formed.


To fully grasp the role of heat and pressure in rock formation, the students took bits of shaved wax crayons and forced them together using small presses. This action produce a form which the students identified as sedimentary rock. They then used foil and small heaters to discover how sedimentary rock transforms into metamorphic rock. 



Based on the exit cards collected by teachers, students were able to demonstrate a "solid" understanding of rock formation.



Tuesday 7 November 2017

Thinking Critically About Confederation

As part of the Grade 8 History curriculum, students study the evolution of Canada's Confederation. Our students engaged in this topic by adopting the perspective of one of the colonies involved in the Confederation debate and used this perspective to think critically about the pros and cons of this important decision. 

Working with their teammates, students used a variety of historical sources and class activities to examine the key issues relevant to their colony. The Confederation conferences were simulated using a fishbowl discussion, as it created an authentic environment for students to communicate and understand the competing points of view. Each fishbowl discussion contained one participant from each colony, which resulted in lively debate. Students outside the fishbowl offered feedback to the discussion participants.


In a debrief, students indicated they like the format of the presentation as they were able to really demonstrate their understanding of the topic and many even said they wished they had more time to discuss and debate! 

Friday 3 November 2017

The Power of Collaboration

Having students work in small groups not only helps them develop important team-building skills, but it also enables students to share and construct knowledge. Adding a novel, hands-on component to the task deepens engagement and makes learning fun.

Students studying Grade 11 Biology had the opportunity to work in this way during a class on genetics. The class was introduced to the concept of inheritance patterns by having them build fictional animals named "Reebops". 



Students learned how information is passed from one generation to another, and how genes code for physical traits. They also explored how meiosis creates variation between individuals, which is why parents, and offspring have similar traits, but are not identical. 

As you can see, our students were pleased with their creations!



Thursday 25 May 2017

To Market, To Market


What better way to put your marketing skills to the test than by designing and pitching your own product? This week, we've got a guest post from marketing student Conor Alexander ('18) exploring what students learned from this experience.

As the academic year comes to a close and culminating activities are fast approaching, Greenwood’s Grade 11 marketing class is completing one final project of the year - the biggest one yet!

Students in this course were tasked with developing, marketing and pitching an original board game to a group of ‘stakeholders’; no simple feat to be completed in only 3 weeks! Recalling and applying skills acquired over the course of the school year, business teams of four selected a target market, performed primary consumer research, developed a business plan and, during the week of May 22, will pitch their product in a simulated “Dragons’ Den” to a mock-game-company CEO.

Students in this course were tasked with developing, marketing and pitching an original
board game to a group of "stakeholders."

"This project made me consider the challenges associated with taking a product from the conception phase to actually putting it on the market,” says Grade 11 student Jade. “I would have never believed just how difficult it would actually be to come up with a unique product idea, let alone develop an entire marketing plan and create a prototype from scratch. I’m really proud of my team; I think we have a great product and I’m confident we’ll do well during the Dragons’ Den on Thursday.”

From games about stocks and investments to those about lost museum artifacts, the student-created products instilled real-world commerce skills in Greenwood’s future business leaders. And hey, you may even see the products hitting game store shelves sometime soon.

Thursday 27 April 2017

A Mission to Mars: Gamifying the Science Classroom

Teams have to complete a number of theoretical and hands-on tasks to win colonists
in this gamified approach to learning about structures.

It’s the year 2040, and you’re part of an intrepid group of colonists bound for Mars’ Jezero Crater to establish a landing site for future colonists. But there’s a problem: the damage to your Cryo sleep has affected your memory, and you’ve forgotten everything you know about structures

If you’re going to build the foundation for a new civilization, you need to re-learn the fundamentals - and fast.

In the Senior Science Lab on the third floor, Grade 7 students have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into this narrative. Working in teams, they have only one focus: to build the colony that can support the greatest number of colonists.

To do that, they’ll need to complete a number of theoretical and hands-on tasks that will teach them all about structures along the way. Science teachers Michael Schmidt and Samantha Moser have developed the “game” such that students can earn colonists by completing activities linked to their learning:

  • Each Theory Lesson earns one food/water token 
  • Each “Check For Understanding” earns 1 building token (these checks allow teachers to assess student learning in real time and redirect if necessary)
  • Building Activities earn one or two colonists, depending on difficulty

Teams need to have one food/water token for each colonist they support. The team with the most colonists at the end of the game wins!


A team conducts a "check for understanding" with Mr. Schmidt. These checks allow
teachers to assess student learning in real time and redirect if necessary.


How does the science lab support this activity?


The space is made up of a large classroom and an attached state-of-the-art lab. Students have plenty of room to rearrange the furniture for their group theory work and to consult with teachers, and the lab provides a quiet venue for conducting experiments. 

Today, one team is in the lab investigating forces such as torque and tension using sponges. Another is meeting with Ms. Moser at the back of the room, completing a check for understanding. A third team is trying out different bridge designs, determining which will support the largest load, while several other groups complete theory lessons at their desks. Though there’s lots of activity in the room, each group is able to complete their work without disruption from others.

It’s clear that students are enthusiastic about this “gamified” approach to structures - and that they like being in the larger space. “I love working on group activities in the big lab,” one student says. “It’s a really fun way to learn a lot of science.”

Another student loves the hands-on nature of the activity. “I like that we get to do lots of different activities, but that we first learn everything we need to back up those activities,” he says. “I can see how what we’re learning would be important for jobs like engineering.”