Showing posts with label Inquiry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inquiry. 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 14 February 2018

Thinking Critically About the News

Using topical issues to help students learn to think critically is another way we prepare our students for the future.



A good example of this approach was used recently in our Grade 10 English class. Students examined online articles about racism and homelessness and worked in small groups to build the skills needed to determine which stories were real and which were “fake.” Students then assessed their learning by viewing a TedX Talk by Morgan Campbell called “Race, Sports, and Telling True Stories.” Since this class is co-taught, students had ample opportunity for individual clarification from teachers.



Being able to read and think critically is a vital skill if students hope to participate meaningfully in civic life and navigate successfully the growing body of online content that is presented as truth.

Thursday 19 May 2016

The Biology Learning Cycle & Blended Learning Tools Create Student-Centred Learning Experiences

The Biology team continued to apply consistent learning cycles and blended learning throughout the final two units: Physiology, and Evolution.

In Evolution, the learning cycle has provided strong opportunities to reinforce the patterns that lead to natural selection. Our starters, called “Questions of the Day”, are focused on reviewing content from the previous lesson to help reinforce students’ understanding of evolution. This particular strategy was also used to help students prepare for their final exams.

The Learning Cycle: Making Dry Content Engaging


A particularly challenging lesson for many students in previous years was understanding the value of evidence for evolution. It is a lesson that contains a lot of content, and can be quite dry at times. This year, the Biology team utilized the learning cycle model to reinforce the content in an engaging way. 

The learning cycle has put learning into the hands of students. They use inquiry and act like scientists to develop concepts.

The students entered the classroom and their “Question of the Day” prompt was to put a series of unknown fossil images in order, as a team of 2-3. There were no other instructions provided and students needed to get their work checked after each attempt, until discovering that ancestral whales evolved from terrestrial ancestors.

Students then deepened their exploration of whale evolution by determining which type of ungulate a whale was most closely related to. They analyzed more fossil evidence, by comparing the ankle bones of different species, and then compared different sections of DNA to create a phylogenetic tree. Students that were unable to participate in the in-class activity completed an online simulation that echoed the activities done in class. Our students were able to act as detectives and come to the same conclusions as evolutionary biologists, using DNA analysis, fossil records, and physical characteristics.

Then, we debriefed and explained the content so students could check their understanding of material, and watched a short video describing the evolutionary history of a whale. Finally, students completed an exit card to check their learning before next class.

Looking forward, after successfully using this learning cycle template for the Grade 11U Biology course, we are excited to use a similar lens on the Grade 12 Biology course to expand our resources for delivering a very content-heavy curriculum using a student-centred approach.

Vanessa Floras & Nancy Clarke
Science Teachers