Spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel, as noted in the Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, provide students with tools to test their hypotheses through entering data and using various functions such as graphing, to see the results. For first grade, we use the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (http://nlvm.usu.edu/) to make graphs individually or on the Smartboard to test hypotheses. We start with general questions, like what is your favorite special (P.E., Art, etc.) and then move into using the graphs to test hypotheses like "A coin will land on heads and tails about the same number of times".
Other data collection tools help students amass data in an organized way so that they can analyze it sensibly and accurately. As the authors of Using Technology... note, it is important to provide students with examples and guidance in the different ways they can go about proving or disproving a hypothesis. I think it is important to note that students should not be discouraged from pursuing a hypothesis because the teacher knows it will be disproved. Sometimes finding out why something won't work is just as important as why it would work.
Web resources seem to abound for more advanced subjects like DNA and American History. However, for first graders, the best resource I have found is actually a Webkinz toy. A Webkinnz is a stuffed animal that comes with a passcode to the Webkinz website where a computer version of the toy lives. In first grade we learn about wants, needs, and what living things need to survive. Having that silly Webkinz was a great way to teach the children problem solving skills as well. They had to buy food for it so they could choose to play a game (there were several great math and problem solving games), or go searching for a gem in a mine that they could sell. They had to choose to buy it food instead of a fancy toy.
There was one problem solving game that was great. It was called "Home Before Dark". In the game, there was a map with the park along one side, and homes along the other. There were squares in the middle that had path sections, and student had to rotate the paths to get the pets home. At first, the students were just wildly tapping, thier internal hypothesis being, "If I hit as many as I can, eventually it will work". It didn't work. They started yelling at each other to stop tapping the squares and look at the paths. I would like to find more resources like this that involve our curriculum as well.
Resources:
Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA:
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ReplyDeleteSara,
ReplyDeleteThe resources at National Library of Virtual Manipulatives are wonderful! Having students take data from a table (who likes PE, Art) to a visual graph will begin to link the different forms of data representations in their brain. Do you also have them make equations? In a class of 20 students: 5 (who like PE) + 3 (who like Art) + …= 20…so they can see it in equation from as well? By reinforcing this in the early grades, as young as first grade, it will develop the math skills the students need in high school. All high school math teachers thank you!
I think it is very creative to use the Webkinnz site. These are all the rage right now, so they will immediately engage. By letting students use what’s cool, and hip, they will not even realize they are engaging in learning activities. They are focused on the reward each task is getting them closer to. This is what Marc Prensky called digital game based learning. (http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/) and is exactly what digital natives crave. Great post!
Nancy
Sara,
ReplyDeleteYour statement, "Sometimes finding out why something won't work is just as important as why it would work," is very wise. If we want our students to succeed, we must allow them to have the experience of being wrong, which is often an important part of the investigative process, and a worthy learning experience.
Webkinns sounds a bit like the sort of real time strategy and simulation games many of my students and friends play for fun. The sort of thinking involved in keeping your Sims happy, maintaining your cities in Civilization, or managing your resources in Empire Earth is much like the thinking required to manage your life, job, or business. I observed years ago that a student of mine who claimed that he did not like to read could explain to me, in detail, everything he learned from the 150+ page Tomb Raider strategy guide he breezed through over the weekend. I had a copy of the manual myself, and I knew it was as dry, complex, and technical as much of what he claimed to have difficulty reading at school. The difference was that he had an engaging application for the knowledge he was developing. Some companies have created games that inherently motivate meaningful learning of useful thinking skills and knowledge. Unfortunately, games designed for academic learning are often not as engaging for our students as soldier and thug trainers like the Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto franchises. I often wonder how we can make more worthwhile game premises fashionable and profitable so that game designers can focus on them. Although I play first person shooters and thoroughly enjoyed the irresponsible, consequence-free naughtiness of Grand Theft Auto, I would certainly never let my children play some of the titles I do and would love some well-designed alternatives to the oversatruated "shooter" genre. Until the gaming industry or the gamers themselves decide that worthwhile learning titles are hip, teachers will have the primary responsibility for designing engaging learning experiences.
Well I'm not piggy backing anybody but I have to agree with doug even though I'm not as bright. The statement you made about 'finding out why something will not work is just as important as why it would work' is pretty sharp and I have to honestly say I hand not really thought of a hypothesis in that way. Good post Sarah! I just wanted you to know that stuck out to me! Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Sara,
ReplyDeleteBeing such a visual learner, I certainly appreciate your Connect Four picture, and your thorough explanation of connectivism has helped me put this theory into a better perspective. Thank you!
Even at the middle school level, modeling is helpful and effective, and does not, in my opinion, hinder their creativity. Perhaps you are right that it has something to do with “this age of click and point visual learners.” I attempted not to use a visual or model for students, and they were completely confused as to what they were supposed to do. The next thing I knew, they were walking around like zombies running into the classroom walls. Actually, it was not quite that ridiculous, however close.
What about having student volunteers from upper grade levels help your students work on some kind of collaborative project involving technology? Each small group led by an older student can work on one aspect of a project that uses PowerPoint, for example. ~Megan