science_education

=Secondary Science Cases //(Serdar)//=

Cases to keep:
- Content Exploration - Production - Communication

Content Exploration

 * Course:** Chemistry I
 * Subject:** Nature of Chemical Change
 * Standard:**
 * 1) C.1.10 - Recognize and classify reactions of various types such as oxidation-reduction.
 * 2) C.1.12 - Demonstrate the principle of conservation of mass through laboratory investigations.
 * Learners:** 11th grade students
 * Environment:** Computer lab (one computer for each student), teacher computer, overhead projector.
 * Objective:** After covering chemical reactions in the class, students will be able to write a chemical reaction, perform it on the computer using a virtual lab application, and report the results of the reaction in terms of the mass of the compounds entering the reaction and resulting from the reaction.


 * Case:** After teaching properties of matter, elements and compounds, Mrs. Turner moves to the chemical reactions topic in her chemistry class. To support textbook and in-class instruction, she takes her class to the science lab to conduct basic and safe reactions in order to recognize and classify various types of reactions as well as to practice the principle of conservation of mass. However, she is so limited with the number of elements and compounds available in the lab to perform various reactions. Besides, she can not let her students conduct some reactions due to safety issues.


 * Possible Solution:** With the help of a computer simulation of chemical reactions, students can safely try various elements and compounds go into the reaction and learn the different type of reactions. They can also practice the principle of conservation of mass by trying different amount of substance going into the reactions and compare it with the mass of product of the reaction.

Production

 * Course:** Earth and Space Science I
 * Subject:** Earth
 * Standard:** ES.1.16 - Investigate the causes of severe weather and propose appropriate safety measures that can be taken in the event of severe weather.
 * Learners:** 9th grade students
 * Environment:** Computer lab, 20-30 computers.
 * Objective:** Having access to a computer and a desktop publishing software, students will be able to create a poster explaining a particular severe weather event along with appropriate safety measures in a visually appealing way.


 * Case:** In Mr. Brightman's Earth and Space Science class, this week’s topic is severe weather phenomenon like flood or tornado that is likely to occur in the state of Indiana. His goal is to explain students how these occurrences happen. He also wants his students to be able to propose safety precautions to take in case of a severe weather. He uses a PowerPoint presentation to explain the causes and show video-shots and animations of formation of these events. Then he creates a discussion with the students to come up with safety measures in the event of a severe weather. He evaluates students’ knowledge about this topic in the test. However, Mr. Brightman would really like his students to gain a better understanding of severe weather events and what to do so that they can use this information when they need it and maybe help others also learn this information for their safety.


 * Possible Solution:** Students can be grouped to investigate different severe weather events and by using computer applications like Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Publisher, the group can create a poster not only to master this topic but also to help other people learn.

Communication

 * Course:** Environmental Science
 * Subject:** Natural Resources
 * Standard:** Env.1.25 - Recognize and describe alternative sources of energy provided by water, the atmosphere, and the sun.
 * Learners:** 10th grade students
 * Environment:** Computer lab, 20-30 computers.


 * Case:** One of the subjects Miss Olbert teaches in environmental science class in high school is Natural Resources. She emphasizes this subject more than others because she thinks that it is important for students to be aware of the alternative energy sources available and how these resources improve the quality of life. After she introduces these alternative and fossil fuels in the class in first week, she distributes newspaper, and news magazine articles to students to discuss how to use these sources to create a better environment as well as meeting our energy needs. She wants her students to be more knowledgeable about these sources, where they are more available in the U.S. and what the scientists’ recent works are on these energy sources.

Through a recent government class assignment, students were made aware of energy crisis. When interviewing local citizens about this crisis, they found that local citizens didn't believe that alternative sources of energy would work in their community. The students want to look into other communities that are successfully using alternative sources of energy and create a plan for how this could possibly be used.


 * Possible Solution:** If Miss Brown can schedule the computer lab 2-3 hours for each of two weeks, she can put students into groups (each group will research on one alternative energy source) and ask them focus their research one source, find where they are mostly generated, and contact a researcher near to this source and interview him/her about the latest studies being done. Final product will be a school newspaper article of comparing these energy sources. Students will be asked to use e-mail, chat, or phone for communication with the expert and other groups.

Data Collection/Analysis

 * Course:** Biology I
 * Subject:** Ecology
 * Standard:** B.1.41 - Recognize that and describe how human beings are part of Earth’s ecosystems. Note that human activities can, deliberately or inadvertently, alter the equilibrium in ecosystems.
 * Learners:** 10th grade students
 * Environment:** Science lab, one teacher computer, overhead projector.


 * Case 5 – Data Collection / Analysis:** Scott Perkins is a Biology teacher in the high school. When he teaches ecology subject, one of the topic he covers is the effects of human beings on ecosystems. He wants his students to be aware that human beings are part of Earth’s ecosystems and they can, deliberately or inadvertently, change the equilibrium in ecosystems. To teach this class, he makes his own research to provide examples of environmental changes by people as well as he asks his students to go to the library and do their own research before coming to the class. During the class he gives examples and provides number figures to illustrate the change. And he initiates a discussion on how negative changes can be corrected and how positive alterations can be made. However, he really wants the students understands the seriousness of the changes people can make on the environment.


 * Possible Solution:** If Mr. Perkins can schedule lab hours for the student, he can ask them find visual evidences (pictures, videos) of changes on the environment caused by the human beings and these materials can be shown in the class and create the discussion around these materials.

Productivity

 * Course:** Physics I
 * Subject:** Properties of Matter
 * Standard:**
 * 1) P.1.2 - Measure or determine the physical quantities including mass, charge, pressure, volume, temperature, and density of an object or unknown sample.
 * 2) Science 7.2.6 - Read analog and digital meters on instruments used to make direct measurements of length, volume, weight, elapsed time, rates, or temperatures, and choose appropriate units.
 * Learners:** 11th grade students
 * Environment:** Classroom, on teacher computer, one overhead projector.


 * Case:** Mr. Brown teaches Physics I class to 11th grade students in high school. When he teaches the properties of matter, he wants his students to be able to measure the physical quantities of the unknown samples such as mass, volume, and temperature. Normally, he sets up separate measuring stations in the classroom for mass, volume, and temperature and using digital balance, rulers and graduated cylinders, and alcohol thermometer in each of these stations respectively. Students come to these stations, take measures of quantities of these unknown samples and note their measurements down. Mr. Brown faces two difficulties in this activity. First is that he likes to put all students measures of the same substance in a table to compare the values but since everybody has their measures on their paper, it takes time to put them together on the table. Mr. Brown does this to check their work and for students to learn about human error and measurements as well as scientific principles and experiment. His second problem is with the alcohol temperature because the solid samples are difficult to take a precise temperature with an alcohol thermometer.


 * Possible Solution:** Given that a teacher computer and projection systems exists in the classroom/lab environment, student can tell their measures to the teacher and the teacher puts them in a Excel worksheet to present the comparison between measures. For the second problem, the school can get CLB equipment to take measures digitally, which can also be inserted into Excel sheet.