Lesson #7:

Phenomena and Representations

Criteria IIIA&B and IVC

Purpose: This lesson examines effective use of phenomena and representations to help students reach the learning goal.

Overview: During this lesson, pre-service teachers examine the use of real-world and vicarious phenomena and effective representations of concepts in curriculum materials.

When and How to Use This Lesson: This lesson is the final lesson that presents new criteria. This lesson could fit in several places within the instructional sequence, depending on pre-service teachers' comfort with lesson and unit planning. For pre-service teachers who are less ready to tackle unit planning, this lesson may work better toward the beginning of the sequence.

Goals:

1. To examine how curriculum materials represent concepts and use phenomena.
2. To examine the indicators for Criteria III A&B (phenomena) and IVC (Representations).
3. To apply the indicators for Criteria III A&B and IVC to curriculum materials.

Activity #27 10 Minutes Establishes Problem

Problem #5 - How Do Materials

Present the Knowledge in the Learning Goal?

Activity #28 20 Minutes Models Criteria IVC

Introduction of Criteria IVC and IIIA&B and IIIA&B

Activity #29 20 Minutes Apply Criteria IVC and Examination of Food for Plants IIIA&B with Coaching

Using Criteria IVC and IIIA&B

Examining Field Units 20 Minutes Apply Criterion IVF and

Using Criteria IVC and IIIA&B (or Homework) IIIA&B with Fading/

Assessment

What Would You Do? IVC and IIIA&B 5 Minutes Generalize & Strategize

No materials are needed. The instructor should be prepared to discuss examples of how teachers and curriculum materials can teach the main ideas in the learning goals (ex: doing activities, building models, reading about phenomena, etc.).

Activity #28

1. Examining Curriculum Materials Form IVC - Food for Plants - Blank (1 per pre-service teacher)
2. Examining Curriculum Materials Form IIIA&B - Food for Plants - Blank (1 per pre-service teacher)
3. AAAS Criteria CD ROM Resource and a method of projecting it contents onto a screen (1 for whole class). Some of the same content can be found on the AAAS Website: http://www.project2061.org/tools/textbook/mgsci/mgbooks.htm

Activity #29

1. 
   
Activity Sequence for Food for Plants (1 per pre-service teacher)
2. Examining Curriculum Materials
Form IVC - Food for Plants - Blank (1 per pre-service teacher)
3. Examining Curriculum Materials
Form IIIA&B - Food for Plants - Blank (1 per pre-service teacher)
4. Examining Curriculum Materials
Form IVC - Food for Plants - Completed (1 per class)
5. Examining Curriculum Materials
Form IIIA&B - Food for Plants - Completed (1 per class)
6. Overhead projector or other projection equipment

Activity #30

1. Examining Curriculum Materials Form IVC - Blank (1 per pre-service teacher)
2. Examining Curriculum Materials Form IIIA&B - Blank (1 per pre-service teacher)
3. Field Units - Pre-Service Teachers need access to units they will be teaching in their field placements.

Poster paper & markers or some other way to record pre-service teacher responses.

Pre-service teachers may not understand the difference between a representation and a phenomena. Often, pre-service teachers believe that any hands-on activity is an experience with a phenomena and that any experience involving reading or writing is an experience with a representation. Take care to help pre-service teachers understand that many hands-on activities are simulations or representations rather than experiences with actual phenomena. Likewise, a photograph or description of a phenomena in a textbook is a vicarious experience with phenomena rather than a representation. Also, the distinction between first hand and vicarious experiences with phenomena can be problematic.

Activity #27 Problem #5 - How Do Materials Present the Knowledge in the Learning Goal?

1. Review the difference between knowing and doing as they relate to learning goals.
2. In a whole class format, have pre-service teachers brainstorm ways that teachers and materials can teach the main ideas of the unit [doing activities, building models, reading about phenomena, etc.]

Activity #28 Introduction of Criteria IVC and IIIA&B

1. Introduce the meaning of the term "representation".
1. What are representations? [Ways of illustrating concepts and ideas without actually having that idea or concept to work with directly.]
2. What are some examples? [Drawings, diagrams, graphs, images, analogies, metaphors, models, simulations, role playing……]
3. Why do we use representations?
1. To make abstract ideas more concrete.
2. To make connections back to what students already know.
3. To help convince students that new conceptions are intelligent, plausible, and fruitful.
4. What are some consequences of using representations? [The representation will reinforce naïve conceptions or create new misconceptions.]
2. Distribute copies of Examining Curriculum Materials Form IVC.
3. Briefly discuss the intention and meaning of the indicators.

Consider the following example:

Learning Goal: Plants use the energy from light to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water.

Representation #1

A plant leaf is like a food factory. It takes non-food raw materials and turns it into food.

Advantages: Helps students understand that plants make their own food. Helps students understand that plants use raw materials to make food. They do not eat food, like animals.

Disadvantages: Students may think there are tiny buildings that look like factories inside a leaf.

Representation #2

A plant leaf is like a kitchen. It takes ingredients and turns it into food.

Advantages: Helps students understand that plants make food.

Disadvantages: May reinforce the misconception that plants take in food and just turn it into other food. In a kitchen, a person uses food to make other types of food.

Discuss advantages and disadvantages of each example. Discuss how well each example meets the indicators for Criterion IVC.

4. Use the AAAS CD ROM to project other examples of good and poor representations. Emphasize the importance of applying the criteria to a specific learning goal. Be sure to identify the learning goal for each example before applying criteria of discussing advantages and disadvantages of each example. Discuss how well each example meets the indicators for Criterion IVC. Suggestions include:
1. Poor Examples: Material C or Material D from Physical Science, Examples, IVB (Note: on the AAAS CD ROM, Representing Ideas Effectively is listed as Criterion IVB, not IVC)
2. Good Examples: Hard as Ice from Physical Science, Examples, IVB
5. Introduce the meaning of the term "phenomena". Define the difference between first-hand and vicarious phenomena.
6. Distribute copies of Examining Curriculum Materials Form IIIA&B.
7. Briefly discuss the intention and meaning of the indicators.
8. Use the AAAS CD ROM to project other examples of good and poor phenomena. Emphasize the importance of applying the criteria to a specific learning goal. Be sure to identify the learning goal for each example before applying criteria of discussing advantages and disadvantages of each example. Discuss how well each example meets the indicators for Criteria III A & B. Suggestions include:
1. Good Examples: Matter & Molecules from Physical Science, Examples, IIIA
2. Poor Examples: Food & Growth Example 3 from Life Science, Examples, IIIA (Note: This is a high school curriculum, so the example may require more explanation).

Activity #29 Examination of Food for Plants Using Criteria IVC and IIIA&B

1. Distribute the Sequence of Activities for Food for Plants. By this point in the module, they may already have copies from a previous lesson.
2. In small groups, have pre-service teachers examine the Sequence of Activities for Food for Plants for the following features:
1. Identify activities that use representations.
2. Identify activities that use phenomena.
1. Identify experiences with phenomena as first hand or vicarious.
3. Have each pre-service teacher apply the indicators for Criterion IVC to the Sequence of Activities for Food for Plants and complete the Evaluating Curriculum Materials Form IVC.
4. Have each pre-service teacher apply the indicators for Criteria IIIA&B to the Sequence of Activities for Food for Plants and complete the Evaluating Curriculum Materials Form IIIA&B.
5. In a large group format, debrief the class on how well they thought the Food for Plants sequence of activities met the indicators for Criteria IVC and IIIA&B. Possible techniques include:
1. Using an overhead or computer projector, complete the Examining Curriculum Materials Form IVC and the Examining Curriculum Materials Form IIIA&B for Food for Plants based on class feedback.
2. Project a completed version of Materials Forms IVC and IIIA&B for Food for Plants for comparison with class findings.
3. Post a completed version of Materials Forms IVC and IIIA&B for Food for Plants for pre-service teachers to access later.

This activity can either be an in-class or homework assignment. Pre-service teachers need access to the units or lessons they will be teaching in the classroom. Pre-service teachers should evaluate those units based on the indicators for Criteria IVC and IIIA&B, completing the appropriate forms. Remind pre-service teachers that they must identify the learning goal of the lesson or unit and apply the indicators to the parts of the lesson or unit that address that learning goal. Pre-service teachers may work individually or in field placement groups. However, each pre-service teacher should hand in the completed forms.

Activity #31 What Would You Do? IVC and IIIA&B

1. In a group discussion format, elicit from pre-service teachers characteristics of the materials they examined, including Food for Plants, that meet Criteria IVC and IIIA&B. Use poster paper or a similar method to record responses for each criterion.
2. Ask pre-service teachers how, if they know, their classroom mentor teacher is planning to adapt the sequence of activities for the field units. What are the classroom teachers changing, and why?. Record responses.
3. Keep the responses for later use. Pre-service teachers may find them useful for adapting materials later.

Activity #30 serves as the assessment for this lesson. Each pre-service teacher should turn in for evaluation Examining Curriculum Materials Forms IVC and IIIA&B. Use the following response features for evaluation. After evaluation, provide pre-service teachers with appropriate feedback and revisit key points, if necessary.

Food for Plants

Sequence of Activities

Examining Curriculum Materials Forms

IVC for Food for Plants - Blank

IVC for Food for Plants - Completed

IVC Blank

IIIA&B for Food for Plants - Blank

IIIA&B for Food for Plants -Completed

IIIA&B Blank