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UNIT: YOUNG EINSTEINSKim Hill, Singleton, NSW
INTRODUCTION
This unit has been given the theme "Young Einsteins" from the movie Young Einstein which would be shown to pupils before the cards were started.
The unit is an introduction to science for year 7, and is based on the objectives of the program at Singleton High School, as well as satisfying the growing need for relevance to be seen in the science curriculum. It is meant as a way of letting students experience all areas of thinking, expression, and science as well as helping to identify gifted students in all areas of giftedness, not just the academically gifted students.
The unit is made up three sets of cards and these can be used as a whole for an enrichment program or they can be used separately as individual enrichment. They can also be modified for any topic and can be used as stations.
The unit can include a trip to a museum such as the Newcastle Regional Museum and a look at Supernova which is a hands on approach to science.
An extra set of cards has been produced for motivation and introduction to divergent thinking skills. This is looking at the future and is based on the unit designed by the Department of Education NSW, Teaching Talented Students 7-10, Visions of the Future.
The first set of cards follows the Renzulli Type 1 Enrichment, and consists of Bloom's knowledge and comprehension levels. The exploration of the different areas and principles of science are dealt with here to provide skills for the next two sets of cards. This set of cards also complies with Feldhusen's Stage 1, gaining prerequisites.
The second and third sets of cards require group and individual work, the students deciding if they can work on Renzulli's Type 2 or Type 3 activities. The cards are not separated into the different activity levels as the students may not have the confidence to work alone or to satisfy leadership qualities in other students.
The second set of cards is aimed at Bloom's application and analysis levels whilst the third set of cards is aimed at the synthesis and evaluation levels.
The cards may also be designed so as each card extends through all levels on a particular topic, being grouped by topic or a particular talent and not according to Bloom's levels.
These activities also utilise Treffinger's model for increasing self-directedness, the students being given choices (the different cards, topics and levels), making decisions (what levels, cards and interests suit them), making activities (negotiating topics and approaches with the teacher through contract) and then independently organising and completing the activities.
This unit is a melting pot of models aimed at satisfying the individual differences and talents within a mixed ability class whilst also satisfying the basic needs of acceptance and success at all levels. The talented students can be identified and enhanced without separation from peers, assisting a healthy development socially. The program can be applied in many different situations via simple modifications to the presentation and grouping of cards.
OBJECTIVES
• To master the basic skills necessary to study science - namely graphing, scientific method, observation, description, listing, prioritising, experimentation, identification of equipment and hazards, safety procedures, use of equipment, hypothesising, and inferencing.
• To relate science to everyday living.
• To have an understanding of the areas of science and their application.
• To enhance communication and expression using different media.
• To be able to use problem solving skills in unfamiliar situations.
• To encourage socialisation within the classroom and acceptance of others' opinions.
• To enrich the students' learning experiences and enhance their abilities.
• To encourage divergent thinking.
• To provide challenges for the children in a non threatening way and allow them to accept mistakes as a learning process.
• To allow students to realise and maintain their full potential.
• To allow students to show their particular talents.
• To satisfy all areas of giftedness as proposed by Taylor's Talent Totem Pole (Maker, 1986).
• To be able to use the method of brainstorming.
• To work independently or as a group member.
PREREQUISITE SKILLS
The students should be able to:
1. use an index in a book to find a particular word or topic;
2. use a dictionary to find definitions;
3. use a catalogue in a library and use different types of resources;
4. design and set up an experiment;
5. express themselves in written, oral, and/or visual media;
6. find key points in reading;
7. organise equipment, ideas and information;
8. put ideas and information in a sequence;
9. summarise facts;
10. follow written and verbal directions;
11. use different media to find information (t.v., videos, magazines, books, pictures, newspapers, etc.);
12. make coherent notes from sources;
13. communicate with peers;
14. manipulate tools e.g. cutting and pasting;
15. use pictures from different sources to express and justify ideas and opinions;
16. use the scientific theory;
17. communicate to and acquire information from other people through the use of surveys, questionnaires and interviews;
18. express information in graph form.
It would be unrealistic for any teacher to expect all students to satisfy all prerequisites. The card system allows students to communicate through different media and change as they progress and acquire new skills. Most of the prerequisites can be satisfied through experiencing the cards at different levels and through teacher instruction at Feldhusen's Stage 1.
TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESSES
The students are told that they are to look through the sets of cards. If they can show that they can complete the first set of cards then they can negotiate with the teacher to start on the second or third set of cards. This can be done through a mastery test.
The students are also told that the topics are not set and that they can negotiate with the teacher if they can identify another area they would like to cover for that card. The approaches are also not set and any student can also negotiate that area.
The students then fill out contracts listing the work and approaches they wish to attempt and then designate a time limit. This is also negotiable if suitable circumstances are shown. Any student the teacher identifies as needing extra work in certain areas can list these areas as the compulsory work.
This unit would usually be run after an initial period of about two weeks where basic skills listed in the prerequisites are experienced. The level of mastery in these skills will determine where the students start in the card system.
The Activities
Set One Cards - The Apprentice Scientist
1. List the dangers present in a science laboratory. List five hazard symbols and what they mean.
2. What apparatus are these? (Different apparatus are drawn on the card.)
3. Define these words: dissolve, solute, solvent, soluble, solution.
4. List the units of measurement for: time, length, mass, volume.
5. Define the terms force and simple machines.
6. List the five senses in your body.
7. Make a poster of the rules of the laboratory.
8. Draw the apparatus you would use to boil water.
9. Make up a science spelling list for the class to learn.
10. Read the passage on Thomas Edison and answer the questions.
11. Make up a science colouring in book.
12. Write a play based on the life of a famous scientist, such as the characters in the movie, or the making of an invention.
13. Make up a cartoon strip of part of the movie Young Einstein or of a scientist carrying out the scientific method.
14. Demonstrate to the class how some simple machines work.
15. Make up a set of Young Einstein's Trivial Pursuit cards. Try them on your friends.
16. List, in order, the steps taken in setting up and lighting a bunsen burner (either in writing, diagram, or demonstration).
17. Research one of the scientists portrayed in the movie and report on his/her life history. You can do this either as you would for a newspaper, Beyond 2000 article, a book of famous scientists, or a conference on famous scientists.
18. List the inventions that Young Einstein made. Are any of these used today? Which ones? Draw your favourite or make a model of it.
19. What would have happened if the electric guitar hadn't worked in the end? Write your own ending.
20. What will be the antique inventions in 100 years? Design an invention for the year 2091.
Set Two Cards - Mad Scientists
1. Make up a scrapbook about one area of science that interests you or how science is helping society.
2. Make a model of an important event, invention, or problem in science. Display this in the library.
3. Make up a Young Einstein's Game for the class to use. Try it on your class.
4. Make a diorama of a scene in the movie Young Einstein or another science fiction movie. Show this to your class.
5. Design an advertising campaign to show people how science can be useful, or to promote your invention or one of Young Einstein's.
6. Illustrate how you use the scientific theory in everyday life.
7. Write a diary as if you are a scientist researching an important study.
8. Study the diagram of the 'mousetrap'. Design an environmentally friendly mousetrap. Try it out and see if it works.
9. Write a book about Young Einstein and his inventions, or another scientist, for a particular age group e.g. kindergarten, secondary, adults etc.
10. Research the greenhouse effect and design a model, pamphlet, T.V. ad, newspaper ad, poster or documentary to help people understand its causes and/or effects.
11. Draw a picture or describe in writing what you think a real scientist is. Tell the class why this is a real scientist.
12. Write a poem about anything in science that interests you, or about the movie.
13. Design a questionnaire to find out others' opinions on an issue related to science or inventions.
14. What is your opinion on using animals for science experiments? Gather information to support your view and present it to the class.
15. Make a family tree of scientists showing how some scientists built on the ideas of others.
16. Arrange another Science Academy Awards as on Young Einstein. Make all the arrangements and record the steps needed.
17. Construct a graph to illustrate information you have found in your studies.
18. Make a flow chart showing the steps in designing, inventing, or experimenting in science.
19. Investigate an issue for Beyond 2000 - you may interview anyone needed and use the video camera. List all of the technical conditions you had to consider and how you overcame these.
20. Review a science fiction novel or movie. This can be presented as any type of review.
Set Three Cards - Super Scientists
1. Newcastle Regional Museum is organising an "Inventions for Busy or Disabled People" display. Pick one of these categories, research the problems faced by people in your category and invent something to help them. How would you present this to the public?
2. Design your own scientific alphabet and number system. Teach the students in the class your new scientific language. Write a book using your new language so that everyone can understand. Relate this to the problems faced by immigrants.
3. Think of an issue in the world and write a letter to the Prime Minister convincing him that this is an important issue and how Australia can solve it. What other avenues can people take to make their opinion known and understood?
4. Design a record, book, or magazine cover relating a theme of a song to science.
5. Compose a song or poem either about the movie, science, or your opinion on an issue.
6. Pass a verdict on an issue as if in court. Make sure you justify your statement or the press will hound you. What would have been the argument from the opposition?
7. Try one of the activities in the Lego Technics Set. Describe what you are asked to do. Make any recommendations for improvement and identify its positive points.
8. Research the splitting of the atom and nuclear power as in Young Einstein. Do you think that nuclear power is as dangerous as society thinks? List its positives and negatives.
9. Write a half yearly report for Young Einstein as:
a) Marie Curie
b) his parents
c) the girls from the boarding house
d) the man from the patent office
e) you
would write them.
10. Form a panel to discuss views on science in Year 7 or learning in school. Submit a recommendation for improvement to the Science Faculty of the school.
11. Organise a debate about an issue of interest. You nominate the speakers.
12. Prepare a list of criteria to judge an invention.
13. Western Plains Zoo has written to the "Young Einstein Inventors' Association", of which you are president, to design a machine to wash the elephants. What steps would need to be taken to design and manufacture the invention? You may consult with managers such as the principal, to see how they organise events within their setting.
14. You want to know how many times your heart beats in one minute. Design an experiment to do this. Write it down and try it out. What were your results and how could you improve on your experiment? Design a machine based on this that can be used in gyms etc.
15. Set up a pendulum with a mass, string, and retort stand with a clamp. Measure how long it takes the pendulum to go from one side of its swing to the other and back again. How would you find out if the time taken for a swing is different if you:
a) change the mass
b) change the length of the string?
Try your experiment. What were the problems associated with your experiment? Is this information useful for anything? What?
16. Could a candle be used as a timing device? Make a design for a candle clock. How reliable is this clock? Why don't we use candle clocks? Can you think of an alternative?
17. What if science discovered a way to increase the length of lives by 100 years?
18. You are Minister for Science and Health. You have been given a budget to fund future projects and this can only fund one project. Choose which one you would fund and why from this list:
a) genetic engineering
b) solar energy
c) space travel and colonisation
d) cryogenic suspended animation
e) atomic fusion.
19. If you were in charge of education in Australia, how would you have the students taught and what subjects would you include and why?
20. What would happen if:
a) the average height of people increased 50cm in the next 100 years?
b) people were forced to live underground?
c) earth's gravity disappeared?
21. Design a home of the future. Write an advertisement for your home. Write a judge's speech in which he/she lists the reasons why your home would win an award. Write your acceptance speech. What is missing from houses of today?
ENVIRONMENT
Display areas should be set up both inside the classroom and in the library for real audiences for the students' work. Posters can be placed on the wall by the teachers and the students as an example of type 1 activities and to expose students to different areas as motivation. An article board can also be set up where newspaper articles or magazine articles of interest or scientific value can be displayed to assist students in making choices for research or to exemplify the relevance of science in everyday life. A wonder word poster can be set up where students designate new and interesting words, to help increase the vocabulary of the students. The student who nominates the word should also find the meaning and present this to the class either in written, verbal or visual form. This would help students with divergent thinking processes.
AWARDS
There should be super scientist awards given out as nominated by the students for work which suits a set of criteria nominated by the students. This can also lead to the Young Einstein Award at the end of the month or the topic and could be assigned by the teacher or the students.
There can also be mastery certificates given to the students when they satisfy their contract or complete any particular set of cards. These can be based on names or events in the movie or can be based on such things as colour progression as used in the NSW driver's licences.
A chart may also be set up where students can get a star if they satisfy certain prerequisites and then can progress onto the next level. These can also be set up in the form of clubs or committees where students can even have an initiation ceremony. The possibilities are endless.
EVALUATION
This will be formative and summative. It will also be done by the teacher and the students. A self assessment sheet will be handed out for the students to assess the projects as they are completed and presented as well as the unit as a whole. The peers will also complete an assessment sheet as the projects are demonstrated or displayed for their viewing and these should be done by a group or individual designated by the student so as to maintain the non threatening environment. Each assignment will be handed in with a cover sheet and this will also require the student to evaluate the project and the steps taken to complete it.
The teacher will fill out a skills sheet on the class as the students show mastery of the objectives. An assessment will also be made of the achievements of the unit and possible improvement.
Assessment is possible within this unit as students can be graded according to the mastery of certain skills and the completion of the different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. A mark can also be given to the students for each level, eg a task completed at the knowledge level may be worth one mark, whereas a task at the evaluation level may be worth six marks. This will have to be carefully scrutinised by the teacher so that a student's work is graded on its own merit.
The assessment will thus be composed of 'gain scores' and 'absolute scores', as defined by Davis and Rimm (1989: 428), classroom observation by the teacher, and the completion of questionnaires by students and their class peers.
RESOURCES FOR EXTRA ACTIVITIESAitken, J., Mills, G. & Perry, L. (1988) Creative Technology. Books 1 and 2, Brooks Waterloo, Broadway, NSW.
Hopkins, L. & Shapiro, A. (1969) Creative Activities for the Gifted Child. Fearon Pitman Publishers, California.
Laidler, G. & Burridge, T. (1987) Science Skills Book 1. Longman Cheshire, Melbourne.
Mannering, M.R. (1990) Process Questions for Junior Science. Vol. 1 and 2. Jenelle Press, Gladesville.
Noller, R.B., Treffinger, D.J. & Houseman, E.D. (1979) Its A Gas To Be Gifted. DOK, Buffalo.
Shadwick, B. (1987) Skills Through Science. Books 1 and 2, Science Press, Marrickville.
Stannard, P. & Williamson, K. (1990) Science Now - Book 2. Macmillan.
Wyman, K. (1990) Simply Science Series. Franklin Watts, Sydney.
NSW Department of Education (1988) Teaching Talented Students 7-10. Sydney.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dalton, J. (1989) Extending Children's Special Abilities - Strategies For Primary Classrooms. Melbourne: Ministry of Education.
Davis, G.A. & Rimm, S.B. (1989) Education of the Gifted and Talented. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Department of Education of NSW (1988) Teaching Talented Students - 7-10, Information (Science), Sydney.
Galbraith, J. (1983) The Gifted Kids Survival Guide. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.
Gray, W. (1983) Mentor Assisted Enrichment Projects. Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa.
Haensly, P. & Nash, W. (1983) Mountains to Climb - A Handbook of Resource for the Gifted and Talented. Minnesota: National Association for Gifted Children.
Henson, F. (1976) Mainstreaming the Gifted. Massachusetts: Teaching Resources Corp.
Hopkinson, D. (1978) The Education of Gifted Children. London: Woburn Press.
Maker, C.J. (1986) Critical Issues in Gifted Education - Defensible Programs for the Gifted. Texas: Pro Ed.
Senate Select Committee (1988) The Report of the Senate Select Committee on the Education of Gifted and Talented Children. Canberra: AGPS.
UNE Armidale, TalentEd, No. 31, Winter 1990; No. 32, Spring 1990.
** CONTRACT **
I ................................................. undertake to complete the following compulsory and free choice tasks.The following are the compulsory tasks:
These will be completed by:
The free activities I have chosen to do are:
The resources I will use are:
I will present this to a real audience by means of:
They will be complete by:
I agree to: • be an active and cooperative member of all groups I work with.
• work constructively on my own where necessary.
• make constructive comments when assessing other people's work.
Student: __________________________________
Teacher: __________________________________
|
©TalentEd is
located at the School of Curriculum Studies, |
This page updated: 23 January 2006 |