Light Me Up! The Development of a Participatory Simulation to Facilitate Students’ Collaborative Exploration of Color Perception Concepts in the Classroom.

Light Me Up!The Development of a Participatory Simulation to Facilitate

Students’ Collaborative Exploration of Color Perception Concepts in the Classroom

Project Team: Srirekha Gopalan, Jason Gorski, Flori Manning, Stefania Pacifici

December 4, 2007

Project Team

“The Primaries”

Project Objectives

• Creation of educational lesson plan that incorporates more elements of authentic scientific inquiry practices, as opposed to “simple inquiry”

• Exploration of Participatory Simulations as an instructional method to this end: benefits and limitations

• Is there a difference in knowledge gain and long-term retention of knowledge when the instructional method is a Participatory Simulation as compared to traditional instruction?

• Is there a difference in students’ inclination toward scientific approaches toward understanding a particular phenomenon when the instructional method is a Participatory Simulation as compared to traditional instruction?

Participants

Our target population of learners:

6th graders from average-performing schools within the Chicago Public School system.

At Least 2 Science Classrooms, both teaching concepts about color and light:

1) Incorporation of Light Me Up into instructional curriculum

2) Traditional instruction

Learning GoalsConcepts of color perception that meet the standards and instructional objectives of

the typical 6th grade curriculum:

1. The Realization that White Light Comprises Different Colors of Light: Sunlight is made up of a mixture of many different colors of light, even though to the eye the light looks colorless or almost white

2. Addressing a Common Misconception: Color is not an entity of an object. Rather, the individual sees the reflection of visible light off the object. Different objects reflect different mixes of colors

3. Discovery of the Rules of Additive Color Mixing: The perception of color involves light emitted directly from a source or illuminant. Red, green, and blue light are the three primary colors that can combine to produce other colors, such as magenta, yellow, cyan, and white

4. Addressing Confusion Between the Behavior of Color Mixtures: The rules that apply to light mixtures (Additive Color Mixing) and the rules that apply to pigment mixtures, such paint or ink (Subtractive Color Mixing), are different because one is the illuminant and the other is the object of illumination

Assumption of Prior Knowledge

From previous learning experiences, spanning from kindergarten through 5th grade:

1. Students can describe objects in terms of their physical properties, e.g. color or shape

2. Students understand that action can be taken to change the properties of an object, but also that different objects respond differently to the same actions.

3. In particular, student have developed an understanding of the rules associated with mixing pigments of color, such as paints and inks (Subtractive Color Mixing)

4. Students know that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object. It can be reflected by a mirror, refracted by a lens, and absorbed by an object

Intended Learning Outcomes

To demonstrate effective learning and knowledge gain, students who have engaged in the Participatory Simulation on color perception will be able to:

Predict & test for the appearance of various objects when light of different colors is shone upon them.

(This Intended Learning Outcome has been adapted from the science standards for the 6th grade curriculum as practiced in the State of Utah)

Our Development Process

Primaries’ “Thinking Hard” Photo Here

Our Development Process

• Project Management

• Considerations for Implementation

• Technological Components

• Instructional Plan/Design

• Project Evaluation Measures

Project Management

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Considerations for Implementation

1) Accounting for all the diff possible interactions (excel screen) for each Sim Activity Level [Flori]

2) Utilization of the physical space of the classroom3) #students-minimum for interactions (presets excel screenshot) [Flori] 4) Dealing with “in” and “out” students for Sim participation (keeping it

productive for the out group as well)

5) Teacher ease of use [Rekha]: teacher gui

6) Scaffolding, (observation notepads, Buddy Questions, Whole class discussion structure ex: creation of data tables to lay out rules based on students’ collective observations) [Jason]

7) Post Test Development (transfer of knowledge into new format) [Rekha/Jason?]

8) and (of course!) technological support…next slide

Considerations for Implementation

Issues regarding Role-play Interactions and the Physical Classroom

- Utilization of the physical space of the classroom- Keeping the lesson productive for each group of students- Accounting for all the diff possible interactions for each Simulation

Activity- Calculations about minimum #students needed for the appropriate

interactions to occur during each Simulation Activity

(Screenshots of interactions & Presets)

Considerations for Implementation

System Ease of use: The Teacher GUI

(screenshots)

Considerations for Implementation

Scaffolding:

• Observation Notepads

• Buddy Questions

• Whole class discussion structure (ex: creation of data tables to lay out rules based on students’ collective observations)

• Student Assessment of Conceptual Knowledge (transfer of knowledge into new format)

• Assessing Scientific Attitudes & Inclinations

Considerations for Implementation

Architecture Design

Considerations for Implementation

Location Positioning Systems (LPS)• Burgeoning industry with no clear winner• Technologies include: Infrared, RFID, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ultrasound, Image-Tracking, Ultra-Wideband, and GPS.• Solution depends on many factors such as desired accuracy and latency, environment, and cost range.• Current costs of high-precision LPS are high but are expected to decline over time.

LPS Providers / Stats• UWB by Parco & Multispectral

• • Wi-Fi by RFTechnologies

Considerations for Implementation

Flexible Java Application Programming Interface (API)• Not bound to any specific LPS technology or environment.• Uses Swing components for easy integration into other Java GUIs.• Steps to integrating new LPS technology

1. Design trackable items children can wear.2. Create Java wrapper that converts raw tracker data to API calls.3. Create text file to register specific ids with the system. (More on this later).

Wearable Role-Tracking Devices

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Wearable Role-Tracking Devices

Instructional Plan• Designed to occur over a span of 5 school days (in 50 minute sessions to accommodate a junior high-level schedule), depending on students’ progress.

• Stepped process to facilitate incremental learning of key concepts and to avoid too heavy a cognitive load.

• The Participatory Simulation is broken down into 3 Levels of complexity (1a, 1b, 2 and 3). Students will take on the role of either an object or a light of a particular color.

(Jason’s 5-day schedule image here)

Day 1: Introduction

Introductory Phenomena About Color & Light

• The lesson begins with a display of counter-intuitive phenomena of color and light, which go against the rules of pigment mixing, concepts with which students are familiar.

• A discussion ensues as to why these strange results are occurring: rather than paint or crayons, light is being used as the medium.

• Before the Participatory Simulation, we intend for students to reach a point in the discussion where they think that there’s something about light that makes the rules about color different somehow.

Day 1: Simulation Activity - Level 1A

• All participating students wear Role-Tracker tags indicating both what they are and what color they are on their chests.

• Depending on each student’s role assignment, the display will indicate certain reactions as students come within close proximity to one another, or when different colored “objects” are exposed to different colors of “light.”

• The simulation interactions are timed to allow students adequate time to discuss what they are observing with each other and to record their observations on the notepads they carry with them.

(Level 1 interaction display image here - Jason’s making this)

Day 1: Class Discussion - Level 1A

At the end of Level 1A, a whole-class discussion takes place:

• Students share and talk through their ideas and observations

• Students collectively develop a set of rules, written up on the board as a data table

• Students will use this data table for reference as students move on to the next level.

• Misconceptions can be addressed through peer scaffolding.

• Students can demonstrate why an idea for a rule will or will not work, verbally or physically.

Day 2: Simulation Activity - Level 1B

Level 1B extends the concepts they learned during Level 1A.

The same procedures as Level 1A are followed (including the in-class discussion), BUT the colors of the objects are different this time. “Student-objects” are either:• cyan (blue + green)• yellow (red + green)• magenta (blue + red) • white (red + green + blue)

These complimentary colors, along with white, allow for more complex interactions with color, which students will observe…

(Image of complimentary color interaction here - made by Jason)

Day 3: Simulation Activity - Level 2• Student roles are reassigned, but certain information is being withheld: the students can see what role others have been assigned, but they do not know their own color because they are now all wearing the role assignment signs on their backs.

• The goal in Level 2 is for students to use what they have learned (from activities Levels 1A and 1B) to figure out what color (light or object) they are through their interactions with other students.

• As they gather information through these interactions, they can begin to hypothesize about their color. Students meet with their assigned “Buddy” for a Buddy Question Session. Where they explain how they developed their hypotheses about their assigned role. Ultimately, students’ roles/colors are revealed to them.

• Another whole-class discussion follows, and students can scaffold each other as they discuss their hypotheses and methods of reasoning to support those hypotheses. Misconceptions are addressed.

Day 3: Simulation Activity - Level 2

Example overhead-view with all different colored objects and R,G, & B lights present for the interactions:

Need screenshot

Day 4: Simulation Activity - Level 3

• Students are once again assigned a different role to play, but in this simulation, the students do not know anyone’s assignment.

• The goal in Level 3 is for each student to figure out what color he or she is, based on the interactions observed during the simulation. Upon reaching this goal, students can then begin to hypothesize about the color assignments of other individuals as well.

• Upon completion of Level 3, students engage in another Buddy • Questions Session. Then, another whole-class discussion ensues, similar to that following Level 2, and students can test their knowledge and understanding by explaining the reasoning behind their deductions, providing evidence in the form of data, and providing feedback to other students.

Day 5: Wrap-Up

Finally, the teacher leads the wrap-up discussion, in which the counter-intuitive phenomena are revisited, and students attempt explain the phenomena with new knowledge.

Student Assessment Measures:

Light Me Up! Knowledge Assessment of Color & Light Concepts A paper-and-pencil assessment is also administered to the students to test knowledge transfer to a different medium:

Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA) - attitudes toward scientific inquiry - adoption of scientific attitudes - enjoyment of scientific lessons - leisure & career interests in science

Evaluation Measures for Light Me Up!

Data Collection & Analysis: • Scores from Knowledge Assessment of Color & Light concepts.

• Scores from Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA)

• Student work products: - Observation Notepads - Responses to Buddy Questions

• Other possibilities under consideration: video taping, student interviews, teacher interviews

Critical Analysis

Critical Analysis

• Light Me Up has accessibility issues regarding its use of color -- folks with color blindness may have problems engaging in this activity

• Limitations with respect to classroom size and #students: Not all kids can participate in the simulation at once

• Cost is an issue regarding the prospect of implementing Light Me Up on a large scale (and perhaps even on a small scale!)

• Project operates under the assumption that students will cooperate and abide by the rules, but depending on the dynamics of different classrooms, certain rules could be compromised by students (answers given away during Level 2)

Thanks for Your Attention!