Meet the Bears

Meet the BearsUnit Analysis

by:

Danielle Davis, Erin Goodrich, Tina

Granderson, Jennifer Noble, and Kayla

Spradlin

Unit Plan Analysis

Our group chose to analyze the “Meet The Bears” unit plan. Please click on the link below to view.

Meet the Bears

Table of ContentsClick on Topic

• Curriculum• Assessment Plan• Objectives• Introduction• NETS*S • NETS*T• Engaged Learning• Other Learning Styles• Constructivism• Assignments that Matt

er• Technology Integratio

n• Bloom’s Taxonomy• Reflections• Assessment Quiz• Resources

Click to return to Table of Contents

Curriculumfor Meet the Bears

• Grade Level: K-2• Subjects: Life Science, Measurement, Report Writing Skills

• Topics: Animals• Key Learnings: Natural History, Comparison, Measurement, Graphing

• Time Needed: 3-4 Weeks, 40-minute class periods, 3 class periods per week

Assessment Planfor Meet the Bears

• Know-Wonder-Learn chart• Questioning• Student Work Folder• Informal Observations• Written Assessment• Bears Brochure Checklist/Rubric

Why Assess?

• Help students and teachers set goals

• Monitor student progress• Provide feedback• Assess thinking, processes, performances, and products

• Reflect on learning throughout the learning cycle

Student Objectivesfor Meet the Bears

• Describe a bear’s physical characteristics   • Compare the sizes of different types of bears

and humans   • Compare the basic needs of one bear species

(habitat, diet, and so forth) to humans   • Use a spreadsheet or graphing software to

display measurements of bears and humans by collecting, sorting, and displaying data

• Synthesize information into a brochure

Introduction to the lesson…

• Check out fiction and nonfiction books about bears

• Arrange 5th grade study buddies to help with reading, studying, and writing about bears

• Check out fiction and nonfiction books about bears

• Arrange 5th grade study buddies to help with reading, studying, and writing about bears

NETS*Sfor Meet the Bears

• Creativity and Innovation: Use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity  

• Communication and Collaboration: Use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works  

• Research and Innovation Fluency: Use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources  

• Communication and Collaboration: Use technology tools to process data and report results

NETS*Tfor Meet the Bears

• Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity: engage students in real-world issues and problem solving and through reflection

• Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments: allow students to set personal goals and assess their own progress

• Promote and model citizenship responsibility: advocate and teach the legal and ethical uses of digital technologies and digital etiquette

• Visions of engaged learning:– Responsible for learning

• Are We Like Other Animals?– Collaborative

• Working with 5th grade buddies• Sharing work through K-W-L chart

• Tasks for engaged learning:– Challenging, Authentic, Multidisciplinary• Students must research the answers to fact finding questions: How are we different from bears? What do animals need to live?

• Learning about bears is a “real-world” learning experience. The students will be able to share their understanding when they go to the zoo with their families and friends.

• This unit is incorporating Science, Writing, and Math

Engaged Learning

Engaged Learning• Assessment

– Interwoven with curriculum and instruction• Students are answering questions and creating charts and illustrations to demonstrate learning

• Rubric provided

• Instructional Models and Strategies– Interactive Instruction

• Instruction takes place in the classroom with students working with other students and teachers being available to answer questions and offer insight to the project

– Generative• Brochure being created through the use of different software programs

Click here to view an example

Engaged Learning

• Learning Context– Knowledge-based

• Questions are answered based on research

– Collaborative• Students work together and come up with common ideas

– Empathetic• Supports classmates opinions

• Grouping– Heterogeneous– Flexible– Equitable

» Students were grouped with 5th graders

• Teacher Role– Facilitator

• Questions were presented to the students• Watches and assess participation, but allows the students to research and find their own answers

– Guide• Teacher leads the class through exploration, but students are gathering their own information

– Co-learner• Teachers and students learning together or teachers and teachers learning together

The teacher took on the role of the facilitator in this project

Engaged Learning

Engaged Learning• Student Role

– Explorer• Students are answering key questions through the use of the internet and books

– Apprenticeship• Students are producing brochures about the bears at the zoo to be distributed to zoo guests

– Knowledge Producers• Students are producing charts and illustrations to show what they have learned

Click here to see examples of the comparison chart and spreadsheet

Collaborative Learning• Think – Pair – Share

– Interview partner– Work together to find answers

• Simple Jigsaw– Each person in a group has a part to become

an expert on and then share it with the group

• Numbered Heads Together– Members of the group share information

based on what number has been assigned to them (1, 2, 3, 4, etc)

*** This project took on more of the “Think – Pair – Share style. The learners worked with their 5th grade buddies to research the Big Idea questions and then collaborated to

answer the questions ***

Socratic Learning

• Thinking Is Driven By Questions– Ask questions about questions– Question the student’s perspective and viewpoints

• Students Must Seek Understanding– Ask probing questions

Outcome-Based Learning

• Determine Where They Are and Where They Want To Be

• Content Outcome, Student Performance, School Performance Standards

• Students and Staff Take Responsibility For The Learning

• Objectives Are Clearly Defined• Evaluation By Peers and Teachers

Project-Based Learning

• Emphasizes Cooperative Learning• Consists Of:

– A question or problem to start the project

– Artifacts and materials that help answer the question or problem

• Gives Students More Freedom– Fact finding in their own direction and on their own timeline as defined by the project

• Allows Students To Explore Their Creative Thinking Skills

Left-Brain/Right-Brain Learner

• Are you a left-brain learner?– Do you work best alone?– Do you prefer quiet environments?– Do you like structured outlines and lectures?

– Do you like to research?• Are you a right-brain learner?

– Do you like to draw and manipulate objects?– Do you like graphic design?– Do you prefer to work in groups?

Take our quiz and find out what type of a learner you are

After completing the quiz, click to continue

Learning Styles• Visual

– Learn through images, pictures, color, and other visual media

Achieved through books, internet, brochure

• Kinesthetic and Tactile– Learn by doing and being active– Hands-on

Achieved through research, activities, and the student-bear height comparison

• Auditory– Learn through hearing

We don’t really feel there was a lot of auditory learning going on with this project. The exception could be if there was a visual-impaired student in the class that would have to have the information read to them.

Click on the faces for examples

Constructivism• Teachers ask open-ended questions

– Students cannot just answer “no”– Questions lead to discussion

• Student-led– Students are responsible for finding

answers to the questions– Students decide what direction to take to

get to the finished product

• Uses actual data instead of the textbook– Data retrieved from other sources like the

Internet and encyclopedias

Assignments That Matter• Ask and explain “big idea” questions

– Are we like other animals?– How are we different from bears?– What do animals need to live?– What do bears eat?– What are a bear’s characteristics?

• Utilize multiple data resources– Fiction and nonfiction books– Internet– Encyclopedia– Multiple software programs including desktop publishing software and

spreadsheets• Use multiple assessment forms with clear judging criteria

– Question and answer between teacher and student– Spreadsheets and charts– Brochure– Rubric provided

• Make the lesson interesting– Reading books at the beginning of the lesson to introduce bears– Incorporated illustrations with vocabulary– Make maps showing where bears live– Student-bear height comparison

• Keep students engaged– Entire project is hands-on with student-led research

Integrating Technology in the Classroom

• Using any type of technology in a transparent type way– The learning lesson focuses on the curriculum not on

the use of the technology itself• Provides:

– Easy access to up-to-date information– Methods of collecting and storing data– Ways to collaborate with teachers, students, and

experts around the world– Learning that is relevant and assessment that is

authentic– A means of communication between the teacher and

student families• Calendar• E-mail• Grades• Classroom updates

Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Knowledge: memorization without learning• Comprehension: ability to put information

into your own words• Application: ability to apply information

to solve a problem• Analysis: break information down into

usable parts• Synthesis: combining different pieces of

information to create something new• Evaluation: ability to place judgment

based on information

InstructionalObjectives

Knowledge Synthesis EvaluationAnalysisApplicationComprehension

AND FINALLY….

Our Reflections

Reflections

• What styles of learning would you prefer to have as a student?– We all agreed that we are visual and kinesthetic learners. Being able to touch and/or visualize something allows us to “soak it in” and retain the information, thus resulting in learning.

• What styles of learning would you prefer to teach?– As a teacher, you have to be ready and willing to teach all styles of learners. All students learn differently and at a different pace. Teachers must be able to teach to all students.

Reflections

• What did we like most about the Meet the Bears unit?– The use of hands-on activities– The buddy system with the 5th graders

– The brochure that will be distributed at the local zoo

• Do we feel this unit could have been changed in any way to make it more engaging for the students?– Add songs about bears

Do You Think You Learned Something?

Take our Assessment and find out!

Assessment Assessment Key

Resources

• NETS*T & NETS*S– http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

• Meet The Bears by – http://www97.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign/UnitPlanIndex/MeetTheBears/

• Assignments That Matter– http://usiweb.usi.edu/spring2009/educ214-3/25/

• Sea World– http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/PolarBears/pbphysical.html

• Enchanted Learning– http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

Glossary of Terms• Assessment- is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms,

knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community (class, workshop, or other organized group of learners), the institution, or the educational system as a whole.

• Innovation- a new way of doing something.

• Collaboration- an act of two or more people working together to achieve a common goal.

• Digital Etiquette- the same as net etiquette, is a basic set of rules you should follow in order to make the internet better for others, and better for you.

• Engaged Learning-Students take charge of their own learning and are self-regulated. They define learning goals and problems that are meaningful to them; understand how specific activities relate to those goals; and, using standards of excellence, evaluate how well they have achieved the goals. 

• Rubric- a scoring tool for subjective assessments. It is a set of critera and standards linked to learning objectives that is used to assess a student's performance on papers, projects, essays, and other assignments. Rubrics allow for stan according to standardized testing specified criteria, making grading simpler and more transparent.

• Kinesthetic Learner-is a teaching and learning style in which learning takes place by the student actually carrying out a physical activity, rather than listening to a lecture or merely watching a demonstration.

Glossary of Terms• Generative Learning- Learners actively participate in the learning process

and generate knowledge by forming mental connections between concepts.

• Heterogeneous Learning-consisting of dissimilar ingredients or constituents: mixed. The movement in education is away from grouping of students by perceived ability level--tracking--and toward a heterogeneous learning environment, where students with different educational maturity and development levels are in the same classroom.

• Equitable Learning-a quality experience for all learners. Learners have respect for others, and feel invited to learn.

• Socratic Learning-thinking driven by questions, a teaching philosophy that differs from the traditional format as instruction is in the form of problem-solving and testing of hypotheses.

• Outcome based Learning- It is a student-center learning philosophy that focuses on empirically measuring student performance, which are called outcomes.

• Project Based Learning- is the use of classroom projects, intended to bring about deep learning, where students use technology and inquiry to engage with issues and questions that are relevant to their lives. These classroom projects are used to assess student's subject matter competence compared to traditional testing.

• Visual Learner-is a teaching and learning style in which ideas, concepts, data and other information are associated with images and techniques. It is one of the three basic types of learning styles.

Glossary of Terms• Auditory Learner-is a learning style in which a person learns through

listening. They may struggle to understand a chapter they've read, but then experience a full understanding as they listen to the class lecture. An auditory learner may benefit by using the speech recognition tool available on many PCs.

• Technology- the practical application of knowledge. Educational technology includes hardware (computers, handheld devices, printers, digital cameras), software and content applications (programming classes, productivity software), and media (the Internet and videoconferencing).

• Bloom’s Taxonomy- refers to a classification of the different objectives that educators set for students (learning objectives). Bloom's Taxonomy divides educational objectives into three "domains:" Affective, Psychomotor, and Cognitive. Within the taxonomy learning at the higher levels is dependent on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels (Orlich, et al. 2004). A goal of Bloom's Taxonomy is to motivate educators to focus on all three domains, creating a more uniform type of education.

• Reflection- careful thought or consideration