Technology-Based Lesson Plans:
A Critique of Three High School Physics Lessons
Prepared
by Susan Connell
As part a a requirement for Educational Technology 570
San Diego State University
Summer 2003 |
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Lesson Plan 1
Title:
Simple Thermodynamics
of Transportation
URL:
http://www.pbs.org/americanfieldguide/teachers/transportation/transportation_unit.html
Grade Level:
9-12
Summary: In this lesson, students
watch videos about various modes of transportation, examine the
energy transformations that occur in each, and are introduced to
the laws of thermodynamics. These lessons can be adapted to fit
the needs of various classes by adding more or taking away information
about the laws of thermodynamics.
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How
well does this lesson use technology? Does it use technology to do
things that would be difficult or tedious to do without technology?
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This
lesson makes extensive use of on-line video clips to illustrate
various principles. It makes good use of technology in light of
the fact that field trips to make first hand observations are often
not practical and the clips illustrate principles of thermodynamics
with things such as locks and dams or steam engines in action that
are not always easy to find in one's community. It complements the
video clips with one activity that the students can do in the classroom
so it is not entirely passive. |
What
kind of thinking skills are engaged? |
This
lesson plan engages the skills of:
-
Remembering - recalling basic laws of thermodynamics
- Understanding
- explaining how those laws apply to the activities shown in the
video clips
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How
clear are the directions in the lesson plan? Would you be able to
pick it up and use it as is, or do you have questions about the details
of implementation? |
For
the most part,implementation of this lesson plan seems straightforward
and well documented. I had some difficulty accessing the video clips
because I did not have the correct plug-ins for my browser. So it
might have been nice to include a brief note about software/plug-ins
required for the lesson. |
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Lesson Plan 2
Title:
Understanding Uncertainty
URL:
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/understanding-uncertainty/
Grade Level: 9-12
Summary: Students learn about the
Heisenberg uncertainty principle which states that in the world
of subatomic particles, the very act of observing alters the reality
being observed, and therefore, in that world of subatomic particles,
one can never measure all properties exactly.
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How
well does this lesson use technology? Does it use technology to do
things that would be difficult or tedious to do without technology? |
Although
the lesson plan specifies that a computer with Internet access is
required for the lesson, it appeared that none of the primary activities
required the use of a computer. Some supplementary activities and
adaptations required use of the Internet to research certain areas
in more depth and a multimedia Glossary provided pronunciations
of half a dozen words that a teacher could easily pronounce for
the students without Internet access (physics, reality, particle
theory...). The lesson was from the Discovery Lesson Plan Library
and as such, there was a 52-minute companion video that could be
purchased for $49. It was theoretically possible to view a video
clip of the tape on-line for evaluation purposes, but there was
no free plug-in available for my operating system, so I was not
able to view it to get a sense of its quality and relevance. |
What
kind of thinking skills are engaged? |
This
lesson plan engages the skills of:
-
Remembering - recalling basic principles of uncertainty
theory
- Understanding
- explaining how those principles apply to subatomic scientific
research methods and observations
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How
clear are the directions in the lesson plan? Would you be able to
pick it up and use it as is, or do you have questions about the details
of implementation? |
The
"meat" of this lesson plan was well documented, however
it left out details like when would be the best time to introduce
the video and places in the core lesson where the Internet might
be used. Perhaps they should have listed Internet access as an optional
material, so that an instructor whose classroom did not have Internet
access would not avoid the lesson. Again, I had difficulty accessing
the evaluation video clips because there was no free plug-in for
my browser. |
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Lesson Plan 3
Title:
Introduction to Physics
URL:
http://henson.austin.apple.com/edres/shlessons/sh-physc.shtml
Grade Level: 9-12
Summary: This lesson provides ideas
for the first days in physics or physical science classes and an
online source for introducing students to physics.
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How
well does this lesson use technology? Does it use technology to do
things that would be difficult or tedious to do without technology? |
This
was a very basic lesson meant to provide an overview on the subject
of Physics. However it was a little bit too cursory. While it listed
an Internet-connected computer as a required material, the lesson
plan only included one reference link - and that link was broken.
Clearly, this was not a good use of technology. Had they included
several links for students to explore, it obviously would have been
more valuable. While this sort of information is readily available
in libraries and textbooks, some basic Physics topics are well suited
to animation, hyper linking and illustrations that would be appropriate
for the Internet. |
What
kind of thinking skills are engaged? |
While
the lesson plan listed "Understanding" as the main level
of thinking involved with this lesson, it did not specify a clear
deliverable that would allow anyone to evaluate whether any level
of understanding had been achieved. |
How
clear are the directions in the lesson plan? Would you be able to
pick it up and use it as is, or do you have questions about the details
of implementation? |
This
item did not really seem like a complete lesson as much as a suggested
introductory activity for a physics class. If it had included more
Internet links and some method of evaluating what level of understanding
was achieved, it would have been more useful. |
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Summary
The
first lesson about Thermodynamics was the most complete and comprehensive
lesson that was designed to engage students on many levels. The second
was more cursory and passive, while the third was really more effective
as a suggestion for how to introduce the subject of Physics. While all
made some use of various technologies, I found that there were many more
physics lessons that appeared to be reasonably comprehensive and engaging
but did not require any use of technology - just old-fashioned experiments
that allowed students to observe the laws of physics first-hand.
Last
updated
Sunday, June 29, 2003 2:10 PM
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Illustrations used by license agrement from Clipart.com. |