Technologies Used: (1) Blackboard, (2) Blogger (optional) or Skype, Desktop or Laptop Computer, Internet, and for an alternative lesson, (1) a video recording apparatus and (2) TeacherTube
NOTICE: This is a lesson plan proposition using Blackboard. Ideally, this will best serve as a lesson idea for a distance education course through a virtual school program rather than a blended course, but variations are more than possible.
The ocean is a wondrous place where several different species have created a habitat for themselves. Each habitat is separated into different zones, but for the purposes of today's lesson, we will look at how an organism's looks may be explained by their habitat and the adaptations required for that environment. More specifically, how conditions within the abyssopelagic zone (or any zone(s) of choice) influence an organism's make-up.
Our goals for the lesson are to discover (1) the life and conditions of the abyssopelagic zone as well as (2) how density correlates to buoyancy and movement, and (3) how factors of the ideal gas law (PV=nRT) such as pressure, temperature, and volume, and properties of liquids influence the physiognomy of abyssopelagic zone dwelling organisms.
In discussing ecosystems and the role of pressure, temperature, and volume on living organisms, we will correlate life science content to physical science. This process of "making connections" will require the student to make inferences based on prior knowledge, specifically on the properties of gases, and liquids. This inquiry of the ecology and physiology of marine species within zones fulfills the California Standards (CS) 6 (d)(g) in 9th through 12th grade Biology/Life Sciences and 4(c) in 9th through 12th grade Chemistry.
Based on Chi's "Eliciting Self-explanations Improves Understanding" paper, "learning involves the integration of new information into existing knowledge." As such, one can use expository text as a learning tool without so much of a focus on worksheet supplements or interactive games and tools as long as reflection which require the student to correlate the topic read to already learned material or real-life scenerios. Basically, as long as a student can re-explain using their own words and making their own associations to the topic being studied, learning has occured. The objective of this lesson is also to encourage reflection, inference, and self-explanation of topics studied.
Flikr Images "Deep Sea" Creatures from the Deep Abyss (YouTube)
In teams and forming interactive study groups, students are to learn using text-based material combined with distance learning tools.
A. Grouping
Teacher will randomly group her Blackboard students into groups of 3 to 4 students depending on the size of the class.
Each group will be have to meet as a study group within 48 hours in order to discuss the chapter on Abyssinian sea creatures.
The teacher will have the option to post 'external links' on Blackboard for students to use alongside their textbook. A good choice for an external link for this lesson is this Discover Magazine article.
B. The Learning Unit
During the 'study session' that will be organized by each group but somehow recorded by each member in order to offer proof of having met to the teacher (recorded audio, video, or online chat), students will go back to Blackboard and select the Learning Unit titled 'Hints, Questions, and Guidance'
Using the textbook, possible external links, and following the Learning Unit, students will study and take notes which will be emailed to the teacher along with their proof from step (B)(1) above. Students have 24 hours to email their information and further study and communicate if necessary.
C. Assessment
By this time, 72 hours have elapsed. Students will gather their notes in order to complete a timed set of essay questions or quiz in test-format on Blackboard. The teacher may offer students test retaking options. The test should be removed after being posted for 24 or 48 hours.
Reflection
The final step which is still part of the assessment process, is called "reflection". A prompt will be offered to students basically asking them to explain what they learned and to pull in information they already know in order to think critically about the points made within the "lesson goal": to discover (1) the life and conditions of the abyssopelagic zone as well as (2) how density correlates to buoyancy and movement, and (3) how factors of the ideal gas law (PV=nRT) such as pressure, temperature, and volume influence the physiognomy of abyssopelagic zone dwelling organisms.
For this activity, students will form groups of three but no more than five virtually and meeting by way of Blackboard*. The teacher would have uploaded material to an existing Blackboard class on Marine Biology that students have access to. If the Blackboard class exists but students are not yet enrolled, the teacher can easily utilize the administrative access through the "control panel" options on Blackboard in order to create users or enroll students for this specific lesson. If an already created course is not readily available, a teacher may research free non-for-credit virtual classrooms offered by nonprofit organizations (Free-Ed.Net) or universities (Open Learning Initiative by Carnegie Mellon University) for something to match their lesson plan.
Once the groups have been formed through a random selection or teacher choice, students will be asked to meet together on a separate occasion to read over the appropriate textbook chapter, discuss the material, and take notes in order to derive factual information on their lesson. Though only the textbook and some external links provided by the teacher on Blackboard will be used for learning, students are expected to still retain the material due to the fact that they will answer a series of teacher created open-ended questions. To help students on their 'learning adventure' they will be looking over a blackboard "learning unit" created by the teacher which provides a series of hints of what to think of or discuss during the process, questions, and diagrams following the Paivio's dual coding theory. Basically, topics for the groups to think over and discuss as they read the textbook material.
So, using hints, the textbook, optional external links provided by the teacher on blackboard, their discussion notes, students will discuss the topic learned, then answer questions and a possible time chapter quiz on blackboard.
ASIDE: students have the option to meet through asynchronous conferencing tools such as the "Discussion Board" on Blackboard or Blogger for those that possess a gmail account, and/or synchronous conferencing using either a Blackboard Chatroom option or Skype. Note that this option is only possible if all students within the group possess a Skype account and have each others' email information. According to Lapadat's 2002 article "Written Interaction: A Key Component in Online Learning", both types of conferencing are interactive and advantageous to online learning, but the pro of synchronous is that it feels like a conversation but the con is that due to its timed nature, the communication tends to be superficial. In regards to asynchronous conferencing, though it is limited by language, it is not limited by time and therefore student replies will be more in-depth. For the purposes of this activity, the conversation-like communication may offer more advantages, a least for the meeting using our Blackboard "learning unit."
Example of the Learning Unit: 'Hints, Questions, and Guidance' Once students have studied and discussed the material, they will then be directed to essay questions posted in test-format on Blackboard. The teacher will be expected to publish then remove the questions after a 24 or 48-hour period. Though students worked together in the "study phase" of the lesson, they will be completing the questions individually using their personal Blackboard account setup for the course. Finally, a quiz imported into Blackboard that is timed and randomized may be used as an alternative assessment or a reflective essay.
1. Do deep sea organisms rely on solar energy? Why or why not?
2. What adaptations do deep sea organisms require that other marine organisms don’t (those living above ?
3. What would be advantages to having whale carcasses on the sea floor? What evidence is there that there are advantages?
4. How is it that with a lack of oxygen, deep sea organisms are surrounding by a nutrient-rich atmosphere? In essence, what nutrients are found in the deeper parts of the ocean? How or why is it that they are found in those depths. Figure 15.28 may help you with this question.
5. How do the organisms of the deep sea cope with the intense pressure of deep underwater living?
6. What are the general characteristics of a deep-ocean dweller?
7. What are the effects to a volcanic eruption on creatures living in communities around hydrothermal vents? If it’s even possible, how is it that they can recover from such an event?
8. List the different ocean layers/zones from figure 16.1 that can support primary production.
9. What are the average ocean temperatures for the different ocean zones according to chapter 16?
10. What are nautiloids and what “new trick” did they adapt in order to float up off the bottom of the ocean and away from predators?
11. Why is it that most deeper ocean dwellers are so small?
12. List and describe the different mollusks (if any) that live in the abyssopelagic layer of the ocean.
13. Pick 3 Abyssinian organisms to describe. Include a description of their anatomy and feeding habits.
14. Why was it so unusual and surprising to scientists that the ocean floor and places such as the abyssal region can have species-rich communities?
15. “Midwater fishes characteristically have eyes that are large.” Why do you suppose that is the case? What other ‘sensory’ adaptations do these organisms have?
16. Define and describe hypoxia
17. Are deep-sea fishes fast and mobile? Why or why not?
18. Can a person dive using a scuba tank beyond 4000m? Why or why not?
19. What elements do scientists have to face when exploring the deep sea? Also, why is it so important for them to have such large and heavy suits and/or tanks?
Test-format essay questions on Blackboard... The questions should be something like the five typed below so that students can work in teams as a study group in order to learn the material, then in order to respond to questions. No two answers should be the same; students may be working in teams, but they are still required to answer each question according to their understanding an personal analysis. Basically they should use their own words!
(1) What zone(s) was discussed or viewed today? List the organisms viewed and place them in separate ocean zones.
(2) What elements do scientists have to face when exploring the deep sea?
(3) What are the average ocean temperatures for the different ocean zones? How does temperature affect reaction rates (hint: think of the rate at which sugar dissolves in cold versus warm coffee).
(4)Knowing the temperature within the abyssopelagic zone, how is an organism's metabolic rate affected? What does this mean in terms of their eating patterns/habits, in terms of of an organism's movement, and in terms of its size (hint: refer back to ideas put together regarding pressure on the body)?
(5) What are the effects of pressure (large amounts) on the human body? Think of why deep sea divers wear specialized suites before exploring the depths of the ocean...In correspondance to the earlier question, answer, how do the organisms of the deep sea cope with the intense pressure of deep underwater living?
(6) In what way does the average size of organisms change the deeper into the ocean they live? How can you explain this change?
Each student is required to post an answer to each of the questions and to reply a minimum of three times to different students' postings. The DB will be made available for commentaries to be posted throughout the week.
Students will then be asked to move to their final step in this lesson, the reflection...
* this meeting process may be initiated through the classroom if necessary.
By the end of the week's time, each student will privately post a well thought-out reflection (350 words minimum) to the teacher, explaining by using their own words, what the purpose of the lesson was, what previously known knowledge they used in order to answer the open-ended questions, and finally, how the lesson can be used in their everyday life or at the very least, how it correlates to another subject.
For classrooms not utilizing Blackboard, a series of discussion questions may be posted on a free educational tool such as Blogger or even Wordpress. In order for it to include a distance learning component (rather than blended learning), the teacher may correspond with other teachers in coastal regions in order to have a fieldtrip in their respective area involving marine life (aquarium or high tide). Once the fieldtrip is approved and planned, have portions of it filmed by student group leaders (can be done with a school digital camera or camcorder that students share) to post online with their team. With this information made public and using specific tags or keywords for students to easily find, teams can meet either face to face or virtually over communication programs such as Skype, to discuss what they saw and what they learned from each video posted. Using either Youtube or TeacherTube will allow all schools in correspondence to view the material and for students from different locations to use, in order to answer a series of critical thinking questions based on ecology and the effects of location, climate, etc. on the looks of marine organisms. Pick up from there to complete the reflection.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT... It is assumed that the teachers involved will have discussed marine life in a variety of zones (is not restricted to abyssopelagic zone), their conditions and life adaptations of organisms living in each zone.
As this course is online using blackboard, you will need to be sure that you or your school:
(a) have access to blackboard
(b) have students enrolled in a previously created course
- * - Please note that some pre-built courses can be attained freely from the blackboard site, purchased, or created by the school or teacher. For an idea of how Blackboard works, CLICK HERE.
(c) have internet access HOW CAN BLACKBOARD BE USED?
Blackboard is a educational technology tool used in a variety of ways. Though it is mainly knows in the upper level section of education, Blackboard is a program currently being used in a variety of settings, including K-12 education. (I) Blended Learning
The program has been used as a "blended learning" tool where students use parts of it to supplement the classroom teaching. The discussion board for example is great to use as it will be restricted to added members alone so that students can feel secure and comfortable enough to discuss their work. Though iChat, Skype, Aim, and others can provide students with the same capabilities as the discussion board in Blackboard, privacy is a little more guaranteed in blackboard then it is with the other options.
(II) Credit Recovery According to the Blackboard site, some schools have used the software to develop credit recovery programs for students having to retake classes independently, especially if their schedule is too full to add another period.
(III)Online Professional Development Blackboard is not only useful for students, but it's an excellent tool for teachers as well. The site similarly to Wikiversity, may serve as a database of educational information for teachers and administrators. Different from Wikiversity, information specific to the school that one does not want to make viewable to the public may be posted on Blackboard without a problem.
(IV) Virtual Schools Though this isn't the remaining use for the program, schools such as National University's Virtual K-12 program or Halstrom High School's Online program have opted to utilize Blackboard as their primary learning center. Virtual classrooms are created and uploaded for distance learning purposes.
Articles:
(I) Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education (pp. 146-162). New York, NY: The Macmillan Company.
- Dewey discusses the importance for a teacher to have a goal for the lesson and having the student be engaged in the learning process which is why students in this lesson plan are encouraged to work collaboratively and to each provide responses to concepts learned, as well as a reflection.
(II) Stigler, J. W., & Hiebert, J. (2009). The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world's teachers for improving education in the classroom (pp. 55-72). New York, NY: Free Press.
- This Stigler text mentions how there are advantage to comparing activities in the classroom across cultures as the differences between the U.S., Japanese, and German mathematics classrooms. In regards to this lesson plan, noise (such as a loudspeaker interruption in the American classroom) is substantially reduced, as well as diagram misinterpretation.
(III) Chi, M. T. H., De Leeuw, N., Chiu, M.-H., & Lavancher, C. Eliciting self-explanations improves understanding. Cognitive Science, 18(3), 439-477.
- The case study results reveal that self-explanation improves the acquisition of problem-solving skills when studying worked-out examples. The final reflections and questions within a study-group setting is the self-explanation component in this lesson plan.
(IV) Squire, K. (2006). From content to context: Videogames as designed experience. Educational Researcher, 35(8), 19-29.
- The text argues the potential of virtual-games as a learning environment; it can be designed to provide students with hands-on experience that may otherwise not be attainable in the classroom environment.
(V) Bainbridge, W. S. (2007). The scientific research potential of virtual worlds. Science, 317, 472–476.
- This article discusses the future of technology in education by introducing readers to virtual worlds, specifically Second Life and World of Warcraft. It expounds on the importance of setting.
Marine Biology Reading & Resources: MARINE BIO BLOG
Castro, Peter and Micheal E. Huber. Marine Biology. 6th. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2007.
"The End of the Line; How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat" by Charles Clover, 2008.
Optional: Steinbeck's "Log From the Sea of Cortez"
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