TPACK and Science Activity

For our science activity, we concentrated on the Utah State Standard 2 for 5th grade science, which is that students will understand that volcanoes, earthquakes, uplift, weathering, and erosion reshape Earth's surface. For our activity, we focused on exploring a volcano and also the Grand Canyon, which was shaped through the process of erosion. This is the content section of TPACK.

We chose to teach our activity the way we did because it gives the students an opportunity to visualize how the surface of the Earth is changed. Instead of trying to picture this image in their heads, they can actually see what it looks like. They also can explore the terrain for themselves and come up with their own conclusions. This is a type of discovery learning, which is a good way to teach science. Using this method to teach our content demonstrates the PK part of TPACK.

The technology we used for activity was Google Earth. This fit well with both the content and our pedagogy for teaching it. Google Earth shows the content in a real-life way, showing the topography as well as actual photographs. This enables students to visualize how volcanoes and erosion actually affect the Earth's surface. This technology also allows the students to explore the locations themselves, which helps support our view on effective teaching. Incorporating all these components into our activity demonstrates how TPACK can be used to teach science.

Tech Savvy Teachers

Written by Jennifer Ray and RaeLene Hamblin

As Tech Savvy teachers, we want to give our students the opportunity to use content-specific technology tools. We know that these technologies allow our students to explore science in ways that are engaging and enjoyable.

We used technology to teach about the reshaping of the Earth's surface, which is standard 2 in Utah's core curriculum for the 5th grade. Specifically, we wanted students to explore volcanoes, canyons, and mountain ranges after we had discussed the forces that create these landforms. Students were also given the task of describing the terrain of a new location, such as Nevada in our example. Google Earth is the technology tool students used to accomplish these tasks. The image to the right is an example of how students are able to see the topography of various landforms, in this case a volcano.

Google Earth enables students to view geographic locations throughout the world. We began by looking at the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. Google Earth allows the students view the terrain of the actual volcano by using the 3D feature and by zooming in to the volcano. Students can move the focus around the terrain so they can explore the volcano in depth. As seen in the picture below, Google Earth also offers informational articles when this specific box is clicked. In this example, a Wikipedia article shows information about Mauna Loa.

Next, students explored the geological features of the Grand Canyon. Students were able to see real photographs of the Grand Canyon alongside the topographical view. As the students explored the Google Earth images, we discussed the forces that created these landforms. Finally, students were instructed to explore a nonresidential area of Nevada and describe the terrain they see. Students also explained what forces shaped that terrain. An example of a student's view of Nevada is provided below.
This technology of Google Earth allowed students to observe and analyze data in the form images. Because the images were three-dimensional, students were able to gain a deeper understanding of the content than they would have through a lecture with pictures. The following image of the Grand Canyon exemplifies the kind of images that students are able to manipulate to explore geological landforms. Investigating these landforms engages students in meaningful learning. This is one example of how tech savvy teachers use technology to enhance learning.

Science Technology Explored

During class, we explored temperature probes. I was excited to experiment with this science technology. We could change the measurements from degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius and we could even have two probes plugged into the same computer and have the two temperatures be graphed on the same graph. I liked the challenges that we were given because they gave us a chance to problem solve with the knowledge we had about how this technology worked. I think that this technology would be great to use in a classroom, especially when we are talking about graphs and how to read them.

TPACK

TPACK combines technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge together to be an effective way to incorporate technology in classroom learning. A teacher who teaches the material from the state core uses content knowledge. Knowing how to use technology, such as a thermometer, is called technological knowledge. Understanding the best way to teach people is known as pedagogical knowledge. The best kinds of teaching include all of these knowledges together, also known as TPACK. Using technology in the classroom to teach the content can enhance the student's learning. As a teacher, it may be hard to include TPACK in every lesson, but taking the time to explore techonolgy tools gives teachers more options when they plan their lessons. The students will benefit from the teacher's use of TPACK.

301 Observational Learning Report

For my observation learning report, I decided to observe my institute teacher. He is quite different from the institute teacher we had last semester. At the beginning of class he told us that we needed to find someone we didn’t know and sit next to them. Then he had “get to know you” questions ready on his slides to ask each other. We had one minute to find out about each other. We repeated this until we had met five new people. When he had us sit down, he asked us to all sit in the middle of the classroom and fill up the empty seats. By this simple activity, Brother Gibbs showed that his teaching method involved the class being friends and knowing one another. These activities seemed to bring the class together. I noticed a difference from the way institute was last semester, and I think that these strategies were beneficial. I know that as a learner in the classroom I felt like I could be friends with the people in my class because I now knew who they were and I became excited to come to institute for the rest of the semester. There is a definite difference in the atmosphere when you feel comfortable in a learning environment.

Brother Gibbs also introduced himself and he told us that he wanted us to know him and not think of him as just another teacher we listened to for an hour. We found out that he is legally blind and he told us a little about some of the experiences that he has had. This strategy was similar to the first activity because it was fostering an environment where students feel safe and welcome. While this was a good strategy, Brother Gibbs went off on a few tangents telling personal stories instead of covering lesson material. His stories were interesting, but the reason we came to institute was to learn more about the gospel. He spent about 15 minutes telling us stories, which is one thing that I would change if I were to teach the lesson he did; it took time out of the content.

For the lesson, we discussed one of President Hinckley’s talks about faith, which we all read before we came. Brother Gibbs had a few points listed that we discussed. I noticed, however, that he let the students do more talking than he as the teacher was doing. He was adding comments, but overall the student talk was greater than the teacher talk. This was a good strategy because it allowed the students to gain from each other’s knowledge and insights. It was a good balance and I felt like I learned a lot from what others said as well as what Brother Gibbs said. The lesson that we had on faith was uplifting and I feel like one of the only things I would have changed would have been to have more time for the actual lesson. I hadn’t analyzed a teacher’s style in a religious setting, but I found that Brother Gibbs definitely has good teaching strategies to help his students gain more knowledge.

RSS and Web 2.0 tools

This week I learned about what RSS is and how it could be helpful to use it as an educator. RSS takes information that you can get from various sources and puts them all in one place so you don't have to go look for them. This could be used in many different ways. As a teacher, I could use RSS to get updates from lots of educational resources. I could have an RSS feed for educational research so I could be updated about the best ways to teach. I also could have an RSS feed that has lesson plan ideas and different activities that can be used for teaching. Web 2.0 tools will also be helpful to use as a teacher. Resource sharing, like Goodreads and Delicious, will be helpful so I can get other teacher's ideas and resources. I can share mine with them and get theirs in return. When you collaborate with others, you can have a better range of information. I think that these resources will be very beneficial to me as an educator.

My technology background

My technology background is pretty typical. I had a computer in my house, which I used to play some computer games and more for homework as I got older. I have an email and facebook account and I use the internet to research all the time. I passed the technology tests required for admittance in the Elementary Education program pretty easily. I don't have much experience with anything more complicated than that.