Making It Real-World

Using a well documents disaster as an engagement piece this teacher created an activity that simulated the oil spill off the Gulf Coast of the USA. Students were able to design their own ex... See More

Using a well documents disaster as an engagement piece this teacher created an activity that simulated the oil spill off the Gulf Coast of the USA. Students were able to design their own experiment to contain and remove the oil from the simulated spill. Written in a 5E lesson students acting like an ‘oil-response team’ make a hypothesis as to which method would be best to remove the spill. This real-world related activity concluded with the effects of the spill on organisms in the Gulf. This activity provides a great real-world connection.

Practical Learning Experiences Are Best

This is an excellent lesson plan activity that demonstrates how to incorporate the following research findings: #1- Students learn more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowl... See More

This is an excellent lesson plan activity that demonstrates how to incorporate the following research findings: #1- Students learn more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems, and when they take part in projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration. #2- Active-learning practices have a more significant impact on student performance than any other variable, including student background and prior achievement. Taken from: Powerful Learning: What We Know About Teaching for Understanding, by Linda Darling-Hammond, Brigid Barron, P. David Pearson, Alan H. Schoenfeld, Elizabeth K. Stage, Timothy D. Zimmerman, Gina N. Cervetti, and Jennifer L. Tilson, published in 2008 by Jossey-Bass. In the article, the teacher was able to show her students how academic disciplines such math, reading,writing, and social studies can be used to solve real world problems. This would be a good STEM project for any grade.