Statement of Purpose

Curriculum Design Project (EDTL 7100)

Nelle Nutter

The purpose of this project is to create a set of hands-on lessons that address the state standards, while relating the lessons to real life applications. Inquiry-based science instruction is "the creation of a classroom where students are engaged in (essentially) open-ended, student centered hands-on activities. This means that students must make at least some decisions about what they are doing and what their work means—thinking along the way" (Colburn 2003). The lessons that I have created include activities, materials, and are cross-curricular due to the fact that they include mathematic and language arts standards. It was important to create this unit because studies show that hands-on science instruction allows success beyond the classroom, hands-on activities excite students about learning and science in general, and that the hands-on activities create confidence in the children (Puentes, 2007). Teachers, even with limited instructional time for science instruction, reported that hands-on and inquiry based science methods had positive effects on child engagement in learning (Puentes, 2007).

The reason I have focused on creating hands-on activities is because I have noticed in my classroom that students immediately become more drawn in to a lesson that they are directly involved in. Research comparing schools with hands-on, student-centered science instruction versus more traditional teacher-directed, textbook-based science instruction demonstrates considerable student achievement gains for those in hands-on programs (Jorgenson, 2005). I have also aimed to create lessons that have real life application. Topics that are relatable to the students will have more meaning to them, and because of that they will most likely be more interested in the information given.

I am interested in covering the state standards in order to help prepare the students for the Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAAs). There is currently not a science test for the fourth grade students, but the information that is covered in fourth grade is tested on the fifth grade OAA. I will incorporate language arts and mathematic standards throughout the unit due to the fact that the students do have those OAAs in fourth grade.

I created this unit by first focusing on the state standards mainly in science. I knew I wanted to create a set of lessons that were hands-on and based on the states of matter. I sat down and evaluated what I already do in my classroom and tried to see what I could do to create lessons that were more student-centered but also included some of the other standards. I then researched ways that I could create experiments that met the science standards, but also included some language arts and mathematics standards. The unit was created by combining things that I did in my room already, added in ideas from the textbook, along with some worksheets that I had used previously or found online. This was the perfect opportunity for me to create lessons that are hands-on, student centered, cross-curricular and standard driven. I have taken this occasion to create lessons that will be meaningful to the students and to myself, and look forward to implementing them in my own classroom.

References

Colburn, A, The Lingo of Learning: 88 Educational Terms Every Science Teacher Should Know. Arlington, Va: NSTA Press, 2003

Puentes, Christina. (2007) Interactive and textbook lessons in science instruction:

Combining strategies to engage students in learning. Online submission. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home. 1, Feb, 2010.