Educational Leadership Reflective Journal

This was a differentiated project that I had done a year ago with a couple of Scope students.  My personal goal was to evaluate a technology curriculum resource obtained from a National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) conference.  A description of this resource can be found on the NSTA website at http://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781929614189

Activities:     

A.  Read Galapagos: An Inquiry into Biological Evolution  (Student Field Log)  pgs 1-12.  Record reflective notes in column spaces provided.

 B.  Take Tortoise Tutorial virtual tour on Disc 1 Galapagos:  An Inquiry into  Biological Evolution.  (This is 1 of 3 cd’s that come with the student field log.) 

C.  Choose 1 project from www.darwinfoundation.org and answer 3 questions on pg. 12.

Assessments:  a.  Reflective notes in Student Field Log.

                        b.  Print out of Tortoise measurements.

                        c.  Reflective answers to 3 questions.

Stage 1:  Desired Results

Goals-

Refer to SOL.  LS.14 The student will investigate and understand that organisms change over time. Key conceptsinclude

a) the relationships of mutation, adaptation, natural selection, and extinction;

b) evidence of evolution of different species in the fossil record; and

c) how environmental influences, as well as genetic variation, can lead to diversity of organisms.

Understandings: 

Students will understand that each of the 6 tortoise pictures taken represent different a unique species.  The traits of these tortoises have evolved based on the unique environmental influences found on the Galapagos Islands. 

Essential Questions: 

1.  Which measured features of the tortoises are more similar?  Which are more different?

2.  How are the environmental influences on each island similar?  Different?

3.  How can this be evidence of evolution?

Stage 2:  Assessment Evidence

Performance Task= 

1.  Write 3-5 reflective notes in the provided column of each page in the student field log.  These can be questions, statements, or any notable observation made from the text.

2.  Using the CD, take measurements of tortoise leg height, overall height, body width, and color.  These will be recorded in your virtual log.  Save a copy of this log onto your thumb drive.  Do the same for the virtual graph that you create.

3.  Write a 3 paragraph essay answering the 3 questions found on page 12.  This will be graded using the 8^th grade writing rubric.

Stage 3:  Learning Plan

1.  Read and write reflections on pgs 1-6 in student field log.

2.  Follow directions on pg 7 to take virtual tour of Galapagos Islands.  Use CD #1

3.  Take 6 tortoise pictures on virtual tour.  Use hand tools to record measurements and create graph.

4.  Read and reflect on pgs 8-12 in student field log.

5.  Visit Charles Darwin Research Station online and answer 3 questions found on pg 12 , at least 1 paragraph each.

Reflection on how viable this resource is:  Students found that the reading from the student field log was very scientific.  1 student felt motivated to research more specifically the piracy history surrounding the Galapagos Islands.  The CD was difficult to navigate and record measurements.  Students found that if you clicked too many times, the CD would freeze up.  Once the data was collected, it was difficult to go back and access this information.  The group had to go back several times to achieve the end result.

I agree with the students on this assessment and have experienced similar problems.  The student field log comes accross as an excellent resource, but the quality and ease of navigating the virtual world on the cd is far from user friendly.   I do not recommend wide spread classroom use of this resource.