Transcript Michele Partyka PP

The World Is Not
Flat
A Case Study
Grade 7, Kiley Middle School
Participants
 Grade 7 Kiley Middle School Students – A
small class of hardworking average to low
ability learners. They have a difficult time
making connections, many have just recently
come from a bilingual classroom.
 Michele Partyka- I have taught science for
approximately 18 years, most at the 7th grade
level.
 Jay Saunders – Kiley Middle School ILS
Limiting Factors
 Short time for completing of Human
Body Unit
 Science class is every other day
 Students have limited background
knowledge in science
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM PROBE
Elicit prior knowledge, conceptions, and understandings
Six friends were talking about the function of the digestive
system. This is what they said that the main function is:
Mina: “to release energy from food”
Manny: “to help us breathe”
Sasha: to break food down into molecules that can be
absorbed by cells”
Harriett: to break food down in the stomach into small
pieces of food that can be used by the body”
Todd: to carry bits of food and nutrients to all the different
parts of our body.”
Curtis: to store food so that we can get energy when we
need it”
How Probe Was
Administered
 Think – Pair – Share
 Each student wrote their own reasons
why they agreed with the student they
chose.
 Each student explained their reasoning
 Class discussion regarding their choices
and the reason for their choice
What do you think?
 Which student do you most agree with?
 Explain your thinking.
 Describe your ideas about the main
function of the digestive system.
DATA
13 students were given the pre-test.
Results:
Todd – 11 votes
Sasha- 2 votes (one of the 2 had also
voted for Todd)
Harriett- 1 vote
Underlying Themes
 Sasha knows what she is saying, it is the right
answer.
 “I don’t like Sasha, so I am not choosing her.”
 Todd is right because:
 It is how you get energy to stay alive and do stuff
 Food needs to be in little bits so you don’t carry big
food around
 It helps your cells and body get nutrients
 Without nutrients we die and we are not healthy
KWL Charts
 What we Know:
 When we digest it goes to our stomach and it goes
down and then we poop it out
 We need nutrients in our body
 We have to chew our food so it turns into molecules
 Chew so food can go in your cells
 It gives you nutrients
 It separates what we need from what we don’t need
 It breaks food down into molecules to be absorbed
by cells (1 person)
KWL
 What we WANT to know:
 Where does food go after we eat it?
 Does food turn into little particles in your
digestive system?
 Why does food go into your cells?
 How does the digestive system know what
nutrients it needs?
Class Discussion and
Student Responses
 Some confusion regarding solid waste and
liquid waste elimination
 Confusion with where and how chemical and
mechanical digestion occur
 Absorption
 Food travels from the stomach to the body
 Saliva in mouth vs. mucus lining in stomach
 Most did not mention the tongue as part of
digestive process
 Confusion with trachea and esophagus
Discussion Continued
 Connection to Circulatory System
 Label diagram confusion
 Cross sections or enlarged sections difficult for
them to conceptualize
 Difficulty describing the roles of simple
structures like mouth, tongue, teeth in the
digestive process.
 Lack of connection with absorption to cells, but
they were able to tell me how cells get energy.
What Would You Do?
Teaching Strategies
 KWL chart
 Engage with Discovery Activity – How can you speed up digestion.
Demo with sugar cubes.
 Background information from text.
 Explore- Color Code Digestive System Diagrams
 Label Diagrams
 Explain in own words how each of the 11 focus structures aid in
digestion.
 Explain what the digestive system does and the functions of each
digestive organ.
 Explore by creating Food Flight Post Cards – a trip through
digestion.
 Support each others’ understanding with Food Flight Post Cards
and presentations.
Changes In Instruction
 Review of previously taught information as we
were learning current information
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Microscopes
Diagram interpretation
Cross sections
How cells get their energy
Difference between organs and organelles
Lesson on surface area – villi
Addition of Coloring and Labeling diagrams
How to label diagrams
Addition of Food Flight Post Cards
Reflections
 Gross assumptions on my part regarding their
understanding of terminology, for example:
absorption, mechanical, surface area.
 I need to find ways to encourage the students
to make connections, for example: how cells
get their energy, that chemical and mechanical
digestion don’t just occur one time, etc…
 Students may not only have misconceptions
about what is currently being taught, but they
may also have misconceptions about previously
taught material.
What Is Next?