3.0++Rationale

=Rationale=

Word Document Version - [[file:Rationale.doc]]
===The approach I took when creating my Teacher Resource Book (TRB) Soil Science Unit included three main methodologies as the framework; Problem Based Learning, Inquiry Based Learning, and 21st Century Skills alignment.=== ===Problem Based Learning is a method of teaching which focuses students on solving a problem or issue. The process usually entails students participating in three overall steps. The first step is to clarify the problem. In the case of this unit, students are sent emails from a local farmer who needs their input concerning various aspects of a field he is interested in purchasing. Students are led to clarify the problem facing the farmer, and list the things they will need to discover in order to respond with sound advice.=== ===The second step in the PBL process is to collect data, resources, or information in order to solve the problem. For this unit, students carry out many hands-on experiments, visit websites, view informative videos, and participate in group discussions in an effort to gain the knowledge necessary to provide the farmer with advice concerning his field.=== ===The final step using PBL is to be able to publish or communicate the solution to an appropriate audience, in this case, emails back to Farmer Green. In addition students collect data, digital photos, and findings on their own wiki page for their classmates, parents, and other educators to view. Providing them with this authentic wide audience, rather than limiting their work to the classroom teacher’s view, provides an enhanced sense of responsibility to create worthy information.=== ===Problem Based Learning is founded in the belief that students are more likely to be engaged when their learning is relevant and meaningful, and they are seeking a solution to a real-world problem. This method of structuring learning is in agreement with the widely accepted existence of Bloom’s taxonomy, in which students are encouraged to attain higher order thinking skills.=== ===“The real revolution is information and communication, not technology.” (November, 1998) In agreement with Alan November’s sentiments, the Soil Science unit is designed to encourage the student’s development of information and communication. The technology used throughout this unit is only a tool. According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, students today must be engaging in six main learning and thinking skills. These include critical thinking and problem solving skills, communication skills, creativity and innovation skills, collaboration skills, information and media literacy skills, and finally, contextual learning skills.=== ===The skill of thinking critically and problem solving deals with making complex choices and understanding connections between systems. Throughout this Soil Science unit, students are asked to make choices depending upon evidence from their investigations. The lessons of the unit are scaffolded to build in the interconnectedness of the concepts.=== ===Communication skill building requires engaging students in situations where they must articulate their thoughts and ideas effectively. In the case of this unit students must interact orally within small groups and with the entire clas,s as well as in writing on their wiki pages and written letters/emails to Farmer Green.=== ===To acquire creativity and become innovative, students must become proficient at demonstrating originality and learn to be responsive to other people’s views and ideas. The use of a collaborative wiki as the foundation of this unit provides an opportunity for students to practice these essential 21st Century skills. Students are not only able to create original content which flows from their data and lab experiences, but they can also read each others ideas as they are posted.=== ===According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, “Mastering information and media literacy skills requires the ability to understand, manage and create effective oral, written and/or multimedia communication in a variety of forms and contexts and analyze, access, manage, integrate, evaluate and create information in a variety of forms and media.” Given the developmental level of third graders, the Soil Science lessons provide a first exposure to these critical multimedia skills.=== ===A great deal of research has been conducted to measure the effectiveness of inquiry-based, activity-based, hands-on approaches to science education. For example, in 1990 an analysis of 81 studies comparing the effectiveness of hands-on science programs with that of traditional textbook-based classrooms found that the students receiving hands-on instruction scored 1.4 standard deviations higher than did the students in traditional elementary school classrooms. (Shamansky, Hedges, Woodworth 1990) For this reason, implementation of the Delta Soil Science Kit was crucial to the development of this unit.=== http://www.tsof.edu.au/resources/pbl/ [|http://www.21stcenturyskills.org] [|http://www.novemberlearning.com] http://nsrconline.org/
 * Reference Sites**: