9.0++Critical+Analysis+of+Unit

=Critical Analysis of the Soil Science Unit=

Critical Analysis
==All lessons of this Teacher Resource Book (TRB) were carried out with a class of 24 third graders. Because I am an Instructional Technology Facilitator, and do not have a class of my own, Mrs. Lopez was kind enough to allow me to pilot this unit with her class.== ==If I were to carry out this unit again there are a few changes I would make. The lessons were designed to be implemented in a 45 minute time block. This limited amount of time did not allow for complete integration of the detailed written work on which I had planned for the kids to collaborate. This might have been different if I had had the class all day for all subjects. Many of the lessons require greater small group discussion, and time for the students to add information to their wiki pages. Although I was able to use one of their weekly computer lab classes for them to update and add to their wiki information, they really needed scheduled time several days a week at a classroom computers. As a classroom teacher I would be able to accommodate this more easily throughout the entire day.== ==Several of the lessons went especially well. Because this unit revolves around questions that are presented (via emails to the students) by a “local farmer”, the very first lesson is important to set the stage and develop the students’ attitudes about becoming soil scientists. I made an effort to create important looking Soil Scientist folders, which included a color digital picture of each student in a white lab coat. If they are to truly become engaged and take on the character of a scientist, it is important to treat them like scientists throughout. I often praised students who were being “very scientific” or “using the strategies of a scientist” to model appropriate behavior.== ==Another lesson that I particularly liked was Lesson 8 – Soil Fractions. When I first conducted the lesson, it was a PowerPoint, and the kids took turns using the SMARTboard to circle and draw on fractional parts of the soil layer pictures. However, this was one of their first exposures to fractions, and given their developmental level, they were struggling. Mrs. Lopez, the classroom teacher, commented that it would be neat if the kids were able to move and manipulate the fractional parts so they could better understand equivalency and parts of a whole. So, that night I restructured the exact same slides using the SMART notebook. Because each piece in a SMART notebook project is a movable object, the next day the students could easily put fractional parts of the soil layers on top of one another for more concrete comparison. This became an effective review, and greater understanding was achieved. Both versions (PowerPoint and SMART notebook) are included in the teacher materials for Lesson 8.== ==The final components of this unit that I think will be helpful to teachers are the guiding PowerPoints that were constructed to accompany many of the lessons. As I piloted the lessons, the PowerPoints helped me to be organized as everything I needed technologically, was all in one place (ie. concept slides, emails from Farmer Green, video clips, interactive components). A word of caution I would give educators using these guides concerns the embedded videos. The teacher will need to be sure the videos have been downloaded (several from United Streaming, if the school has a site license) and placed in a folder on the desktop with the PowerPoint itself, otherwise they will not automatically run. The teacher may also wish to save the guiding PowerPoint (or any portion of this unit) to his/her own computer in order to edit any parts of it. Changes cannot be made to the materials while they are being viewed on the wiki.==