Learning Exercise

Select and review an online description of a lesson for teaching human blood
circulation at the middle school level. As you examine the lesson, prepare to
discuss what characteristics you think are essential for a high quality
practical cardiovascular lab.

• Describe the collection that houses the blood circulation learning material.
  What is the purpose for the online collection? Is it easy to find the material
  of interest?
  
• What Core Concepts or skills should students know as a result of using the
  learning material?
  
• What Driving Questions engage students and helps establish their prior
  knowledge of the material?
  
• What Claims are made about student learning from the material and does the
  Evidence provided support those claims?
  
• Describe Examples of Student Work. What tasks did the student try to
  accomplish, what was valued, what skills does the student demonstrate, or what
  content was the student on the verge of understanding?

Prepare to describe what you learned from the work in terms of Strengths and
Concerns. How well did the material work in terms of the driving question and
other criteria of sound pedagogy drawn from the analytical procedure from
Project 2061 (Kesidou & Roseman, 2002)? Does the material take account of
students’ prior conceptions, provide first hand inquiry experience with
phenomena, and provide a sense of purpose connected to the target science in
each activity?

1. Kesidou, S., & Roseman, J. E. (2002). How well do middle school science
   programs measure up? Findings from Project 2061’s curriculum review. Journal of
   Research in Science Teaching, 39(6), 522–549.
   
2. Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria,
   VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.