Peer Review

The Science Girl-Droach-EDUC 353

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Overview:: Final for EDUC 353
Website that centers on NSTA National Science Education Standards and an example of engaging students in scientific inquiry in the classroom.
Type of Material:: Lesson and Assignment
Recommended Uses:: • Could be used to re-create the gummy bear experiment in grade level science classes • Could be used as an example when building a larger case for the use of inquiry in the science classroom
Technical Requirements:: Internet access
Identify Major Learning Goals:: 1. Identify the National Science Education Standards 2. Identify ways to engage students in scientific inquiry 3. Apply the gummy bear experiment to classroom use The gummy bear lesson is appropriate for students to grade 4. It uses the most up-to-date standards for science education.
Target Student Population:: Target population is geared toward educators or future educators in elementary schools who can enact the standards in active learning activities in their classroom.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Access to the internet is required. A basic understanding of scientific inquiry and lesson design in the classroom is helpful for those who wish to recreate the gummy bear experiment in their classroom.

Rating:
Strengths:: • Clear and concise statements outline the aim of the website • Demonstration of how the concept of scientific inquiry can be used in the classroom is presented. • Provides a video to NGSS for background information on standards • Scientific inquiry as a whole is a flexible concept that can be applied in a variety of contexts to a variety of student levels. The lesson appears as direct instruction, but can be modified to any number of delivery methods.
Concerns:: • Some editing for grammar and style is needed. • Assignment needs to be presented more fully, i.e., the assignment lacks the resources, objectives, background information, and detailed instructions. • Because there is some emphasis on standards, an alignment of activity to standard is necessary for the educator using the lesson.

Rating:
Strengths:: • Could easily be integrated into a fuller assignment using gummy bears or other material • Using a similar worksheet (with some editing), this assignment could be used to measure student learning outcomes in terms of content and scientific inquiry, especially if some metacognitive tasks are included. The experience allows for Project Based Learning (PBL) to occur. It is a way for students to demonstrate the principles being taught.
Concerns:: • Lack of learning objectives makes it unclear what the aim of the gummy bear experiment is. • Unclear what background information is needed to support the use of the experiment in class. Defining learning objectives would help to narrow the background information greatly. • Unclear how student performance will be measured. Again, defining clear learning objectives will help to align to assessment and feedback.

Rating:
Strengths:: • Website is easy to access and navigate. • Experiment presented is interactive and engaging.
Concerns:: • Instructions for both the educator and student are unclear. • Design and layout of the website needs some work. There is too much white space on the perimeters and the menu buttons are smaller than they need to be. • Editing of the text would help deliver the message more effectively. • Since the website appears to be a project for an education course, it may help to make that clear so the viewer/reader knows what the aim of the website is up front.