A Dialogic Teaching Approach with Project-­‐Based Learning Adaptation to an 8th Grade Geology Lesson By Kathryn Elkins Fulbright Distinguished Teacher Award 2013-­‐2014 Finland, University of Jyvaskyla March – June 2014 Dialogic Teaching -­‐ using talk most effectively for carrying out teaching and learning between the teacher and students, not just a teacher-­‐presentation. Students can explore the limits of their own understanding and practice new ways of using language tools to construct knowledge. Teachers’ questions are structured in ways that provoke thoughtful answers and provoke further questions for further dialogue rather than the end point. Teacher-­‐pupil and pupil-­‐pupil exchanges are chained into thoughts of inquiry rather than unconnected. Project-­‐Based Learning (PBL)– using real-­‐world problems to capture students' interest and provoke serious thinking as the students acquire and apply new knowledge in a problem-­‐solving context. PBL creates opportunities for groups of students to investigate meaningful questions that require them to gather information and think critically. The teacher plays the role of facilitator, working with students to frame worthwhile questions, structuring meaningful tasks, coaching both knowledge development and social skills, and carefully assessing what students have learned from the experience. Dialogic Teaching with Project-­‐Based Learning – using effective dialogue to provoke student questioning, critical thinking, and meaning through the problem-­‐solving context for real-­‐world issues. My teaching ways before Fulbright: When introducing a lesson to students, I used the traditional technique of asking a few questions to probe what students already know, I presented the topic with lecture and presentation, and then gave students an assignment to assess what they learned from the lesson. Some of my assignments included a project, but limited the students on the inquiry process. Basically, I would do the questioning, planning, and presenting of all the material to the students. Then, students created something and presented their projects to the class. My teaching ways after Fulbright: Constant reflection of my own teaching methods occurred throughout my time in Finland while observing, interviewing, and analyzing middle school science teachers in their classrooms. The following is an adaption of a geology unit I teach in my eighth grade classroom using the methods viewed in Finland and the combination of Dialogic Teaching with Project-­‐Based Learning. Geology Rocks Kathryn P. Elkins Lesson: “Geology Rocks” Core Subject: Earth Science Grade Level: 7-­‐8th Duration: 5 – 55 minute classes Learning Objectives: After this lesson, students should be able to: • Develop a model of the rock cycle • Describe the basic ideas of stress. • List the three different types of weathering. • Describe how engineers are able to evaluate the strength of rocks. Project Objective: Students will design and test a solution to a real-­‐world geological issue of their choosing in relation to the science concepts discussed in this unit. • Pre-­‐Introduction Assessment: *Pair-­‐Share Brainstorming: In partners or small group, have students engage in open discussion. Remind students that in brainstorming, no idea or suggestion is "silly." All ideas should be respectfully heard. Write down their ideas on their paper. Ask the students: • Where do rocks come from? (Possible answers: dirt, ground, ocean, lava, etc.) • Of what material(s) is the earth's crust made? (Possible answers: Rocks, dirt, etc.) • How do rocks break in nature? (Possible answers: Pressure, running water, freezing water, plant roots, weathering, rocks falling on rocks, actions of people.) • How would the breaking of a large rock affect people? (Answer: Lead students to the idea of earthquakes, structures falling, tunnel or foundation collapsing, volcanoes, rockslides, etc.) 2 Geology Rocks Kathryn P. Elkins Lesson: Use a slideshow to mainly display pictures and key terms rather than just notes while giving the lesson. Start the lesson again with the question, where do rocks come from? Allow students to share their answer from the pair share work. Keep the discussion open ended to lead to the idea of the Rock Cycle. Display a picture of the Rock Cycle For dialogue here: pick a student to lead the class through the cycle, ask questions using “how” and “where” during the process of the cycle. Ask other pupils whether they agree with the ideas or not. With the rock cycle: the terms igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic will need to be discussed. Students will need to write these definitions down and describe in their own words how they are formed. Now, bring up the question from the brainstorming session, how do rocks break? Use the following scenario and questioning from the Teach Engineering website to begin the discussion and allow students to inquire why rock composition and strength is important. “What might happen if some of these huge rocks broke? What types of natural disasters might be caused? What would happen to the bridge or skyscraper resting upon one of those massive rocks? These are questions that geotechnical engineers think about when determining locations to place structures. Geotechnical engineers understand what causes rocks to break. They know how to identify different types of rocks, and determine if a certain rock is likely to break. They work with structural engineers to plan the best way to build structures in different rock conditions. Why Care about the Strength of a Rock? The most important reason why we care about the strength of a rock is that when a large rock breaks, it can be a hazard and possibly cause a disaster. There are many different disasters caused by breaking rocks, including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, rock falls, and landslides. To protect structures and people, we want to be able to predict or prevent such disasters. If an engineer knows the characteristics of a particular rock type, she may be able to predict or prevent disasters. Furthermore, a less serious reason why we care about the strength of rocks is for development, which means building and expanding the use of land (such as new shopping centers, schools or homes being built in a town). Many building plans require deep foundations, making it necessary to excavate or dig out rock. An engineer provides information about the best way to excavate the rock, so as to build an adequate foundation. 3 Geology Rocks Kathryn P. Elkins What Can Break Rocks? When pressure is applied to an area, such as a rock, it is called stress. If you press your hands together, you can feel the forces of stress. In nature, stress can cause rocks to break, and one way that stress occurs is by the natural movements of the earth's crust (remember that the earth's crust is basically floating on liquid magma, and so it moves often). There are three types of stress (see Figure 1). (If you have Internet access, show students an excellent simple animation of the three types of stress at http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate5.htm.) Compressional stress is when a rock is pressed together into itself, like when crust movements cause two rocks to squeeze another one between them. Another example is when mountains are formed at a convergent boundary, like the Rocky Mountains. Press your hands together again. You can feel that the inner parts of your hands are being smashed by compressional stress from the muscles in your hands pushing inward. Tensional stress is when a rock is pulled apart. For example, if a rock wedged itself into the crack of another rock, and movement of the earth's crust caused it to wedge even further until the rock broke apart. Another example is a divergent boundary, like the Mid-­‐Atlantic Ridge, which is formed by two tectonic plates pulling apart from each other to allow lava to flow upward. Use one of your hands to pull a finger on your other hand. You can feel the tensional stress because your hand is pulling your finger one way, and your other hand is attached to your finger, pulling it the other way by holding it in place. Shear stress is when a rock is pulled on one side but pushed on the other side. This can happen if the crust movements on one side of a rock are opposite of those on the other side of the rock. An example of this is the San Andreas Fault, which is on a transform boundary, with the California plate moving southward and the Pacific Ocean plate moving northward. Put your hands together again, but this time press upward with your right hand and downward with your left hand. If you press hard, you should notice that the skin on your right hand is being pulled down because of the forces from your left hand pulling down, and the skin on your left hand is being pulled up because of your right hand. (It may be easier to see the skin being pulled if you use an area on your body where the skin is looser, such as your hand pressing upward against your arm or cheek.) In addition to stress due to the movement of the earth's crust, stress can come from weathering. Weathering is the breaking down of rocks into sediments (small bits of rock), due to conditions in nature. There are many types of weathering: • Physical weathering is when a physical action breaks the rock, such as the forces of wind or water. A common example is the freeze/thaw action of water in rock cracks. As the water freezes, it expands, causing stress (pressure) that breaks the rock. (Note: If students ask what kind of stress this is, tell them that the process is complicated and includes both tensional and compressional stress.) • Chemical weathering is when the rock is chemically broken down. Some common 4 Geology Rocks Kathryn P. Elkins examples of this are rust forming on granite or acid rain breaking down limestone. This type of weathering is not considered a type of stress because there is no pressure on the rock (remember that stress is pressure applied to an area). • Biological weathering is when living organisms break the rock. A typical example is a tree root breaking a rock due to the stress caused by its pressure. (Note: If students ask what kind of stress this is, tell them that the process is complicated and includes both tensional and compressional stress.) So, rocks in the earth are usually broken by either the stress from the movement of the crust or the stress from weathering. Upon What Does the Strength of Rock Depend? Not all rocks break from the same amount of pressure. Some rocks are easier to break than others. The strength of a particular rock depends on that rock's type, texture and chemical composition. It also depends on the presence or absence of fluids, or if there are internal structures. Sometimes, it is possible to predict where a rock will break. Rocks often break along a plane of weakness, which is the weakest part of the rock's structure. Sedimentary rocks have planes of weakness along their bedding planes, or between the layers of sediment. Metamorphic rocks have planes of weakness along their foliation planes, which are layers or stripes formed from pressure. Observing these aspects helps us predict where a rock will break! How Do Engineers Find the Strength of a Rock? To discover all the factors that determine whether a rock might break, engineers use certain methods and equipment. They examine the rock's texture and structure. They drill to get rock samples, called core samples (see Figure 2). They test the sample's response to stress using special (and expensive) machinery. As a side note, one problem with testing samples is that rocks are not homogeneous, meaning one sample's response to the test may not necessarily be identical to the response of another sample taken elsewhere. After an engineer has fully examined and tested a rock, she gives it a safety factor for others to consider when building near the rock.” http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_ro
ck/cub_rock_lesson01.xml The above information is for teacher reference to help direct students in the dialogue of why rocks are important in our everyday lives. Through dialogic teaching, the teacher uses questions and student responses to further the discussion and keep it open-­‐ended. Again, use the above questioning to guide this portion of the lesson with teacher-­‐pupil and pupil-­‐pupil interaction. Next, assign a project with guidelines on demonstrating a clear understanding of rock composition, strength, and importance in the real world. 5 Geology Rocks Kathryn P. Elkins Project: At this grade level, students are given choices regarding process and product within the parameters set by the teacher. Student groups may choose from one of the following three project ideas: • Design the location and size of underground caverns in Oklahoma to save people from an earth that will be uninhabitable for one year. Student teams explore general and geological maps, learn about map scales, test rocks, identify important and not-­‐so-­‐important rock properties for underground caverns, and choose a final location and size. • Investigate the rock layers exposed alongside Oklahoma’s section of Route 66. Explorations will reveal the geologic history of the area as it transitioned from ocean, to riverbed, to flood plain, to prairie. Create a timeline and visual representation of these events. Discuss how this information can impact highway design. • Create a presentation that interprets the significance of local geology to county residents and visitors. Using maps, charts, graphics, and photos, show your analysis (supported by your own data as well as historical data) of the local rock column, exposed and underlying rocks and the impact on land usage in a particular region of the county. Provide students with resources and supplies for their inquiry, research, and product. Monitor student progress using as many class days as needed to complete project requirements. Student groups will display and discuss their final project with the whole class. Evaluations of projects will be judged with creativity and innovation rubric for group work from Buck Institute for Education (Included on next page). Provide groups with a copy of the rubric to help guide teacher expectation. As with all lessons, adjust timing and teacher direction according to the make-­‐up of students in each class. 6 Geology Rocks Kathryn P. Elkins 7 Geology Rocks Kathryn P. Elkins 8