Turn the Lights Off Lee!
Year Level: Year 2
Discipline of Science: Earth and Space Sciences
ANC Content Descriptions:
- Science Understanding: Earth’s resources, including water, are used in a variety of ways (ACSSU032)
- Science as a Human Endeavour: People use science in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things (ACSHE035)
- Science Inquiry Skills: Participate in different types of guided investigations to explore and answer questions, such as manipulating materials, testing ideas, and accessing information sources (ACSIS038)
Learning Objectives:
- Students identify objects that use electricity in their everyday lives
- Students explore and discover practical ways they can personally save electricity
- Students develop a basic awareness of their connection to the environment and their responsibility to look after it
- Students begin to see themselves in a global context when researching and participating online
Student-Centred and 'Higher Order Thinking' Teaching Strategies Used:
It is important to create lessons and resources that are inclusive to all students’ learning capabilities and diverse needs (Boyle, Scriven, Durning & Downes, 2011). Turn the Lights Off Lee uses appropriate teaching strategies, learning objectives and guidance from the ANC content descriptions to create a student-centred and age appropriate lesson. The interactive, playful and yet instructive design of the lesson is appropriate for year 2 students who are encouraged to work both independantly and collaboratively. Above all, this Webquest uses guided investigation to address the growing need to teach children how science can be used to deal with the ‘real life’ problems of the world (Suzuki, 2007).
Direct instruction helps to ensure that all students to understand the task at hand in a clear and unambiguous way. This step by step approach helps younger students and those with learning difficulties to participate with confidence and support, as they are guided through their learning whilst also being placed at the centre. Students are given specifically chosen and easily accessable resources, which ensure that both the content and design is age appropriate (Coffman, 2013). This reflects content description (ACSIS038) of the ANC.
Cognitive strategies promote independent thinking and deep learning, and can encourage an inclusive and student-centred classroom. Research shows that deep learning occurs when students make links to what they already know, and can create an understanding of the topic that has meaning to them (Hammerness & Moore, 2012). In this Webquest, this is achieved through prompting students to think about their own electricity use at home, and guided by first looking through the eyes of a relatable character, Lee. The knowledge students gain of the use of electricity reflects content description (ACSSU032) of the ANC.
Personalised learning strategies ensure learning is student-centred and promotes higher order thinking. This is achieved through creating links between students own life experience and what they are learning (Abbey & Bayliss, 2012), supporting content description (ACSHE035) of the ANC. In this Webquest students are given opportunities to independantly research, are encouraged to create their personal connections to the content, as well as to share their journey with students, teachers and parents (Abbey & Bayliss, 2012). Encouraging a synthesis of school and the outside world ensures students are placed at the centre of their learning journeys (Curriculum & Leadership Journal, 2005).
It’s also important to remember that the presence of ICT in the classrooms requires a need for teachers and students to become aware of its’ social and global context, and the risks that may come with this (Green, 2011). This Webquest achieves this through making clear links between home and school, and the content itself which refers to the use of science and technology in a global context. Hence students are given a basic awareness of the responsibility and global context that comes with being a technology user.