| |
|
| Creating Creatures in Von
Steuben's Writing Center |
 |
In May of 1998, Von Steuben Center science teacher Carmen
Gonzalez gave her freshman biology students an assignment
to "Create a Creature" with characteristics and a habitat
that go together, given what they had learned about ecology.
|
After researching the features of their real or imagined
chosen creature in the library and on the Internet, students
prepared HyperStudio presentations describing the creature
and the ways in which it is suited to its habitat.
Gonzalez viewed this long-term project as a way to maintain
students' interest as they reviewed ecology concepts that
would be covered on the district-mandated CASE (Chicago
Academic Standards Examinations) test for her course.
Her grading criteria required students to describe their
creature's habitat, method of getting energy, food web,
special behavior, and any special interactions with other
organisms (such as parasitism, commensalism, or mutualism).
Students spent ten class periods in the Writing Center
working on this project plus whatever time they chose
to devote to it outside of regularly scheduled class.
|
| |
|
| African American Scientists
Quilt Project |
 |
Murray-Wright High School teacher Julie Oberly developed
The African American Scientists Quilt Project as part
of the ninth-grade Integrated Natural Science (INS) class.
|
Students worked collaboratively in two-person teams to
learn about an African American scientist. As part of
the project, students conducted Internet research and
designed PowerPoint presentations. The project culminated
in the making of a fabric quilt that incorporated pictures
of the scientists from the students' presentations. The
goal of the project was to make students more aware of
the role of African Americans in science and to develop
their research and presentation skills using technology
as a tool.
|
|
|
| Engaging students
in inquiry - The Winter Break Blues Project
|
 |
Stan Henry's ninth- and
tenth-grade students at Murray-Wright High School were
given a problem to solve but no explicit directions on
how to solve it: to figure out the best week for the winter
school break. |
| Only through
class discussion did the goal of saving on heating costs
emerge as the criterion for choosing a specific week in
February for the break. At this point, Henry's students
realized that they needed data to determine when the coldest
days could be expected to occur, and they turned to the
Internet to find the data they needed to arrive at a recommendation.
After downloading 50 years of local temperature data,
the students used spreadsheet software to store, organize,
analyze, and graphically display the data. The data enabled
them to draw a conclusion concerning the most logical
break week, and the students then used PowerPoint to develop
a presentation describing their project and their conclusions
for presentation at the school's Family Night. |
