[Teaching Experiment]The following document is an outline, implementation, and reflection of a teaching experiment that required use of technology whilst teaching young children. The lesson was conducted at Elmwood Franklin School located at 104 New Amsterdam Ave Buffalo, NY 14216. Six students (4 males and 2 females) 5 whom are in 1st grade and 1 in 2nd participated in the teaching experiment.

2013

LAI 529

Corey Beszczynski

Unit Overview

The main question of this unit is, “What are plants?” It is broad because the students learn

about many aspects of plants. The daily questions relate to this main question. Some of them

include: What does a plant need to grow? What are the parts of a plant? What does the stem do?

What do the leaves do?

This unit is focused on life processes of plants. Specifically it allows students to learn about

the needs of plants, the life cycles and processes of plants, physical characteristics of plants, and

adaptations that benefit survival. It is also important that students understand patterns and

changes in natural life cycles. Through this unit students will continue to build knowledge and

understanding about the natural world. This unit will provide students with experiences in

investigations and activities that will serve as support for further information in later years.

Based on the New York State Science Core Curriculum, Standard 4: The Living Environment

states on page 17:

“Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the

physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas

in science.”

Specifically, this unit emphasizes NYS Core Curriculum Standard 4: Key Idea 3 which covers

the idea of Individual organisms and species change over time. As stated on page 18,

“Throughout time, plants and animals have changed depending on their environment. In learning

how organisms have been successful in their habitats, students should observe and record

information about plants and animals. They should begin to recognize how differences

among individuals within a species can help an organism or population to survive.

Students at this level will identify the behaviors and physical adaptations that allow

organisms to survive in their environment.”

This science unit attempts to provide students with direct experience working with plants. In

this way students will begin to make sense of the environments of living organisms. Although

students in the younger elementary years often think of life as only including organisms that

move, this unit will allow students to explore the possibility that plants are also alive. Students

will investigate and explore the living organisms within their natural environments and within

classroom experiments.

Through these activities, students will strengthen a foundation for later years in school when

concepts of heredity, cellular structures and functions, biospheres, and environmental

interactions are explored in depth. With an understanding of plant functions, students will also

develop an understanding of the roles and importance of plants to humans, animals, and the

environment. This unit serves as introduction to plants for first graders and will contribute to the

students’ understanding of the plant life in higher grade levels.

B. Shoemaker defines an integrated curriculum as education that is organized in such a way

that it cuts across subject-matter lines, bringing together various aspects of the curriculum into

meaningful association to focus upon broad areas of study. It views learning and teaching in a

holistic way and reflects the real world, which is interactive. (Shoemaker, 1989) Using an

integrated curriculum to teach is a strategy based on the premise that learning is a series of

connections. The integrated curriculum can be beneficial to teachers and students, using theme

teaching, projects, and units to cover a variety of material and effectively teach many concepts

and skills. This approach allows children to learn in a way that is most natural to them. Teachers

can create a good deal of their curriculum by building webs made up of themes of interest to the

children, with benefits for all. These benefits include more adequate coverage of curriculum, use

of natural learning, building on children's interests, teaching skills in meaningful contexts, more

flexibility, and an organized planning device (Krogh, 1990). Integrated teaching units work for

children and teachers, and. Integrated units allow for the opportunity to make sure children are

learning relevant information and applying that knowledge to real life scenarios.

Lesson Plan

Subject: ELA/Science

Topic: What do you know about plants? What do plants need to grow?

Grade: 1st Grade at Elmwood Franklin School

Materialso SMART Board

o iPad’s

o Plant PowerPoint

o What is a Plant? (The Science of Living Things) by Bobbie Kalman and

Niki Walker (Dec. 2000)

o Needs of a Plant Song:

http://www.schooltube.com/video/7ef63fe536015231930c/

NYS Common Core Standards (ELA)o Key Ideas & Details

Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using

key details.

o Integration of Knowledge

Use the illustration and details in a text to describe key ideas.

o Comprehension & Collaboration

Participation in collaborative conversations with diverse partners

about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and

larger groups.

o Presentation of Knowledge & Ideas

Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details,

expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

o Vocabulary Acquisition & Use

With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding

of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

NYS Core Curriculum (Science)o Performance Indicator 1.1

1.1b Plants require air, water, nutrients, and light in order to live

and thrive.

o Performance Indicator 1.2

1.2a Living things grow, take in nutrients, breathe, reproduce,

eliminate waste, and die.

o Performance Indicator 3.1

3.1b each plant has different structures that serve different

functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.

• Roots help support the plant and take in water and nutrients

• leaves help plants utilize sunlight to make food for the plant

• Stems, stalks, trunks, and other similar structures provide support

for the plant

• Some plants have flowers

• Flowers are reproductive structures of plants that produce fruit

which contains

• Seeds contain stored food that aids in germination and the growth

of young plants

ObjectivesStudents will…

o Identify the needs of a plant.

o Classify parts of a plant (roots, stem, leaves, flower, seeds, and fruit).

o Illustrate the sequence of a plant using the terms first, next, last and last

using a garden shop activity on starfall.com

o Recognize the difference between an adjective, noun, and verb.

o Compose a Mad Lib by filling in the parts of speech.

Procedureo Brainstorm needs of a plant, what they know about plants, what are plants,

etc. with students by writing the list of responses on the SMART Board.

o Read Aloud: What is a Plant? – Kalman/Walker; Comprehension

questions will be asked throughout the read-aloud

o Review back to the list of brainstormed list and ask students if they have

any other ideas.

o Open the Plant PowerPoint and complete each slide. The slides are

interactive so select children to come and complete the sentences, label the

plant parts, and visit the garden shop on starfall.com (For the sentences

and labeling the plant parts words are placed in boxes on the slide. The

student can use their finger or SMART Board utensil to select that word

box and drag it to the designated area.)

o The last slide is a Mad Lib created. Ask students to volunteer a word for

the blank and type it in the box. Read the Mad Lib as a class together.

o Students can work independently using Apple app “Mad Libs”

(https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mad-libs/id326885152?mt=8)

Assessmento Observations during the brainstorming and PowerPoint slide activities.

What do they know about plants?

Did the student choose the correct word to complete the sentence?

Did the student choose the correct plant label?

Does the student know parts of the plant?

Does the student know needs of a plant?

Can the student distinguish between a noun, verb, adjective, etc.

Lesson Plan Design/Implementation Process

Lesson Plan Activities

o Using music to reinforce needs of a plant

o Read-aloud

o Review what students know about plants

o Interactive PowerPoint (needs/parts of a plant)

o Starfall.com interactive plant activity (sequencing)

o Mad Lib (parts of speech)

The lesson is designed to either be used early on in the unit or near the end as a wrap-up

activity. Within the lesson plan the lesson progresses using a Constructivist approach for students

to build upon prior knowledge and new knowledge to complete the next activity. The lesson was

implemented at Elmwood Franklin School in Buffalo, NY with a group of six students.

Lesson Plan Design Using a Thematic Unit Approach

Thematic teaching units involve a group of correlated activities that are designed around

topics or themes and cross several areas of the curriculum. They provide an environment that

fosters and encourages process learning and active involvement of all students (Fisher, 1991).

They build on students' interests and prior knowledge by focusing on topics relevant to their

lives. They help children relate to real-life experiences and build on what they know. Thematic

units provide one of the best vehicles for integrating content areas in a way that makes sense to

children and helps them make connections to transfer knowledge they learn and apply it in a

meaningful way. Thematic units also address the diverse learning styles of students.

Thematic units can be planned around a book theme, an author study, or any topic that

has interest for young children. Many skills, including the benchmarks for each state, are easily

integrated in a theme study. Thus using this concept of thematic units when designing my lesson

plan it incorporated both a specific topic and study and use the lesson plans to practice skills and

benchmarks required by New York State.

The connections can be made among different subject areas, including math, science,

social studies, and literacy as well as art, music, dramatic play, and physical activities. These

connections help children in the way they learn best - through meaningful experiences. This also

allows for children to learn through their preferred learning modalities. Howard Gardner's

multiple intelligences can be easily addressed through the implementation of a thematic unit

approach. When designing my lesson plan I used these criteria explained above to take an

integrative approach using a science based theme but basing specific lessons on literacy skills.

Integrating technology and early literacy development has positive outcomes on student

learning. Understanding the role of digital technologies in the processes of young children’s

literacy development is crucial to ensure that all children have equal access to opportunities to

learn in schools today. Observations of children’s uses of computers at home might help to

convince some practitioners of the pedagogical benefits and imperatives for developing young

children’s literacy in diverse modes and media. The advent of new technologies has introduced

new dimensions into young children’s literacy learning, the implications of which have not yet

been fully recognized in early year’s policy guidance, training or practice (Wolfe & Flewitt,

2010). The culmination of research on thematic units and how technology develops early literacy

skills influenced my unit and lesson planning.

Read-Aloud Rationale

Reading aloud is one of the most significant things parents and teachers can do with

children. The read-aloud builds many important foundational skills, introduces vocabulary,

provides a model of fluent, expressive reading, and helps emergent readers recognize what

reading is all about. Read-alouds focus on child-centered learning which is praised and proven

successful in creating life-long learners and readers. Having a dialogue in the classroom is

emphasized, as well as teachers and students modeling decoding and comprehension strategies

during interactive read-aloud. Children are encouraged during read-alouds to speak out and

create their own meaning in a supportive environment.

In my lesson the purpose of a read-aloud is to promote literacy development through

response to a story, read-alouds encourage vocabulary development, and using informational

texts in early childhood classrooms.

o Promoting Literacy Development

A study examined ways in which young children discussed story in a supportive

environment. Data were obtained from 22 kindergarten children and their teacher in a school in

the Southwest. Results showed that the teacher's questions and responses promoted literary talk

and decreased as children improved their ability to respond in literary ways. Results also showed

that teacher talk fostered engaged listening, transaction with text, and literacy development

(Hansen, 2004). In a supportive environment, teachers can engage students in extended talk

about a story after the act of the read-aloud was complete. Hansen’s study shows that teachers’

questions and responses to encourage literacy talk can be decreased as the students grow in their

independent abilities to response in literary ways. When done appropriately, teacher talk has the

power to set the climate for engagement, encourage all students to participate, and establish an

environment which is supportive of literacy development.

o Vocabulary Development

A main focus of my lesson in the PowerPoint activities is key vocabulary words that

correlate with a plant unit. The read-aloud provided word learning for students that focused on

the topics of plants. The read-aloud context has proven to be an effective vehicle for vocabulary

instruction.

During read-aloud interactions, word learning occurs incidentally and through instructions

provided by teachers. There are several strategies used to develop student vocabulary during

interactive read-alouds. These strategies include: questioning, providing

definition/synonym/examples, clarifying/correcting student’s responses, extending a student-

generated definition, and labeling (Kindle, 2009). Overall, adult mediation and the ways in

which word learning is facilitated are enhanced through read-alouds.

o Informational Texts in ECE

Informational texts are important to use either as a read-aloud or in the Early Childhood

Education classroom. The focal unit of the unit is plants, incorporating informational texts as the

read-aloud helps students make connections to the science aspects of the unit. Connecting

literacy across the content areas as a way to extend literacy strategies. Interdisciplinary lessons

help young learners identify strategies they would us in fiction texts can be applied to non-fiction

texts (Pentimonti, 2010). Adding related or associated thematic activities and experiments will

enhance comprehension.

Rationale for Chosen Technologies

When assessing what technologies to use I consulted NAEYC’s developmental appropriate

practice position statement when using technology in ECE. Using NAEYC’s definition of

interactive media I was able to narrow down technologies I wished to use in the lesson.

NAEYC’s definition states on page 1,

“Interactive media refers to digital and analog materials, including software programs,

applications (apps), broadcast and streaming media, some children’s television

programming, e-books, the Internet, and other forms of content designed to facilitate

active and creative use by young children and to encourage social engagement with other

children and adults.”

Both the SMART Board and iPad app satisfy NAEYC’s definition of appropriate technology to

use in the classroom and my lesson plan. These technologies were also conveniently available at

Elmwood Franklin. NAEYC’s position statement further outlines appropriate uses for

technology in the classroom. Specifically the following guideline is in essence the basis for using

technology and how the technology is used in my lesson.

It discloses the following,

“Effective uses of technology and media are active, hands-on, engaging, and empowering; give

the child control; provide adaptive scaffolds to ease the accomplishment of tasks; and are

used as one of many options to support children’s learning. To align and integrate

technology and media with other core experiences and opportunities, young children need

tools that help them explore, create, problem solve, consider, think, listen and view

critically, make decisions, observe, document, research, investigate ideas, demonstrate

learning, take turns, and learn with and from one another” (p. 6-7).

After ensuring I was in line with NAEYC’s developmentally appropriate technology practices I

knew my chosen technologies would be a sound choice for the students.

PowerPoint software is considered a Web 2.0 desktop tool. Web 2.0 tools are a growing

collection of new and emerging web-based tools. These tools promote creativity, collaboration,

and communication (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). PowerPoint is a program based off Microsoft

Office. Web 2.0 desktop tools of any enterprise, are the applications used to write, crunch

numbers, present information, send e-mail, keep calendars, and so on (Solomon & Schrum,

2007).

The use of technology in the curriculum is based on the needs of the children, the focus of

the curriculum, and whether the technology will add to children’s educational opportunities and

experiences. When used intentionally and appropriately, technology and interactive media are

effective tools to support learning and development. Professional organizations such as NAEYC

are a teacher’s friend and can assess whether certain technologies are appropriate for your

students and lesson plans.

Teaching Experiment ReflectionGroup Members: Jenna Evaldi, Elisha Coniglio

When first learning about the teaching experiment assignment I was concerned because I

currently do not have access to classroom. I think it is difficult to try to create a lesson to be

taught to a classroom or group of students that you have no prior knowledge about or a

relationship with. Constructing a lesson and unit was not an issue for me because I have been

doing it as an undergraduate at Buffalo State College.

However, most times I was expected to teach a lesson to students as a course assignment we

were provided ample time in a classroom setting prior to teaching, so both the students and

classroom teacher had spent time and built more of a relationship with us.

Luckily, Jenna and I were group members. Jenna taught and is currently working at

Elmwood Franklin in Buffalo, NY and was able to secure time for our group to take a small

group of children after school and utilize the schools technology to implement our lessons.

However, Jenna also was not entirely sure what students she would be able to pull the day our

group went to teach. Jenna, Elisha, and I met together to plan out our lessons and location. We

mutually decided on a plant themed unit; and that Jenna would do two math lessons, Elisha

would do two science and social studies lessons, and I would complete to ELA lessons to fulfill

the requirement of six lesson plans in a unit. Therefore, these factors played a role in how I

constructed my lesson plans and specifically the lesson implemented to the students.

o Lesson Planning

For one of my student placement in 1st grade I had taught a plant unit from the months of

March through May. I was cognizant that this unit is appropriate for the 1st grade level and aligns

with New York State Standards. Much of my prior knowledge helped me construct my lesson

plans while being conscious of the age level. Jenna informed the group of the technology

available at Elmwood Franklin and our chosen technologies were the SMART Board and iPad's.

When brainstorming my lesson that would be executed with a group of students I

originally struggled on aspects of technology they would be appropriate for the time-span we

had. I researched extensively on SMART Board activities through the web and did not find much

that was suitable for my situation. In both of my student teaching placements I had an available

SMART Board. I would either use the SMART Board program to construct interactive lessons

or, I sometimes at home would make interactive PowerPoint lessons to use on the SMART

Board for the class the next day. Each way worked out well for, and since I was not able to be in

the classroom prior to teaching my lessons I decided to create a PowerPoint at home.

Interested in incorporating use of an app on the iPad I explored different options through

the Apple website and other search engines. I personally do not own an iPad but do own an

iPhone; therefore I am familiar with Apple apps. However, through my planning I did learn that

the iPad has many additional apps not available on the iPhone.

Jenna was extremely helpful in this because she had an iPad and was able to look further into any

apps I had questions about if I was not able to test it on my iPhone.

After this preliminary research I was able to gather activities for the lesson. I believe

strongly incorporating texts as a read-aloud which was the introductory portion of my lesson. I

then created a basic interactive PowerPoint with the following activities I assumed be

appropriate for the students without knowing their background knowledge; identifying the needs

of a plant by using vocabulary words to fill in the blanks, labeling parts of the plant, use

starfall.com to construct a gardening plant story that covered a sequencing skill, and lastly

practicing parts of speech with Mad Libs. Each activity tied in with each other and reinforced

both ELA skills and science.

When choosing the vocabulary words to omit for my first PowerPoint activity I used

lesson activities from my prior unit. I essentially chose “safe” words, because I was not familiar

with the students’ vocabulary developmental level. An example is, not omitting the word

oxygen. When I did teach the lesson the students were very familiar with the word oxygen in the

story and that would have been an excellent word to omit if I would have known this prior. I also

tried to place some omitted words at the beginning of a sentence to review capitalization. The

students picked up on this very well when I questioned this skill during the lesson. The words

chosen to omit were key words to help students understand plant needs. Additional words that

possibly could make sense were also in the word bank to not make the lesson too easy.

While deciding on a wrap-up activity I reviewed New York State's ELA Common Core

standards for 1st grade. I wanted the lesson to still be relevant to the unit topic but also heavier

handed with ELA practice. I eventually arrived at the idea of creating a Mad Lib to practice parts

of speech. I searched online and found a Mad Lib generator so I could make a Mad Lib story

about a seed. Parts of the story we were able discuss and review, why or where the seed is

located, what will happen to the seed, and so on. Doing so allowed me to integrate Bloom's

Taxonomy higher levels of thinking into the lesson. Exploring iPad apps again I discovered a

Mad Lib app. This was an excellent closing or assessment activity to practice parts of speech.

Jenna was able to test run he app for me to make sure it was appropriate and an effective tool to

use with the children.

I feel the overall activities and lesson planning was to the best of my abilities and

appropriate for the age level I was teaching.

The lesson can easily be tweaked to accommodate student's needs. Not knowing the students'

knowledge prior to the lesson, using a basic approach was the best decision to ensure my lesson

was teachable to begin with.

o Students Response/Learning

The small group of students used at Elmwood Franklin was previously used in other groups

for this teaching experiment project. Therefore, they understood why we (UB students) were

coming in and were more than eager to see what new activity each of us had brought. The

students were very knowledgeable on how to use a SMART Board and iPad because they are a

part of the daily classroom environment.

Prior to starting the less I tried to gauge the students’ background knowledge about plants. It

seemed the students were already knowledgeable about the basics of the topic and well advanced

in some cases. The students all were willing participants and excited to do the activities.

In this instant there was not a formal assessment to have hard data on the students learning.

Informal observation was the best way to assess this lesson, assessed according to the group

participation and discussion.

o Technology Reflection: Issues with Design & Implementation

I had come across only two technological issues when implementing my lesson. The first

dealt with the PowerPoint. I made the PowerPoint on my home PC computer. I have done this as

I previously stated during student teaching. I would save the work on my USB and upload I the

next day. In my student teaching placements they also used PC's. When the PowerPoint was

uploaded students were able to move the texts or pictures around on the PowerPoint such as you

would with your mouse on a computer. At Elmwood Franklin they were Mac users. My

PowerPoint did upload with success however, when doing the slide show aspect on the Mac

computer to the SMART Board it would not let the students on the SMART Board drag and

move the text/pictures. I had to do it manually on the laptop. This did cause for some

improvising and made it less interactive. I was not aware of the schools computer systems nor

that it would not work as planned.

I assumed previously it had worked in the past therefore should not be an issue. I believe the

glitch was due to PC to Mac use and Microsoft. If I was able to plan my presentation on laptop

programs provided at the school it would have worked accordingly.

Secondly, starfall.com was unable to access at Elmwood Franklin because of a privacy

block through the school. Jenna informed us most sites were blocked but was surprised because

students and teachers have used starfall.com before. It was an idea I had not considered when

incorporating a website. I also assumed because starfall.com is a safe website used by many

schools there would be no issue accessing the site. That activity was unable to be completed

unfortunately. Luckily, the Mad Lib website I used to generate the story did access on the

computer, I was concerned it would not after starfall.com was blocked. Both of these issues were

not foreseen originally in my planning.

It comes back to the old lesson that technology is not perfect and can fail. It is in these

moments that as a teacher you need to react quickly and keep the classroom moving through the

problems best as possible. Afterwards, you learn from the mistakes and can be better prepared in

the future. Students should also learn that technologies always have side effects and that all

technological systems can fail.

Effective technology integration is achieved when its use supports curricular goals. It

must support key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent

interaction and feedback, Technology can and does help students develop all kinds of skills--

from the basic to the higher-order critical thinking ones. However, for technology to be

successful, teachers need to make informed choices relating to pedagogical approach, students’

needs, and learning objectives. Just as important as what technology is used, is how learning can

be enhanced through technology

o Group Feedback

Elisha and Jenna were very supportive during this process. We all worked together from

the beginning planning stages up until implementing the lesson. We also used each other as

resources and support when designing out lesson activities and with the chosen technologies.

After I had taught my lesson both were able to give more student response and perspective. The

general consensus was it went well and they enjoyed my activities.

Jenna in addition was a big help do to the fact she was familiar with the school and the

available technologies, knew the students well, and had access to an iPad. Jenna informed me a

day or so after I put into action my lesson plan the students were asking when I would come back

and if they could continue to play the Mad Libs app. Jenna’s feedback after the lesson had been

completed was reassurance that the activities I provided for the students were meaningful,

effective, and fun since they wanted to continue use the Mad Libs.

o Final Thoughts

The teaching experiment project allowed me to use technologies I have not used in some

time and also experiment with new technologies with students. Although, there was some

technical difficulties during the lesson I feel I preserved through these setbacks and carried

onward with the lesson to keep students on task. Technology can be a wonderful tool to use in

the classroom. It's true that adapting to new technology in the classroom takes some time and

requires trial and error before teachers and students can start to see results. But once teachers get

used to using technology in their lesson plans and when students perfect the skills needed to be

successful with that technology, the results are quite impressive. Technology has proven to

accelerate struggling students close the learning gap.

Including technology in the classroom gives teachers more options and tools to cater to

each student individually. With a supportive community and teachers who are willing to be

trained and embrace technology in their classes, students of every age are sure to benefit from

the many tools and skills technology can offer.

References

Fisher, B. (1991). Joyful Learning: A Whole Language Kindergarten. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.

Hansen, C.C. (2004). Teacher talk: Promoting literacy development through response to story. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 19(2), 115-129.

Kindle, K.J. (2009). Vocabulary development during read-alouds: Primary Practice. The Reading Teacher, 63(3), 202-211.

Krogh, S. (1990). The Integrated Early Childhood Curriculum. New York: McGraw-Hill.

NAEYC (2012).  Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8: A position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  Washington DC: NAEYC.

New York State Core Curriculum (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/pub/elecoresci.pdf

Pentimonti, J.M., Zucker T.A., Justice, J.M. & Kaderavek, J.N. (2010). Infromational test use in preschool classroom read-alouds. The Reading Teacher, 33(8), 656-665.

Shoemaker, B. (1989) "Integrative education: A curriculum for the twenty-first century." Oregon School Study Council, 33(2).

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0, new tools, new schools. Intl Society for Technology in educ.

Wolfe, S., & Flewitt, R. (2010). New technologies, new multimodal literacy practices and young children’s metacognitive development. Cambridge Journal of Education, 40, 387-399.