Drexel University

EDUC 524 Current Research in Curriculum & Instruction

Barreta, Baxter, Collison, Davies, DeSmedt

Assignment: Lesson Plan Analysis Group Presentation (10 points)

Assessment: What should Pennsylvanias Energy plan be? Content Area: General Science, 8th Grade, Physical Science Unit where we learn about different types of Energy Standards Assessed: S8.C.2.1.1 Distinguish among forms of energy (e.g., electrical, mechanical, chemical, light, sound, nuclear) and sources of energy (i.e., renewable and nonrenewable energy) S8.C.2.2.2 Compare the time span of renewability for fossil fuels and the time span of renewability for alternative fuels. S8.D.1.2.2 Describe potential impacts of human-made processes (e.g., manufacturing, agriculture, transportation, mining) on Earths resources, both nonliving (i.e., air, water, or earth materials) and living (i.e., plants and animals). Learning Goals: Students will know: What the 8 main energy sources are The difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources How long it takes different energy sources to be renewed What the unintended negative consequences are for various energy sources in terms of air, water, public health, and natural resources Students will be able to: List and describe the 8 main energy sources Compare and contrast renewable and nonrenewable energy sources Identify which energy sources are renewable and which are nonrenewable Describe the timeline for renewability of various energy sources Describe the negative consequences of different energy sources Evaluate different energy sources based on pros and cons Recommend different energy sources based on their reliability, availability, impact on the environment and public health, and timeline for renewing Performance Task: Students will make recommendations to the Governors office on what Pennsylvanias energy policy should be. The format of the final project will be a brochure. The brochure will need to clearly state what mix of energy sources they recommend for Pennsylvania moving

forward, and why. They will need to consider: reliability, availability, impact on the environment and public health, and timeline for renewability. They will also need to acknowledge which energy sources they rejected, and why. When initially laying out this assignment, I will invite someone from the Governors office to come in and ask the students for their input. More than likely they will not be available for that, but I will be able to get a friend and former co-worker who is the Director of a non-profit environmental group to come in. I will ask him to pose this as a real life problem he wants their help with. The state is considering which direction to go in with regards to energy, and he wants to present opinions from lots of different citizens of the Commonwealth. He knows that I will be collecting their assignments and grading them, but he wants their permission to deliver them to the Governor Corbett, as well. I think that setting the stage like this, where their input is going to help people decide what to do on a real-world problem, will get them much more engaged in the assignment, and also in the unit as a whole. Key components of the Brochure:

Introduction summarizes key information in brochure, letting the reader know what energy sources were selected and at least one reason why. Energy sources selected are listed out. Key reasons why are given, and reference the given criteria to evaluate energy sources: Reliability Availability Impact on the Environment Impact on Public Health Timeline for Renewability

Evaluation and Assessment: Students will be given the following rubric when the assignment is first handed out and discussed. Students will be asked to fill out a rubric evaluating their own draft, and then students will trade brochures and evaluate each others work. They will then compare and discuss their evaluations to get peer feedback and see where they agree and disagree. We will then debrief as a class, and I will ask for a couple volunteers to let us look at their draft together, so they can see how I will evaluate their projects. This process will allow students to get feedback from multiple sources. It will also allow me to show them what my expectations are with concrete examples.

Rubric created using www.rubistar.4teachers.org

Making A Brochure : Pennsylvania's Energy Future

General scoring guideline: 4Shows exceptional performance or understanding 3Shows good performance and understanding

2Makes some errors, incomplete work or understanding 1Makes major errors, shows major misunderstanding CATEGORY Writing Organization 4 Each section in the brochure has a clear beginning, middle, and end. The authors correctly use several new words and define words unfamiliar to the reader. All facts in the brochure are accurate. The brochure has exceptionally attractive formatting and wellorganized information. All students in the group can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure. 3 Almost all sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end. The authors correctly use a few new words and define words unfamiliar to the reader. 99-90% of the facts in the brochure are accurate. The brochure has attractive formatting and well-organized information. All students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure. 2 Most sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end. 1 Less than half of the sections of the brochure have a clear beginning, middle and end. The authors try to The authors do use some new not incorporate vocabulary, but may new vocabulary. use 1-2 words incorrectly. 89-80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate. The brochure has well-organized information. Fewer than 80% of the facts in the brochure are accurate. The brochure's formatting and organization of material are confusing to the reader. Several students in the group appear to have little knowledge about the facts or technical processes used in the brochure.

Writing Vocabulary

Content Accuracy

Attractiveness & Organization

Knowledge Gained

Most students in the group can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the brochure and to technical processes used to create the brochure.

Learning from this Assessment: This assessment will help drive student learning because it anchors all of our learning objectives for this unit in a very real context. I have taught this unit before, and even without a concrete performance assessment students were very engaged because if they dont already know, they quickly realize how dependent we all are on energy. They want to know where we get our energy from. They have heard of problems associated with energy, whether it is the nuclear disaster last year in Japan, or their little sister who has asthma triggered by air pollution. By anchoring the unit in this performance assessment, I think it will give students even more connection to the content, and help them see how what they are learning is critical to their ability to help shape the world around them.

Specifically, this assessment will require students to distinguish between different sources of energy when they are evaluating them (S8.C.2.1.1). In order to evaluate them and make a selection for Pennsylvanias energy future, one of the main criteria will be timeline for renewability (S8.C.2.2.2). They will also need to describe the impacts of different energy sources on the Earths resources as part of their evaluation (S8.D.1.2.2). Plan for Instruction: 1. Energy Sources- Students will learn about the 8 main energy sources through group work. Each group will have 3-4 students, and will be assigned one energy source. They will then read an article and answer questions so that they can become the expert on their energy source. Once each group has become experts, we will then have each group share their answers to the questions, and all other students will take notes. The experts will answer all questions on their particular energy source. Students will complete a graphic organizer on the 8 energy sources as they listen to the different groups. 2. Identify renewable and nonrenewable sources and describe their timelineStudents will learn the difference between renewable and nonrenewable, and be able to explain that nonrenewable means that it cant be renewed for millions of years. They will be able to identify which sources are renewable and which are nonrenewable, and describe how they formed. 3. Describe the negative consequences- We will look at news clips that show unintended negative consequences from different energy sources, including the nuclear disaster in Japan, tap water in Pennsylvania catching fire due to natural gas leaks, and asthma rates as a result of air pollution. Students will then describe these effects in their own words. 4. Compare and contrast energy sources and evaluate the pros and consStudents will use their knowledge of energy sources to complete brackets (similar to those used for basketball during March Madness.) They will provide rationale for choices, using the same criteria that they will ultimately use when making their brochure. These learning activities and others will culminate in students being able to synthesize all this information to make recommendations on Pennsylvanias energy future for the governor. Since students will know this assignment from day one of the unit, it should be easy for them to pull it all together.