Running head: PREVIEWING AND CRITICAL INPUT EXPERIENCES

Previewing and Critical Input Experiences Dianne Kraus Wilkes University

PREVIEWING AND CRITICAL INPUT EXPERIENCES Abstract The following is a mini-study conducted to analyze previewing strategies and critical input experiences in a freshman Advanced Biology class at Dundee-Crown High School. The students are underserved students who have been advanced a level, and are taught using special strategies to support their ability to attend college. The students participate in a brainstorming carousel previewing activity and a reading assignment that is critical-input for designing a regeneration lab experiment. The activities prepare the students for learning new

content by activating prior learning while increasing student engagement and motivation. The target learning goal for this lesson is that students will be able to trace the development of medical procedures that could cure disease or damage using stem cells.

PREVIEWING AND CRITICAL INPUT EXPERIENCES Previewing and Critical Input Experiences We have started our unit on sexual and a-sexual reproduction and students have many misconceptions about mitosis and stem cells. In this lesson plan I am having the students participate in a group previewing activity where they must brainstorm about specific concepts about stem cells. The students will summarize the content on their boards and we will discuss possible connections between concepts and current research.

Prior to the critical input experience, students will be shown a short video about Planarian regeneration, this will hook their interest and then they will read important information for the upcoming lab. The students are asked to highlight important information in the reading, as

the teacher reads the article to the class, such as the various methods for farming stem cells, the importance of stem cell research and the potential for medical breakthroughs due to stem cell research. Following the reading, students are asked to write Cornell notes, and then asked to prepare an experimental design to test a hypothesis about cell regeneration. The students will complete exit cards at the end of the lesson as a formative assessment to determine if they understand the formation of stem cells through mitotic division and cellular differentiation. The target learning goal for this lesson is that students will be able to trace the development of medical procedures that could cure disease or damage using stem cells. At level 2 students will be able to describe the relationship between stem cells and mitosis. At level 4 students will develop and test their hypothesis about regeneration using planarian. The scale for the assessment is a simple five point scale with students receiving zero if they do not complete any work and a 1.0 if they can complete the level 2.0 work with help.

PREVIEWING AND CRITICAL INPUT EXPERIENCES At the end of the unit students will also be given an execution rubric for procedural knowledge based upon their ability to design and conduct the lab. A grade will be assigned based on the formative and summative scores earned for the unit. The goal for the lesson was not met during taping because this concept will take time to develop and the students need time to process information, to make connections between the

concepts and to test their hypothesis. During that time I will use formative assessments to gain instructional feedback and information on their progress so that I can adapt to their needs and help their learning grow and progress. The previewing strategy opened the students cognition to thinking about prior knowledge and the critical input experience gave them new knowledge that they will use and build on during upcoming lessons. Based on the Protocol (Marzano, 2007) the students were engaged in a previewing activity that helped them to link prior knowledge to new knowledge by brainstorming in small groups using whiteboards in a carousel activity. After the carousel students engaged in a discussion to discover what was known about the topic and students talked about regeneration, stem cells in the news, embryonic stem cell research and mitosis as cell division. After watching a short video that was used as a motivational hook or launching activity students were able to make predictions about upcoming content and it provided a purpose for what they were about to learn by talking about possible uses for stem cell research and regeneration abilities for limbs and diseases. After the video ended, students brainstormed the medical uses of stem cells such as spinal cord injuries, liver regeneration, and bone marrow transplants. Students were actively engaged in the previewing activities and moved to groups in an orderly fashion.

PREVIEWING AND CRITICAL INPUT EXPERIENCES At the beginning of the part of the lesson involving important information students were asked to listen carefully to the information that the teacher was about to read to them and to highlight important details that would be needed for the lab. The teacher explained that the information was important and students got ready for the information, and adjusted their level of engagement by retrieving a copy of the handout and preparing their highlighters. The

teacher held up the handout to stress the importance of the article, and to cue the importance of the upcoming information. When students were asked to explain why the content from the article was important they were able to explain that the background information was needed for making their hypothesis and that this was found within the reading. I evaluated the videotaped lesson as applying on the scale because the students in the lesson struggled with summarizing, and I need to take time with the freshmen to teach them summarizing strategies. This would be another critical input experience that they need in order to think more deeply about the content. Without the strategies for critical thinking they do not have awareness of the knowledge that they possess already and they have trouble with higher order processing skills. I was also concerned about the level of participation while the

camera was turned on. Only five students were actively engaged in the previewing conversation and then after the camera turned off they all came to life with their questions and inquiry so I need to find a way to make them at ease while being videotaped. Based on their ability to make inferences about the content, the students need opportunities to understand stem cell differentiation and mitosis. I was encouraged that they had some knowledge of stem cells and although they were not science literate regarding the subject they do have an interest in the relevant issues regarding the medical issues which are driving current medical research and they are enthusiastic about conducting the lab.

PREVIEWING AND CRITICAL INPUT EXPERIENCES References Marzano, R. (2007). The Art and Science of Teaching. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.