Student ID:120153

Education and Learning

EDU502

Date: 26/ 10/ 2013 Faculty of Education EDU502 Education and Learning

Assignment 1 Word Count: 1275

Lesson Plan Examination:- Pendulums on the Moon

Student ID : 120153

Module Coordinator: Dr. Sufian Forawi

Student ID:120153

Education and Learning

EDU502

Contents The Lesson Plan Examination ............................................ 3 Reference ............................................................................ 7 Appendixes ......................................................................... 7 The Lesson Plan:- Pendulum on the Moon ......................... 8 Pendulums on the Moon worksheet .................................. 12 Pendulums on the Moon worksheet answers .................... 13 Pendulums on the Moon data sheet .................................. 14

Student ID:120153

Education and Learning

EDU502

The Lesson Plan Examination

The lesson plan intention is to teach students in grades 9 to 12 the pendulum on the moon and the variables that control and affect the rate of pendulum swing. The lesson plan is designed of two phases incorporating a large amount of cooperative learning. Through direct instruction, the teacher reviews the concepts of observation, collecting and recording data, types of variables (e.g.; dependent, independent, and constant), and the gravitational constant . Then, the teacher guides discussion about the variables that affect the rate of the pendulum swing, the teacher ensures including the four variables (e.g.; mass, string length, starting angle, and the force of gravity). The students discuss and debate their answers before they are divided into groups to determine the independent and dependent variables. Before they go further in conducting the experiment, all students re-gather to discuss their answers, then the teacher gives them the correct answers. The students conduct the experiment guided by a worksheet, hypothesising, measuring, recording, and presenting the collected data by using three graphs for the first three variables. The teacher ensures that the students keep certain variables constant when the other variables are changed, and they place the independent variable on the x-axis and the dependent variable on the y-axis. They have to continue collaborating together in the second phase to explore the effect of the force of gravity by using online Moon Pendulum stimulation, and comparing the collected data in both phases for the three masses represented by three graphs. On the whole, this lesson plan intends to engage students to work cooperatively to understand and conduct the scientific method, and understand the pendulum on the Moon. The lesson plan is designed for student level of 11- 16, which is the age of Piagets formal operational stage (Eugene, L. C., 1976). The students in this age are able to shift from concrete thinking to more abstract and hypothetical thinking. The lesson plan emphasises the students to think hypothetically. They have to think about considering different variables that affect the rate of the pendulum swing, and visualise and imagine different environments such as the moons environment.

As Piaget believed in the importance of peer interactions to cognitive development, Vygotsky (1967), another cognitive theorist, also believed in the importance of cooperative learning. Therefore, these two theorists believed that learning is constructive and interacting with other

Student ID:120153

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EDU502

peers can foster students learning. This lesson plan encompasses beneficial activities that keep all the students engaged within the lesson objectives. Agreeing with the social constructivism concept, the activities are designed to be conducted in groups, still, an individual student can create his own understanding and share it with his group members.

The students are able to work together to generate their own understanding about the concepts, skills, and attitudes that are addressed in the objectives. Moreover, the teacher is not lecturing. Rather, he is facilitating in his Guided Inquiry or Teacher-Initiated Inquiry model; provides guidance and prompts when he is needed.

In general, the lesson plan addresses clear and explicit learning goals and objectives. They include the four components (e.g.; content, behaviour, condition, and criterion). They are direct, explicit, and comprehensive, and link to appropriate learning standards in this age level. These objectives are clearly supported by the lesson activities in the two phases. Moreover, the objectives clearly comprise a big idea of science. The content is accurate and complete with respect to the states objectives.

The lesson plan presents challenging levels of detail and abstraction, but reachable to most students; it represents great expectations. The topics are sequenced appropriately, and supported with appropriate examples. The content is portrayed to real-world issues, and is given in a meaningful context for the students. The lesson plan is designed to dynamically solicit students preconceptions at the beginning of the lesson, and refers to conceivable alternatives in which instruction can be modified in reflection to the pre-assessment information. The students, whichever individually or as a class, are required to reflect on and summarise their understanding in verbal or in writing at appropriate point(s) during the lesson in order to construct conceptual understanding.

The lesson plan includes tools effectively that assess conceptual understanding. It embraces reports, participation for performance-based assessments. As the students conduct activities through stages along with assessment results including the closure, formative feedback to students are used for modifying the lesson as it is being taught.

Student ID:120153

Education and Learning

EDU502

The lesson objectives and activities are intended to generate a change in student values, attitudes, or views about the significance and appeal of science, their ability or desire to learn science. In order to measure development toward the main objectives, the students attitudes and views are evaluated. Activities regularly engage students by promoting curiosity, and regularly entail active participation of students in their own learning

The lesson plan requires significant discussion among students focused on sense making, and promotes evidence-based debate among students. The lesson plan provides open-ended questions for discourse. Consequently, the lesson plan fosters a community of learners. The lesson plan uses technology effectively, in studying the pendulum on the moon by simulation; the students are required to use computers and internet connection. Through the teacher-designed or modified activities, and interdisciplinary collaboration, the creative approach portrays by the lesson plan guarantees teacher and student engagement. The lesson plan keeps students hands-on, it utilises and integrates hands-on well to promote student exploration and learning, and comprises a meaningful assessment of the intended learning Students are steadily minds-on, they are engaged first-hand in learning through inquiry (e.g.; questioning, designing experiments, testing hypotheses or predictions, measuring and analysing data, drawing conclusions, etc.), rather than being dictated answers; skills of inquiry process are taught in context.

The teacher supports the students in drawing or refuting conclusions resulted from evidence in order to develop their analytical skills; evidences include the collected data, the graphs, the discussions, and experimental observations. A negative aspect can be seen when viewing the lesson plan objective. The verb understand is used to describe what the students will be able to know and do, so it is not appropriate to be used in an objective as it is not observable or measurable. It would be better if understand is replaced with explain or illustrate the importance of the scientific method and experimental controls and put those ideas into practice.

Another negative aspect, regarding the adequate contents, a lack of information on linking mathematical manipulations/formulation to the students' findings, as the students can expand their

Student ID:120153

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EDU502

learning. Moreover, the content does not explain the negligible effect of mass on the rate of pendulum swing as it resulted from air resistance. Using technology, possibly, the students could record and graph data by using a proper software which may lead to time-wise use.

The lesson plan does not consider differentiation, though it is possible to be adapted to various needs, but it is not explicitly addressed. The lesson plan can explicitly tell dividing the students into mixed ability groups, otherwise the lesson should be re-planned to take in account differentiated groups with different abilities.

Time pacing is a big confuse in this lesson plan. Many activities without detail timing for each step, the duration for the lesson as planned is two class periods, the plan does not indicate the length in minutes or hours, where the period time may vary from school to another. Additionally, the overall time needed to conduct the activities is more than two class periods of forty-five minutes.

In conclusion, the lesson plan includes decent collaborative learning that can engage all learners, help them construct better associations, and can help with the variety of learning styles that are available in a classroom setting.

Student ID:120153

Education and Learning

EDU502

Reference
Eugene, L. C., 1976. A review of piagetian studies relevant to science instruction at the secondary and college level. Scientific Educaion, April/June, vol 60(2), pp. 253-261. Vygotsky, L. S., 1967. Play and Its Role in the Mental Development of the Child. Journal of Russian and East European Psychology, vol 5(3), pp. 6-18.

Student ID:120153

Education and Learning

EDU502

Appendixes
The Lesson Plan:- Pendulum on the Moon

6-12 physical science

physics, space science two class periods

Students will 1. discuss and understand the importance of the scientific method and experimental controls and then put those ideas into practice; 2. conduct experiments in the classroom to determine whether length, mass, or starting angle has any effect on the rate of a pendulums swing; 3. conduct an experiment using an online Moon Pendulumto determine whether gravitational force has any effect on the rate of a pendulums swing; 4. create graphs to illustrate the results of their experiments; and 5. draw conclusions from the graphs they have created.

one pendulum apparatus for each lab groupeach apparatus should include strings of 40, 60, 80, and 100 centimeters and bobs with masses of approximately 25, 50, and 75 grams

Student ID:120153

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EDU502

copies of thePendulums on the Moon worksheetand the Pendulums on the Moon worksheet answers copies of thePendulums on the Moon data sheet graph paper computers with Internet access

This activity consists of two phases. In phase 1, students will recreate Galileos famous pendulum experiments in the classroom. In phase 2, students will take Galileo one step furtherinto outer spaceby using an online Moon Pendulum! 1. To introduce this activity, begin by leading a class discussion about the scientific method. Review with your students the concepts of observation and collecting and recording data. You might also want to review the termsdependent variable,independent variable,andconstant variablewith your students, as these will be crucial for an understanding of this activity. In addition, your students will need to be familiar withG,the gravitational constant (9.8 m/s2). This will be important for phase 2 of the activity, in which students will use the online Moon Pendulum. 2. Ask your students the following question: What variables affect the rate of a pendulums swing? Students may come up with a variety of answers, but the four that they will be testing in the following experiment are the length of the pendulum, the starting angle of the pendulum, the mass of the bob at the end of the pendulum, and the force of gravity. As you make a list of students answers to the question, make sure that those four are included. Give them a chance to debate and discuss their answers before continuing. 3. Distribute copies of the Pendulums on the Moon worksheet; then explain to your students that they will need to conduct experiments to determine whether each of the four variables has an effect on the rate of a pendulums swing. Before they conduct their experiments, however, they will need to determine the dependent, independent, and constant variables for each one. Divide your class into lab groups and ask each group to work together to fill out the chart on the worksheet as best it can. Then bring the class back together and discuss the groups answers. Make sure that students explain the reasoning behind their decisions. When the discussion is complete, distribute copies of the Pendulums on the Moon worksheet answers and discuss the various variables with the class. 4. Your students are now ready to begin phase 1 of their experiments, in which they will use the pendulum apparatus you have provided to test the effects of length, starting angle, and mass on the pendulums rate of swing. Make sure that the groups understand that by changing the value of only one of these variables at a time, they can determine the effect that it has on the rate of the pendulums swing. For instance, to determine the effect of length on the pendulums rate of swing, they will need to use the same mass, the same starting angle, and the same gravitational force (obviously) as they test different lengths. 5. Distribute copies of the Pendulums on the Moon data sheet to your students. Make sure that students understand how to use the data sheet. Explain that before each experiment, the

Student ID:120153

Education and Learning

EDU502

group needs to state a hypothesis: What effect, if any, will the independent variable have on the rate of the pendulums swing? Encourage them to make careful measurements and record their data neatly and clearly. 6. When phase 1 is complete, ask the groups to use the data they have collected to create three graphs, one for each experiment. On each graph, the independent variable should be placed on the x-axis, and the dependent variable should be placed on the y-axis. 7. Next, your students are ready to begin phase 2 of their experiments, in which they will use the online Moon Pendulum. Explain to students that this online pendulum is designed to simulate the swinging of a pendulum on the moon. Make sure they understand that the moons gravitational force is 1/6 that of the Earth. 8. Explain to students that in phase 2, they are going to repeat experiment 3 from phase 1this time, using the online pendulum. Make sure that, as before, groups state a hypothesis about the effect of the independent variable (gravitational force) on the rate of the pendulums swing before conducting the experiment. 9. When phase 2 is complete, ask students to use the data they have collected to create three small bar graphs of their resultsone for each of the three masses they used in the experiment. The independent variable (gravitational force) should be placed on the x-axis as before, and the dependent variable should be placed on the y-axis.

When their final graphs are complete, bring the class together to discuss the groups results. What did their experiments reveal? (In phase 1, students should have observed that length has the greatest effect on the rate of the pendulums swing. The starting angle also has some effect, but it is often not observable. If the experiments were done carefully, the mass should have no effect at all. In phase 2, students should have observed that gravitational force does indeed have an effect on the rate of the pendulums swing.) If students did not observe the expected results, what explanations can they offer for why that may have occurred? Conclude with a discussion on the significance of isolating variables. Why is this an essential feature of a useful scientific experiment?

1. One way to extend this activity is to have your students research the significance of pendulums as they are used in various technological efforts. Students should begin to understand where pendulums are commonly utilized and the practical functions they serve. Each student can choose a machine in which a pendulum is used, research it, then give a brief presentation to the class.

Student ID:120153

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EDU502

Galileos Pendulum Experiments http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Student_Work/ Experiment95/galileo_pendulum.html The Simple Pendulum http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/physics/shm/node5.html The Foucault Pendulum http://www.calacademy.org/products/pendulum.html

Student ID:120153

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EDU502

Pendulums on the Moon worksheet

Student ID:120153

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EDU502

Pendulums on the Moon worksheet answers

Student ID:120153

Education and Learning

EDU502

Pendulums on the Moon data sheet