Jessica M.

Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

Muscles Lesson Plan using Multiple Intelligences & Project Based Learning
Jessica M. Taylor

Problem Statement
Ms. Smith is a twelfth grade human anatomy and physiology teacher at Centennial High School where the students study the structures of the major body systems and how they work together to function as a whole. During the course of the year, the students have already studied the nervous, endocrine, integumentary, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems and are about to start the muscular system. Ms. Smith really wants the students to understand the various types of movements and for the students to locate important muscles throughout the body. The normal routine of notes and lectures, labeling worksheets, and labs are no longer peaking the interest of the students. As a result, they are lacking motivation to do their assignments and the teacher has noticed their grades start to drop. To add to the frustration, the students are experiencing serious seniorititis and are having trouble seeing the relevance of getting good grades in the class since they are already into college and just need to pass the class. Ms. Smith wants to try a new instructional strategy to teach the muscular system that will increase the interest, motivation and learning of the students.

Target Audience
Ms. Smith has 84 total anatomy students- 24 in her first period class, 28 in her third period class and 32 in her seventh period class- with an almost equal distribution of males and females. Around 70% of the students are Caucasian, 18% African American, 6% Asian, and 6% Hispanic. While the students vary in socioeconomic backgrounds, most of the students would be classified as middle class. The students vary greatly in terms of academic ability and learning styles and preferences, with 36% of them being classified as gifted. Overall, most students are average.

Instructional/Learning Model
The lesson designed by Ms. Smith to teach muscles and movements will be based on Project Based Learning, with an importance placed on incorporating Multiple Intelligences.

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

Explanation of the Instructional Learning Model

Project Based Learning is a learning and teaching strategy that emerges from Constructionism. According to Constructionism, knowledge is not simply transferred from teacher to student, but actively constructed by the learner. New ideas are most likely created when learners are actively engaged in producing some type of external artifact or product that they can reflect on and share with others. The creation of the product generally requires the student to answer challenging questions related to real life experiences by choosing and organizing the activity and conducting the research. There are seven basic components of Problem Based Learning that must be in place to design and plan for projects: 1. Learner- centered environment: In Project Based Learning, the teacher acts more like a facilitator or coach, allowing the students to select a topic and make their own decisions about the design, production, and presentation. The teacher is there to provide assistance and feedback, but it is ultimately the students responsibility to make decisions and revisions about their project. 2. Collaboration: This component of Project Based Learning places an emphasis on students working collaboratively with their peers to learn decision-making skills, communication skills, and interdependence. Students work closely with their classmates to provide feedback and come to group decisions about their final product. 3. Curricular content: In Project Based Learning, the teacher presents the students with a particular problem or question and provides them with clearly articulated goals to help guide them in the learning process. The goals and objectives should be based on the standards required of the course. 4. Authentic tasks: The task required of the student depends on the goal of the project. The task can either be connected to the real world by its relevancy to the learners live and community or be connected to real professions through the use of authentic methods, practices, and audiences.

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

5. Multiple expression modes: This component of Project Based Learning gives the learner the freedom to use a variety of technologies as tools in planning, developing, and presenting their projects. 6. Time management: According to this component of Project Based Learning, it is the responsibility of the teacher to provide an adequate time frame for the students to complete their project. Depending on the objectives and the scope of the project, the amount of time can vary greatly from one project to the next. 7. Innovative assessment: Assessment of learning in Project Based Learning normally does not follow the traditional assessment processes typical of teacher-centered lessons. Instead, assessment is viewed as an ongoing process that requires varied and frequent assessment, including teacher assessment, peer assessment, self-assessment, and reflection. The theory of Multiple Intelligences was proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983 to suggest that the traditional notion of intelligence is far too limited and is not a fixed entity throughout a persons lifetime. Instead, human beings possess nine different intelligences in varying degrees and education is improved by assessing a students intelligence profile and designing activities accordingly. The nine intelligences are: 1. Verbal/Linguistic: This type of intelligence refers to an individuals ability to understand and manipulate words and languages. Individuals that exhibit strong verbal intelligence learn best by hearing and seeing words, speaking, read, and writing. Teachers can enhance a students linguistic intelligence by playing word games, encouraging discussions, and keeping journals. 2. Logical/Mathematical: This type of intelligence refers to an individuals ability to do things with data, such as collect, organize, analyze, interpret, conclude, and predict. Individuals that are strong in this intelligence learn best by working with relationships and patters and are strong in math, problem-solving, and reasoning. Teachers can enhance a students logical intelligence by using logical puzzles and presenting subject matter is a very sequential manner.

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

3. Visual/Spatial: Individuals with this type of intelligence tend to learn best from visual presentations such as movies and videos and their strengths include reading charts, drawing, and designing and building products. 4. Bodily/Kinesthetic: Learners that are strong in this form of intelligence prefer to move around, touch the people they are talking to, and act things out. 5. Musical: Musical Intelligence refers to the ability to understand, create, and interpret musical sounds and tones and have the capability to compose music. Teachers can enhance and encourage a students musical intelligence by playing music for the class or by allowing students to create lyrics about the material being taught. 6. Interpersonal: This type of intelligence requires learners to be good communicators and have good interaction skills, being able to interpret and respond to the moods, motivations, emotions, and actions of others. Group work and cooperative learning activities can enhance this type of intelligence for learners. 7. Intrapersonal: Teachers often assign reflective activities, such as journaling to awaken an individuals Intrapersonal Intelligence. Individuals that exhibit strong intrapersonal skills prefer to work alone and have their own pace to work on self-paced projects. 8. Naturalistic: This type of intelligence is seen in someone who understands nature and enjoys exploring living things and learning about plants and animals. Teachers can foster this form of intelligence by encouraging classification activities or by looking at connections to real life and science issues. 9. Existential: Existential is the latest intelligence to be added to the list and has yet to experience full acceptance by educators in the classroom. This type of intelligence includes the ability of the learner to pose and ponder questions regarding existence. Implementing a student-centered lesson or activity based on Multiple Intelligences requires consideration of a few factors by the instructor. It is imperative that the instructor identifies clear goals and objectives and considers activities that teach to different intelligences, although it is not necessary to incorporate all nine intelligences into one lesson. Although the teacher is still responsible for setting a time frame for completion of the project and for assessing the

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

learning, the student has a considerable amount of choice in the activities and tasks for complete the instructional goals.

Relationship of Instructional/Learning Model to Problem

I selected Project Based Learning to incorporate into Ms. Smiths anatomy classes because the students seem to be lacking motivation and drive to complete their work and comprehend the material. Because the classes are comprised of mostly seniors, the teacher is struggling to get the students to learn and complete the tasks at hand instead of looking forward to their future in college. Research shows that lessons designed using Project Based Learning increase the motivation and engagement of learners because they can choose topics based on their personal interests, decide the extent of the content, and select the presentation mode. As a result, students tend to take a greater responsibility for their own learning than during more traditional classroom activities and teachers often note an improvement in attendance, more class participation, growth in self-reliance, and improved attitudes toward learning. Project Based Learning also provides collaborative opportunities to construct knowledge, encouraging students to bounce ideas off each other, voice their opinions, and negotiate solutions about the construction of their final product. Students engaged in stimulating projects are more likely to retain the knowledge and skills and the higher order thinking skills used in the processing allows the student to make connections and apply their newfound knowledge to the real world instead of memorizing facts in an isolated context. By incorporating Multiple Intelligences into the lesson, the teacher is helping to equally celebrate all forms of intelligence and build selfworth by allowing students to build on their strengths and become vital members of a team.

Statement of Lesson Plan Objectives

The objectives and goals of the lesson are based on the following Georgia Performance Standard for human anatomy and physiology. SAP2: Students will analyze the interdependence of the integumentary, skeletal, and muscular systems as these relate to the protection, support and movements of the human body.

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

b. Explain how the skeletal structures provide support and protection for tissues, and function together with the muscular system to make movements possible. By the end of the lesson, the student will be able to: Identify and demonstrate the different types of body movements. Name and locate the major muscles of the human body and state the action of each.

Details of Lesson Plan

Planning: In the first phase of the lesson, students will determine their type of intelligence, research, and plan for their projects. 1. Students will be given a blank diagram of the muscles of the human body. Using their current knowledge of muscles, they will be given an opportunity to label the diagram. While they are completing the next activity (Intelligence Survey), Ms. Smith will look over the diagrams to see how they did. She will then hand them back to the students so they know how they did and to give them a gauge of their current knowledge and what they still need to know. 2. Students will complete a simple Multiple Intelligence survey questionnaire located on the following website: http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html 3. Ms. Smith will then determine groups for the students based on the results. The teacher should try to have a variety of different intelligences in each group to ensure that students will have an important role in the group. Each groups should contain about 5-6 students. 4. The teacher will then discuss the project to the class: a. Each group of students will create a video detailing the types of movements available in the human body and the locations of important muscles. Ms. Smith will give the students a list of muscles and types of movements they must incorporate into their videos.

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

b. The groups will have the choice of what type of video they would like to create. For example, some groups might choose to create a workout video. Others might choose to have a format similar to a news program on ESPN that discusses athletes and highlights sporting events. c. Ms. Smith will then present them with the rubric that they will be assessed with, so they are familiar with the requirements of the project. d. Ms. Smith should also lead a discussion of the class to help in the creation of evaluation rubrics that will be filled out by group members to evaluate themselves and other members of their group daily. The rubric should contain elements such as cooperation, completion of tasks, kindness and respect for teammates, and punctuality. While it is the students who are coming up with the evaluation rubric, Ms. Smith should guide them in its creation so key components are guaranteed to be included. e. Ms. Smith should give the students five days to complete the project. 5. Once in their groups, students should begin to assign/take on roles for the project and the group should come up with a plan to complete the task.
a. Based on Multiple Intelligences, the probable roles of students might be as

follows: If the student is more interpersonal, they might act as the group/team leader to help organize the project and make sure everyone stays on task. If the student is more visual, they might be in charge of creating a storyboard of the video to help draw out and visually see what is going to take place. If they tend to be more verbal/linguistic, then they might be responsible for writing the scripts and speaking of the scripts on the actual video. If the student tends to be more kinesthetic, then they might do a lot of the acting in the video along with filming the students so they are able to move around. 6. Using their textbook, diagrams and posters throughout the room, and Internet resources, the students should begin conducting their research (finding descriptions of the types of movements and locations for all the muscles).

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

a. While the students are conducting their research, Ms. Smith should circulate the classroom to help answer any questions, help groups if they are having difficulty working together to accomplish the task, or to redirect off-task students. b. Students should complete the evaluation rubric for themselves and their teammates at the end of each class period. Implementation: During this phase, students will be gathering all their information to create their video. 7. Students should submit a design plan of their project by the end of day two to Ms. Smith for feedback before proceeding on. 8. Once their plan has been approved by Ms. Smith, they can go ahead and begin the filming and editing of their video. 9. Students should continue to complete the evaluation rubric for themselves and their teammates at the end of each class period. Processing: During this phase, the students will share their videos, obtain feedback, and give feedback to others. 10. The groups will present their videos to the rest of the class. 11. As each video is playing, students and Ms. Smith will be evaluating it based on the rubric for the final product. Groups will receive tons of feedback from their peers and Ms. Smith. 12. Students will be given another blank diagram of the muscles of the human body to fill in.

Evaluation/Assessment Component
Students will be evaluated using the following instruments: 1. The following rubric will be used by the teacher and classmates while viewing the videos to evaluate the groups final products.

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010 Performance Element Types of Movements Names of Muscles Location of Muscles Length of Video Not Attempted (0) No movements are present in the video No muscles are named in the video None of the locations of the muscles are correct Video does not exist There is no speaking in the video Music in the video is not school appropriate or is missing from the video Novice (1-9) At least 3 different types of movements are present in the video At least 5 muscles are named in the video At least 5 of the locations of the muscles are correct Video is at least 2 minutes in length Most of the video is unclear and hard to understand; Most of the muscle names are pronounced incorrectly Apprentice (10-14) At least 6 different types of movements are present in the video At least 10 muscles are named in the video At least 10 of the locations of the muscles are correct Video is at least 4 minutes in length Some of the video is unclear and hard to understand; Some of the muscle names are pronounced incorrectly Proficient (15-17) At least 9 different types of movements are present in the video At least 15 muscles are named in the video At least 15 of the locations of the muscles are correct Video is at least 6 minutes in length Voices are clear and easy to understand; Some of the muscle names are pronounced incorrectly Distinguished (18-20) At least 12 different types of movements are present in the video At least 20 muscles are named in the video All of the locations of the muscles are correct Video is at least 8 minutes in length Voices are very clear and easily understood; Muscle names are pronounced correctly Music is present in the video and school appropriate Points Earned

Voice

Music

NA

NA

NA

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

2. Evaluation Rubrics: At the beginning of the lesson, the students should create a rubric to be filled out by the group members to assess each team members contributions and involvement in the project. The rubric should contain elements such as cooperation, completion of tasks, kindness and respect for teammates, and punctuality. While it is the students who are coming up with the evaluation rubric, the teacher should guide them in its creation so key components are guaranteed to be included. a. Each group member should fill out a rubric evaluating their performance. b. Each group member should fill out a rubric evaluating the performance for each team member. c. Evaluation Rubrics should be used at the end of each class period, everyday. 3. Students will be required to label a blank diagram of the human muscles to assess their knowledge and understanding of the material.

Defense of Instructional Learning Model

There are several other instructional theories that could have been applied to Ms. Smiths classroom to achieve the goal. Firstly, Ms. Smith could have used Problem Based Learning and case studies. Using this strategy, students are created with real life problems and need to come up with realistic solutions to the problems. This strategy gears students away from just memorizing facts, but rather being able to apply what they learned and use critical thinking skills. In this model, learning is more student-centered with the teacher acting as a facilitator and the students work collaboratively to solve a problem. Because the students tend to be more engaged and interested and avoid the question Who Cars, the students will be more motivated to learn, which is exactly what Ms. Smith needs. To apply this concept, Ms. Smith could group the students into pairs or threes and introduce them with a case study problem dealing with muscular disorders, in which the students have to use their knowledge to determine the disorder and course of action. Another strategy that would be effective for Ms. Smiths class is motivational strategies, especially identifying ways for the students to become more intrinsically motivated. Also, it might be helpful for Ms. Smith to identify potential

Jessica M. Taylor EDIT 6400- Spring 2010

distractions that are getting in the way of the students learning and come up with strategies that could help them better focus on their school work. Incorporating Project Based Learning into classrooms is not always perfect and could present a few problems. Assessment is a bit difficult in Project Based Learning, and while the rubric will assess the final project, it might be difficult to determine if everyone in the group should receive the same grade based on their efforts, and if they shouldnt, what should they receive. Also, teachers sometimes lack the skills and familiarity with Project Based Learning to successfully carry it out in a lesson. Ms. Smith might be real quick to show students the answers and tell them what to do because of previous practice, instead of requiring them to be more independent and self sufficient in their learning. This lesson might have also been more successful had she given the students a variety of options for their final project, instead of just a video. While she did give them choices in the type of video they were allowed to create, there might be students with no interest or skill in video making and will not do very well on this project, thus making the problem worse.