Case 2: College Mentors for Kids STEM Activity

Background:
The College Mentors for Kids (CMFK) is an organization that pairs college kids with at-risk
children (4th 10th grade). Their mission statement is: to motivate at-risk children and
communities to achieve their potential by fostering inspiration to transform lives, education to
change attitudes, and connections to increase opportunities (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~cmfk/).
This organization is based on a service being provided by college students acting as mentors.
Recently, the head of this local chapter has asked you and your small group for help in creating
lessons that can be used to help mentor and teach a group of students in relevant subject areas
within the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines. The goal is to bring
a large group of these children to our campus to work with students in a STEM afternoon
activity. In order for this to be accomplished, you have been tasked with creating a lesson that
will be used on that afternoon.
Planning:
As you discuss the case, make sense of case content, and plan the lesson with your group
members, you will select a Web 2.0 tool. For this case, your group may choose a Web 2.0 tool
from the following list: Lino (http://en.linoit.com/), MindMup
(http://www.mindmup.com/#m:new), or Trello (https://trello.com/). To help you make your
selection, visit Blackboard/Canvas where you can find short videos that provide an overview of
each tool. You and your group may use this tool in any manner that is helpful while planning
your lesson and discussing the case. Note: You will be asked to share whatever you create
using your selected Web 2.0 tool and answer/reflect on a few questions about your
experience with the tool. You can find the questions on page 3 of this document and an
electronic version of this document on Blackboard/Canvas.
Product. Before CMFK hires you and your team, they want to see a sample of your work. You
and your small group will research, design, and develop a lesson plan that will focus on teaching
a specific concept in one of the STEM disciplines. You can decide on the topic and age group
(upper elementary, middle school, or high school) of the target students for your lesson plan. The
finished lesson should take approximately 30-45 minutes for the students to complete.
Your lesson should include the following elements:
a. A description of all key elements of a properly constructed lesson planeach of these
sections needs to be fully described (i.e., to the point that someone you do not know will
be able to read your lesson plan and be able to successfully complete the lesson in its
entirety with the desired results).
1. Overview of Lesson
2. Description of Learners, Learning Environment, Intended Learning Goals, and
Lesson Content
3. Learning Objectives
4. Standards
5. Required Materials
6. Procedures
7. Assessment
8. References and Reference Materials
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b. A full description of what inspired your lesson including where you found information
about the lesson content, technology, and teaching method (include how you searched
and found the information). Make sure you use proper APA formatting for all references
you access and use as a part of your plan. NOTE: This lesson plan needs to be unique (not
a copy of someone elses) however, you can use others ideas, techniques, procedures as
long as you carefully document where the information was accessed.
c. Full APA style references of two different journal articles that discuss research on
teaching within the STEM disciplines. Each reference should be followed by a brief (one
paragraph) description/annotation of the articles content (what each is about and its
value). Specifically, be sure to briefly discuss how the journal articles you found
informed how you designed and developed your lesson (e.g., The journal discussed
strategies for problem-based learning (x, y, z). We used these strategies in the lesson we
developed by).
d. A clear, concise (250 word max) well-written blog post on your website portfolio that
includes thoughts on the following areas:
Why do you think your lesson plan was valid, practical, and motivational?
Looking at the lesson plan you created, what changes would you make to improve
it?
What was the biggest "take-away" that you gained by completing this case?
e.

Your lesson plan should be formatted professionally. To give your lesson plan a
polished look, use word-processing options like tables, shading, ClipArt, etc.

Learners, Teacher, School:

Your lesson plan should be designed with the following in mind:
a) The teaching environment: As the students travel to campus to participate in this
program, a large classroom with several round tables has been reserved for the STEM
afternoon.
b) Number of students per age group: You get to select whether you want to work with
elementary, middle school, or high school students. You can count on having
approximately 15-20 students during your lesson.
c) Mentors: Each student has a buddy (the college mentor) who will be with them for the
STEM afternoon. You can choose how you incorporate the buddy into your lesson.
d) Technology: The room has small whiteboards (dry erase boards) available, as well as,
wireless Internet. There is one instructor station with a projector in the room.
*NOTE: An important part of this lesson plan needs to be the selection and use of specific
technology and how it could be integrated and used to impact the learning of the students within
your lesson.

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Things to Consider
Consider who, besides the learners, has a vested interest or cares about the success of the
lesson you create and what the key characteristics are of these individuals and/or groups.
Consider what the ideal lesson would look like (e.g., what specific activities would be
included) from each of these other individuals or groups that have an interest in the success
of the lesson.
Consider how you can design a lesson that meets the needs of all the groups and individuals
you have contemplated.
After you have decided what STEM content and age group you will use to develop your
lesson, consider where you can gather ideas for the lesson you are planning.
Consider how technology can be used as part of this lesson and how you can validate its use.

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Lesson Plan Assessment Guide (Case 2)

Criteria

Possible

Topic of Lesson & Learning Goals

Can the lesson reasonably be delivered in 30-45 minutes?
Is the lesson topic appropriate for the learners, environment, & case requirements?
Given the topic, do the lesson goals allow you to adequately cover the topic?
Target Audience & Learning Environment
Does the audience description address all relevant student characteristics?
Does the description of the learning environment address all relevant characteristics?
Instructional Objectives
Does each objective include the following three elements:
Condition?
Performance?
Criteria?
Does each objective correspond to the lesson topic and learning goal(s)?
Instructional Procedure
Are the lesson procedures described in a logical, straight forward manner that could
be followed with relative ease?
Does the procedure correspond to the learning outcomes & objectives?
Are the instructional procedures doablegiven the class structure and size?
given age, abilities, and characteristics?
Are students given the opportunity to apply lesson content in a meaningful way?
Standards
Do the selected standards align with the learning goals and objectives?
Motivational Strategies
Do motivational techniques align with student attributes and needs?
Is an orientation activity used to captures the learners attention/set the tone for the
lesson?
Are motivational techniques used to maintain attention and enthusiasm throughout
the lesson?
Evaluation
Does the evaluation approach require the same condition as stated in the
objective(s)?
Does the evaluation approach require the same performance as stated in the
objective(s)?
Does the evaluation approach measure the criteria as stated in the objective(s)?
Is the evaluation approach appropriate for the described lesson and goals?

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1
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1
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1
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1
1
1
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1
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Score

Technology Integration
Does the described technology use enhance the lesson outcomes and objectives?
Is the described technology use feasible (within the class structure, size, &
environment and with learners age/abilities)?
Face Value
Is the lesson formatted in a professional manner?
Blog Post
On the Website Portfolio, a clear, concise (250 word max) well-written blog post that
includes thoughts on the following areas:
Why do you think your lesson plan was valid, practical, and motivational?
Looking at the lesson plan you created, what changes would you make to
improve it?
What was the biggest "take-away" that you gained by completing this
case?
In what ways did you utilize your selected Web 2.0 tool (e.g., Evernote) as
you worked together as a group? Was it helpful or did it hinder the overall
planning process?
References
Are summaries of two different journal articles discussing research on teaching in the
STEM disciplines? Does this summary discuss how the articles helped with lesson
plan development?
Total Score

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30