Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Chapter 7 Knowledge Construction
The chapter on knowledge construction was heading right into my interests. I especially thought the authentic activity style was great because as an Ag teacher I love the thought of the kids getting to do the actual activity.
Two questions one with higher order on blooms taxonomy and one with lower order:
I would have the students learn their ten trees from our lesson and walking tour of campus and learn their names. I would have them take their test of the ten different tree species such as maple oak pine cedar and dogwood based on the leaves of the tees.
The lower order question would be:
Can the student identify each of these species of trees and name their common names for an exam?
The student would only be required to give common names of ten different trees common in the area. Oak, maple, pine, cedar, etc. Almost like an elementary school student's spelling test it would be little more than memorization. I would give them key clues to help pop stuff off into their memories like needles=pine, evergreen that smells good=cedar, Canadian flag=maple and so on. Therefore the student is just being tested on comprehension of the subject matter.
The higher order question would be:
During the heat of a summer day a house gets hot on the southwest facing side which tree would be useful to plant to keep down the sun's rays on that side of a house and yet allow the sun's rays through during the winter time when the sun can warm the house? The answer being a deciduous fast growing tree like a Maple would help shade the house during the summer months and aid in keeping down utility costs in the winter by allowing the sunlight through. The student would have to analyze the information and evaluate out how to use what I have taught them. The heat is only bad during the summer so we need to block the sun's rays then but we also need to let the sun's rays through during the winter so using a deciduous tree that drops its leaves during winter would aid in the utility bills all year long.
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I liked your questions, so I thought I'd answer them. When I was a kid, I learned how to identify nearly every tree that grows around here. I could even get a lot of them during the winter with no leaves. I've forgotten so much though. So, I got out the old tree guide sitting on my shelf and answered your first question (sort of). I like your second question because it asks students to take what they have learned and apply it to a real world situation and make judgments about the effectiveness of a certain solution. They have to connect what they learned about trees with prior knowledge about sun angles (i.e., why is the south side of the house of more importance than the north?) My answer too was a deciduous tree, and I can't disagree with maple. An oak would leave too many acorns right around your house. Good questions.
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