IBL Week 5 Blog

IBL Week 5

During week five, we explored what engagement is and how students can be engaged in the process of learning.  Ultimately, we explored how student engagement can be enhanced through the use of appropriate web-based technologies.  We explored a variety of Web 2.0 tools and how they could be incorporated in our classrooms.  By exploring some of these tools, I came across two sites that were interesting to me and hopefully my students.  I created a Blabberize account as well as an Edmodo and developed activities for students in my classes to explore these tools to hopefully excite them and engage them in the learning process

We previously explored the critical role that communication plays as an essential skill for 21st Century learners and schools.  Communication is a major competency for students to master upon completion of high school whether pursuing higher education or entering the workforce.  Thus, it is critical that all teachers, in all disciplines, support various opportunities to develop communication skills in their classrooms.

There are countless ways to communicate by using technology in the classroom.  The paradigm shift in education requires students today to show teachers what they know using a variety of skills and methods.

The topic of communication and the concept of inquiry based learning can best be linked by developing a scientific explanation (McNeill, Lizotte, Krajcik, & Marx, 2006). The word "scientific" is used to refer to and relates more to the approach of creating a question, formulating a claim (hypothesis), determining supportive evidence (data) and then formulating a conclusion.

In our course readings, we explored the following:

 Components

◦                Make a claim about the problem.

◦                Provide evidence for the claim.

◦                Provide reasoning that links the evidence to the claim.

Definitions

◦                Claim: An assertion or conclusion that answers the original question

◦                Evidence: Scientific data that support the student's claim that must be appropriate and sufficient. Can come from an investigation or other sources, such as observations, reading material, archived date, etc.

◦                Reasoning: Justification that links the claim and evidence. Shows why the data counts as evidence to support the claim, using appropriate scientific principles.

Qualities of the communication

◦                Write the explanation so others can understand it.

◦                Use precise and accurate scientific language.

◦                Write clearly so that anyone interested in the explanation can understand it.

◦                Articulate your logic.

McNeill, K. L., Lizotte, D. J., Krajcik, J., & Marx, R. W. (2006). Supporting Students' Construction of Scientific Explanations by Fading Scaffolds in Instructional Materials. Journal Of The Learning Sciences, 15(2), 153-191.