Edx Submission
- A 'hook' to engage the students at the beginning of the session.
- Use of a behavioural or educational theory that motivates Deep Learning (e.g. constructivism, Socratic method...).
- Incorporates a technological tool that facilitates active learning (e.g. Interactive whiteboard, Padlet, Kahoot, Prezi, Voicethread, Wipster...).
- One of the following tools for social learning: peer teaching, collaboration, project based learning, use of experts.
- Evidence of autonomous student learning.
- Evidence of feedback to students which demonstrates the principles of effective feedback.
Context: Year 9 (Age 15-17) chemistry class
This sequence is part of the regular chemistry lessons with students who did not succeed in comprehensive school. The students know that oxidation means "something" with oxygen and have a basic understanding of "reaction"
As a hook an ugly old aluminium pot and some aluminium powder will be presented to the students. Questions about the pot will immediately arise, why are there so many ugly white areas? What did you do to this poor pot? And so on. Questions about the powder will also immediately arise, why did you bring that? Can we ignite that? Something along that lines. The teacher will softly shape this questioning into accountable talk which will automatically without intervention touch the important aspects of oxidation and result in one ore two Big Questions written down to be tackled during the rest of the session. (E.g. can oxidation be useful? Slow or fast? Dangers?)
In the second part students will be presented with four experimental activities (e.g. iron wool oxidation, thermite reaction, luminole reaction, carbon monoxide alarm) regarding oxidation written in four corners of the room and asked to walk around and read them. The students are asked to form groups (one group per activity) which will work out and guide the class doing their chosen activity, read and explain background about that activity to the other groups and develop a short written exam, all with the help of a project plan handed out to them and the teacher and some higher grade students being available as consultants upon request. It will not be enforced that there are four groups. Activities that don't find a group are simply canceled.
In the third part each group will explain their experimental activity to the others and guide them doing the experiment and coming to the central conclusion of that experiment. The instructor will only intervene
In the fourth part every student chooses from the available exams developed by the other groups which one he wants to take. Each exam is graded by the group which developed it.
Final part will be a yarning circle with the focus question: what happened, what went well and what were the points to improve.
