"From the earliest grades, students should have opportunities to carry out careful and systematic investigations, with appropriately supported prior experiences that develop their ability to observe and measure and to record data using appropriate tools and instruments." (NRC p.60)
Measurement Tool for 6th Grade Science:
Students "should begin to collect categorical or numerical data for presentation in forms that facilitate interpretation, such as tables and graphs. When feasible, computers and other digital tools should be introduced as a means of enabling this practice." (NRC p.63) As a math teacher, one of the most useful learning tools that I continually use with students is the Desmos Graphing Calculator. You can copy and paste data from a table into Desmos and it will automatically plot the points on a graph for you. The lines of the graph may be connected, a best fit line can be added and the software will automatically determine the closest equation that models the data. And that's only the tip of the iceberg! Desmos can also calculate higher level statistical data and the website allows you to export all of your analyses...for FREE.
Learning Strategy from the NGSS Framework:
"In middle school, students should have opportunities to learn standard techniques for displaying, analyzing, and interpreting data." (NRC p.63)
How will I introduce this tool to my students?
"Modern computer-based visualization tools often allow data to be displayed in varied forms and thus for learners to engage interactively with data in their analyses." (NRC p.62) There are a myriad of comprehensive, engaging, and FREE classroom activities that Desmos has created that teachers can use with their students. They conveniently list out their most popular lessons; I've done a lot of the Middle School ones and they are a lot of fun for both the teacher and the students.
How will I give them time to use this tool in class?
The lessons take about 30-45 minutes to complete as a class, so I typically start off the year with one or two just as a fun hook to get them used to using the software. Graphing Stories is a great series for teaching them how to build graphs and tables from real-world situations. I sometimes use them at the beginning of class for a warm-up activity. With any type of learning platform or tool, they need to be given repeated opportunities to actually use it so that they feel that it's become a part of their "tool belt" for learning.
References:
National Research Council (2012). A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas. Washington DC: National Academies Press.
Measurement Tool for 6th Grade Science:
Students "should begin to collect categorical or numerical data for presentation in forms that facilitate interpretation, such as tables and graphs. When feasible, computers and other digital tools should be introduced as a means of enabling this practice." (NRC p.63) As a math teacher, one of the most useful learning tools that I continually use with students is the Desmos Graphing Calculator. You can copy and paste data from a table into Desmos and it will automatically plot the points on a graph for you. The lines of the graph may be connected, a best fit line can be added and the software will automatically determine the closest equation that models the data. And that's only the tip of the iceberg! Desmos can also calculate higher level statistical data and the website allows you to export all of your analyses...for FREE.
Learning Strategy from the NGSS Framework:
"In middle school, students should have opportunities to learn standard techniques for displaying, analyzing, and interpreting data." (NRC p.63)
How will I introduce this tool to my students?
"Modern computer-based visualization tools often allow data to be displayed in varied forms and thus for learners to engage interactively with data in their analyses." (NRC p.62) There are a myriad of comprehensive, engaging, and FREE classroom activities that Desmos has created that teachers can use with their students. They conveniently list out their most popular lessons; I've done a lot of the Middle School ones and they are a lot of fun for both the teacher and the students.
How will I give them time to use this tool in class?
The lessons take about 30-45 minutes to complete as a class, so I typically start off the year with one or two just as a fun hook to get them used to using the software. Graphing Stories is a great series for teaching them how to build graphs and tables from real-world situations. I sometimes use them at the beginning of class for a warm-up activity. With any type of learning platform or tool, they need to be given repeated opportunities to actually use it so that they feel that it's become a part of their "tool belt" for learning.
References:
National Research Council (2012). A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas. Washington DC: National Academies Press.
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