Stars From birth to death

This teaching and learning sequence is created for Stage 6 Physics, the Cosmic
Engine. As such, the introductory/engagement activity and the subsequent 4
activities are designed for students to be pursued in sequence, covering all the
syllabus points for that section of the syllabus (indicated in the individual activities).
There are two underlying theoretical perspectives for this sequence. As they are all
ICT-based, it is important to see that these activities do not fully replace in-class
teaching or reading books, but should be seen as supplementary to these modes of
instruction which are still fundamentally central to education (Hashemzadeh &
Wilson, 2007) (Garland & Noyes, 2005). This involves communicating to the
students why this task is undertaken (D'Angelo & Woosley, 2007).
The theoretical perspective underpinning the design of the learning sequences
proceeds from a social constructivism, which emphasizes collaborative learning,
linking scientific concept to students every-day concepts, and scaffolding within
students zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1987). To establish this zone,
the engagement activity doubles as a formative assessment task that allows the
teacher to gain an overview of students current thinking about stars, and their
interests.
Teaching to students interests and giving students a degree of choice and
autonomy in their learning is also fundamental to the design of the teaching
sequence and activities, all of which incorporate a large degree of choice (choosing
the parameters of a star in Activity 2, picking which stars to graph on the HR
diagram in Activity 4, etc). This draws on self-determination theory. This element of
choice serves to motivate students, to act on and develop their intrinsic motivation
(Ryan & Deci, 2000; Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Deci, 2006). Drawing on students
interests and making learning relevant to them is also part of the constructivist
approach, which doesnt see teaching as putting information in empty heads, but
connecting students already existing ideas and concepts to the scientific concepts
which have to be taught (Cunningham & Duffy, 1996). It has also been shown that
ICT learning is most effective when linked to students everyday experiences
(Andone, Dron, Pemberton, & Boyne, 2007).
It should also be noted that the design of the website has followed insights of
cognitive load theory and has attempted to keep extraneous cognitive load to a
minimum. Text is broken up by clear demarcations indicating what the text is about,
activities are embedded or linked as buttons, and questions are always found
consistently in the same place. The website can thus serve to organize student
learning and focus students attention to the task at hand (Chandler & Sweller,
1991).

References:
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