UnderstandingByDesignUnitPlan

ByWendyMoyandJoyditaSarkar

Stage1:DesiredResults
Unitname:
ExperimentalDesign

Contentstandards:

MADOE(2006)
Inquiry,experimentation,anddesignshouldnotbetaughtortestedasseparate,standalone
skills.Rather,opportunitiesforinquiry,experimentation,anddesignshouldarisewithina
well-plannedcurriculum.Instructionandassessmentshouldincludeexamplesdrawnfrom
lifescience,physicalscience,earthandspacescience,andtechnology/engineering
standards.Doingsowillmakecleartostudentsthatwhatis
knowndoesnotstandseparatefromhowitisknown.
Ingrades68,teacherguidanceremainsimportantbutallowsformorevariationinstudent
approach.Studentsatthislevelarereadytoformalizetheirunderstandingofwhatan
experimentrequiresbycontrollingvariablestoensureafairtest.Theirworkbecomesmore
quantitative,andtheylearntheimportanceofcarryingoutseveralmeasurementsto
minimizesourcesoferror.Becausestudentsatthisleveluseagreaterrangeoftoolsand
equipment,theymustlearnsafelaboratorypractices(seeAppendixIV).Attheconclusionof
theirinvestigations,studentsinthesegradescanbeexpectedtopreparereportsoftheir
questions,procedures,andconclusions.
Formulateatestablehypothesis.
Designandconductanexperimentspecifyingvariablestobechanged,controlled,and
measured.
Selectappropriatetoolsandtechnology(e.g.,calculators,computers,thermometers,
metersticks,balances,graduatedcylinders,andmicroscopes),andmakequantitative
observations.
Presentandexplaindataandfindingsusingmultiplerepresentations,includingtables,
graphs,mathematicalandphysicalmodels,anddemonstrations.
Drawconclusionsbasedondataorevidencepresentedintablesorgraphs,andmake
inferencesbasedonpatternsortrendsinthedata.
Communicateproceduresandresultsusingappropriatescienceandtechnology
terminology.
Offerexplanationsofprocedures,andcritiqueandrevisethem.

Essentialquestions:
Whydoscientistsconductexperiments?
Whatmakesagoodexperimentgood?
Whatkindofinformationdoesthescientificmethodprovideforus?
Howcanyoucriticallyevaluatescientificreports?

Enduringunderstandings:
Scientificfindingsarederivedfromexperimentation
Thesefindingsaresupportedbyobservationsanddatacollectedduringexperiments
Goodexperimentsarereproducibleandlimittheamountoferrorthatcanoccur

Learningobjectives:

a. Content:
whattypeofchartshouldbeusedtoorganizewhattypeofdata
whattypeofgraphshouldbeusedtoportraywhattypeofdata
thedifferentpartsofanexperiment:question,hypothesis,method/procedure,
variables,data,conclusion

b. Skills:
Howtoaskquestionsthatcanbeansweredusingthescientificmethod/createa
testablehypothesis
howtoanalyzedatausinggraphs
howtorecordinformationusingavarietyofdatacollectioncharts
howtodetermineanddifferentiatebetweenindependentanddependentvariables
howtocreateanexperimentwithonlyoneexperimentalvariable
howtopresentdataorallywithvisualaidstopeers
howtowriteareproducibleprocedure

Keyvocabulary:
Hypothesis
Independent/Dependentvariables.
levelsofindependentvariables?
controlledexperiment->control/constantvariableandexperimentalvariable
method(inscientificcontext)
procedure(scientificcontext)
qualitative/quantitativedata
conclusion(inscientificcontext)
trend(graphing)
lineofbestfit(graphing)
observations
inferences

Keyequationsandsymbols
:
typesofgraphs(bar,line,x-yplot)--
https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/help/user_guide/graph/whentouse.asp
typesofcharts(esp.forqualitativedata)

Stage2:AssessmentEvidence

Summativeassessment:
Self-designedexperimentandgallerywalkstyleposterpresentation.

Formativeassessment:
Dailyexittickets(seegeneralsequence)
Labs-paperairplanedesign,sudsationalexperience,bouncingballs,etc
Homeworkassignments-practiceidentifyingIV/DV,conclusionwriting,etc

Stage3:GeneralSequence

1/29

1 experimental
variablesand
constants

assignnewseats.shakeyourpartnershandandtellthem
whatyouputforthequestionontheclasssurveyabout
yourfavoriteactivitytodooutsideschool.

handoutquizcorrectionsheets.handbackgrdedquizzes.
talkaboutquizcorrections.

onscrappaperreviseyourexplanationtolastproblemon
quizbutusingthewordsdensityandconstant
rate/proportional

passbackLLLCERs,etc.

Previewnewunit

handout
glossary
.
studentswill
fillout
glossaryforIVandDV,andconstants.

practice
identifyingiv/dvandconstants.

HWdue:none

HWassigned:quiz
correctionsdueMon

2/4

? variables/cons
tants

HALFDAY
handoutvideoreleaseforms.

Newseats-section3

DoonemoreexampleofIVDVasaclass,torefreshtheir
memories.IndependentworkonfinishingIVDVpractice
sheet.studentsshouldchooseanexamplefromthesheet
toputintheirglossaries.

HWdue:quiz
corrections
HWassigned:video
releaseforms

Th

2/5

4 variables/cons
tants

collectvideoreleaseforms

studentsreadpennylab,completeprelabitems.

dopennylab

doexitticket

HWdue:videorelease
forms

HWassigned:pennylab
analysisquestions

2/6

5 variables/cons
tants

checkhomework/attendance.checkHWforcompletion.
HWdue:pennylab
gooverpennylabanalysisquestions
analysisquestion-1pt

HWassigned:none
whiparound,exceptnot
.
eachtablehasasheetwithadescriptionofanexperiment
onit,andspacestoplaceIV,DVetc.Thetablealso
receivesanenvelopewiththevariouscomponentsofthe
experimentwritten.thetablesjobistomatcheach
componentwithitscorrecttitle.onceallthetablesare
finished,theyrotatetothenexttable,whichhasanew
experiment.

exitticket
fortoday

2/11

qualitative/
quantitative,
hypothesis,
inference

SMSforattendance

DoNow

HWdue:none
HWassigned:none

addqualitativeandquantitativetoglossary.talkabout
examplesofquant/qualin
sudsation
lab.

addhypothesisandinferencetoglossary.

students
practicewritinghypotheses

handbackquizzes.

Exitticket:
Writeyourhypothesisforthesudsationlab.getit
approvedbeforeyouleave.
Th

2/12

qualitative/
quantitative/h
ypothesis,
inference

213

review

Sudsationlab.reviewinference

handbackquizcorrectionsduringlab.

sponge:finishIV/DV/Constantspracticepacketandadd
examplestoglossary,finishhypothesisworksheet,
the
scientificmethodsstory

writeagendaonboardandincludehandingbackquiz
correctionssostudentsremindme.

DoNow:Writeonesourceoferrorontheboard.no
repeats!

gooversudsationanalysisquestionsandgraph

sudsationfollowuplab-createanewtestusingthesame
materials.Showhowlocationsofitemsonexp.variables
chartchanges.

mythbustersvideowith
worksheet
.shareoutanswers.
season5episodeep15.

FebruaryBreak

2/23

graphing-
scatterand
bar

DoNow-addtovocab
Scatterplot-atypeofgraphideallyusedwhenyouare
tryingtodeterminetherateofsomethingorwhenboth
variablesarequantitative.
Bargraph-atypeofgraphideallyusedwhenoneofyour
twovariablesisnotquantitative.

introday1lab.studentsneedtoseewhatballsare
available,beforereadinglab,fillingoutexp.designchart
andwritinghypothesis,anddecidingwhatkindofgraph
theywilluse.Studentsshouldraisetheirhandwhenthey
havedonethis.iftheyarecorrect,theywillreceivetheir
ballandstartworking.dontforgettodoublecheckwhat
thelabgroupsarebeforestarting.

bouncingballslab
day1

studentsneedtorecordtheiraveragebounceheighton
theboardbeforetheendofclass.Theyalsoneedtoadda

HWdue:none
HWassigned:sudsation
analysisquestions

HWdue:sudsation
analysisquestionsand
bargraph.collect?
HWassigned:none

HWdue:none

HWassigned:BBday1
analysisquestionsand
graph

secondaveragecolumnforeachballtype.eachhalfofthe
roomwillhavetheirowndataset.

exitticket
T

2/24

graphing-
scatterand
bar

checkHWcompletion.dontgooverinclass,notime.

remindstudentsoftherecommendedformatfor
hypothesestowritetheirhypothesisforthislab.students
dontneedtohavearationaleforthishypothesis
(redundant).
studentsshouldalsofillouttheirdatatableaheadoftime
withthedropheightstheychoose.

Bouncingballslabday2

beforeworkingonhomework,mustdo
exitticket
s!

HWdue:analysis
questionsandgraph
HWassigned:analysis
questionsandgraph

2/25

conclusion
writingand
inferences

gooverbouncingballday1and2.inclass.

prelab
chewychange
s

conclusionwriting
-studentsshouldunderlineandlabel
withletters(RERUN)theexampleconclusioninthe
worksheet.Thentheyshouldwritetheirownconclusion
foroneofthelabstheyhavedoneinclasssofar.

HWdue:analysis
questionsandgraph

HWassigned:none

Th

2/26

chewychangesday2

dolab,startworkongraphandconclusion.

HWdue:none

HWassigned:analysis
questions/graph

2/27

testable
questions,
procedure
writing,
designingyour
owndata
table

gooverchewychanges.
http://files5.pdesas.org/14123416817008424219412023608
4116054158054222205/Download.ashx?hash=2.2
https://figures.boundless.com/18247/full/linrgs-regeq3.p
ng
http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMAT6680Su09/Little/Assignm
ent%2012/chartline.jpg
http://iqa.evergreenps.org/science/resources/graphing/g
raphing_files/best-fit.jpg

Paperairplane
.

createstandardairplanetogether.

HWdue:chewy
changesanalysisand
graph

HWassigned:paper
airplaneprelab
(question,procedure,
datatable)

Demoairplaneflightpathfor#1.Havestudentswrite
downtheirquantitativeobservationsincludingflight
distanceandflighttime,andqualitativeobservations.

explainrulesfor#2(norefolding.onlycuttingandtaping.)
studentsworkonrestofprelabaloneand

exitticket-gettestablequestionapproved.
M

3/2

testable
questions,
procedure
writing,
designingyour
owndata
table

paperairplanetesting

choosegroupsforindependentproject-everyoneshould
writethenamesof5peopletheywouldwanttowork
with.collect.

HWdue:none

HWassigned:paper
airplaneanalysis

3/3

introproject

gooverairplanelabanalysisquestions.

assigngroups.

introduce
project
.talkabouthowthisisoursummative
assessmentforthisunit.

designyourowntestablequestion
exemplify
tweaking
aninclassexperiment

HWdue:paperairplane
analysis

HWassigned:testable
question,exp.var.
chart,hypothesis.(pg
1-2)

3/4

workday

Procedure,materials,anddatacollectiontablemustbe
checkedoffbytheendoftheperiod.(pgs3-4)

HWassigned:pgs3-4

Th

3/5

workday

Classesarehalfaslong
start
graph
(choosestyle,labelaxes)

HW:

3/6

testday

alltestsmustbecompleted

HW:anythingthatyou
needtotypeupbring
toclassonmondayto
putonposter-no

computeraccesson
monday!

3/9

workday

3/10

gallerywalk

writinganalysisandconclusions.prepforpresentations.
postermaking.
Allpostersmustbecompleteandhungbytheendofthe
day!

HW:none.

gallerywalk

Inordertomakesurethateverykidhastotalkabouttheir
poster,weshoulddothisroundrobinstyle.usegrouplists
tomakesurethereareequalnumbersofpeopleineach
room.