Theory Into Practice Project By: Alex Busick Fall 2011 Towson University

Class profile 9 th grade U.S. Government 27 total students 15 girls 12 boys 4 African American, 23 White 5 IEP’s, all ADHD

Content- Regulatory Agencies Objective: Students will be able to investigate regulatory agencies in order to develop an understanding of what each agency does and how the agency impacts the public. Focused on explaining the purpose and impact of eleven different government regulatory agencies Agencies used: FDA, FTC, OSHA, FAA, FCC, SEC, DEA, FBI, CPSC, EPA, CDC

Look for Coverage of all 11 agencies All students engaged in the activity Students not using other websites Student comprehension of advanced concepts

Content Literacy Technique Online guided research Class divided into 3 groups Each group assigned four different agencies Four focus questions per agency Students use links provided to answer the four questions

What went well All students were actively engaged Students performed well on two assessments: poster/ gallery walk and open notes quiz Scaffolding of information helped students focus on most important concepts Images and examples helped clarify the definitions of difficult vocabulary words

What could have been better Closure: written instead of oral General lack of participation Safety Valve: students finished early I made students do more agencies= bad idea Fix: newspaper article for extra credit

Suggestions Keep eyes on computer screens Always circulate the room Do it yourself so you can answer student questions Check all links before the lesson Use specific questions that increase in difficulty Make groups ahead of time

Best Practices Information is scaffolded to keep students from getting overwhelmed with info Vocabulary assistance with images and examples Questions and answers can be used as a study guide Students performed well on both of my assessments

Other content areas Science: 10 th grade Chemistry, Use with different elements Link students to websites that have info on various elements Have students answer questions about the properties/ effects of each element Have students list examples of things each element is used to make

Future Practice I would use this type of activity again in a heartbeat Helps students learn in a way they enjoy= internet Breaks up monotony of normal book work Internet literacy is important for this generation of students

What I learned Use online resources Get students out of the classroom Always scaffold using focus questions Keep a close eye on students in a computer lab