CSI Bryant Using Technology to Bring Content Areas Together Part A

The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them. Sir William Bragg

Collaborative Teaching  Work with a wide range of students.  Expertise of each teacher.

Three Approaches to Implementing Collaborative Teaching  Team teaching  educators jointly planning and presenting subject content to all students.  Supportive learning activities  those that reinforce, enrich, or enhance learning for all students.  Complementary instruction  one educator takes primary responsibility for teaching content material and the other for teaching functional how-to skills so students can successfully understand and acquire the content material.  Bauwens, Jeanne and Hourcade, Jack J. (1997) Cooperative Teaching: Pictures of Possibilities, Intervention in School and Clinic, 33, 81-85, 89.

Partnership Roles  Science – forensic evidence  Math – forensic evidence (ammunition density)  Social Studies – suspect profiles  English – journal entries  Spanish – newspaper articles

The Technology  Wiki page   Geocaching   Science Equipment

The Pros  It’s fun.  It gets students out of the classroom.  Teaches location (longitude and latitude).  Learn new or review material.  It’s high tech.  It enlightens and empowers students.  Promotes cooperative learning.  Promotes community connections and the potential use of primary sources.  Define and offer suggestions.  Promotes interdisciplinary and collaborative learning.

The Cons  Time consuming.  Takes a great deal of pre-planning.  Requires dedicated class time.  New technology  Students will need introduction time.  Not every student is digitally wired.  Teachers learn digital lessons as well.  There is a story!

Lessons Learned  More co-teaching between the content areas to bring about more collaboration.  Sharing teachers allows other students to develop an ownership across the board.  Idea: Have once a week class meeting with all students.  Have more students across the content areas be involved in all areas to show ownership.  Have centrally located displays to allow students to comment and make suggestions.  Accommodates different learning styles.

A Lesson to Remember  “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.” - Dr. Randy Pausch  Be the first penguin.

For More Information   Lisa Matherson   Lisa Clark 