CEP 806 - Inquiry Project 2 : By Andrea Smock
For my second inquiry project I wanted to see how my eighth grade students reacted to using simulations in class. I wanted to try something that I knew would interest them as well as be something that they could use in their everyday life. While thinking about which simulation I could use I also thought of some virtual tours and actual field trips my students could go on. After looking at a
few websites and demonstrations online my final decision was to use the planetarium simulation at neave.com. I thought this would be relevant to the Michigan GLCEs and it would also be something we could eventually follow up with as a field trip.
When planning my lesson I decided that I was going to have the students compare and contrast learning something from a textbook versus using a simulation. I had to first get the students’reaction to learning something from their text. I purposefully chose something that was not too familiar to any of the students. We have not talked about the stars or constellations before this class meeting. I wanted to get their honest reaction so at first I gave them the reading material and waited a few minutes while they looked it over. Most of the students were excited to be learning something new and two students, out of eleven, stated that they have wanted to learn about the stars.
I introduced the material and the students took turns reading aloud. I noticed while reading three of my students were not engaged the whole time. These students have difficulty reading and during most read aloud activities I find them often distracted. I wondered if there would be a difference in their behavior once we got to the simulation. After the reading, the students answered a few comprehension questions about the material. They also had a survey asking them for their opinion on this activity. A general consensus for these surveys was that they liked learning something new and it was interesting, but it was a little complicated to read and to understand where the constellations were just by reading. One of the students that has the reading disability stated, “I did not like this reading. It was hard to see the stars…I had a hard time keeping up with the big words.”
The next day the students were able to go on the planetarium website. I showed them how to change the time, date, and position of the stars and then let them explore for a few minutes. While they explored I observed. From the start all of the students were engaged, even the three that were not during the reading portion. There was a lot more talking and all of it was about the website. I found that there was a lot more discovery when using this simulation because the students had the entire sky to scroll through, not just two flat pictures from a book. One of the top complaints I read about in the required readings, is that online simulations do not promote social interaction. I disagreed with this point and related more with the “Virtual Dissection and Physical Collaboration” article when the author stated that if a program is designed correctly it will promote collaboration. This website was not necessarily designed to promote collaboration but it sure got my students talking and interacting with each other and the material. This is the most I have seen them excited and engaged all year.
After their exploring time, I gave them some comprehension questions about the material and also a survey like before. The students had a lot more positive things to say about using this simulation. They liked that they could see everything they wanted to unlike in the book. There were some negatives but most of those came from not knowing how to manipulate the site correctly.
One student mentioned something in her survey that is one of my reasons online simulations are so useful. She states in the first survey that she didn’t like that they were learning something that they had to wait until night to see and really understand. Her opinion on this really changed when she answered her survey question after the online simulation. She stated that, “It was great that we could learn something in a book and then go online to see it right away. We didn’t have to wait until night like I thought!”
Before doing this project I had no idea how many online simulations there were to choose from. I think after doing this project and seeing the result, I am going to use simulations more often in my classroom. Simulations can help students of all learning abilities understand material that is being presented in class. I feel the positive results from using online simulations far outweigh the negative. Using the simulations collaboratively with the students’ textbooks will be the best way to enhance my lesson plans.
few websites and demonstrations online my final decision was to use the planetarium simulation at neave.com. I thought this would be relevant to the Michigan GLCEs and it would also be something we could eventually follow up with as a field trip.
When planning my lesson I decided that I was going to have the students compare and contrast learning something from a textbook versus using a simulation. I had to first get the students’reaction to learning something from their text. I purposefully chose something that was not too familiar to any of the students. We have not talked about the stars or constellations before this class meeting. I wanted to get their honest reaction so at first I gave them the reading material and waited a few minutes while they looked it over. Most of the students were excited to be learning something new and two students, out of eleven, stated that they have wanted to learn about the stars.
I introduced the material and the students took turns reading aloud. I noticed while reading three of my students were not engaged the whole time. These students have difficulty reading and during most read aloud activities I find them often distracted. I wondered if there would be a difference in their behavior once we got to the simulation. After the reading, the students answered a few comprehension questions about the material. They also had a survey asking them for their opinion on this activity. A general consensus for these surveys was that they liked learning something new and it was interesting, but it was a little complicated to read and to understand where the constellations were just by reading. One of the students that has the reading disability stated, “I did not like this reading. It was hard to see the stars…I had a hard time keeping up with the big words.”
The next day the students were able to go on the planetarium website. I showed them how to change the time, date, and position of the stars and then let them explore for a few minutes. While they explored I observed. From the start all of the students were engaged, even the three that were not during the reading portion. There was a lot more talking and all of it was about the website. I found that there was a lot more discovery when using this simulation because the students had the entire sky to scroll through, not just two flat pictures from a book. One of the top complaints I read about in the required readings, is that online simulations do not promote social interaction. I disagreed with this point and related more with the “Virtual Dissection and Physical Collaboration” article when the author stated that if a program is designed correctly it will promote collaboration. This website was not necessarily designed to promote collaboration but it sure got my students talking and interacting with each other and the material. This is the most I have seen them excited and engaged all year.
After their exploring time, I gave them some comprehension questions about the material and also a survey like before. The students had a lot more positive things to say about using this simulation. They liked that they could see everything they wanted to unlike in the book. There were some negatives but most of those came from not knowing how to manipulate the site correctly.
One student mentioned something in her survey that is one of my reasons online simulations are so useful. She states in the first survey that she didn’t like that they were learning something that they had to wait until night to see and really understand. Her opinion on this really changed when she answered her survey question after the online simulation. She stated that, “It was great that we could learn something in a book and then go online to see it right away. We didn’t have to wait until night like I thought!”
Before doing this project I had no idea how many online simulations there were to choose from. I think after doing this project and seeing the result, I am going to use simulations more often in my classroom. Simulations can help students of all learning abilities understand material that is being presented in class. I feel the positive results from using online simulations far outweigh the negative. Using the simulations collaboratively with the students’ textbooks will be the best way to enhance my lesson plans.