lesson plan

INQUIRY TRAINING MODEL

Name of School :                             Standard : VIII Name of Teacher : Seema K Nair    Strength : Subject : Chemistry                         Date : Unit : Changes                                 Duration : Topic : Electroplating

Selection of Teaching Points

Concept: Electroplating

Objectives:

1. Pupils develop scientific process skills.

2. Asks data gathering verification and experimentation questions.

3. Analyse their own thinking process.

4. Establish relationships.

Materials required

Beaker, Iron Nail, Copper Rod, Battery, Copper Sulphate Solution.

SYNTAX

RESPONSE

Phase 1: Orientation to the inquiry procedure and Encounter with the problem A) Generating opening moves for the first phase of the model Today we are going to play a game called the inquiry process. I will present a puzzling situation and you will have to solve the puzzle, following the rules of the game. B) Orientation to the Inquiry Procedure. Here are the rules of the game. You are free to ask as many questions as possible to gather information about the puzzling situation. The only condition is that the question should be in the form of Yes or No form. When you have gathered enough data and have formed a guess, you should test your guess with experimentations which begins with ‘IF’ or ‘SUPPOSE’ and find the solution of the problem. C) Encounter with the problem- Discrepant Event Once in a county the queen wishes to wear a golden necklace and the Queen’s condition was that the necklace should be the most precious and the best one in the world. The King called his servant and asked him to announce this to the whole people and had offered prizes for the one who bring the most precious necklace. After two weeks one person came with a necklace which the queen liked very much. The King gave him 10000 gold coins. But after one month, the King called the person again to the Palace and sent him to the person. Why the King did so? PHASE 2: Data gathering Verification Teacher: Now you can ask questions. Student: Did he steal it from somebody? Teacher: No. Student: Did the queen loose the Necklace? Teacher: No Student: Whether it was made from some low quality materials? Teacher: Yes Student: Mam, that means it is not Gold? Teacher: Make it more clear Student: Its made up of some other materials, isn’t teacher? Teacher: Yes Student: But it looks like gold, isn’t it teacher? Teacher: Yes Student: Material looks like gold but it is not gold. Teacher: Yes Student: How is it possible teacher? Teacher: You Guess Student: Teacher, is it gold coated Teacher: Absolutely right Student: After one month, gold fade away. That is why the King sent him to the prison. Right Teacher? Teacher: Yes. Very Good PHASE III Data gathering experimentation Teacher: You can ask questions related to their experiment. Student: Teacher, battery’s positive terminal is connected to iron nail. Teacher: Yes Student: Some rod is connected to the positive terminal, right teacher. Teacher: Yes Student: This experimental set up shows low to coat a metal on another material doesn’t it teacher? Teacher: Yes Student: The material which is connected to the positive terminal gets coated on the material connected to the negative terminal. Teacher: Very good and then. Student: The metal which has to be coated is taken in the beaker as its solution. Teacher: Good. And why this battery is used? Student: Battery is used for producing electricity. Student: teacher, Copper is coaled on the iron nail right? Teacher: Yes. You are absolutely correct. Student: That means, the material which is connected to the positive terminal of the battery gets coated on the material which is connected to the negative terminal, isn’t teacher. Teacher: Right. Very Good PHASE IV Formulation of explanation Teacher: If you have listed your guess and arrived at some explanation, try to state in the form of statement. Student: When electricity is passed through the solution one metal gets coated on the other metals surface. Student: Is there any name to their procedure teacher? Teacher: Yes, this is known as electroplating. You can coat any metal on other metals surface by electroplating. PHASE V Analysis of thinking strategy Teacher: Now let us analyse the inquiry procedure. What kind of questions did you ask? Students: Questions related to the materials used for making Necklace. Teacher: Can you list some of the questions that lead you to the solution? Student: Whether it was made from some low quality material. Teacher: Whether the material connected to the positive terminal coated on the material connected to the negative terminal. Teacher: Then? Student: From the answers we understood that by passing electricity we can coat one metal on the surface of another metal. Teacher: Very Good. Thus you found the solution for the problem by asking questions, but of course divergent questions and analyzing the answers logically.

Teacher explains the inquiry procedure. Student ask data gathering experimentation questions Students form explanation by asking questions. Teacher probes clarity Students form generalisation

\

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING

 

RIPENING OF FRUITS

During ripening, the starch in the fruit breaks down to form sugar. The fruit skin changes colour, going from green to a bright red (apples & tomatoes) or yellow (mangoes, bananas and lemons). These changes attract birds and animals, who love to eat the sweet flesh. They throw away the seeds, which fall on the ground and germinate.

The ripening of a fruit depends on the season. For example, we get mangoes only in summer and apples only in winter. The plant can detect changes in season by changes in temperature and humidity. It then produces ethylene which spreads across the plant. When ethylene reaches the fruit, it sends a signal to all the cells in the fruit. The cells then make enzymes that break starch into sugar. The cells in the skin start making pigments which give the fruit its colour.

When a fruit ripens, it still has a lot of acid. But there is so much sugar in it, that it masks the sour taste of the acid!

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING

Ripe fruits cannot be stored and transported for a long time. Hence farmers in fruit orchards pluck the fruits raw. The natural ethylene in the fruits makes them ripen, so that they are ready to eat by the time you buy them.

Sometimes the fruits are not yet ripe when they are ready to be sold. Hence they have to be artificially ripened. Fruits are kept in hay-lined wooden boxes called crates. These crates are stacked on shelves and a wood fire is lit below them. The smoke contains ethylene and acetylenes gases, which induce ripening.

Sometimes, fruits are placed in a room in which ethylene gas or acetylene gas is introduced. In another method, calcium carbide (CaC₂) is applied over fruits. It reacts with moisture to form acetylene.

What is Calcium Carbide?

Calcium Carbide is a chemical compound which is mainly used for welding purposes. The commercially produced calcium carbide is grayish white in color. The color varies depending on the grade. The main use of calcium carbide is in the production of acetylene. REASONS FOR USING CALCIUM CARBIDE

Mostly calcium carbide is used to ripen fruits like mangoes, bananas and papayas. Traders prefer calcium carbide because the cost of 1 kg of calcium carbide is Rs.30 and it can ripen 10 tonnes of fruits. Usually the traders keep small packets of the chemical near the pile of bananas or the boxes of mangoes. The boxes are kept in dark rooms for one to two days.The chemical reaction takes place due to the moisture content present in the fruit and acetylene gas is produced which enhances the ripening of fruits.

The disadvantages of artificial ripening

1. Calcium carbide is a carcinogenic chemical compound. It causes many short term and long term health problems.

2. The short term exposure to the chemical causes diarrhoea, irritation in the eyes, headache, dizziness and thirst.

3. The chronic exposure to the chemical results in mouth ulcers, food poisoning and even cancer.

4. Calcium Carbide is also hazardous for people who handle it. The chemical can cause severe seizures and blisters when it is touched with wet hands.

5. The artificially ripened fruits are toxic and also tasteless though they have a very appealing color.

6. The organic composition and the nutritional value of the fruit is also lost when it is artificially ripened.

      

 

 

 

WHY IS PLUTO NOT A PLANET

WHY IS PLUTO NOT A PLANET?

Pluto was first discovered in 1930 by Clyde W. Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff Arizona. Astronomers had long predicted that there would be a ninth planet in the Solar System, which they called Planet X. Only 22 at the time, Tombaugh was given the laborious task of comparing photographic plates. These were two images of a region of the sky, taken two weeks apart. Any moving object, like an asteroid, comet or planet, would appear to jump from one photograph to the next.

   After a year of observations, Tombaugh finally discovered an object in the right orbit, and declared that he had discovered Planet X. Because they had discovered it, the Lowell team were allowed to name it. They settled on Pluto, a name suggested by an 11-year old school girl in Oxford, England.

The Solar System now had 9 planets.

       Astronomers weren’t sure about Pluto’s mass until the discovery of its largest Moon, Charon, in 1978. And by knowing its mass (0.0021 Earths), they could more accurately gauge its size. The most accurate measurement currently gives the size of Plutoat 2,400 km (1,500 miles) across. Although this is small, Mercury is only 4,880 km (3,032 miles) across. Pluto is tiny, but it was considered larger than anything else past the orbit of Neptune.

Over the last few decades, powerful new ground and space-based observatories have completely changed previous understanding of the outer Solar System. Instead of being the only planet in its region, like the rest of the Solar System, Pluto and its moons are now known to be just a large example of a collection of objects called the Kuiper Belt. This region extends from the orbit of Neptune out to 55 astronomical units (55 times the distance of the Earth to the Sun).

         Astronomers estimate that there are at least 70,000 icy objects, with the same composition as Pluto, that measure 100 km across or more in the Kuiper Belt. And according to the new rules, Pluto is not a planet. It’s just another Kuiper Belt object.

       Here’s the problem. Astronomers had been turning up larger and larger objects in the Kuiper Belt. 2005 FY9, discovered by Caltech astronomer Mike Brown and his team is only a little smaller than Pluto. And there are several other Kuiper Belt objects in that same classification.

      Astronomers realized that it was only a matter of time before an object larger than Pluto was discovered in the Kuiper Belt.

And in 2005, Mike Brown and his team dropped the bombshell. They had discovered an object, further out than the orbit of Pluto that was probably the same size, or even larger. Officially named 2003 UB313, the object was later designated as Eris. Since its discovery, astronomers have determined that Eris’ size is approximately 2,600 km (1,600 miles) across. It also has approximately 25% more mass than Pluto.

       With Eris being larger, made of the same ice/rock mixture, and more massive than Pluto, the concept that we have nine planets in the Solar System began to fall apart. What is Eris, planet or Kuiper Belt Object; what is Pluto, for that matter? Astronomers decided they would make a final decision about the definition of a planet at the XXVIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, which was held from August 14 to August 25, 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic.

       Astronomers from the association were given the opportunity to vote on the definition of planets. One version of the definition would have actually boosted the number of planets to 12; Pluto was still a planet, and so were Eris and even Ceres, which had been thought of as the largest asteroid. A different proposal kept the total at 9, defining the planets as just the familiar ones we know without any scientific rationale, and a third would drop the number of planets down to 8, and Pluto would be out of the planet club. But, then… what is Pluto?

    In the end, astronomers voted for the controversial decision of demoting Pluto (and Eris) down to the newly created classification of “dwarf planet”.

For an object to be a planet, it needs to meet these three requirements defined by the IAU:

• It needs to be in orbit around the Sun
• It needs to have enough gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape.
• It needs to have “cleared the neighborhood” of its orbit. What does “cleared its neighborhood” mean? As planets form, they become the dominant gravitational body in their orbit in the Solar System. As they interact with other, smaller objects, they either consume them, or sling them away with their gravity. Pluto is only 0.07 times the mass of the other objects in its orbit. The Earth, in comparison, has 1.7 million times the mass of the other objects in its orbit.

    Any object that doesn’t meet this 3rd criteria is considered a dwarf planet. And so, Pluto is a dwarf planet. There are still many objects with similar size and mass to Pluto jostling around in its orbit. And until Pluto crashes into many of them and gains mass, it will remain a dwarf planet.

POWERPOINT PRESENTSTION

http://www.slideshare.net/seemajiju/wave-motion

 

CO OPERATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

 

CO OPERATIVE LEARNING

Cooperative Learning involves structuring classes around small groups that work together in such a way that each group member's success is dependent on the group's success. There are different kinds of groups for different situations, but they all balance some key elements that distinguish cooperative learning from competitive or individualistic learning

TYPES OF CO OPERATIVE LEARNING

1. Formal cooperative learning

Formal cooperative learning is structured, facilitated, and monitored by the educator over time and is used to achieve group goals in task work (e.g. completing a unit). Any course material or assignment can be adapted to this type of learning, and groups can vary from 2-6 people with discussions lasting from a few minutes up to an entire period. Types of formal cooperative learning strategies include:

                   · The jigsaw technique

                    · Assignments that involve group problem solvingand decision making.

                  · Laboratory or experiment assignments

                  · Peer review work (e.g. editing writing assignments).

2. Informal cooperative learning

Informal cooperative learning incorporates group learning with passive teaching by drawing attention to material through small groups throughout the lesson or by discussion at the end of a lesson, and typically involves groups of two (e.g. turn-to-your-partner discussions). These groups are often temporary and can change from lesson to lesson (very much unlike formal learning where 2 students may be lab partners throughout the entire semester contributing to one another’s knowledge of science

ELEMENTS

Brown& Ciuffetelli Parker (2009) and Siltala (2010) discuss the 5 basic and essential elements to cooperative learning.

1. Positive interdependence

1. Students must fully participate and put forth effort within their group

2. Each group member has a task/role/responsibility therefore must believe that they are responsible for their learning and that of their group

2. Face-to-face promotive interaction

1. Members promote each other's success

2. Students explain to one another what they have or are learning and assist one another with understanding and completion of assignments

3. Individual and group accountability

1. Each student must demonstrate mastery of the content being studied

2. Each student is accountable for their learning and work, therefore eliminating “social loafing”

4. Social skills

1. Social skills that must be taught in order for successful cooperative learning to occur

2. Skills include effective communication, interpersonal and group skills

1. Leadership

2. Decision-making

3. Trust-building

4. Communication

5. Conflict-management skills

5. Group processing

1. Every so often groups must assess their effectiveness and decide how it can be improved.

In order for student achievement to improve considerably, two characteristics must be present.

1. When designing cooperative learning tasks and reward structures, individual responsibility and accountability must be identified. Individuals must know exactly what their responsibilities are and that they are accountable to the group in order to reach their goal.

2. All group members must be involved in order for the group to complete the task. In order for this to occur each member must have a task that they are responsible for which cannot be completed by any other group member.

ADVANTAGES OF CO OPERATIVE LEARNING

1. Leadership Skills

In order for a group to truly succeed, individuals within the group need to show leadership abilities. Skills such as dividing out the tasks involved, providing support, and ensuring that individuals are meeting their goals are all leadership skills that can be taught and practiced through cooperative learning.

 

2. Communication Skills

Effective teamwork is all about good communication and a commitment to the product or activity. All members in the group need to practice communicating in a positive manner. These skills should be directly modelled by the teacher and reinforced throughout the activity.

3. Conflict Management Skills

Conflicts arise in all group settings. Sometimes these conflicts are minor and easily handled. Other times, though, they can rip a team apart if left unchecked. In most cases, you should allow your students to try and work out their issues before you step in and get involved. Keep an eye on the situation but see if they can come to a resolution on their own. If you do have to be involved, attempt to get all individuals of the team talking together and model effective conflict resolution for them.

4. Decision Making Skills

Many decisions will need attention while working in a cooperative environment. A good way to get students to start thinking as a team and make joint decisions is to have them come up with a team name. From there, the next decisions that need to be made are which students will perform what tasks. Additionally, even though students are working in a group, they will also have their own responsibilities. This will require them to make many decisions that could affect their entire team. As the teacher and facilitator, you should stress that if a particular decision will affect other members of the group then these needs to be discussed together.  

 COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together.^] Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalize on one another’s resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating one another’s ideas, monitoring one another’s work, etc.) More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences.

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING TECHNIQUES

1. THINK-PAIR-SHARE:

The instructor poses a question, preferable one demanding analysis, evaluation, or synthesis, and gives students about a minute to think through an appropriate response. This "think-time" can be spent writing, also. Students then turn to a partner and share their responses. During the third step, student responses can be shared within a four-person learning team, within a larger group, or with an entire class during a follow-up discussion. The caliber of discussion is enhanced by this technique, and all students have an opportunity to learn by reflection and by verbalization.

2. THREE-STEP INTERVIEW:

Common as an ice-breaker or a team-building exercise, this structure can also be used also to share information such as hypotheses or reactions to a film or article. Students form dyads; one student interviews the other. Students switch roles. The dyad links with a second dyad. This four-member learning team then discusses the information or insights gleaned from the initial paired interviews.

3. SIMPLE JIGSAW

          The faculty member divides an assignment or topic into four parts with all students from each learning team volunteering to become "experts" on one of the parts. Expert teams then work together to master their fourth of the material and also to discover the best way to help others learn it. All experts then reassemble in their home learning teams where they teach the other group members.

4. NUMBERED HEADS TOGETHER

Members of learning teams usually composed of four individuals, count off: 1, 2, 3, or 4. The instructor poses a question, usually factual in nature, but requiring some higher order thinking skills. Students discuss the question, making certain that every group member knows the agreed upon answer. The instructor calls a specific number and the team members originally designated that number during the count off respond as group spokespersons. Because no one knows which number the teacher will call, all team members have a vested interest in understanding the appropriate response. Again, students benefit from the verbalization, and the peer coaching helps both the high and the low achievers. Class time is usually better spent because less time is wasted on inappropriate responses and because all students become actively involved with the material.

Advantages of Collaborative learning

· Promotes student-faculty interaction and familiarity .

· Increases student retention .

· Builds self esteem in students .

· Enhances student satisfaction with the learning experience .

· Promotes a positive attitude toward the subject matter .

· Develops oral communication skills .

· Develops social interaction skills .

· Promotes positive race relations .

· Creates an environment of active, involved, exploratory learning.