This unit was extremely effective in allowing students to explore various aspects of ecosystem interdependence and population dynamics. The activities were very different from one another and required students use various modes of learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
The activities that seemed to promote the greatest amount of high level thinking were those that required the students to observe, record, and analyze data. This was especially effective with the worm home activities, Oh, Deer!, and the owl pellet investigations. These were also the activities during which the students tended to put forth a large amount of effort and sustained time on task was evident.
The students enjoyed creating their wikis and although their entries are not as elaborate as I had planned, I am pleased with their beginning attempts to share their new knowledge. As we continue to use reflective writing throughout the year, I feel the students' abilities to use technical writing will improve as will their wiki entries.
A comprehensive multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank assessment was given at the end of the unit. Although a pretest was not given at the start of the unit, results reflected a great deal of understanding from the children who took active roles in the learning activities. Next year, a pretest will be given for comparison purposes.
For teachers planning to use elements of this unit, be forewarned that the Ecosystem Dictionary component is very time consuming. Although I continue to believe there is justification for not allowing the students to take the projects home to work on, a great deal of class time must be provided for successful completion.
Critical Analysis of Unit
This unit was extremely effective in allowing students to explore various aspects of ecosystem interdependence and population dynamics. The activities were very different from one another and required students use various modes of learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
The activities that seemed to promote the greatest amount of high level thinking were those that required the students to observe, record, and analyze data. This was especially effective with the worm home activities, Oh, Deer!, and the owl pellet investigations. These were also the activities during which the students tended to put forth a large amount of effort and sustained time on task was evident.
The students enjoyed creating their wikis and although their entries are not as elaborate as I had planned, I am pleased with their beginning attempts to share their new knowledge. As we continue to use reflective writing throughout the year, I feel the students' abilities to use technical writing will improve as will their wiki entries.
A comprehensive multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank assessment was given at the end of the unit. Although a pretest was not given at the start of the unit, results reflected a great deal of understanding from the children who took active roles in the learning activities. Next year, a pretest will be given for comparison purposes.
For teachers planning to use elements of this unit, be forewarned that the Ecosystem Dictionary component is very time consuming. Although I continue to believe there is justification for not allowing the students to take the projects home to work on, a great deal of class time must be provided for successful completion.