Category: Videos

Handouts are available below

Big Idea

Are you looking for a bellringer that works across multiple classes and is easy to set up? 

I came up with this one as a brain break activity, but then realized it worked well as a bellringer too. The purpose is to get students to think about the relative size of objects to each other. I think this is often a skill that is lost because, often, we see images on a page with realizing just how big one is relative to the other. This activity is a good way to get students thinking about relative sizing in a fun, relevant way.

Episode Notes

On a flat table, lay out the marble, super bouncy ball, golf ball, tennis ball, and basketball in ascending order according to size. Then ask,

1. If the earth is a tennis ball, which object would be the moon (in relative size)?
   Answer: The earth’s diameter is 4 times larger than that of the moon. A tennis ball has a diameter of approximately 6cm. A marble has a diameter of approximately 1.5 cm. Thus, the marble would be the moon in this comparison.
2. If Jupiter is the basketball, which object would be the earth (in relative size)
   Answer: Jupiter’s diameter is 11 times larger than that of the earth. A basketball has a diameter of approximately 24.5cm. A super bouncy ball has a diameter of approximately 2 cm. Thus, the super bouncy ball would be the earth in this comparison.
3. If an electron is the marble, which object would be a proton?
   Answer: An electron’s radius is not well defined. However, a protons mass is 1800 times larger than an electronic mass. A marble has a mass of 6.5g. In this comparison, a proton would be a ball that has a mass of approximately 12kg (like a heavy bowling ball).

.

 

Resources

Handout(s): Ep71 Handouts – My Fun Bellringer that Teaches Relative Size

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

Handouts are available below

 

Big Idea

I’ve heard of teachers who are against adopting Standards Based Grading (or SBG or Standards Based Assessment) for senior science because they felt SBG was less rigorous than traditional grading. But what do students think? Since I used SBG with my Physics 11 students in summer school, I asked them if they felt SBG was more or less rigorous than traditional grading. 

 

Episode Notes

For the first question, “Is Standards Based grading less rigorous, more rigorous, or equally as rigorous to traditional grading?“

• Over two-thirds of respondents felt that SBG was equal or more rigorous than traditional grading.
• 42.5% of respondents said that SBG was more rigorous than traditional grading.
• 25% of respondents said that SBG was equally as rigorous.

For the second question, “Explain your choice. Please provide reasons, details, and examples as to whether Standards Based grading is less, more, or equally as rigorous as traditional grading.“

• One student said, “[SBG} grades the student on more than just tests and captures their knowledge on the topic on multiple different aspects.“
• Another student said, “[SBG} covers knowledge using a variety of different assessment methods. It is more flexible for students and teachers and allows them to cover a wider area of learning, giving more chances to include learning information outside of the curriculum.”
• And yet another student said, “[SBG} requires students to dive deeper into specific ideas which requires them to show a more in depth understanding of certain concepts. It also emphasizes the application of knowledge and skills to real world scenarios, which makes it more rigorous as students need to use their ability to use their learning in important situations.“

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

Resources

Handout(s): Ep70 Handouts – Do My Students Feel SBG is Less Rigorous?

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

Handouts are available below

 

Big Idea

 

What happens when you ask ChatGPT to write a lesson plan for you? It actually does a pretty good job – much better than I expected. If you haven’t tried it yet or are thinking about doing it, I’m going to to share what ChatGPT wrote for me and what I learned from the process. 

 

Episode Notes

Here’s what I learn when I used ChatGPT to create a 5E science lesson plan:

1. The lesson plans provide a good amount of detail. ChatGPT structured the lesson plan according to the 5E model and it also included:
   • an intro story and discussion questions in the engage section,
   • 2 activities in each of the explore and extend sections,
   • topics that would be addressed in the lecture and practice worksheets for the explain and evaluate sections, and
   • homework and assessment suggestions on the back at the end of the lesson.
2. A couple of advantages of getting ChatGPT to craft a lesson plan:
   • it’s quick to do, and
   • it includes some great specific details, questions, and activities you can try with your class. And, as a seasoned (aka older) teacher, I enjoy seeing what other teachers do to teach a concept. I can see ChatGPT as a “colleague” I ask for suggestions too.
3. One major disadvantage of getting ChatGPT to craft a lesson plan:
   • there’s no modifications present in this lesson plan for students in my class who may have learning disabilities or behavioural issues. 

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

 

Resources

 

Handout(s): Ep69 Handouts – Sample ChatGPT 5E Science Lesson Plan

 

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

 

Handouts are available below

 

Big Idea

 

I’ve read that AI has the potential to close achievement gaps for students. So, can ChatGPT help my students develop a deeper understanding of science material? Long story short, it can’t and I’ll share what I did to come to this conclusion and what needs to be done to use ChatGPT in a way that does lead to deeper learning.

 

Episode Notes

So what did I learn and what we can do as teachers when we use ChatGPT with students:

1. Teachers need to discuss and unpack ideas brought up by ChatGPT if we want students to develop a deeper understanding of content knowledge. ChatGPT is a jumping off point. It’s like a very sophisticated search engine that can write a response to you. But the response is just knowledge – to help students unpack it, we need to give students something to do with that knowledge. This is what AI cannot do so far that teachers can.
2. When using ChatGPT, it needs to be goal oriented, not task oriented. When I made students use ChatGPT for an assignment, students were just concerned with completing the assignment and not the learning behind it. However, in a separate, informal exercise, I got students to ask ChatGPT to help them with one issue in physics class and to share their conversation with me. The conversations were amazing. Some students asked questions and follow up questions about how to perform force calculations. Others asked for help on building their balloon powered car, which was the class project at the time. Again, students asked follow up questions, one after another. Thus, when students have a goal in mind – and not just a task to finish – the use of ChatGPT can help students dive deeper.  

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

 

Resources

 

Handout(s): Ep68 Handouts – Using ChatGPT for Deeper Science Learning

 

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

 

Handouts are available below

 

Big Idea

 

Is there more grade inflation in SBA as opposed to the traditional grading system tests and assignments based on content? In my practice, I would argue that SBA has not led to grade inflation. Instead, I would say that an A or a 95% is harder to get in my classes now as opposed to when I was using traditional grading. This is because my course is even more rigorous than before. But, at the same time, kids who might traditionally fail in one of my science classes also have a better chance of passing.

 

Episode Notes

 

• How is standards based assessment is more rigorous in my class than traditional grading? It’s because, now, a grade – whether it’s a percentage or letter grade or proficiency scale – is based on a variety of standards (ie. skills and practices) and not just content knowledge.

• For example, physics is generally a very calculation-heavy course, but with my physics tests, like this one, I not only assess students on their calculations – which falls under “processing and analyzing” on a test – I also assess their ability to explain, predict, draw arguments, and evaluate competing ideas through essay style questions – all of which falls under the skill of communicating or questioning and predicting. 

• Similarly, more students are passing science in my class because I’m looking for more aspects of a science education to evaluate besides content (and, in the case of physics, calculations).

• The key to ensuring there’s no grade inflation while using SBA is to (1) be intentional with what you’re looking for when assessing each competency and (2) have a good rubric. For example, for me, communication is assessed by how well students are able to write an argument using Claim Evidence and Reasoning.

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

 

Resources

 

Handout(s): Ep67 Handouts – Is There More Grade Inflation in SBG?

 

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

 

Handouts are available below

Big Idea

Are you looking for a hands-on project in chemistry that allows students to build and test prototypes while also making chemistry real? I get students to do the DIY bath bombs project for just that reason. The project illustrates how science concepts – like rates of reactions – can be taught in hands-on ways. And, also requires students to build and test prototypes – which generally doesn’t happen in chemistry labs. My students enjoyed doing the lab, and best of all, it’s a fun, engaging, and hands-on way to teach students about the factors that affect reaction rate.

Episode Notes

• The objective of the lab is for students to create 200ml of bubbles in exactly 15s. It’s like a 15s timer but with bubbles and bath bombs.

• When testing their bath bombs, students fill a 250ml graduated cylinder with 50 ml of water; add a drop of dish soap; add the bath bomb and start the timer. When the bubbles reach the 250mL line of the graduated cylinder, stop the timer. 

• Students are marked on how close they get to forming 200ml of bubbles in 15s. This requires students to speed up or slow down the reaction – by adjusting the concentration of the bath bomb (ie. ratio of citric acid, baking soda and corn starch in the bath bomb), shape or surface area of the bath bomb, or temperature of water – to either make bubbles more quickly or slowly to get to the 15s goal while adhering to some build restrictions.

• Students also perform a few rounds of experimentation, which is part of the fun. I mark students on their improvements between prototypes as well as the overall performance of their final prototype.

• Download the handouts below for bath bomb building instructions. By the end, your students will be bath bomb experts. 

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

Resources

Handout(s): Ep66 Handouts – DIY Bath Bombs Science Project

WANT MORE?

A complete lab package of this activity is available now! Head to REAL Sc Lab – DIY Bath Bombs Project to purchase your copy today.

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

Handouts are available below

 

Big Idea

 

Teaching students how to use CER to craft an argument is done better if students have lab data to practice with. Ideally, this data is something that we measure through an experiment, but experimental data may be especially difficult to get on the first day or week of the new school year. So, today, I want to share a quick experiment you can do with your classes to get some interesting data they can analyze. This activity has students participate in an informal educational study themselves, which would help prepare them to write a CER statement based on their own experience.

 

Episode Notes

 

• There’s an app that was created in 2022 called bionic reading, which takes the text we upload and bolds the first few letters of each word. It’s supposed to help students with reading. But, does it actually help with reading? This is the question I wanted my students to answer through an informal classroom experiment they participated in.

• If you want to run this informal experiment with your students, it’s pretty straightforward. Before you begin, don’t tell students what the study is about. Give all the students a response form and a sheet with questions on it. Then, give half the class the text that is neutral and the other class with the text that is bionic. Have students read the passage and, after, note down how long it took them to read the passage (this means you’ll need to have a timer that students can see – I project mine on the whiteboard). After writing down the time, students can answer the questions. When it looks like everyone is done, now tell students there are two different text formats and have students note down on their response forms whether they had weird bolded text or normal text. Have students mark the questions and then collect and tabulate the results.

• I also gave students some sample data to analyze (click on handouts below to get sample data). As for the CER statements students wrote based on the data I provided before, for claim, students have stated that bionic reading helps improve reading. For evidence, they cited the quicker reading speeds while keeping the same level of accuracy. And, for reasoning, students who used the bolded text said that the bolded letters helped them skip over words and read faster – since our brains can recognize words by seeing only a few letters. For rebuttal, students said that there may be no effect at all or that bionic reading may be worse for students – but that the sample size was too small to see this effect – which is absolutely correct because this sample only has about 30 students. 

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

 

Resources

 

Handout(s): Ep65 Handouts – How to Introduce CER Using Bionic Reading Activity

 

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

 

Handouts are available below

 

Big Idea

 

Do you ever start the school year with some advice to students on how to succeed in science class this year? Or do you offer inspirational quotes on hard work or motivation? I have done both. But, this year, I’m planning on starting with something that – I think – is even more relatable to my students: student advice written by students.

 

Episode Notes

How to give genuine student advice by students

• Ideally, ask your classes on the last day of school for advice they would give themselves if they were to do the class all over again. Then, collect and hold onto those responses for the students in the fall.

• But, if you don’t already have student advice and it’s the beginning of the year ask your senior students what advice they’d have for their younger self. For example, ask your grade 12 students what advice they would have for their grade 8 self with regards to science class. Then, collect these responses, sift through them, and present the more helpful ones to students in your grade 8 or 9 classes.

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

 

Resources

 

Handout(s): Ep64 Handouts – Giving Genuine Student Advice from Students

 

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

 

Handouts are available below

 

Big Idea

 

What’s the big problem with many science research assignments we give our students today? They can all be done with ChatGPT and AI. I have a colleague who ran into this problem with her science class and their space research project. Now, I still think research projects are useful – but, going forward, I’m going to do 3 things to AI proof my research projects. Watch the video for more details. The tasks are briefly summarized below.

 

Episode Notes

 

• Task 1: Write an argument using the information acquired from the research assignment. I can assess a student’s ability to write an argument through this task.

• Task 2: Solve a puzzle using the information acquired from the research assignment. I can assess a student’s ability to apply knowledge to other scenarios through this task.

• Task 3: Evaluate bias using the information acquired from the research project. I can assess a student’s ability to evaluate bias in secondary sources through this task.

 

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

 

Resources

 

Handout(s): Ep63 Handouts – 3 Ways to AI proof Research Assignments in Science Class

 

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!

 

Handouts are available below

Big Idea

When it comes to writing tests while using standards based assessment, my students need to demonstrate greater depth in their written responses in order to demonstrate greater levels of proficiency. However, because I need students to give more depth, many students now spend more time forming their responses and, thus, they are unable to finish their tests. One solution is to make the tests shorter by giving fewer questions – but, I’ve already streamlined it to the fewest questions possible. So, in the end, I decided to split my tests up. 

Episode Notes

• For tests created to assess objectives and standards (ie. Standards based grading), start by declaring which standards to assess. For example, for a chemistry test, are you planning to assess a student’s ability to analyze data and/or to write an argument? What about other standards? 

• Then, decide on how you’ll go about assessing the standard on the test. Will you use multiple choice questions or extended response questions or both? Or, will you ask students to write an essay? Aim to create a 30-40 minute task for each standard.

• Split the test into separate parts that are based on the standards. Thus, on one day, give students the part that assess one standard. Then, on the next day, give students the part that assess another standard. For example, on Monday, give students questions that assess how well students analyze data and information. Then, on Tuesday, give students an essay question that assess how well students can write an argument.
• Make sure to let students know ahead of time which standards will be assessed on which day.

Thanks for watching, and let’s talk science education again soon.

 

Resources

Handout(s): Ep62 Handouts – Increase Student Success in SBA by Splitting Up Your Tests

Our resources are free. We aren’t collecting emails for our resources. However, it would help us out if you liked us on our Facebook page and subscribed to our Youtube Channel. Thanks!