WPP Part D

Formative: I was able to implement my project in part.  Due to snow days and ACT/MME prep, my plan of adding a second lab this week was scratched.  We had another snow day this Wednesday and that has been four days in the past weeks that we have had off.  I did get one simulation run during the time period and was hoping to get a second lesson in about gravitational force.  However, due to time limitations I will not be able to complete a second lesson during this course.  I am excited to see the results of a second attempt and try to implement some changes to see if that allows for better connection for students.
Summative: After the first introduction of online simulations with more focus on driving the connection between concept and application, my students were able to have a sustained conversation about momentum and different types of collisions and what would happen based on elasticity.  Based on the one time implementation I believe that it was a success and that students will benefit from further inclusion of online simulations.
Approach/Lessons Learned: Lessons learned for me were that much like lessons in the classroom, lessons that are based on the use of technology can need different levels of explanation as well.  There were students that needed very little in terms of direction and then others needed specific parts of the simulation explained.  At first I tried to let them struggle and explore on their own but due to time constraints I had to direct them towards the main concepts of the lesson.
Changes: Some changes that I would make to the inclusion of online simulations would be to have two sets of directions.  One set would be somewhat ‘bare bones’ and then I would provide a second set that goes further in depth.  They were also able to make the connection between momentum and kinetic energy.  
Conclusions: Just like a normal school year you can never prepare for the unexpected especially when it comes to Mother Nature in Michigan.  In addition to the weather, we were under pressure to review for the ACT/MME.  These are two completely different styles of science tests.  The ACT focuses on reading charts and graphs with little (17%) focus on comparing and contrasting hypotheses.  Then the MME pulls content from Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.  I think that the inclusion of online simulations along with questions that are more inquiry based has driven my students to a better understanding of material.  I plan to continue adding online simulations into every unit for the rest of the year.