Benchmarks
Rationale
Benchmark lessons are introduced as needed to initiate and help clarify
important scientific concepts and ideas. During these class periods, the
teacher or some other outside expert will introduce or "seed" discussion,
reflection, and/or present some activity which will emphasize a major
scientific concept or way of thinking. In this way, students will
hopefully begin to acquire the ability to see the larger picture of
scientific inquiry. Benchmarks can also be used for a number of other
educational purposes including:
1. Introducing more abstract ideas into the classrom
2. Providing organizing principles to structure thinking
3. Promoting questioning
4. Clarifying content material
5. Increasing student motivation
6. Providing a transition between different cycles of instruction
A benchmark is not simply just another classroom lesson. Rather, it is an
opportunity for the teacher or outside expert to raise the level of
understanding in the classroom. This usually occurs when children have
gotten temporarily bogged down in their research or the class is at some
point where they need more information to take the research to the next
level. Since each classroom progresses at different rates, the timing or
even the opportunity for a benchmark presentation is not entirely
predictable. The instructor should feel comfortable relying on his or her
own instincts as to when the class has reached some impasse in their
research, and look upon it not as a failure, but as an opportunity to
provide needed instruction at a critical juncture.
As these units become further developed, the circumstances around
which
benchmarks are conceived will be broadened. At this point, we believe each
benchmark should contain some insight on how to view content research and
the mechanisms which drive such research. In the words of Doris Ash, a
Fostering a Community of Learners science expert, "I view
benchmarks as
higher-order thinking nudges which allow learners to move from the big to
the little picture and back in both content and process." To date,
benchmarks have been used for the following situations:
- 1. As an introduction to a new learning cycle
- The Slide Show was very effective for presenting a great amount of
information to the students in a short period of time. This benchmark was
undertaken to increase the motivation of the students as well as to
clarify content material under investigation. It was envisioned as a
briefing session by which the common shared information in the class could
be raised to an adequate starting level. This example is used to make a
specific point. Benchmarks should not be limited to simple lecture
formats. The use of computer applications, slides, television programs, or
hands-on lab activities can all be utilized to achieve dynamic as well as
creative learning opportunities.
- 2. To encourage the question generation process
- Perhaps the best example we have of this use of benchmarks is the
Mission to Mars video in which students are encouraged to generate
problems that will have to be solved in order to plan for an extended
mission to the planet. After generating these questions, students search
for the commonality among their generated problems that will allow them to
make new generalizations about their topics of interest. This will
ultimately lead to the driving questions of each of the research groups.
- 3. To introduce an important underlying concept
- We wanted to introduce the study of dynamics (the effect of a force
on the motion of an object) to the class in a way that would make it
personally meaningful. At the same time, we also wanted to introduce a
more "hands-on" activity as a benchmark lesson. Building and launching
rockets was a wonderful context in which to introduce the underlying
concepts of Newton's three laws of motion.
- 4. To resolve an apparent conflict or misconception
- Do heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects? A classic problem
centering around free fall proved to be a very effective benchmark in
resolving some common student misconceptions. In addition, the students
gained a deeper conceptual understanding of gravitational force and
systems as they deepened their understanding on the factors involved with
gravitational attraction.
- 5. An opportunity to foster a bridge between the students' own
experiences and the scientific explanation for phenomena.
- By progressing through a series of models and guided CSILE
discussion notes as well as reading authentic materials in Reciprocal
Teaching groups, the students came to better understand the factors
involved in seasonal change both on Mars and on Earth. Working from their
own experiences and observations (which were scientifically naive), the
students slowly re-conceptualized their models of seasonal change. Their
new understanding allowed them to make valuable predictions of the surface
conditions on Mars using Earth as an analogical model.
Examples:
The following examples depict the classroom conditions
that gave rise to four benchmark lessons. They continue by showing how
these benchmarks were planned to take advantage of the students' need to
know in order to address specific misconceptions. Each of the benchmarks
presented is slightly different in scope and should be looked upon as an
example rather than as a requirement for a benchmark to be done in the
classroom. The Slide Show uses very traditional audiovisual material found
in most schools. Isolated Environments attempts to use analogy in a
thoughtful and powerful way. Reasons for Seasons exploits CSILE as well as
models to understand a complex system, and the Rockets benchmark is a
wonderful hands-on activity that the entire school will find exciting and
educationally valuable.
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