Teaching Practice Human Transport Systems: An Electronic Collection of Student Work STUDENT WORK
Projects in process
Students were responsible for three different elements of this project. The first element was to write two essays about the transport system that their group was assigned. One essay was an informative essay in which the students had to explain their system from beginning to end. Students were responsible for informing the reader of the parts of the system and their functions. The second essay was a persuasive essay in which the students had to explain why their transport system was essential. They were given the scenario of the human body being scaled back due to major cutback at the workplace. The brain is thinking of getting rid of their transport system and they need to persuade the brain to keep their system on the force.
The second element of the project was to draw a fully labeled diagram of their transport system. The artistic abilities of several students flourished on this element of the project. Derek and I were both extremely impressed with how talented some of our students are.
The third, and most creative element of the project was to create a three-dimensional model of their transport system. Students were extremely creative and thoughtful when designing and constructing their models. We saw everything from balloons and straws to using food as various parts of systems. Students were awarded extra credit if their model was fully functionally. To watch our students at work, trying to figure out how to make their models functional was amazing. Surprisingly, the creativity of the fifth graders sparked ideas in the eighth graders resulting in a collaborative effort and an outstandingly impressive final product.
Overall, the students worked extremely hard to produce outstanding quality products. The energy and enthusiasm for learning and higher order thinking was contagious and exhilarating. This is what learning and teaching are all about!
3-D Models and Essays
Two of the eighth graders were deemed as the technology wizards. These two gentlemen did a majority of the videoing for the project. Throughout the project they captured both students and teachers at work. On several occasions, the student videographers conducted interviews with teachers and students, asking them to reflect on the project and its progress. Here one of the student videographers takes the stand as a reporter and interviews Sara and Derek on student progress.
Sample of Persuasive Essay
Here is a sample of one of the persuasive essays written by two eighth graders.
Author:Derek Geddes
and Sara Montalbano School:A Collaborative Project with Weare Middle School and New England College Organization:Weare Middle School and New England College Credits:Debra Nitschke-Shaw, Director of Teacher Education
Emily Perkins, pre-service teacher New England College
