Submission

The parts of our assignment for submission will be available here.


 * __STUDENT COHORT__**

The lessons for this inquiry based question are aimed at students in grade 4. The grade consists of 25 students in total, 13 girls and 12 boys. One student has an intellectual disability and requires some assistance when using the computer. He requires assistance to log on, is capable of navigating around the internet when cued, and of implementing keyboard skills, albeit slow. When working within a group this student will need to be assigned a specific task and be grouped with student A with whom who works well. An integration aide is assigned to this student and will provide assistance when required.

The students have access to laptops within the classroom. There are enough laptops for students to be able to use individually at any given time. The school is equipped with a broadband internet connection which will not affect the download of any programs that will be used. An information technology teacher is on hand to assist with any computer technical problems that may arise. The students are experienced with the use of technology within the classroom and frequently use an interactive whiteboard during whole class learning sessions. They are familiar with safely navigating the internet, using search engines to locate information, using email software and the class wiki to share information in a safe and effective manner and, creating information products through inputting still, sound and moving data into publishing software such as Microsoft Powerpoint.

As they have previously completed group tasks together these students are familiar with working productively within a group situation. 


 * __INQUIRY QUESTION__**

How can we reduce the environmental impact of packaging around the school?

**__LESSON SEQUENCE__**

** LESSON SEQUENCE **

This lesson is an introduction to the inquiry topic and will proceed in the following way: ·  Facilitate a discussion about different types of food packaging, providing physical examples, and how the way in which we dispose of these impacts on the environment. ·  Use the interactive whiteboard (IWB) to display images of packages polluting waterways and parks whilst facilitating a discussion about ways to reduce this pollution incorporating the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle. · Take the students into the school yard to see what types of packaging (rubbish) are lying around. During the walk, talk about where the students think this rubbish might end up and what damage it could do to the environment. Students would be expected to connect between the images seen on the IWB and this rubbish and where it might end up. ·  Return to the classroom and d ivide students into four groups with approximately 6 students in each group. More competent students will be grouped with those who require more assistance. The intellectually disabled student will work in group 4, alongside student A and assisted by the integration aide. He will be allocated a specific task or tasks within this group. ·  Groups 1 and 2 will sort the packaging within their own lunchboxes into each of the 3 categories, reusable, recyclable and waste, and discuss amongst themselves alternate forms of packaging that can reduce waste. · Groups 3 and 4 will analyse the class bin to the best of their ability in order to see what they have already done with their packaging throughout the day. They will look at how much packaging is in the bin and discuss what could have been recycled or reused. ·  Regroup as a whole class and brainstorm alternative forms of packaging on IWB. ·  The students will again work within their groups to discuss survey questions and criteria for assessment of rubbish disposal. ·  Group 1 and 2 will discuss and develop survey questions to be used to survey other students within the school on the types of packaging contained within their lunchboxes and their thoughts on alternative forms of packaging. ·  Group 3 and 4 will discuss and develop criteria for assessing different forms of rubbish disposal within the school, for example the amount and placement of rubbish and/or recycle bins within the yard and buildings. At the end of this lesson the teacher will record the ideas of alternate forms of packaging, the survey questions and the assessment criteria on the class wiki for future reference. In this lesson the students will work within the four groups as allocated in lesson one and undertake the following tasks. ** Group 1: ** Retrieve the questions from the class wiki that were discussed in lesson one to compile a survey. The questions are specific to types of packaging contained within lunchboxes and alternative forms of packaging for the ease of collating results. This group will then proceed to survey random students within each class throughout the school. ** Lesson 3 – Sorting Out ** ** Group 1: ** Collate the results of the survey undertaken in lesson 2. Create a graph of the results using Microsoft Excel and write a narrative explaining the results using Microsoft word. In this lesson one student from each group will present their information to the class and their parents who have been invited to attend. At the end of this lesson all information will be made available to the school as a whole via the intranet. The teacher may require the assistance of the IT teacher to do this. The posters produced by group 4 will also be displayed in prominent areas around the school.
 * Lesson 1 – Tuning In **
 * Lesson 2 – Finding Out **
 * Group 2: ** Use the "[|Why Recycle]" resource from the learning federation to explore ways to reduce the effects of packaging on the environment. As there are enough laptops for each student to use this will be done individually. The students will share their findings will other members in the group on the appropriate page within the class wiki.
 * Group 3 ** : Use [|Ollie's World] website to explore the environmental benefits of reduce, reuse and recycle. As there are enough laptops for each student to use this will be done individually. The students will share their findings will other members in the group on the appropriate page within the class wiki.
 * Group 4 ** : Retrieve the criteria from the class wiki that was discussed in lesson one to assess the ways that are available within the school to dispose of rubbish. The criteria includes things such as how many rubbish and recycling bins there are around the school, where they are situated and where most the rubbish in the yard sits in relation to the bins. The students will record their findings on the class wiki for future reference.
 * In this lesson the students will again work within their groups to complete the following tasks. **
 * Group 2: ** Visit the class wiki and decide on which information will be used to create a poster that contains a narrative describing ways to reduce the effects of packaging on the environment.
 * Group 3 ** : Visit the class wiki and decide on which information will be used to create a power point presentation explaining the environmental benefits of reduce, reuse and recycle.
 * Group 4: ** Visit the class wiki to obtain the findings from the assessment undertaken in lesson 2. Use Microsoft Publisher to develop posters and fact sheets that explain how to minimize packaging, reduce waste and recycle around the school.
 * Lesson 4 – Making sense **

**__ ICT-related Resources __** The following are the resources that will be used during the lesson sequence.
 * Interactive whiteboard (IWB) 
 * Class wiki - created by the teacher on wikispaces.com 
 * Laptop computers 
 * Ollie's World Website 
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Learning Federation Resource "Why Recycle" <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
 * Microsoft Word
 * Microsoft Excel
 * Microsoft Publisher
 * Micosoft PowerPoint
 * School Intranet <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">** __Rationale__ ** **__Describe how you will use each of these resources to enhance student learning__** <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The uses of resources in this lesson plan are implemented in order to enhance students’ learning. According to Roblyer and Doering (2006), the learner is continually applying and drawing on critical thinking and problem solving strategies. Tuning in according to Murdoch and Hornsby (2007) relates to prior knowledge and student interest in the topic. Learning is considered more successful when students' are actively involved in gathering and sorting out information, working collaboratively allowing for skills and problem solving strategies to be applied to the inquiry question, and prior knowledge is built upon. When these aspects are present the students' have the opportunity to express their opinions and perceptions in a number of formats catering for the varying learning styles. The students' are empowered because they can reflect on their learning, there is an immediate response and the learning is purposeful. Incorporating the use of the class wiki enhances student learning because students' are able to perform and exercise keyboard skills as well as providing a forum for discussion and collaborative learning. Students' share their ideas and can impart an immediate response, offering alternate suggestions or contributing more information. Opportunities to share in the forum of the class wiki keeps students' interested. The inquiry question places students' in a problem solving environment, according to Roblyer and Doering (2006) which creates increased levels of motivation for students', peaking their interest in the inquiry topic allowing them to collaboratively work in small groups to solve problems such as organisation, decisions such as slecting survey questions, and choosing the type of poster that adequately expresses how to reduce the amount of packaging at school. The class wiki is also a means to display the students' work which follows on to promoting self esteem in individual student's and as a group. The class wiki provides students’ to collaborate and communicate their ideas about reducing packaging around the school. It <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">enables a range of different opinions and ideas to be shared at any point in time and used for future reference either for discussion or development of presentations. The teacher can guide the student’s ideas and opinions as well as ensuring that all students are making a contribution to the inquiry. It gives those students who may not be as confident as others in contributing to group discussions, a voice. The use of the Interactive whiteboard in lesson 1 assists with tuning in to the topic. The application of visual images relating to reduce, reuse and recycle such as images of waterways, can be presented to the whole class where they can view the images immediately. Student's attention is held and assists with focussing on the inquiry question. Collaborative discussion can result and as implied by Woolfolk and Margetts, ideas co-constructed during shared activities leads to the individual student to internalise the concepts which becomes part of the student's cognitive development (Woofolk & Margetts, 2007, p.50). The Microsoft products, Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Publisher enable students' to practice their typing and navigational skills, provides opportunities to express their understanding of the inquiry topic such as graphing the results of the class/school survey or publishing information in the form of a poster. These products enhance skills such as reading, typing, interpreting and presenting information. The learning resources of 'Ollies world' and 'Why recycle allow students' to explore and tune in to the topic. Gathering information and applying critical thinking skills to ensure that information is relevant to the inquiry topic and discern information that is useful. Laptops allow for students to individually contribute to the inquiry enableing student ownership and autonomy. The use of the laptops provides instantaneous production of information as there are enough laptops for each student in the class. Productivity is increased because students' have instant access to information and can produce their contribution on the class wiki, for example. Presenting information on the school intranet enhances learning because students' can showcase their work to the school community. The intranet is a format for community learning where students' can share their information with peers, parents and teachers. **__Reflect on why these are the most appropriate resources to use for this class to explore this question__** In order for the class to explore this question it is imperative to select resources that are appropriate, ensuring enhanced learning and student engagement in the topic.The forum of the class wiki encourages varied opinions, ideas and discussions to be posted at any point in time. From a constructivist viewpoint, the class wiki encourages ownership of learning, provides opportunities to negotiate as a group and share the responsibility of learning and demonstrates students' multiple perspectives and representations of their understanding, (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2007). The information gathered on the class wiki can be used for future reference and incorporated into a class discussion or into developing the various group presentations. The classroom teacher can view and guide the ideas and opinions, scaffolding (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2007) support and information in order to enhance student learning. The class wiki provides evidence that all students are contributing to the inquiry and working collaboratively as a group. The interactive white board has the potential to engage students' in the learning experience and ensures student involvement as it is a tool that is highly visual. The learning experience is meaningful and is able to hold the student's attention. Teachers can ensure Gardner's multiple intelligences as described in Marsh(2008), are accomodated so that visual learners for example can engage in the learning experience. Students' use classroom laptops so that they can contribute to and use different mediums such as exploring the learning resources, websites, collaborative discussion on the wiki and the collation and presentation of information. The laptops are available to the class which minimises organisation for the class to relocate to the computer lab creating a learning environment that is easily accessible and productive. The applications of Microsoft word, excel, powerpoint and publisher enables students' to access a wide range of formats to express their understandings of the inquiry topic. Students' learn different forms of expression to communicate their ideas implementing various tools available from these applications. They also provide a format to showcase their understandings of the topic. The interactive learning resources, 'Ollies world' and 'Why recycle', relate directly to the inquiry topic and enable students' to build on their prior knowledge by researching and discoverying new information. These resources support authentic learning (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2007) connecting tthe inquiry topic to the lives of the students' and the inquiry shifts from a problem solving inquiry in the classroom to a problem directly related to the student's lives. Ownership is gained as students' acquire information and solutions to the problem. The students' can make a difference and contribute to the solution. Community learning can be achieved when adding the students' work to demonstrate their understanding of the problem and the suggestions for solutions to the inquiry problem. It is a medium to showcase their work to the school community at any given time. The implications of this learning sequence for teaching practice requires the teacher to have or gain sufficient knowledge regarding the different types of packaging that is available and whether is reuseable, recyclable or rubbish. The teacher will need to have insight into the environmental effects of packaging. Being aware of and understanding the waste disposal and recycling facilities and processes within the school will be necessary so that guidence can be provided when implementing solutions to the inquiry problem. Understanding of the concept reduce, reuse and recycle is paramount in order to relay the information and support student learning. Computer technology skills and know how are necessary in order to support student learning and ensure that students are effectively using the resources. For example knowing how to create a class wiki,and to provide relevant images on the interactive whiteboard. Researching the interactive learning resources, 'Ollies world' and "why recycle' to ensure that the information these resources contain are relevant to the inquiry topic and whether or not the information is accurate and factual. The teacher can access these resources as a learner arming her/himself with informations so that questions from the students' can be easily answered supporting learning and providing guidance when navigating through the sites. Teachers' will need to accomodate varying learning styles and will successfully achieve this by being aware of students' individual needs and learning requirements as well as knowing the class dynamics of which students' work well together. Student groupings and placing of Intellectually disabled student with student A in group 4, providing specific task of creating a poster displaying examples of packaging and solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle. This student will be supported by student A and an Integration Aide. Organisation of class wiki, other teachers' being aware that students' from this class will survey other classes, the IT teacher to assist with loading information on the school intranet and guidence with any other technical problems that arise.
 * __<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Describe how you will use each of these resources to enhance student learning __**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">
 * __Reflect on the implications of this learning sequence for your teaching practice__**