Teacher's Assistant

MAIN PAGE
Introduction
The Task
Evaluation
Conclusion
Credits& References

INTRODUCTION

This Web Quest has been developed for second and third grade students at The University of Hartford's Magnet School” in Connecticut. Its purpose is to assist them in the understanding of the scientific classification of birds.

Learners

As the students originate from several towns within the Hartford area it is understood that the population will be multi-ethnic and of various cultural, religious and economic backgrounds. Given the heterogeneous nature of the student body differences in experiences and learning styles were expected and needed to be addressed in the creation of the Web Quest. We assumed students had a basic knowledge of birds, but considered children raised in the city may have different experiences with birds than those raised in the country.

Students with special needs are integrated into the classroom. Therefore, the Web Quest must meet the needs of the most gifted as well as the most challenged student. For this reason the student will work in groups of two. Students will be paired together by the teacher allowing for pairs to be developed according to specific educational needs. Students of need can be paired with children of higher intelligence who will benefit from the opportunity to be a teacher/helper. Other students can be paired together due to mutual need and can have a teacher assistant to guide them. Many of the activities are based on creativity to allow students of any intelligence level to acquire a sense of completion and success. To accommodate for multiple reading levels the Web Quest was developed using simple language. Lastly, students need not complete all activities enabling challenged students to skip parts that are too difficult without being penalized.

In many of our activities we assigned projects to the students. Because many of the projects are not technologically based students can work together in groups and pairs, in or outside the classroom environment. Many of the activities are hands on and involve mechanical projects. This will utilize the student’s fine or gross motor skills (Armstrong, 2000). This is Gardner’s bodily kinesthetic theory of intelligence. We assumed students were comfortable working on an interpersonal level. We also assumed not all students were completely comfortable working strictly with technology. Second and third graders need to learn from each other and being our audience is diverse in many ways they will benefit from each other’s styles and techniques.

Standards

In the development of our Web Quest we utilized the University of Hartford’s Magnet School Curriculum as a guide to address these parameters. In exploring the School’s curriculum we recognized the curriculum is guided by the Theory of Multiple Intelligence. The theory has eight intelligences that provide a structure for exploring the strengths of the individual learner (Dickinson, 1998). It was necessary for us to integrate each of these intelligences into the Web Quest thus assuring that each student’s strengths were incorporated to maximize learning.

The University of Hartford’s Magnet School’s curriculum is developed following the State of Connecticut's Common Core of Learning (1998). We selected three objectives from the Science section of this document to guide the development of the Web Quest. Birds are living creatures and the classification of birds fit well into this section of the Common Core of Learning. The three objectives selected are as follows: 1. Living Things and Their Environment: Students will understand that all living organisms in the biosphere are linked to each other and to their physical environment by the transfer and transformation of matter and energy. 2. Units of Structure and Function: Students will understand that all living things share common materials and structures, which perform basic life functions. 3. Relationship of Structure and Function: Students will understand the classification and physiology of the great diversity of organisms and identify relationships of structure and function.

Multiple Intelligence	Activity / Task
Naturalist	Based on what you’ve learned in the WQ create a model of the ideal living arrangements for your bird of choice. Example: a model of marshes/wetlands that a mallard duck would need to live in and have a family. Be ready to explain some of the things a duck doesn’t like in its environment – man-made harmful causes.
Linguist	Write an essay story about a bird of your choice. It could takes place in one day or over time, like during a migrate with it’s family. Write a poem about a bird’s life based on what you’ve learned in the WQ.
Logical-Mathematical	Based on what you’ve learned in the WQ give three examples of where numbers were used to explain something. Give another example for what the numbers can represent.
Bodily-Kinesthetic	Why certain birds cannot fly. What would it take for human to fly? Based on what you’ve learned in the WQ perform a bird’s bodily movements in take off, flight, and landing. Be able to show the wing patterns.
Musical	Based on what you’ve learned in the WQ make your own Song Bird musical notes. If not yet familiar with written music notes (sheet music) you can memorize the note and be able to explain what the bird is saying.
Interpersonal	With a group of three or four students discuss how you would prepare your team for the next trip if you had to migrate. Have someone record the talk.
Intrapersonal	Based on what you’ve learned in the WQ pick a bird that interests you the most. Write about that bird based on your personal knowledge and understanding and what you learned from the Web Quest and class. What feelings would the bird have day-to-day. Compare and contrast to humans and what they go through.

Process

The topic of birds is a diverse one and given our time frame of student usage of two to three weeks for 3 hours a week to complete the Web Quest. Four of the primary classifications will be addressed. The classifications selected were Songbirds, Parrots, Ducks and Penguins. Second and third grade students are likely to have a cursory knowledge of these birds and motivation to learn more about birds common to their experiences would be greater. Within these classifications topics such as living environments, feeding habits, migration and physical characteristics are addressed. Although each category of birds is different they share many similar features and life roles. The activities, written material and pictures help the students to integrate the individual differences yet understand the characteristics that make them the same species.

To ensure adequate motivation of the students we have incorporated three activities to be completed prior to beginning the Web Quest.

Part 1:

A. Students, with under the guidance of their teachers will create bird feeders to hang outside their classroom. This will attract mainly Songbirds and help to spark student interest.

B. During the cooler times of the school year, students will prepare Suet to hang outside their classroom. This will help students understand eating habits of birds and appreciate the benefits of helping animals during the colder months when food is less readily available.

C. The third activity will be a twenty-minute walk outside to allow students to explore birds in their natural environment.

Recommended websites:

Book lists at Partnersinflight.

For online learning: BIRD BUSINESS, Discovery Channel and Zooish

Part 2:

At the end of each page visit students will have the choice of doing certain related activities that relate to Multiple Intelligence. We recommend 4 all together. There are 12 throughout the entire site. There are also various Internet linked activities to enhance student’s learning.

Part 3:

Upon completion of visiting all the pages and doing the activities students can begin Task 2. They will develop their own unique model of a bird species using any materials needed. Then label each part of the bird based on the bird groups they learned about. Extra challenges are available for students who would like to go further in their quests!

References

Armstrong, T. (2000). Multiple intelligences in the classroom, (2nd Edition). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Dickinson, D. (1998). How technology enhances Howard Gardner’s eight intelligences. Retrieved February 1, 2002, from: www.america-tomorrow.com.

Norton, P. & Sprague, D. (2001). Technology for teaching. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

State Board of Education (1998), Connecticut’s common core of learning. p. 12-13. Hartford, CT: State of Connecticut.

Windschitl, M. (1998). The www and classroom research: What path should we take? Educational Researcher, 27 (1), 28-33.