Water Quality Analysis 1
Opportunity Knocks!
Running head: WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS COURSE: REAL LIFE APPLICATION
Water Quality Analysis Course: A Real Life Application
Robin Tillotson, Ashley Padgett and Lauretta Kloer
Opportunity Knocks!
EDIT 6170 – Lloyd Rieber, PhD
University of Georgia, Athens
Water Quality Analysis 1
Opportunity Knocks!
Table of Contents
Executive Summary3
Needs Assessment5
Macro-Instructional Design8
Micro-Instructional Design10
Formative Evaluation12
References20
Appendices21
Appendix A: Water Quality Analysis Course ICM21
Appendix B: Macro-Instructional Design ICM22
Appendix C: Micro-Instructional Design ICM23
Appendix D: Lesson 4.324
Appendix E: Evaluation Instrument for Lesson 4.326
Appendix F: Graph of Evaluation Results for Lesson 4.327
Appendix G: Lesson 4.428
Appendix H: Evaluation Instrument for Lesson 4.430
Appendix I: Graph of Evaluation Results for Lesson 4.430
Appendix J: Evaluation Instrument for WebQuest32
Appendix K: Graph of Evaluation Results for WebQuest33
Water Quality Analysis Course: A Real Life Application
Executive Summary
The Opportunity Knocks! Group recognized that an opportunity to enhance and support chemistry instruction existed in the form of a newly constructed outdoor classroom bordering the river adjacent to CollinsHillHigh School. This structure provides students with safe access to the waters of the river for the purpose of conducting water quality analysis investigations.
A needs assessment indicated that College Prep chemistry students were not utilizing the outdoor classroom to complete “real-world” water studies. Although these chemistry students completed a water unit, it was totally unrelated to the river on the property. For these reasons our group felt the need to design a water quality analysis course for the College Prepchemistry students of CollinsHillHigh School. The primary instructional goal for this course is for the students will be able to generate a PowerPoint presentation to report on the overall health of the river that runs adjacent to the property of their high school and to demonstrate an accurate understanding of the processes of pH and dissolved oxygen content analyses.
In meeting the instructional goals for this course the instruction primarily alternates between teacher-centered mini-lectures and student-centered laboratory activities. The final unit in the course will require the students to work in cooperative groups to produce the PowerPoint presentation on the health of the river. These varying instructional strategies require multiple settings for the implementation of this course. The students will work in the science laboratory, at the river, and in the computer lab. In the science laboratory the students will practice the analyses that they will eventually employ in the field as well as conduct analyses on the water samples collected from the river. At the river the students will conduct on-site pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen content analysis. The final product of the instruction is the PowerPoint presentation that the students will complete in the computer lab.
The target audience for this course is the College Prep Chemistry students. These are students who currently plan on graduating high school with a College Preparatory Diploma and moving on to a four-year university.
In total, our group designed five units and fourteen lessons to provide this instruction. For implementation with our group of student evaluators we focused on Units 4 and 5. Both weather and seasonal constraints forced us to modify our original plans for implementation. Dangerous rising water levels and the lack of access to a chemistry classroom caused us to alter our plans.
The student evaluators worked in both a one-to-one and small-group learners to complete the newly designed lessons and when finished completed a Likert-style survey about each. Based on the formative evaluation responses the students reacted positively to our instruction. They definitively stated that these lessons were “much better than using the textbook.”
Needs Assessment
System of Interest
The Opportunity Knocks! group conducted this project within the context of the Chemistry Department of Collins Hill High School. This department, which is part of the science department of CollinsHillHigh School, consists of the students and parents/guardians and is a part of the teachers, support staff, and administration of CollinsHillHigh School. One of the fifteen high schools in the Gwinnett County School System, Collins Hill is controlled by the Gwinnett County Board of Education. The Gwinnett County Board of Education is part of the Georgia Department of Education which is in turn part of the United States Department of Education.
Symptoms of an Opportunity
An Eagle Scout Candidate, a member of the Boy Scouts of America who is a Life Scout working on becoming an Eagle Scout, received an $800.00 grant from the United Way of Gwinnett County to build an outdoor classroom along the river that runs adjacent to Collins Hill High School. The structure is designed to provide better access to the river.
Preliminary Problem/ Opportunity Statement
Now that the outdoor classroom is complete, it will provide the students with an outdoor workstation and safe access to the river enabling them to conduct on-site analysis and to collect water samples for laboratory analysis.
Verify the Problems and Determine Specific Needs
We interviewed chemistry teachers to determine if any water quality analyses were currently being conducted on the river. We found that both the Gifted Chemistry students and the CP chemistry students were receiving instruction in a “water unit.” However, only the Gifted Chemistry students were using the river as part of their unit.
Information Gathered from the Data Sources
Through interviews of CollinsHillHigh School chemistry teachers our group determined that College Prep students would benefit from a water course that focused on completing water quality analysis on the river.
Results of the Needs Assessment
The primary need expressed is that the CP chemistry classes need to have a course that teaches topics such as pH and solubility of gases in a real-world context. Based on the responses we decided that although some of the College Prep chemistry classes complete a “water unit,” it is not with the approach of analyzing and monitoring the health of an actual stream or river. Therefore, there is a need to design a Water Quality Analysis course taught using a hands-on approach in a real-world setting.
Prioritized List of Needs
In order for the College Prep level students to more effectively internalize the Chemistry content they need the opportunity to experience chemistry by doing work that simulates that of an actual chemist. To better meet this need we plan to teach the CP Chemistry students the appropriate content by having them conduct a water quality analysis on the river that borders the school’s property. This approach to chemistry more effectively mirrors real world data gathering and analysis, providing the students with a better understanding of how chemistry relates to the real world.
Problem/Opportunity Statement
The chemistry department of CollinsHillHigh School has the unique opportunity of using the recently-built outdoor classroom for the CP Chemistry students to gather data and collect water samples. These samples will be analyzed both at the river and in the classroom. This real-life application to the content learned in the classroom will enhance their learning: giving it more meaning and purpose.
Instructional Goals
The students will be able to generate a PowerPoint presentation to report on the overall health of the river that runs adjacent to the property of their high school and to demonstrate an accurate understanding of the processes of pH and dissolved oxygen content analyses.
Learner Analysis
Entry Behaviors. Students entering CP Chemistry should be familiar with safety rules and procedures from their ninth grade Biology class. They should also be well versed in Algebra I which some students completed in the eighth grade and others completed in the ninth grade and at least understand the beginnings of Geometry.
Prior Knowledge. Students who completed ninth grade Biology should know how to construct a data table, a graph, and an eleven-sentence lab summary paragraph. Vocabulary such as temperature, hypothesis, and the scientific method should also be well known along with the Algebra and Geometry concepts of logarithms and the powers of ten.
Motivation.College prep students usuallydesire to be successful in their subjects at school and plan to attend a four year university after high school. Few, if any, plan to major in science at the university level.
Education and Ability Levels. The students are currently enrolled in a tenth grade College Prep Chemistry class. Although labeled as College Prep, these classes are really a heterogeneous grouping of honors level, true CP level, and high technical level students. This means that there is a wide range of ability and motivational levels within the classroom.
General learning preferences.Students express a desire to learn using a self-paced method with opportunities to solicit help from instructor and peers. In addition, they feel real-life applications of abstract topics such as chemistry is vital for their understanding and application of the subject.
Context Analysis
The instruction takes place in three different settings. The chemistry classroom is the primary setting within which both the acquisition of knowledge phase and the chemical analysis of water samples collected from the river will occur. The secondary setting will be the outdoor classroom. In this environment the students will collect data such as pH and temperature from the stream and river and to collect samples for laboratory analysis. The third instructional setting is the computer lab in which the students will complete their work on the WebQuest unit. This WebQuest unit is the culminating unit for the entire course.
Macro-Instructional Design
Overview
A needs assessment survey of chemistry teachers at CollinsHillHigh School indicated that although certain curricula were presently taught in a water unit, the unit does not focus on the water quality of an actual stream or river. Our purpose in producing this course is to teach chemistry concepts that often seem meaningless to students in a real-world setting using the students’ own water supply as the context.
Course Design
Title of Course. Water Quality Analysis Course: A Real Life Application
Instructional Goal. The students will be able to generate a PowerPoint presentation to report on the overall health of the river that runs adjacent to the property of their high school and to demonstrate an accurate understanding of the process of pH and dissolved oxygen content analyses. An instructional curriculum map for the water quality analysis course is located in Appendix A.
- Unit 1: Researching Background Information on Healthy Streams and Rivers. Students will generate the introduction and background sections of their final report by describing the characteristics and importance of a healthy water supply
- Unit 2: Conducting Field Research. Students will demonstrate and execute the proper techniques for conducting field studies on the stream and river.
- Unit 3: Conducting Research on the Dissolved Oxygen Content of the river. Students will generate an eleven-sentence lab summary paragraph on the dissolved oxygen content in the stream and river based on a two-three week research study.
- Unit 4: Conducting Research on the pH of the river. Students will generate a lab report written as a five-paragraph essay explaining the methods and results of a pH analysis on the stream and river.
- Unit 5: Conducting Research to complete the tasks of the Friends of the River WebQuest. Students will generate a PowerPoint presentation of the health of the river by following the procedures and instructions of the Friends of the River WebQuest.
The Curriculum Map for the course and unit design can be found in Appendix B.
Micro-Instructional Design
Overview
For the purposes of this project we concentrated on Unit 4 unit for implementation. The unit and lesson instructional curriculum map for this unit is located in Appendix C.
Unit and Lesson Instructional Objectives
- Unit 4: Conducting Research on the pH of the river. Students will generate a 5-paragraph essay explaining the methods and results of a pH analysis on the stream and river.
- Lesson 4.1: Students will be able to state the definitions for acid, base, pH, neutral, strong, weak, pH paper results and logarithmic scale.
- Lesson 4.2: Students will identify acids, bases, or neutral solutions based on the pH indicators applied to each solution.
- Lesson 4.3 Students will execute the pH testing procedure on various materials classifying them into groups of acids and bases. The instructional plan for Lesson 4.3 is located in Appendix D.
- Lesson 4.4: Given the data from Lesson 4.3, students will classify various common substances into groups of acids, bases, and neutral solutions.The instructional plan for Lesson 4.4 is located in Appendix G.
- Lesson 4.5: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of pH by analyzing unknown solutions and then classifying those solutions into the proper position on the pH scale.
- Lesson 4.6: Students will generate a lab report on the pH of the stream and river for a two-three week period.
Since we chose to implement Lessons 4.3 and 4.4 of Unit 4 and Unit 5 with our small group evaluators, our formative assessment procedures are based on these are the lessons.
Methods
Instructional Strategies and Media.The main instructional strategies in this unit are lectures by the teacher, computer simulations and quizzes, cooperative group activities, and hands-on laboratory activities both in the classroom and in the field.
Media used to support and enhance the learning in this unit are listed below:
- iPod and speakers: The instructor used the iPod and speakers to play music in order to gain the attention of the learner and set the stage for the instruction to follow.
- Computer, PowerPoint lectures and the LCD projector: The instructor used the computer, PowerPoint lectures and the LCD projector in the acquisition of knowledge phase of instruction as well to advise the learner of the objectives and to give the learner procedural instructions.
- Computer and the Brainpop website’s explanation of Acids and Bases.
- Computer lab and Alien JuiceBar program with handouts.
- Set of prepared index cards for pH card game.
- Data Collection Devices: The learners used data collection devices called LabPros, the appropriate scientific probes, along with TI-83 plus calculators to gather data both in the classroom and in the field.
- Handouts: The laboratory activities both in the classroom and in the field were explained in laboratory handouts that the teacher provided for the learners.
- Computer and Excel program: The learners used the computer and Excel in producing their data tables and in recording their group’s data into the class spreadsheet.
- Computer lab and PowerPoint program: The learners used the computers and PowerPoint to prepare their final presentation on the health of the stream and river.
The media used with our student evaluators included the computer for the simulations and lecture, the index cards in the card game simulation, and the hand-outs providing the directions for the activities.
Formative Evaluation
Formative Evaluation Plan
Our formative evaluation plan involves four stages: expert evaluation, one-to-one evaluation, small group evaluation and the field test. Following each phase of the evaluation the designer will fine-tune the instruction to incorporate the results of the evaluation.
The Experts.
Who. The lesson will be reviewed by three CP chemistry teachers.
What.The lessons will be reviewed for: Content, Technical accuracy, and Quality of instruction. The content review will ensure that no information was left out in the instruction on pH and the qualities of the substances based on pH. The technical accuracy review will ensure that the laboratory skills expected of the students are appropriate for students using beginning experimentation skills. The quality of instruction review will determine the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the instruction.
When. The experts will evaluate the lesson before the one-to-one evaluation is given, and if possible, observe the lesson on the day of instruction. This should occur two weeks prior to the field test.
How. The chemistry teachers (the SMEs) will review the instructions given and provide verbal feedback through an interview. The other science teachers will observe the lesson and record information through the use of a checklist of positive/negative student behaviors. The checklist will be shared with the instructional designer.
The One-to-One Evaluation
Who:Four students will be selected based on the following criteria: one student from the top 25% of the class, two students from the middle 50% of the class and one student from the lower 25 % of the class.
What. The chemistry students will evaluate the clarity (vocabulary, directions, and handout structure), impact (relevance, motivation, confidence, satisfaction) and feasibility (media choice, independence, time allotted) of the instruction before and during the instruction in a one to one session with an instructor and the designer.