Keystone
Weekly
volume 1, issue 13 January 18,
2000
This week's Key Points: *From the Director's Desk,* * Site Visit
Journal Update ,* and *Kit Connections*
Scroll for
details.
From the
Director's Desk
January 26 Colloquium:
We are "bursting at the seams" for the upcoming colloquium!
While
Wissahickon unfortunately cannot attend, we are expecting
all but three
teachers from across the other nine sites. We even have
three
additional
site liaisons coming who were not with us at Messiah, as
well as a
student
teacher on his first day's placement with a Keystone
teacher. The
Keystone
staff will also be fully present, including some new to the
project
since
the summer institute and eager to meet participants
firsthand.
We are putting finishing touches on the agenda this week. We
will be
focusing much of our time reflecting on what effective
inquiry
classroom
practice looks like, including:
- Sharing an inquiry experience from the STC Food
Technology unit and
then
viewing and discussing selected portions of the recently
released WGBH
"Investigating Classrooms: Food for Thought" depicting
learners in a
fifth
grade classroom;
- Exploring the new PBS "ScienceLine" website and
considering
implications
for Keystone Online;
- Trying out a classroom observation guide as a tool for
observing
inquiry
teaching and learning; and;
- A special focus on our own new KSN "Inside the
Classrooms: Site Visit
Journal."
Time is also being scheduled for any teams wishing to update
others
informally regarding fall progress, staff sharing of project
information
about new emerging efforts, acquainting you with pending
plans, and
soliciting your thoughts and advice regarding next steps. It
promises
to
be a full, interesting, and productive day.
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Site Visit Journal
Update
This week's Site Visit Journal features Suzanne McClellan of
the
Lancaster
School District. This latest entry will be available later
in the
week.
Be sure to visit the website at:
http://www.keystone.fi.edu/inside.shtml.
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Kit
Connections
Modeling Electron Flow in Circuits
Teachers like Suzanne McClellan who are teaching content
related to
electrical conductivity may be searching for adequate models
to explain
the
complicated notion of resistance. Kits that highlight
conductivity as
an
activity may be enriched by an electronic workstation
focusing on
resistance. Allow students to access the classroom computer
that is
set on
the website listed below this section. This interactive
display
provides a
visual model of a car traveling across a variety of roads.
The type of
barriers encountered represents the degree of resistance in
an
electrical
circuit. This visual model promotes understanding even for
young
students,
and the interactive display is very engaging. More
complicated content
related to how electrons move in a complete circuit can be
accessed by
clicking the arrow. Overall, this site is excellent for
interactive
use in
order to advance an understanding of many concepts in
electricity and
magnetism.
The "Traveling Car" Model of Electron Flow:
http://ippex.pppl.gov/ippex/module_4/moving.html
Note: This website requires Shockwave.
Teachers who wish to access another model that explains
resistance and
other electricity content areas may find this website
useful. The
nature
of electron flow is visualized by using the mouse and cheese
model.
Although the text is too complicated for students, teachers
may find
that
this site promotes their own understanding of difficult
concepts.
The "Mouse and Cheese" Model of Electron Flow:
http://franklin.icsd.k12.ny.us/highschool/swirt/science/phys
ics/lesson/07electr/mousechz/mousechz.htm
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