Carbon ChemistryCC, an 8th grade Physical Science unit

1
Carbon Chemistry(CC), an 8th grade Physical
Science unit

• Sharon Stevens Sinclair
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School
• 1290 Ivey Ranch Road
• Oceanside, Ca 92057

2
Carbon Chemistry Background Info

• Web sitehttp//ctap295.ctaponline.org/ssinclai/
• This two-week lesson was the final unit in the
  chemistry curriculum in 8th grade physical
  science. It was implemented in Spring 2001.
  Over 160 students participated in all activities.
  Results were analyzed for 36 students from 2
  periods.
• Sharon Stevens Sinclair
• teacher_sinclair_at_yahoo.com
• Martin Luther King, Jr. MS
• [phone]

3
CC Student Expectations

• This internet based lesson addresses the
  uniqueness
• of the element carbon. Students worked in small
• groups, pairs and individually while completing
  the
• different activities. It was expected by the end
  of the
• unit all students would know
• Carbon with its four valence electrons has the
  ability to form 4 bonds.
• All living things are based on carbon.
• Carbon bonds most frequently with hydrogen and
  oxygen.
• The study of carbon is known as organic
  chemistry.

4
CC Actual Learning

• The internet activity, Carbon is 4 ever, took
  twice as long, due to slow computers, so I had
  to reconfigure the groups and use the 4 faster
  IMACs. It took 2 days to complete this activity.
• The carbon model activity went very well, since
  students had built molecular models twice in
  previous chemistry lessons.
• Most students were motivated to complete the
  different and varied activities.
• Many types of learning modalities and styles were
  addressed through the variety of activities.

5
CC Successes Shortcomings

• This was the second web-based lesson I had
  developed, consequently the implementation was
  much easier.
• The different activities (note-taking, model
  building, interactive web lesson, polymer
  investigation, information poster) blended well
  to meet the science content standards.
• Most students appeared to be engaged throughout
  the two week lesson implementation.
• I encountered no instructional or content related
  problems. The only issues were technical ones,
  which were addressed immediately, and added one
  day to the lesson sequence.

6
CC Data Analysis

• 18 multiple choice pre and post tests taken by
  approximately 160 students.
• All students participated in six activities
  during carbon chemistry unit.
• Not all students completed the six activities.
• Data for approximately 24 or 36 students was
  analyzed.

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CC Data Analysis

• Students showed an average increase of 4.3 points
• The Pre-test range was 2 15. Average score 7.1
• Post-test range was 6 16. Average score 11.3

8
CC Data Analysis

• A positive correlation appears between the number
  of completed activities and post-test scores.
  There was only 1 outlier or inconsistency.
• The more activities a student finished, the
  higher their achievement.

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CC Data Analysis

• Pretest scores for girls were lower than boys by
  almost 1 point, 6.79 Vs. 7.64.
• Post test scores were equal, 11.33 Vs. 11.36.

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CC Reflections

• Most difficulties were technical in nature,
  related to the computer lab and old, archaic
  equipment. These should improve over time as
  computer equipment is upgraded.
• Student engagement was high, since there was a
  wide range of activities (lab, models, internet
  web sites, note-taking, poster).
• Motivation is still a factor with middle school
  students, especially in low achievers. They did
  not complete the activities, and subsequently had
  low scores on pre post tests.

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CC Revisions

• No changes to activities.
• Anticipate technical problems, checkout
  equipment.
• Possibly build in incentives to encourage low
  achievers to finish activities.

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CC Conclusion

• I had very few problems implementing this
  internet-based lesson, since I have had prior
  experience with similar projects in Astronomy and
  Matter.
• Multi-dimensional web-based lessons are both
  engaging and motivating to most students.
• I plan to create more lessons like these to
  complement the middle school science curriculum.
• Unfortunately, this is extremely time-consuming
  project, and must be developed during summer
  workshops or curriculum writing sessions.