Stephen London -- Science Fiction Literature

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Build Your Own Ecosystem Lesson Evaluation

• Stephen London -- Science Fiction Literature
• Reseda High School
• CTAP 295 - Teaching With Technology

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Introduction

• Build Your Own Ecosystem is derived from a lesson
  I have implemented in my Science Fiction
  Literature class for several years.
• The purpose of this lesson is to encourage
  students to apply scientific principles to the
  creative writing process both to gain a greater
  appreciation for science fiction and a deeper
  understanding of effective use of sensory
  details.

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Introduction

• The highly structured, detailed nature of this
  lesson lends itself well to an online activity.
  Dozens of web sites are linked to encourage
  students to delve into the study of other
  fictional environments before creating their own.

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Topics of Discussion

• Responses to the Online Format
• Responses to the Lesson Content
• Responses to the Pre-quiz
• Responses to the Culminating Activities
• An Analysis of the Data and the Lessons
  Effectiveness
• Revisions
• Conclusion

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Responses to the Online Format

• As I have 24 computers in my classroom, students
  were able to complete a substantial portion of
  the assignment during class time. Without the
  computers, the project would take several more
  days, and students without computers in the home
  would be at a disadvantage.

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Responses to theOnline Format

• Students were generally on-task and able to meet
  the deadlines for the project. Far fewer came to
  me with questions about the grade scale and
  requirements for the paper than did so in
  previous years, as most everyone found the web
  site sufficiently informative.

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Responses to the Lesson Content

• Most students grasped the twin purposes of the
  project applying scientific principles to a
  fictional context and concocting intriguing
  aliens and diligently worked to invent
  extraterrestrial creatures and ecosystems that
  were both creative and plausible.

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Responses to the Lesson Content

• About a quarter of the class had a fundamental
  problem with this unit. They failed to adequately
  apply the yardstick of theoretically possible
  ideas, stumbling into nonscientific fantasy or
  not writing sufficiently detailed or convincing
  descriptions for their ecosystem and its alien
  inhabitants

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Responses to the Pre-Quiz

• The pre-quiz helped students understand how the
  components of ecosystems interact with and affect
  the evolution of life forms, as well as prompting
  them to consider ways in which life forms could
  evolve in radically different directions on other
  planets

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Responses to the Pre-Quiz

• The pre-quiz also helped students brainstorm in a
  logical manner about the possible development of
  specific creatures in extraterrestrial
  environments
• Several students incorporated their pre-quiz
  responses into their fictional creatures and
  ecosystems

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Responses to the Culminating Activity

• Students were prompted to describe how their
  ecosystem and fictional creatures could affect
  the plot of a story, how it would impact
  characters who encountered this world, and what
  thematic elements could be introduced

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Responses to the Culminating Activity

• Students creatively described how the setting
  could impact plot and how characters would react
  to a variety of elements in their world
• A smaller number were able to form appropriate
  themes that clearly related to their fictional
  environments, such as tolerance between species,
  the urge to conquer new domains, and the ethics
  and consequences of depending upon technology for
  survival in hostile places

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An Analysis of the Data

• The culminating activity effectively indicates
  whether students are able to analyze how science
  fiction can be both uniquely creative and
  meaningful, and whether theyve learned to
  appreciate the genre as more than merely escapism
• Many students who could not create a believable
  fictional world were still able to grasp how
  science fiction elements can produce engaging
  characters, provocative themes and dramatically
  involving plots

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An Analysis of the Data

• As all pre-quiz and culminating activity
  responses are in short essay form, it is not
  possible to quantify responses
• I have made an effort instead to categorize
  students by the quality of their written
  responses
• 32 seniors participated in the Build Your Own
  Ecosystem unit in May 2001

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An Analysis of the Data

• Over 50 percent of the class could adequately
  describe how elements of their fictional world
  could give direction to the plot of a science
  fiction story.
• The basic plot of conflict between space
  explorers/invaders and extraterrestrial species
  was cited by over 30 percent of students.

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An Analysis of the Data

• Fewer than one third of students could adequately
  describe how their fictional environment could
  produce particular personality attributes among
  inhabitants
• Fewer than one quarter of students could
  adequately discuss thematic concepts relating to
  their ecosystems and the inhabitants. A majority
  did not display an understanding of theme

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Revisions

• Unfortunately, it can not be assumed that high
  school seniors grasp basic literary elements such
  as characterization or theme. These concepts
  should be reviewed before the unit is introduced.
• Most students would benefit from seeing at least
  one model of the assignment. Models would alert
  them to pay greater heed to the units key goals
  -- applying scientific principles to the creative
  writing process and producing compelling new
  characters

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Conclusion

• I thoroughly enjoyed the process of turning one
  of my favorite units into a web site. Its been a
  valuable learning experience, and the student
  response was gratifying. It was a great deal of
  work, but the actual teaching of the online unit
  went quite smoothly. The students got more out of
  the assignment than ever before. I look forward
  to creating more web sites for my classes.
• Stephen London
• Build Your Own Ecosystem
• http//berners.bcoe.butte.k12.ca.us/slondon
• Email -- sdlondon_at_pacbell.net