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You can find previous Brain Dumps here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21. Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26

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Sigh... with the move across to the other side of the planet, reconnecting with family and extended family, and the flurry of house hunting that came SOOOOO close to being successful, the study has taken a bit of a back seat. Unfortunately, that has also meant that the start of the work on my final assignment for this STEM in the Middle Years course has also started a little later than hoped.

Thankfully, the course modules were relatively easy to complete in fairly short order... there were many topics that already been covered in other courses, so there wasn't too much in there that was new knowledge... just many new and interesting ways of looking at similar teaching problems and challenges, with a different set of readings that provided some interesting insight from a different point of view.

Unfortunately, the deadline of assignment (this Friday...) meant that I would always be working on it whilst on an extended family gathering at the coast. Lots of people of all ages running around with lots of parties and games doesn't make for the easiest atmosphere to concentrate in... but when you need to focus, you just do it. Well, at least that is the training that you get as a musician!

This last assignment is different to the earlier one in that it is much more of a practically based one rather than an academic essay. Obviously, I really prefer the more theoretical and abstract nature of the latter... but being teachers, I guess that we will likely also have to do a good deal of the "real" world stuff as well!

It is based around designing a six-lesson cycle and lesson plans using a constructivist STEM teaching method (I chose the 5E method) around the topic "Water Quality". Now, Water Quality is a gigantic topic... it can relate to the health of water systems and environments... or it can relate to drinking water.... and pretty much everything in between. Now, most of the really cool and interesting topics are either out of scope for middle school students... or are just slightly too dangerous for them to do practical lab with. And given that one of the lessons needed to be a fully resourced practical... well, if the cornerstone of the lesson sequence is nixxed... then you need to think of a different overarching theme.

My particular theme started off as a sort of investigation of physical water cleaning techniques (such as filtration and distillation) and how it has been applied and evolved from indigenous/survival roots through to the modern day water infrastructure and then through to space age applications. Now that I've written my first lesson plan... I'm finding that the focus has gotten a little bit diffuse for my taste.

Unfortunately, seeing as the due date is only two days away... I'm not really keen to scrap the central premise that binds the lesson sequence. I'm going to run with it... on the other hand, I've always felt a little at see with these lesson planning/sequencing assignments, and I've done well at them in the past... so maybe this is just my usual doubt creeping in again. At least, that is what my wife would tell me... but THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT! (Haha... my poor suffering wife... she says that I can be so silently confident in some things... and completely irrationally lost in others...).

Anyway, the sequence does cover a practical and an analysis of filtration and distillation. There is softer "explorations" and guided discussions of water quality in general (in third world, health/economic effects, modern infrastructure, supply/demand factors)... and then there is a open research/presentation project that ties it up. Apart from the two lessons on the lab and analysis, there isn't so much that DIRECTLY targets the curriculum...

... the bulk (4 lessons) are more curiosity and exploration based. Much of it is student directed... and I would have no idea where they would go. The targeted outcomes are less the knowledge outcomes but the "softer" Working Scientifically and Working Mathematically skills of research and presentation of knowledge. I really feel like that would be nice way to learn things (its the way I learn things... and I suspect that that is the way that people learn things when they haven't lost their curiosity...).. but it is really a lot harder to point out concrete learning outcomes and stuff like that.

However, given that this is middle school... there really isn't that much in the way of concrete "knowledge" that students are required to learn. Even the knowledge outcomes are pretty damn fuzzy... plus, the concept of filtration is pretty damn obvious (I hope...) to everyone... I mean, we have all gotten our head stuck in a railing at one point in time or another? Right?

I can also be found cross-posting at:
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