Kristin+Inquiry+Activity

Kristin Inquiry Activity Assignment 3/7/10 Name of Activity - Dino Inquiry


 * 1)** **Describe the activity -** I believe that the //"Dino Inquiry"// activity that I completed was an inquiry based activity. This activity is formatted on a website that looks very similar to our curriculum webs we have been analyzing. The activity starts out with a background section that welcomes you to the site and gives you directions about what you will be doing and seeing. A brief overview of paleontology and dinosaur bone identification is provided. For the task, you are informed that you must first view a digital movie as well as real-life pictures of dinosaur bones found in the Dinosaur National Monument quarry. Based on your observations of these bones, document your inferences regarding the functional characteristics of the bones. What functions do you think the bones provided? Are there similarities and/or differences between the bones? The next step is to view an interactive map that displays the locations of the dinosaur bones in the quarry. The bones are not named but they are labeled with numbers. You must match your bones to this real-life picture and try to identify which ones are the ones you observed. The numbers on the bones are also located on a chart below that provides the names of the bones, what dinosaur it came from, and its primary function. You can now compare you observations and predictions to the correct bone provided in the chart.

Standard 3: Geography: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.
 * 2a) New York State Standards:**
 * //Social Studies //**


 * //Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education //**
 * Standard 1 ****: ** Analysis, Inquiry, and Design: Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.
 * Standard 2 ****: ** Information Systems: Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.
 * Standard 7 ****: ** Interdisciplinary Problem Solving: Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

//Standard 3: Research and Information Fluency ////: //Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. // Standard 4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making: // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt;">Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">2b) National Education Technology Standards **


 * 3) Inquiry Definition and Rubric**

<span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">**Inquiry Definition:** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> To discover information and knowledge by questioning and investigating tangible materials and/or resources <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">through a collaborative learning environment. Information is not to be taken at face value but to be looked at critically and analyzed to bring about higher level thinking and essential questions. Newly gained information should be documented and incorporated in a student driven extension task/activity that will demonstrate understanding of the knowledge.


 * || ** Not Evident **
 * 0 ** || ** Partial **
 * 1 ** || ** Exemplary **
 * 2 ** || ** Score ** ||
 * Students solve problems using critical and higher level thinking || Task requires gathering information. The students are given a task that requires only lower level thinking to come to a solution (ie, fill in the blanks, matching). || Students are given a task that requires some higher level thinking (ie, analyzing and synthesizing information) but still contains some tasks that require only lower level thinking (ie, memorization as a proof of comprehension). || Task requires synthesis of information and application to real-life situation. Students solve problems using critical thinking and higher level thinking (ie, making observations, considering evidence, using reasoning skills etc.) ||  ||
 * Students investigate materials in a cooperative learning environment || Task requires students to complete activity in isolation with no collaboration between classmates. || Task requires students to observe materials in groups, but students complete assignment on their own and do not share information. || Task requires students to work in collaborative groups in which each student has an active and equal role in completing the task and synthesizing information. ||  ||
 * Students examine rich materials/resources relevant to task || Students are not provided with materials/resources relevant to the assigned task. || Students are provided with relevant materials/resources to observe but are limited and outdated. || Students are provided with many rich and relevant materials/resources to observe that are not outdated.  ||   ||
 * Students document their observations and/or raise more questions about problem || Students document their observations by filling out teacher generated and/or textbook generated worksheets. No questions or higher level ideas are encouraged. || Students document their observations in their own words. No teacher/textbook generated follow up questions are supplied. Questions and higher level thinking is suggested but not encouraged. || Students document their observations in journals or lab notes. There are no pre-assigned prompts for students to fill out (ie, fill in the blanks, teacher generated questions). Students use observations to build and raise more high level thinking questions about task. ||  ||
 * Students demonstrate their understanding of task || Students demonstrate understanding by completing lower level assignments (ie, homework fill in the blanks, multiple choice questions from their textbooks, or unit exam). || Students demonstrate understanding by completing further research about task. Topics pre-assigned by teacher and are not driven by student interest. || Students demonstrate understanding by using information they have learned to build on task and complete project extension .Projects are decided by students and driven by student interest. ||  ||