First Grade
Conservation Project
We are using digital video
equipment in my first grade student
teaching placement to document a
field project that will span the school
year.
We have a bioswale on campus
just outside our classroom – in fact, it
is just outside our window. (See the
back panel for an explanation of a
bioswale.) My mentor, the students
and I have been observing, picking up
litter, and documenting changes in the
bioswale through the seasons. Last
fall, we collected some fallen leaves,
branches and seeds to observe more
closely using a digital microscope and
computer.
This spring we will begin a study
of conservation, centering around our
bioswale. As we explore the subject
of conservation, one of our projects
will be to plant milkweed and (when
enough plants are large enough)
introduce Monarch caterpillars.
Our authentic assessment will also
take the form of a project, as
students write a script and narrate a
podcast about our bioswale.
(Continued on back of brochure)
(Conservation Project, continued)
Using our video footage as
background for our podcast, we will
discuss conservation topics such as
causes of habitat destruction and
solutions for prevention and
restoration. This project will not only
serve as an authentic assessment for
students, but will also be highly
motivating. We will have two versions
of the completed podcast – one that
shows student faces, of which each
student will receive a copy, and one
without student faces, which will be
posted on the internet.
The students will learn that there
are things that anyone can do to
preserve and restore the environment
– it is a responsibility that belongs to
each of us.
What is a Bioswale?
A bioswale is a long, narrow
depression in a landscape that uses
soil and native plants to filter storm
water before it is released into
waterways.
OTEN TQEP Project Grant
Pacific University College of Education, 2007
http://.www.oten.org
Cathy Kabanuk, Student Teacher
cinnamongirl@pacificu.edu
Mentor Teacher: Pamela Bailey
Mind
Metamorphosis
:
Using Technology to
Enhance Field
Studies
A Project in
First Grade Science
Mind Metamorphosis:
Using Technology to
Enhance Field Studies
Field investigations and projects are
powerful, authentic learning experiences
for students. Textbooks, worksheets,
and videos, though they have their
places, cannot facilitate learning in the
way that engaging the senses in real-life
exploration does.
Challenges
When planning a field project with
students, teachers must consider how
they will meet a number of challenges.
These include how to:
 Document field activities and
discoveries – taking notes or filling
out worksheets is difficult in the best
conditions, and not possible for
younger students;
 Gather specimens to work with in the
classroom – depending upon the
study, this could be inconvenient,
unethical, or impossible;
 Bring together students’ individual or
small group experiences in the field
for the entire class to draw upon;
 Help students remember important
experiences or discoveries after
returning to the classroom;
 Organize various components of
long-term investigation into a total
picture to meet learning goals;
 When gathering specimens is
inconvenient or unethical, video
provides an alternative;
 Review the overall project for
assessment – can be difficult if it is
necessary to rely on memories and
field notes.
 Students’ individual and small group
experiences and discoveries can
easily be shared with the entire
group.
Solutions
Use of technology can greatly enhance
the learning experience provided by field
activities. Teachers can make digital
video recordings of the investigations
and activities to track progress and
provide a medium for overview of the
entire project. Creation of a movie or
podcast, using video as well as related
investigations and oral reports based on
research, can be used as an authentic
assessment in a culminating project.
Advantages
Digitally documenting fieldwork has a
number of advantages for teachers and
students, such as:
 Documenting students’ experiences
and discoveries in the field is easier,
less messy, and more accurate than
using paper and pencil;
 It provides the opportunity to regularly
review a project as it progresses and
allows students to scaffold on earlier
discoveries and tie various parts of
the project together into a coherent
finished product;
 It helps to activate recall, and
facilitate class discussion, and
contributes to review of the overall
project;
 Video recording and creation of
podcasts can be more motivating to
students than simply writing a report
and giving an oral presentation to the
class.
Summary
One excellent way to represent the
overall field project is to bring the
components together into a finished
product. As students and teacher work
together to create a podcast from the
digital data, new insight is fostered and
new questions are generated. Students
now have an authentic reason for
researching their own questions, which
enhances motivation. The concepts are
further reinforced as students create
and read the script. In the process,
students also learn how to use
technology in a way that is authentic
and provides them with a medium for
fostering creativity as well.