TPACK Overview

For our groups science lesson this week, we chose to focus on the different stages of matter. We also focused on how temperature has an effect on water changing from a solid, then a liquid, then finally to a gas.

The pedagogy we used in our lesson included observing, acquiring data, and analyzing data. I think these strategies were a good fit to use for this content because there would be observations done by the children as they watched the water change from one stage of matter to another. They also would acquire data from the chart on the computer, and then analyze the data that was shown. This would allow them to clearly see the influence temperature has on water and its changing state.

The technology that we used in our lesson was a temperature probe that allowed us to chart information on a computer, simply by holding the probe in the different temperatures. This technology is a good fit for this content because the stages of matter are an important thing to learn about, as is the way in which temperature has an influence on those stages. By using this technology, the kids would be able to quickly see results from the probe and its interaction with the changing stages of matter and the temperatures. This technology is a good fit for our pedagogy used because it allowed them to observe the stages, acquire the data from the chart, and analyze their findings. Overall, I think this technology was a great help in making this lesson a lot more exciting and interactive.

~Tech Savvy Teacher~

Welcome to the age of technology. Since entering this era, technology has become more readily accessible to both teachers and students. Teachers now have the opportunity to allow students to discover science on a first-hand basis rather than relying on the experiences of others. With the advantage of technological software and hardware, learning becomes more meaningful, appeals to different types of learners, and reinforces the concepts being taught. We took advantage of such technology by including it in the experiment we carried out to introduce the concept of physical changes of matter and how temperature affects the states of matter. We decided to begin with the most familiar substance: water. To display these changes, we began with a pot of frozen water. Using the digital temperature probe, we simply connected its USB cord into the computer and placed the probe into the pot of ice in order to calculate and record the current temperature of the ice. Leaving the probe in the pot of ice, we then increased the temperature of the burner. As the probe records the increase in temperature by graphing it on the computer, we observed how the water transformed from a solid to a liquid state. Increasing the temperature of the burner yet again, we left the probe in the pot to continue recording the changes in temperature of the water until it transformed into its final state, a gas.

We concluded the experiment by observing the graph on the computer and analyzing the correlation between the increase in temperature and each physical state of water.

Although basic experiments, like the one we accomplished, can be performed in the classroom in old school fashion, technology like the portable, digital probe provides more accurate data,graphs changes in temperature in real time and exposes students to the limitless possibilities technology has to offer. Furthermore, with the supplement of this particular technology, students are learning how to observe a set of data as well as analyze, identify, and describe the relationships involved with temperature and physical states of matter as shown on graphs.