I teach an Invertebrate Zoology class and one thing that I require students to do during the Arthropod unit is an insect collection. My proposal is to integrate cooperative learning and the use of technology into this unit both as a means of learning the material and also in a culminating project involving the students' insect collections.
1. For students to become knowledgeable about Arthropods, in particular insects, in regards to the various orders, their various structures and funtions, how they metamorphosize, special adaptations, and how they are beneficial or harmful to us.
2. For students to gain experience doing work in the field - collecting, identifying, and preparing a collection.
3. For students to become efficient using various technological tools, such as a flexcam and digital camera, and for students to become efficient at making web pages using Claris HomePage.
1. Students will be place in cooperative learning groups to complete several learning stations as a means to learn the material. Each group will be made up of 4-5 students. Station one will involve use of one or more CD-ROMís, such as Eyewitness Encyclopedia, Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia, and/or Encarta. Students will be given a direction sheet to navigate them through the CD, and also a series of questions to answer pertaining to the material. Station two will involve use of various web sites, such as The Tree of Life or Gordon's Entomological Home Page, in order for students to become familiar with the insect orders and their characteristics. This station will also include a direction sheet to navigate the students through the site, and a question sheet to ensure that the students are doing the activity properly. Station three will be a lab involving the external structure of the grasshopper. This will involve using a preserved grasshopper and use of a CD-ROM or an internet site. Station four will be a lab on the internal structures of the grasshopper. This lab will also involve dissection of a preserved grasshopper and use of a CD-ROM or an internet site. Station five will be a video station where students will watch a video or two introducing them to topics such as metamorphosis, camouflage and mimicry. This station will also involve answering a series of questions pertaining to the video(s). Station six will involve development of a comparison chart of the eight insect orders that students are required to collect. the chart will include examples from each order, the type of metamorphosis, what the insects feed on, unique characteristics or adaptations, and how the order is beneficial or harmful.
2. Each student will be required to do a collection of various insects from eight different orders. The number of insects required to be collected will vary from two to four depending on the order. Collection will be done both in-class and outside of class. The collected insects will be pinned and presented in a collection box.
3. Students will be place in teams to develop web pages using ClarisHome Page. Each team will consist of 4-5 students. Each team will be assigned one of the eight orders that were collected. Each team's web page will consist of examples of insects in their order that they collected and will include characteristics of the order. Insects will be photographed using a flexcam or digital camera. After completion of web pages students will present their page(s) to the class. At the end, all groups pages will be linked together for a particular class and posted on the web.
Students will be evaluated on each of their station activities, their collections, their web pages, and an exam. There will be two grades given for the stations and the web pages, an individual grade and a group grade. The individual grade will be determined by the individual's contribution to the whole group. This grade will be determined by the teacher and by members of the group. The group grade will be based on the overall performance of the group and their product. This grade will be determined by the teacher.