Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Learner Description/Context:
The learners will be ages thirteen to fourteen. They are in classes ranging from support instruction (special education
inclusion), on-level, advanced and high school physical science credit. Creekland Middle School is located in Cherokee
County next to a horse farm. When the school was built, it was considered rural, but has been transitioning since then to
become more suburban. The demographics of Creekland are 88.1% white, 7.1% Hispanic and 1.9% African American. The
total population is 1,459 students with 16.9% free and reduced lunch.
The area that my school is in is made of middle to upper class neighborhoods with parents working in the business sector.
We have many parents involved in the medical fields, airlines, healthcare, small business owners, entrepreneurs, etc. We do,
however, also have a small portion of our district that is still rural farmland with multiple generations living together on land
parcels. Culturally, this project addresses both groups of people. The electromagnetic spectrum is used by people regardless
of demographics.
I think the biggest cultural connection that my project has the potential to reach would be in the cell phone industry. Both the
rural and suburban students in my school have cell phones and cell phones use the electromagnetic spectrum in a variety of
ways. I also suspect that many community members work for cell phone industries. Prior to the project, I would attempt to
gather a list of community professionals that could serve as the students’ professional collaborator. I still prefer for the
students to try to find the professional on their own, but I would have the list as a back up.
Time Frame:
Initial research- 3 days of a 55 minute class period.
Collaborator research- 3 days of a 55 minute class period.
Collaboration- at least 2 days of a 55 minute class period (these will not be consecutive- the first day will be the introduction
between the mentor and the student, subsequent collaborations will be content discussion. Students will be required to have
at least one content discussion with their mentor).
Product Design- 2 days of a 55 minute class period.
Shark tank- 2 days of a 55 minute class period.
Project Reflection- 30 minutes
TOTAL: 11.5 hours
Standards Assessed:
Georgia Standards of Excellence:
S8P4. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to support the claim that electromagnetic (light) waves behave
differently than mechanical (sound) waves.
c. Design a device to illustrate practical applications of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., communication, medical,
military).
ISTE:
Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Learner Objectives:
Students will know the eight types of electromagnetic radiation, where each type is found (on earth and beyond) and how
each type is used by people. Students will be able to recognize products used daily which depend upon the electromagnetic
spectrum. The learning experience will be measured by assessing the explanation of the student’s final product and how it
uses the electromagnetic spectrum through the Shark Tank presentation. Students will also keep track of their daily activities
in their Office 365 OneNote class notebook.
Engaged Learning Project
Product:
The end product that the students will produce is their virtual product design. The users of the design will be their
classmates, community members and consumers of the initial product. The product will be meaningful to the students
because they created it so they will have ownership and authenticity. Technology is implemented because the students
created their design on a drafting productivity tool. I will asses the product while the students present in the Shark Tank. I
will use a rubric which will include the electromagnetic spectrum content.
Technology Use:
Canvas- LMS for information
Office 365- To record their information
FlipGrid- Share ideas and collaborate with classmates
Skype- To communicate with professional
AutoCAD- Product draft design
Dotstorming- Final product vote
Engaged Learning Project
EL Indicators:
Learning Tasks:
Authentic/meaningful- Students assume an adult/professional role by troubleshooting a problem and developing a
solution.
Student-directed- It is student directed because the students are choosing which type of radiation to focus on and
who they will collaborate with.
Multi-disciplinary- The project is multi-disciplinary because students will be working with engineering as well as
language arts when they are required to write.
Culturally responsive- The project is culturally responsive because students are using their community funds of
knowledge to identify a professional to collaborate with.
Student Roles:
Explorer- Students are researching new ideas to solve an existing problem.
Teacher- Students are demonstrating to their classmates in Shark Tank their solutions.
Producer- Students are designing products that they could actually use (medical, communicative)
Teacher Roles:
Facilitator- Teacher is facilitating research for content and professionals
Guide- Teacher is helping students when needed.
Co-learner- Teacher is learning about how professionals implement the electromagnetic spectrum
Social Interactions:
Collaborative- Students are collaborating with each other and community members.
Assessments:
Performance-based: Students are voting on each other’s products.
Seemless/ongoing: Students will be given feedback throughout the project.
Generative: Students reflect on their product.
I modified my assignment by adding more time to research collaborators and utilize classmates to help find professionals. I
also added assessment pieces throughout the course of the project. I redid the section about learner description completely
because I did it wrong on my idea assignment. I also included the learner indicators and websites used.
I think the highest indicators will be learning tasks authentic/meaningful because the students are choosing what they are
doing and who they are working with and it is a product of high interest. I think the content and learning goals are standards
based and challenging. And, student roles producer is high because the students are designing a product.
I think this would be a LoTi Level 5 because it is student centered, authentic, higher order thinking, students are taking on a
professional role and they are collaborating with others outside of the classroom.
Do you have any ideas as to how I could have the students make an impact on people outside of the school and community?