November 6, 2009 ” Grade 9 Applied Science – What do I know about electricity ? Using the place mat tactic in small cooperative learning groups”
Today we started the new unit in Grade 9 Applied Science. I wanted to survey the class to see what my students knew about electricity. What prior knowledge did they bring? What misconceptions do they have?
I placed students in groups of three to four students. They sat around one desk, and in the centre of the desk I positioned a place mat with the word “electricity” in the centre. Students were asked to write one idea in their square, rotate the paper clock-wise, read someone else’s idea, and add a new idea.
I observed that most groups followed instructions very well. Some groups had more ideas on their paper than others. I asked for a minimum of 10 words/ideas about electricity per square. In order to get students to elaborate on their ideas, I employed the ‘one stray, the rest stay’ tactic. One student from each group walked around to other groups and he/she brought back ideas to their group. This worked okay. Students who walked around were tempted to write their ideas on someone else’s square, and one member came back to her group with no ideas, so I had to asked her to stand up again and come back to her group with some new ideas. She followed instructions well and came back to her groups with a few new ideas.
Once the students had a minimum of 10 ideas/words in their square I asked them to cut out their section. After cutting it, they would read the words, and construct a paragraph that would use the words and demonstrate what students know about electricity.
I felt that this was an excellent activity to get students to
- practice working with each other in small cooperative learning teams
- read each others ideas and talk about them thus hone their communication skills
- construct paragraphs and practice their writing skills
- recall prior knowledge of electricity
By: Graham Whisen on January 16, 2010 at 3:20 pm
This sounds like a fantastic activity. I really like that student had to write a paragraph demonstrating what they know about electricity from the words generated. But, if the papers were rotated, isn’t possible that a student has a word in their square that they do not know?
The thing that i think is MOST powerful about this activity is that you (the teacher) get a pretty good diagnostic sense of what students already knew about electricity in a very non-threatening way. I think that the infamous, “how much do you already know” quiz that teachers give intimidates students and is not a good way to start a new unit.
By: mkrstovic on January 17, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Hi Graham,
Thank you for your comment! You are right, it is possible for the students to not know a word in their square, but students generate the words themselves, and certainly can talk about the words that they write down. This kind of discussion around the meaning of words should be encouraged. This is why I asked the kids to communicate that understanding in writing at the end of this activity.
I encourage you to try it out with your students – it’s fun, and like you said, it’s a pretty good diagnostic of what students already know.
Mirjan