Group 7 - Kendra, Constance, & Bob

Group 7: Kendra Schipper, Constance Jensen, and Robert Strozeski

Module 4 Activity: Lesson Plan

Lesson Topic: Problem Solving

Intended Audience: Teachers at the junior high school level and above

Lesson Objectives:

1. Students will work as a group to develop a website
2. Students will identify key steps to problem solving
3. Students will develop problem solving activities to be posted on web pages
4. Students will work as a group to complete a web site that focuses on the basic components of problem solving

Lesson Process:

The instructor will divide the class into groups of three, four or five depending on the number of students in the class. Groups will be determined by grade level or subject area taught. Each group is responsible for developing one web site with a homepage and one activity page per group member. Individual members are responsible for their own activity page that must “teach” students about a key aspect or technique of problem solving. The group must coordinate so there is no repetition of concepts and so that all of the activity pages flow and build on the general concept of problem solving. The group must decide on the overall creative metaphor for the website, including accompanying web pages and the homepage. The homepage must have at least three appropriate links OR one appropriate RSS feed.

The goal is for each group to create a website that they can use in their classrooms to introduce their own students to important problem solving techniques.

Lesson Materials:

Must have computers with Internet access for each student. Computers must have software for basic web design.

Evaluation:

Each student will receive a group grade and an individual grade. The rubrics are below:

GROUP RUBRIC

Incomplete = activity pages missing, no theme, no background information, visually messy, little to no color, unfinished pages, no images, no homepage, no hyperlinks, inadequate or no content

Needs improvement = less than 1 activity page per group member, no apparent theme, pages unrelated or missing, little background information, inadequate or unattractive color, font size/style hard to read, no images, activity pages hard to access, broken or missing links, content present but confusing or too simple

Meets criteria = 1+ activity page per group member, theme on homepage, pages related to them, background information present, neat, organized, appropriate and attractive use of color, font size/style easily read, some images, content engaging and meaningful, activity pages labeled and easily accesses, appropriate number of working hyperlinks

Exceeds criteria = 5+ activity pages, engaging theme on homepage, pages flow and build on one another, plenty of background information, content thoughtfully put together & leads students through experience, excellent use of color and images, site easily navigated throughout, exceeds number of hyperlinks that add meaning to content

INDIVIDUAL RUBRIC

Incomplete = theme, directions, outcome, activity, and/or assessment missing or incomplete, page missing or cannot be accessed, no contribution to group work/decisions

Needs work = theme, directions, outcome, activity, and/or assessment unclear or incomplete, page is disorganized, hard to read, no images, difficult to move back to homepage or to other pages, no hyperlinks or broken hyperlinks, minimal contribution to group work/decisions

Meets criteria = directions, activity, outcome fun and engaging, assessment reliable and valid, group theme evident, font easy to read, images present, hyperlinks present and operational, easily navigable within site, contributed ideas and opinions to group work, helped group with decisions

Exceeds criteria = clear, purposeful activity, succinct directions, fun and engaging with color and images (no clip art), additional hyperlinks to relevant and interesting resources, lead group in decision making, contributed equal time to group work as to individual work