The topic that I chose to investigate is the difference between a physical and chemical changes. Students are constantly exposed to these types of changes in matter in their everyday lives. It is important that they learn to be aware of how these changes differ as well as how these changes can benefit us in the real world.
There are many 21st century learning tools that we as teachers need to be sure to expose our students to using. Perhaps one of the most pertinent tools is the effective use of a computer. Through my searching, I have found numerous websites that engage the students in the inquiry process, as well as enhance the understanding of the difference between a physical and chemical change. These websites can be used in a whole class setting or on an individual basis. Either way, the sites are created to empower the students to solve a problem or answer questions related to changes in matter. The interactive features are important for that instant feedback and are necessary to motivate the students to want to explore more.
The first website that I found to enhance the 21st Century skills is Physical and chemical changes. It includes a lesson plan with a link to a very informative PowerPoint that can be displayed to the students on a SMARTBoard. The PowerPoint focuses on the difference between physical and chemical changes and then poses examples at the end for students to distinguish between the real world things that are happening. By going beyond the textbook and involving technology, the students' interests will be piqued and they will be encouraged to synthesize happenings that occur all around them.
Another really good website is Chem4Kids.com: Matter: Chemical vs. Physical Changes. This website contains information on chemical and physical changes and it is presented in a magazine like format. It would be a great way to give the kids some background on these two types of changes before the formal lesson is taught. It would support the understanding as well as add to the students' technology skills. You could have the students type in the web address and read about changes in matter. To further develop their technology skills, you could have them open a Microsoft Word document and make a bulleted list of five things that were learned while reading. This would help them to relate when the actual lesson is taught.
As far as a follow-up activity to the topic of chemical and physical changes, I found a terrific interactive website that the students could explore individually. It includes a quick review of the types of changes, as well as a practice quiz where the students click on the type of change that is occurring. The site is Physical and Chemical Changes. There is also a writing activity at the end where the students put the difference between a physical and chemical change into their own words. This tool will allow the students to analyze their own thinking and make connections to the experiences that they have personally had with chemical and physical changes. Also, the students will be looking at common changes and will be able to relate to these happenings in a safe and structured environment of a computer-generated question.
Finally, the best website that I found for the enhancement of scientific literacy and 21st century skills was BBC - Schools Science Clips - Reversible and irreversible changes. This is a virtual laboratory where the students are able to investigate and discover how different changes are reversible, as well as which changes cannot be undone. This tool encompasses all that 21st century skills demand. It requires them to have the basic technology skills to operate a computer, as well as to have the scientific method basis that is needed to successfully discover if a change is chemical or physical. The items that are tested are everyday household items and the situations are relevant to the students' lives. By allowing the students to design their own experiment in order to construct personal meaning of the two types of changes, they will be more prepared for future scientific inquiry activities.
In my classroom, we investigate the difference between chemical and physical changes. I definitely plan on using the virtual laboratory tool described above. Using this tool aids understanding of the concept in many ways. First, there is not a dangerous experiment that I need to be worried about. Some of the setups featured on this website involve heating and cooling of different items. This can be a safety concern in the elementary classroom. Second, the students have many more opportunities to explore with different situations. It would not be feasible to set up all of these discovery stations in an hour science lab. The students can quickly pose questions and answer them using this virtual laboratory. Time is a huge factor and many of the investigations featured on this website would take a long period of time to conduct in real life. Due to the power of the digital world, changes can be sped up. This allows the students to explore many more types of changes in a shorter period of time. The benefits of using this website are plentiful. The students will be thoroughly engaged due to the fact that they are controlling their own personal learning.
The main challenge that I think I would face in integrating this tool is that there is only one computer lab in my school. I would have to make sure to schedule the use of that lab in advance to ensure that I could have access to a computer for each of my students. If I was really in a pinch, I could use the SMARTBoard and conduct this as a whole class activity, however it would not be near as meaningful because the students would not be given the freedom to explore to their individual curiosities.
Science is best taught and learned when meaningful connections can be made. All of the sites listed above foster an engaging and motivating presentation of chemical versus physical changes. This physical science concept can seem very abstract if the students are not given a way to synthesize the information and construct meaning that it relevant to their personal lives. Using 21st century tools helps to bridge the gap between conveying information and challenging the students. With the Internet, the possibilities abound!
