TPE 1: Specific Pedagogical Skills for Subject Matter Instruction

TPE 5: Student Engagement

Overview: In this fifth grade science lesson on gravitational forces, students used the scientific process to make hypotheses about the direction of a penny on a swinging hanger. In addition, the used their knowledge of gravity and gravitational forces to compare the circular path of a marble to the orbital path of the Earth. First, students reviewed the chapter that they read, which previously explained gravity's role in the Earth's orbit. Then I demonstrated (with a pie tin and a marble) how an object moves in a straight path, unless acted on by an external force (the pie tin/paper plate's ridges). After the demonstration, students worked in groups to hypothesize what would happen if a penny were to spin around on a wire hanger. The students went outside to do the experiment themselves. Students were instructed to first hold the hanger upside down and bend the base so that it makes a diamond shape. Once the hanger was bent, students needed to try and balance the penny on the hook part of the hanger. After the penny was balanced, they attempted to swing the hanger around. If the experiment worked, the penny would stay on the hook of the hanger, and would fall off (in a straight path) as soon as the hanger stops spinning. After, the students regrouped and we discussed their conclusions some. Finally, I explained the science behind the penny and hanger experiment and related it to the way planets orbit around the sun.

Justification for TPE 1: In this lesson, manipulatives were used to help students understand the concept of an objects path unless acted on by an outside force, the role gravity plays in the Earth's orbit, and how to use the scientific method. In fifth grade, students are expected to learn that the path of a planet around the Sun is due to the gravitational attraction between the Sun and the planet. This lesson helped many different learners at many different levels understand this particular concept because it provided opportunities for students to observe the concept in action--through the pie tin and marble example-- as well as through hands-on experimentation where they swung a penny around on a hanger. Students in fifth grade are also expected to use the steps of the scientific method to conduct experiments. By using graphic organizers, this lesson helped walk students through the scientific process by explicitly asking them to record their hypotheses, observations, and conclusions. Students had the opportunity to work as a whole class, in groups, and individually, thus, improving their collaborative group work skills as well as their independent critical thinking skills. 

Justification for TPE 5: This lesson enhanced student engagement by having students involved in all parts of the lesson. They reviewed the previously read text through a group discussion, made observations and hypotheses about the class demonstration, made their own individual hypotheses about the penny and hanger experiment, and executed the experiment individually. Students were active throughout the entire lesson and were encouraged to work as a whole class, in small groups, and individually. Encouraging them to work in different group/independent settings helped students stay on task and monitor one another's progress. Also, the closure of the lesson had students come together and share out their observations and conclusions and ask any questions that came up. Also, the experiment itself was very engaging to 10 and 11 year olds-- it is not everyday that they are told to swing around their own individual hangers outside to get a penny to balance!