Gizmos Grant
When a colleague at Case High School in Racine, Wisconsin applied for the Gizmos Science Success Grant program, Mr. Joe Benvenga got his first introduction to Gizmos. He quickly went from “not having a concrete understanding of Gizmos, to using Gizmos in my class at least once every two weeks. The ability to modify the virtual labs, and resources was vital to my students having a positive learning experience and understanding of the topic. I was hooked when I saw the ability to differentiate for all students, along with the large library of resources.”
Case High School is a Title I public school in Racine Unified School District. “The district has a high diversity amongst the student population. That is a positive, but it does lead to some challenges when looking for instructional tools that benefit students regardless of their background. Many of my students faced challenges that impacted their ability to learn in school. About half of my students did not have reliable access to the Internet at home if not using their phone. On top of this, many cared for their younger siblings while they themselves were not at grade-level with their reading and math skills. In the classroom, the makeup of the students with an IEP or English Language Learners were anywhere from 30-50%.”
“In our district, we use the Next Generation Science Standards to set the foundation for our curriculum. Gizmos fit nicely with the NGSS standards covered in my classes. For example: Standard ESS 1.1 on Space Systems aligned nicely with the H-R Diagram Gizmo. My students were able to gain a concrete understanding with the experience of the Gizmo as it built on the notes they had taken earlier in the week.”
A Gizmo that Mr. Benvenga has used in his classroom that helped deepen his students’ understanding is the Seasons: Earth, Moon, and Sun Gizmo. After using the Gizmo, “many of my students went from being proficient in the standard, to having a mastery type understanding post-Gizmo.” To cover the topic, “we start with a short clip and some notes to set the foundation. Then I model how seasons and phases of the Moon work using a globe and light while going through the process. After that, many of my students have an understanding of the relationship between the seasons and Sun, Moon, and Earth. However, the Gizmo on this topic allows them to dig deeper and manipulate variables to lead them to a higher level depth of knowledge. There were plenty of students who had a ‘light bulb’ moment during the Gizmo!”
When Mr. Benvenga first used a Gizmo, he had each student do it on a Chromebook while he modeled it on the board. “As the year went on, I continually changed from individual, small groups, and whole class type instruction. The type of instruction depended on the learning target for the class. I had major success doing the Gizmo as a whole-class and then walking around with a mouse for students to facilitate the lesson while the class stayed on the same page.”
Sometimes students answer the questions on the Student Exploration Sheet on paper, but most of the time they use a Google Doc to enter their answers. “The Student Exploration Sheet provided with each Gizmo was a great starting point. From there, I modified many of my questions to fit the key areas I wanted the students to understand by the end of the class. Towards the end of the year, one of my classes came up with the idea to see how many “pathways” they could identify to create energy. The students got into groups and listed as many as they could find. Then they had to explain the common theme among all the pathways they found. The best part about it was that it was the idea of the students on the spot, and not what I had planned going into the Gizmo! It ended up being an even better experience because of it.”
After participating in the Gizmos grant, Racine Unified School District decided to continue using Gizmos because of the “positive impact it had on student learning,” as well as their science teachers’ usage. He adds, “there was a huge impact on student engagement with Gizmos. The ability to manipulate variables, and adjust/reset as needed provided the students a level of comfort in the learning experience that they do not often have. They did not have to worry about ‘mistakes’ because the whole process was a learning experience built on the basis of the scientific process. Overall, student feedback was positive, and in certain areas there were improvements in the final assessment scores. As a bonus, students who were absent did not lose out on the learning experience because they were able to complete it at home or when when they returned to school.”
Joe Benvenga grew up in New York, graduated from college in Ohio, and is an educator in Racine Unified School District in Southeast Wisconsin. He spent four years as a Special Education teacher in an inclusion setting at both the middle and high school level, before teaching Earth Science and Chemistry at the high school level. Starting this year, he will be a Technology Integration Specialist for the high schools in Racine Unified. He’s excited to help teachers integrate technology software like Gizmos into their instruction.
The Gizmos Science Success Grant Program aims to help teachers meet rigorous new science standards, increase their effectiveness in the classroom, and promote students’ deep conceptual understanding. Congratulations to the following districts who have been accepted into Science Success Gizmos Grant Program!
Date of Acceptance: 3/11/2016
Date of Acceptance: 3/21/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/6/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/14/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/15/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/20/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/20/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/26/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/27/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/27/2016
Date of Acceptance: 4/27/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/2/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/4/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/4/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/10/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/19/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/24/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/25/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/26/2016
Date of Acceptance: 5/31/2016
Date of Acceptance: 6/13/2016
Date of Acceptance: 6/13/2016
Date of Acceptance: 6/16/2016
Date of Acceptance: 6/21/2016
Date of Acceptance: 7/1/2016
Check out the article written by Kings Canyon Unified School District, one of our awesome 2016-2017 Gizmos grantees!
The June 2017 NGSS NOW Newsletter also features this article
Download NGSSNowJune2017
Creating Performance Tasks (Using Gizmos to Implement NGSS)
Melanie Brown, Science Curriculum Specialist at Sweetwater Union High School District in California, explains in this webinar how she uses ExploreLearning Gizmos to create Performance Tasks to meet the new science standards.
Gizmos are Correlated to NGSS!
Here are step by step directions on how to access our NGSS recommended Gizmos correlation lists:
Advances in the Next Generation Science Standards
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- Every NGSS standard has three dimensions: disciplinary core ideas (content), scientific and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts. Currently, most state and district standards express these dimensions as separate entities, leading to their separation in both instruction and assessment. The integration of rigorous content and application reflects how science and engineering is practiced in the real world.
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- Scientific and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts are designed to be taught in context – not in a vacuum. The NGSS encourage integration with multiple core concepts throughout each year.
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- Science concepts build coherently across K-12. The emphasis of the NGSS is a focused and coherent progression of knowledge from grade band to grade band, allowing for a dynamic process of building knowledge throughout a student’s entire K-12 scientific education.
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- The NGSS focus on a smaller set of Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) that students should know by the time they graduate from high school, focusing on deeper understanding and application of content
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- Science and engineering are integrated into science education by raising engineering design to the same level as scientific inquiry in science classroom instruction at all levels, and by emphasizing the core ideas of engineering design and technology applications.
Download NGSS Sci and Eng Practices Download NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
Gizmos and the Next Generation Science Standards
Download Gizmos and the Next Generation Science Standards
- A STEM-literate student is not only an innovator and critical thinker, but is able to make meaningful connections between school, community, work and global issues.
- STEM skills are increasingly necessary to engage in a knowledge-based economy.
- There is solid evidence to suggest that the fastest-growing and highest-wage jobs in future years will be in STEM fields and all employees will need to utilize STEM skills for problem solving in a wide range of industries.
Taken separately, the four STEM subjects are defined by the National Research Council as:
Science is the study of the natural world, including the laws of nature associated with physics, chemistry, and biology and the treatment or application of facts, principles, concepts, or conventions associated with these disciplines.
Technology comprises the entire system of people and organizations, knowledge, processes, and devices that go into creating and operating technological artifacts, as well as the artifacts themselves.
Engineering is a body of knowledge about the design and creation of products and a process for solving problems. Engineering utilizes concepts in science and mathematics and technological tools.
Mathematics is the study of patterns and relationships among quantities, numbers, and shapes. Mathematics includes theoretical mathematics and applied mathematics.
We use the term “engineering” in a very broad sense to mean any engagement in a systematic practice of design to achieve solutions to particular problems.
Engineering SWBATs (Students Will Be Able To):
1. Define problems – situations that people wish to change – by specifying criteria and constraints for acceptable solutions;
2. Generate and evaluate multiple solutions;
3. Build and test prototypes;
4. Optimize a solution.
Engineering Practices
1. Defining problems
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Designing solutions
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
We use the term “practices” instead of a term such as “skills” to emphasize that engaging in scientific investigation requires not only skill but also knowledge that is specific to each practice.
Teaching STEM
A great deal of national attention has recently been focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. STEM-focused programs, especially where engineering is present, provide many opportunities to teach students to use math and science knowledge, skills and experience to solve problems.
Additionally, new science assessments will assess students’ understanding of core ideas alongside their abilities to use the practices of science and engineering. This will require students to not only “know” science concepts; but also, to use their understanding to investigate the natural world through the practices of science inquiry, or solve meaningful problems through the practices of engineering design.
Gizmos are a perfect fit with STEM-oriented curricula in that students a) use interactive online simulations and accompanying curriculum materials in the ways that allow them to explore, hypothesize, experiment and develop conclusions about math and science concepts; b) cement knowledge and deep conceptual understanding; and c) apply knowledge to real-world situations and scenarios.
A Gizmo that hits on all aspects of STEM is our Trebuchet Gizmo. Trebuchet is a fun and challenging Gizmo that lets students apply their scientific and mathematical knowledge to the engineering problem of devising a siege engine designed to hurl projectiles across large distances. Students need to work within the constraints — location, distance and height, materials available, and how much force is needed to break the wall — to be able to successfully knock down a castle wall. This is a great Gizmo to do both in small groups and individually.
Mr. Garry Joseph, a middle school science teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District in California, began using Gizmos this year through the Gizmos Science Success Grant. This year “participating schools and teachers are having a wonderful experience pushing the boundaries of scientific inquiry.”
He says, “It’s been fun to experiment with Gizmos this year and involve students in the meta cognitive process, asking ‘what do you prefer, lecture/reading/lab and writing, or a short vocabulary lesson, simulations and data analysis?’ The answer is variety – a little of everything and not too much of just one thing.” He finds that when his students, “go through the structured activities provided with each Gizmo, they feel smarter and more confident about the topic they studied.”
Mr. Joseph has used Gizmos in his classroom in many different ways. “The most effective way has been with each student on a device and with a paper guide to the Gizmo in their hand. Then a student can come to the SmartBoard and do a demo for their friends. Using just a projector, I pass a cordless mouse around the room to build excitement and interactivity.”
He has used Food Chain, Digestive System and Cannonball Clowns (Number Line Estimation) Gizmos, but has found some of the advanced Gizmos good for his students as well. “The Human Evolution – Skull Analysis Gizmo worked really well in my evolution unit, and we could connect structure and function in our inquiries. I happened to borrow some different skull replicas models from our science materials center, and having the physical models around the room made the Gizmo even more interesting.”
Mr. Joseph and his students have also used Gizmos for their science fair projects. “Science fair is a tradition we are trying to reimagine for the changing times. We aim to make it more inclusive – not just for the students who love science already. We plan to make it interactive and entertaining. My idea was to have students armed with iPads and computers present a favorite Gizmo to the visiting public and show off their learning, ideally letting a guest try a Gizmo or two for themselves.” His class shot a short video at their science fair earlier this year. You can see his students showing off a Gizmo at 2:58 in the video.
He adds, “For next year we want to use Gizmos even more in our science fair by having students do more direct teaching during the event and allowing students to actually do a modified science fair project by completing an original inquiry using a Gizmo. That would be cool!”
Working with Gizmos this year has been a positive experience for both teachers and students in Los Angeles. “Teachers deserve a tool like Gizmos to empower students to conduct their own investigations, learn without reading lots of text but by doing lots of reasoning.”
Garry Joseph has taught 6th and 7th grade science for 11 years. His undergraduate degree is from UCLA and his Master’s degree is from CSUN. He teaches at a Performing Arts Magnet School in Los Angeles Unified School District. He is currently working toward his National Boards in Science and is a grant recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Teacher Award. Next year he will travel to India to work on a science fair project.
Are there Right and Wrong Ways of Using Gizmos?
Absolutely! While there are a variety of ways to use Gizmos in class and with your students, keep in mind best practices. Consider pairing teaching strategies and techniques such as Kagan, Bloom’s taxonomy higher order questioning, cooperative groups, etc. when using Gizmos during classroom instruction. To help you establish healthy uses for Gizmos, take a moment to download the graphic organizer below:
Download Teacher Student Appropriate / Inappropriate uses of Gizmos
Whole Class Instruction with a Wireless Mouse
You do not need a class set of laptops, desktops or iPads or even a smart board to implement Gizmos into your instruction! All you need is your laptop, a projector, a blank space in the classroom to project the Gizmo and a wireless mouse. A wireless mouse allows each student in the audience to interact with the Gizmo while you are a guide on the side and in full control of what is being viewed on the wall.
Have Students make a Zine!
A Zine is a fun and different way for students to record their answers as opposed to the Student Exploration sheet. Check out the link below on how to make a Zine!
http://www.rookiemag.com/2012/05/how-to-make-a-zine/
Gizmos and Interactive Notebooks
Consider having your students create interactive notebooks for their Gizmos work. On the left side, they can draw graphs, diagrams, data tables, etc. On the right side, they can record all their answers to the questions in the Student Exploration sheet. This strategy can save paper (you do not have to print the Student Exploration sheets), allows students to keep all their Gizmos work organized which makes it easier for you to grade and students record the information in an engaging way. Just stamp the notebook pages after each output (left side) and input (right side) entries.
Are you using Interactive Science Notebooks in your science classes? Be sure to check out our latest webinar Using Interactive Notebooks and Gizmos. Interactive notebooks provide a way for teachers to accommodate all different learning styles and for students to personalize the content being presented. In this webinar, we’ll show how to set up interactive notebooks, and how Gizmos come with the lecture notes, vocabulary sheets, images, bell work and discussion questions that can make the set up process easy and effective.
Converting Gizmos Lesson Materials to Google Docs
Need to easily convert Gizmos lesson materials to Google Docs with losing formatting? Doc Hub!
Instructions:
- Upload the PDF version of the Student Exploration (SE) sheet into Google
- Right click on the PDF doc and go to “Open With”
- Open with DocHub – a free PDF editor (the best and most robust editing tool in my opinion after trying with several others)
- If DocHub does not show, go to “+ Connect more apps” and connect with DocHub
- With DocHub, you can use the text tool to type in answers, there is a draw tool, insert image tool and a highlighter!
Try highlighting the questions that require answering in yellow. All questions not highlighted denote a HW assignment.
Going paperless with Gizmos
As more and more classrooms move toward becoming paper-free, the need for tools that can help teachers successfully manage that transition increases as well. Luckily, there are a variety of products out there, including ExploreLearning Gizmos that can help teachers save trees, reduce waste, and minimize clutter.
Find out how here: http://bit.ly/GopaperlesswithGizmos
Don’t Be Down with “Down Time”
We all know that students should never have “down time.” Bell to bell instruction keeps the students out of trouble and you from going insane! Here are some suggestions that utilize the Gizmos Lesson Materials:
- Use the Vocabulary sheet that each Gizmo provides in the “Lesson Materials” section. Have students make flashcards, draw pictures of the word or use the word in a sentence.
- In the Teacher Guide, there are “Discussion Questions.” Have these questions on strips of paper in an envelope. Students who finish early pull out a question and write a half page response. Offer additional credit to the Student Explorations Sheet responses.