Modelling Learning with fun in High School

Great joy comes when we humans can employ both, brain and hands to any work. This is what I witnessed when my students of Year 9 had to model the structure of Villi using the Modelling clay and using stop motion frames to explain a scientific concept. As they explored with a complex scientific process, they started engaging with their groups in explaining and justifying how their model should look ?

This activity was centralised around the idea of fun learning and recall for later. As the students investigated into manipulating with hands to create physical model of their learning and analysing the role of structure, the real learning took place. As the students were planning to show a process and role of villi in the small intestine, they used critical thinking skills to sequence the order.



Structure of a Villi

This activity allowed to students to build their own representation model of the concept and create meaningful reflections. The groups engaged in interaction during the unfolding of how the structure of villi is suitably adapted to perform its function and allowed room for collaboration as they constructed their model representation to justify their learning.

Year 10 had the opportunity to come up with creative presentations for the unit on Animal Reproduction. The idea of being able to talk about their own body parts and natural process with ease began with use of modelling clay to show the models of male and female reproductive structures, male and female gametes. The clay became a tool for expression of self autonomy and a control over the environment. As it was a group task, it initiated communications, difference of opinion, creating a joint effort and valuing other people's contribution. Above all, it allowed for meaningful absorption of the content and the scientific language in context.






Male Reproductive Structure



Male and Female Gamete




Purely not only this activity was a lot of freedom and fun but also helped lot of learners to visualise their learning.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Changing Climate

Image
Credits : @canva Growing up, I didn't knew the word "anxious." My parents, teachers, friends and even media never talked about it. May be that feeling when I had an assignment to submit the next day I wasn't even close to finishing should have tipped me over. It didn't. May be when my brother didn't arrive from school until late in the night was another warning sign. But I missed it. I think I knew how to navigate through those feelings without having a label. I believed it was a symptom of growing up and dismissed it recognising it to be a fleeting phase. Many years later now, my six year old yesterday handed me a piece of paper their school counsellor handed them outlining the ways to support mental well being and dealing with anxiety. I kept contemplating if it was a good move introducing him to a word that never existed for me. Anxiety was something I learned to cope, developing my inner strength and resilience. For my child, understanding anxiety may em...
Read more

The Power of 3Ps - Pressure, Practice and Perserverance

Image
Part One : Performance Under Pressure or Over Pressure. Recently I heard a conversation where a young student asked a famous cricketer 'How do you deal and perform under Pressure?','What are your coping mechanisms and how do you manage to succeed most of the times even with enormous pressure of performance, pride at stake and personal image?' 'Can you give me some tips how to deal with pressure of studying, doing well in exams and with the fear of failing and not succeeding.' The Cricketer's reply was simple yet sensible. 'If you have prepared well for that situation, nothing will change in a day. And if you haven't prepared well enough for it, again nothing will change in one day." I have often heard people saying 'I perform better under pressure'. I like to think this as a complex response that could be broken into 'I', 'perform better' and 'under pressure'.Perhaps the very beginning of the phrase is daunting fo...
Read more

Prickly Ugly Delicious PINEAPPLES

Image
This pillow recently made a way to my Home. And you ask how do I feel?. Well, I am not a big fan of Pineapples. A sweet tropical fruit is notorious to slice, requires some sharp tools and a sharp mind. So if you are one of those people who like to eat Pineapples, it's a great fruit loaded with some proven benefits for the skin. But the problem is, if you are able to make your way past that ugly looking fruit, you are going to end up eating a lot more than intended. The more you eat, the sore and irritated your tongue and throat will get. So what's the deal? "Be a pineapple: Stand tall, wear a crown, and be  sweet on the inside."                                                                                                       ...
Read more