Collaborative Science Projects for the Classroom

The science classroom is a natural environment in which to promote collaboration. Student learning can often be enhanced when information or activities are made more relevant, and showing students how scientists collaborate when doing science may provide just that sort of connection. Collaboration may be among classmates, between classes in the same school, or even with classes or scientists from around the world. So how can a teacher go about doing this? In the school in which I'll be student teaching, the science department already as a Wiki for teachers and students to use as an information center and a place for online interaction. So they are at least one step toward the goal of collaborative Internet use. Here I list just a few additional  examples of collaborative projects that I hope to use in my future classroom:


Take Action!
In the 21st century, we are faced with many scientific issues that affect the public. In many cases, governments are making decisions that will have ramifications for future generations as well. A potential project for my class might involve identifying one such issue (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, wetlands protection, urban sprawl), and debating the merits on either side. The class would come to a consensus (another vital component of doing collaborative science), and then write a letter to their representative in congress or another official with a voice in the decision-making. We could even involve other classes within the school or district, promoting a sense of democratic activism. This type of project results in a synthesis among scientific collaboration, the fostering of good writing skills, and promotion of community involvement and citizen action.

What’s Your Carbon Footprint?
Increasing levels of carbon emissions has been a growing concern for decades, yet we have been far too slow to act. Why is this? Who benefits from resistance to regulations? Who stands to lose the most if nothing is done? What can one individual do about it? These are the types of questions my class could debate when studying climate change and its potential affects on our environment. I want my students to think critically about how they can be part of the solution. At The Nature Conservancy website, students can calculate their family’s impact on the environment, and, more importantly, they can explore ways to reduce their carbon footprint.  The project would then progress to assessing the carbon footprint of the school.  Students could collaborate among their classmates and with the other students and faculty to propose ways of reducing the school’s impact on the environment. This is the type of project outlined as an action research project at the Wikiversity website, one “involving input from people who are likely to be affected by the research” (Wikiversity, 2011).

Science Fair 2.0
Science fairs are fun.  And a good science fair will give students the freedom to generate their own ideas (vital, if we are to foster meaning-making in the process of learning).  I would like to a have a science fair in which students from my class will collaborate on the same project with other students from around the world.  Let’s say I divide my class up into a few groups, each of which will enter a project for the fair.  Let’s further say that we coordinate with a class from Japan who works on the same projects. Each group from my class would collaborate with the group from the Japanese class that is working on the same project.  The students could communicate via a Wiki or by sharing videos of themselves in order to discuss how to proceed with the project, what challenges they are having, or any ideas at all. Besides working together to do science, this type of collaboration would promote cultural awareness and expose my students to a classroom setting that they may otherwise never see.


All of these projects help teachers to meet ISTE standards by fostering “collaborative knowledge construction” and engaging “students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources” (ISTE, 2011). In addition, we must be cognizant of the fact that not all students have the same access to technology at home. Therefore, if we provide technology knowledge in the classroom, we can help to avoid any digital divide that may cause our students to lag behind others in our society (Wikibooks, 2011). We must also keep in mind that for students to fully develop their Internet skills, the technology should not be introduced as an "add-on" or in pieces that are disconnected to lesson plans, but should be integrated as a regular part of learning.  In this way, students will acquire the capacity to critically asses the these tools in order to seamlessly integrate them into their daily lives (Schrum & Levin, 2009).



References

International Society for Technology in Education.  (2008).  NETS for teachers 2008.  Retrieved June 15, 2011, from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx

Schrum, L., & Levin, B. (2009). Leading 21st century schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Wikibooks. (2011). Web 2.0 and Emerging Learning Technologies/Digital Divide. Retrieved June 15, 2011, from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Web_2.0_and_Emerging_Learning_Technologies/Digital_Divide

Wikiversity. (2011). Action research. Retrieved June 15, 2011, from http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Action_research