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THE USE OF LEGO MODELS IN SCIENCE TO INCREASE WORKING MEMORY
OF STUDENTS
By Erik Elstad
Presented in Partial Fulfillment ofRequirements for the
Degree of Master of Arts in Education
inCurriculum and Instruction
School of EducationConcordia University
Irvine, CaliforniaDecember, 2014
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Acceptance
This action research study, THE USE OF LEGO MODELS IN SCIENCE TO INCREASE WORKING MEMORY OF STUDENTS, by Erik Elstad, was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s faculty advisor. It is accepted by the faculty advisor, as representative of the faculty, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master’s of Arts in Education in the School of Education, Concordia University Irvine.
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Abstract
The purposes of this study was to find reasons and ways for students to retain more
information in a stressful environment. Studies on working memory suggest that students
with slow processing need to use one part of the working memory at a time. The study
tests the use of Lego models to aid in the enhancement of working memory. The two
study groups were analyzed using methodological triangulation to detect patterns in
students performance. The Lego models seem to help students in the short-term, however
the long-term requires more data to create better interventions.
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Table of Contents
Page
Acceptance, Citation and Permission..................................................................... ii
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... iii
Abstract .................................................................................................................... iv........................................................................................................................
Table of Contents..................................................................................................... v
Chapter
1 Problem......................................................................................................... 1
Purpose of the Study........................................................................ 6
Questions for Research........................................................... 8
Definitions of Terms (if applicable)................................................. 10
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2 Review of Relevant Literature ................................................................... 12
3 Methods......................................................................................................... 24
Setting................................................................................................ 24
Participants....................................................................................... 25
Role of the Researcher..................................................................... 27
Intervention Plan............................................................................. 29
Data Collection Methods................................................................. 42
Plan for Increasing Validity............................................................ 47
4 Findings and Discussion.............................................................................. 50
Conclusions....................................................................................... 63
Recommendations............................................................................ 65
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References.................................................................................................................. 67
Appendices
A Informed Consent Form English Version.......................................... 69
B Principal Consent Form ..................................................................... 70
C Baseline Data Survey......................................................................... 72
D Results of Baseline Survey ............................................................... 75
E Geosphere Activities: Formatives Assessments................................ 79
F Atmosphere Activity: Formative Assessment..................................... 80
G Earth's Layers (Lego)......................................................................... 81
H Earth's Layers (Traditional)............................................................... 84
I Plate Tectonics (Lego)....................................................................... 87
J Plate Tectonics (Traditional).............................................................. 91
K Fault Model........................................................................................ 94
L Earthquakes (Both)............................................................................ 95
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M Layers of the Atmosphere (Lego)...................................................... 99
N Layers of the Atmosphere (Traditional)............................................ 104
O Summative Assessment Section 1..................................................... 108
P Summative Assessment Section 2..................................................... 110
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Chapter 1
Problem
Students at Hawthorne High School have difficulties performing well in
classroom lecture and activities. Performance issues that are observed are disinterest in
the lecture and/or activity, remembering information taught the day before, and lack of
focus due to behavioral problems. I have noticed that students will turn in a worksheet
with nothing on it or it is half done at best. After teaching for five years this has become
a pattern I have been seeking the answers to. In addition to disinterest, there is a lack of
remembering information from the day before. After having lecture the previous day the
students rarely know how the information applies. The result of this over the years has
resulted in students giving up on the work and come to class just to socialize.
The above sounds as though I have no idea what I am doing as a teacher. On the
contrary, my lessons are very well structured and chunked, I thought, to a reasonable size
for the students to comprehend without patronizing them. I want to keep the rigor to
challenge them, but I don’t want to make it impossible for them either. I work very hard
to get my students interested in the lessons and I want to challenge my students. I want
to emphasize that I like to challenge my students because I know what type of world they
are headed to and certain skills are vital to how they will perform in the real world.
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I am acutely aware that my students have deficits and some are worse than others.
I have co-taught with a Special Education teacher in a mix class setting. This experience
has allowed me to focus on areas of improvement in my own instruction. In some cases,
teaching general education students alongside special education students, there was very
little difference in their performance in class. Surprisingly, some of the special education
students outperformed the general education students.
I read an article by Tracy Alloway called “How does working memory work in
the classroom?” that lead me to change how I teach because I understand how my
students process information. Alloway (2006) states, in the article, that special education
students have performance issues because of deficits in their working memory. The
deficits in working memory are likely due to their scholastic history. I will go into detail
later about the student’s scholastic history. However, briefly stating, they have been the
subject of standardized tests which means they are working with books and paper only.
From accounts by my students, they have told me that their science teachers never did
experiments or labs with them or for them. Finally, students are rushed through the
material because the school must follow a pacing guide so the students are tested on time
with the other schools.
The problem is that these students with performance issues have been viewed as
being lazy, unable to focus and/or are unteachable. I know personally of instances where
teachers have just moved on because the students were not “getting it” or they had to
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keep pace with the other teachers. The result of this are poor test scores, students not
getting the information or skills they need to be successful and students resent school.
The student’s resentment stems from their scholastic history. These students, in
their younger years, have started at a disadvantage. As they enter kindergarten, they are
ignorant of what a book is and have difficulties staying still (Wright, Diener & Kay,
2000). Subsequently these students don’t fully understand kindergarten before they are
pushed on to first grade. This pattern, from my own question probing, persists all the
way through high school. By the time they get to the end of middle school or into high
school they dislike school so much they stop trying. From the perspective of the teacher
it looks as if the students are apathetic and lazy. I have made these same judgments on
my own students.
The intent of this research and the research that supports this thesis will
investigate how students are currently using their working memory and develop strategies
to increase their working memory with Lego models. The results of this study will teach
students how to focus on a topic or idea and develop more complex thoughts because of a
greater working memory. This is a very important issue for the students at Hawthorne
High School because if the students do not have an increase in their working memory,
then they will be less likely to acquire more complex schooling or employment.
The steps taken in the intervention plan are designed around the need to know
how the student thinks while they are learning a lesson. Baseline data will be gathered
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from a survey that covers three categories. The first category is nutrition. The reasoning
is that if the student had little or no food before class, then they will be less likely to focus
or pay attention to the lesson. The second category is stress and boredom. These two
factors are linked together because they equally contribute to thoughts had by students
instead of the lesson. The brain loves novelty. It is the novelty of an item that can send it
from working memory to long-term memory provided the correct associations (Sousa,
2011). In addition, both relate to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (McLeod, 2007). The last
category is thought. The questions in the survey will give me a good idea of what they
are thinking about and as to how much they are thinking at a time. In addition to the
survey, I will give the students a Multiple Intelligence Test (MIT) survey to see how best
they learn. Their individual learning styles may work well with the student such as those
that are visual and kinesthetic, versus those that are verbal and linguistic (Gardner’s
MIT).
In my second, fourth, fifth and sixth period environmental science class, which is
mostly 11th and 12th graders, have not been successful in a science class. In my second
and fifth period I will teach with a more traditional teaching style with lecture and
activities/worksheets. In my fourth and sixth period class I will lecture, but the student’s
will have a Lego model at their table to mirror me during the lecture as a formative
assessment. The same Lego model will be used during their activity as well.
Furthermore, the model will be used throughout several activities. The Legos are
expected to allow the students to build their working memory from recalling the
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association of the pieces with the word(s) and/or concept(s). I will journal daily the
reasons students are having difficulties with remembering what they did that day, that
class, that lesson, that concept and that vocabulary word. I will be looking for specific
strategies to build their working memory to make them more successful students.
The measure of the increase in working
memory will be done from the use of a KWL chart
given at the beginning of the lesson and at the end
for both traditional and Lego teaching styles (Ogle,
1996). In addition to the KWL charts, formative
assessments will be made after each activity. I will
be comparing the richness of their explanations from what the student’s prior knowledge
is to what they have learned at the end of the unit. The richness of the explanations will
be measured using Bloom’s taxonomy (see Figure 1). I will use a modified rubric where
the levels of Bloom’s taxonomy will be measured via a scale of numbers. Legos used in
the intervention are intended to work with the student’s learning styles (Visual,
Kinesthetic and Intrapersonal). However, students with slow processing may have
trouble with reading the passage, visualizing what passage may look like in their head
and then assembling the model all at the same time (Alloway, 2006). At the beginning of
the intervention, students will work in cooperative learning groups (CLG) where each
person will have a specific job. The CLGs will help students to focus on one task at a
time so they are not overwhelmed.
Figure 1
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Purpose of the StudyThe purpose of the study will have several desired outcomes. The first is to create
lessons that cater to the student’s strength to develop their weakness. The second is to
develop strategies to increase or build up the working memory of my students and others.
Finally, once strategies are identified, I hope to develop interventions and awareness for
teachers and students to use when a student appears frustrated or does not understand the
material.
The lessons and activities are designed to engage only one part of the student’s
working memory at a time. Specific chunking has been done to first engage the student’s
phonological loop to hear the words and to be able to identify what they are. Once the
words are familiar to the students, then the students will attach these words onto a Lego
model. The purpose of the Lego models are to hold a visual and spatial image constant
while the students is practicing their vocabulary and concept building skills. The use of
Lego models will show a significant difference in retaining memory of students versus a
more traditional style of teaching.
Developing strategies will be done by reflecting back onto the lessons and
activities that were effective. Most of the training of working memory has been done on
a computer (Alloway, 2006), (Klingberg, 2010) or are very short test that require
remembering numbers or a sentence. Teachers don’t have the time for that. The
strategies need to be integrated into a lesson. The strategies must include appropriate
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chunking to allow students to process information at an equivocal rate. The information
must be organized and successive to allow students to find meaning in the information.
For example, they need to learn this vocabulary word in order to learn the concept its
used for. Finally, students must enjoy what it is they are doing or the brain will not find
it meaningful enough to send the information to long-term memory.
Once these strategies are developed, I would like to create a professional
development day to inform other teachers in my department, school, and/or district how
to use these strategies in their classroom, school or other districts. Ultimately, I would
like to teach at the college level in the credential program. I would like to create a class
that trains teachers how to use these strategies to accurately target what the needs of the
students are so they can process the information in a way that makes them successful and
builds their confidence.
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Questions for ResearchThe main question I would like to investigate is,” Do students retain more
information with Lego models compared to traditional teaching?”
The answer to this question needs to begin with knowing what the students
already know. This will be done using a KWL chart. According to Ogle (1996), KWLs
are used to extract student’s prior knowledge by using concept mapping of what they
think the topic is about. From this brainstorming session students will naturally want to
ask questions about what they do not know. Lessons are taught by the teacher and
students will be assessed to determine to what degree they learned the information taught.
For both styles of teaching I will use Ogles KWL chart. I will follow the steps
with great care to avoid deviating from its original intention. In accord with the KWL
strategy, the traditional style teaching unit will be taught by starting with brainstorming
sessions and questions. Then, answering the student’s questions using traditional style
teaching with a combination of lecture and activities with worksheets. Students will be
assessed by the use of exit slips at the end of lecture, discussion of activities and quizzes.
The Lego model unit will also start with a brainstorming session with the use of
the KWL chart. Brainstorming will consist of poster size paper that will create a cluster
map by using the vocabulary from the section. Once the students have organized the
words and have added their own knowledge, then they will organize the information in
the “K” column of their KWL chart. Formative assessments will be used at the end of
each activity to measure what they have learned. There was a series of four questions
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that were asked to all students at a table of four. The number of the question is recorded
along with the score of the students answer and a rating for how the students “liked” the
activity. Summative assessments will consist of a final project and a short multiple
choice quiz. Memory will be measured by reviewing the information at the beginning of
the lesson compared to the end.
The secondary question that I would like to investigate is, “What strategies will
work best to increase a students working memory so they may retain more information?”
Strategies will be developed by reflecting back at what activities were the most
successful. The criteria for a successful activity will be based on three things, students
like ability, comprehension and retention. The data needs to be analyzed to identify these
activities success and then they activities need to be replicated for analogous lessons.
Once the characteristics have been identified, then the activities are measured again for
memory retention. Memory retention will be measured using formative and summative
assessments.
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Definitions of TermsFormative Assessment: is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that
provides explicit feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’
achievement of intended instructional outcomes
Direct Instruction: is an approach to teaching. It is skills-oriented, and the teaching
practices it implies are teacher-directed. It emphasizes the use of small-group, face-to-
face instruction by teachers and aides using carefully articulated lessons in which
cognitive skills are broken down into small units, sequenced deliberately, and taught
explicitly (see Carnine, 2000, pp. 5-6; Traub, 1999).
Inquiry based learning: is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge –
seeking information by questioning."
Brainstorming: combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving with lateral
thinking.
KWL: is a graphical organizer designed to help in learning. The letters KWL is
an acronym for what students, in the course of a lesson, already know, want to know, and
ultimately learn. A KWL table is typically divided into three columns titled Know, Want
and Learned.
Chunking: referring to the size of the information given to students at one time. The size
is referring to the amount of the information and/or the complexity.
Traditional Style Teaching: The use of lecture notes and book work to teach students.
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Phonological Loop: processes data that deals with sound or phonological information. It
consist of two parts: the short-term phonological store with auditory memory and the
phonological rehearsal revives memory traces.
Visuospatial Sketch pad: are stored images of what we see. These images can be
manipulated, moved or changed.
Central Executive: Regulates cognitive process between the two slave systems the
phonological loop and the visuospatial sketch pad.
Cooperative Learning: is a form of active learning students are in small groups working
together to perform a specific task.
Summative assessment: an assessment to evaluate student learning at the conclusion of a
defined instructional period.
Cluster Map: a strategy in which the author groups ideas in a nonlinear fashion, using
lines and circles to indicate relationships.
Schema: a representation of a plan in the form of an outline model.
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Chapter 2
Review of Relevant Research
The students at Hawthorne High School come into my class with several
disadvantages that pertain to the learning environment. The first is overall stress from
their environment. As students come in to the classroom they bring with them anger,
frustration, low self-esteem and wealth of other emotions. These emotions bring with
them a dialog that runs as a narrative in their head as the lesson continues. Next is the
exposure and encouragement of reading by the students. Many of the students are not
exposed to a great deal of reading material. Talking with the English department, I have
found that about a third of our students read at a third grade level. Therefore, when the
students read the words, if they can, they are not comprehending what the words mean or
look like. The final disadvantage when it comes to the learning environment is their
ability to process information effectively and efficiently. The ability to retain and
manipulate information is done by the fontal cortex in working memory (Klingberg,
Forssberg, Westerberg, 2002). Student’s have difficulty processing information because
they cannot do two things at once. The students have difficulty reading a passage and
then execute an action from what they read. Due to these disadvantages in the learning
environment steps need to be taken in a certain order to qualify how the information is
input, so the output information can be quantified. The following will discuss the
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student’s scholastic history, factors affecting focus, factors affecting memory, the
importance of KWLs, and why use Lego.
Scholastic HistoryThe average student from a low-income area will come into kindergarten not
knowing which side to open a book on or which way to start reading on the page (Wright,
Diener & Kay, 2000). Therefore, their vocabulary skills are lacking behind children in
affluent areas where their parents are able to read to them and take them to libraries. In
low income areas it is hit or miss on the quality of the curriculum. If parents catch wind
of a school that delivers quality instruction and produces results, then it becomes a school
that becomes very selective to the type student they take. It is assumed that most parents
in a low income area do care about education, however a good percentage does (Lott,
2001). If parents are able to choose which teacher teaches their child, then over sixty
percent of the parents would (Lefgren & Jacob, 2007). Parents are all too familiar with
their children not getting quality instruction because the class has had so many substitutes
that the students lost track (Long, 2011). This is typically due to teacher apathy.
In addition, the teacher’s apathy results in several responses from the teacher and
the students. The teacher allows a chaotic environment for the students because the
students act like they do not care about the material. While the teacher is lecturing, the
students are talking or acting uninterested. The teacher fails to connect and engage with
the student. They fail to extract what the student currently knows about the subject.
Parents, as well as students, describe a good teacher as having certain characteristics.
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According to teacher.org, the top three qualities of a good teacher are an engaging
personality and teaching style, clear objectives, and effective discipline skills
(Education.org, 2012). It is these things that inner-city students want to get them
interested in the material and get them to school on time.
Factors Affecting Student FocusThe factors that affect the student’s focus in this study are confined to diet, stress
from chaotic home life, and internal dialog (e.g. what the student is thinking). Students at
Hawthorne typically have poor eating habits. It is almost a predictable pattern for these
students. Students that eat a sugary breakfast or no breakfast will experience a crash
around ten o’clock, which is third period. Then, the students experience a rush of energy
after lunch in fifth period. The vast fluctuations in their blood sugar affects the brains
ability to function efficiently. This is coupled by their chaotic and stressful home life.
Most of my students do not have a structured home life. Emotion runs the household and
it will do what it wants when it wants. Consequently, the students are using a great deal
of processing for this and not the lesson. Students will use a lot of their processing power
to day dream about what they want to be doing such as sports, girls, boys or what is
happening after school.
The Western Dairy Council did a study where they went to a school to see if
feeding the students a healthy breakfast and lunch would increase test scores without
changing the curriculum. The study found that because the students energy levels were
maintained throughout the day, the brain had the energy it needed to function efficiently.
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The research confirms “breakfast eaters” have higher test scores, are more able to
concentrate and are more cooperative (Western Dairy Council, 2002). Students in the
inner city have poor examples of what a good breakfast looks like. Some inner city
students have a high sugar beverage or candy for breakfast. Most don’t eat at all. A sharp
drop in blood sugar causes students to become distracted easily leading to a lack of focus.
The lack of focus makes it difficult for the students to retain information.
Another factor that affects memory can be extrapolated from Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs. Maslow’s theory states that a deficiency of needs must be satisfied for growth to
occur in the form of self-actualization. According to Maslow, a succession of needs must
be met before self-actualization can occur. It is not the point of the study for students to
reach self-actualization which can be the quest for more knowledge at least appreciates it.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are used to measure levels of stress based on the needs that
are being fulfilled (Griffin, 2014). The research from the Western Dairy Council
corroborates with Maslow’s lower level of needs. For example, the first need or needs
that must be met are the physiological needs such as food, water and shelter. A child has
great difficulty remembering information when they don’t feel safe (Western Dairy
Council, 2002).
The second level also includes environments that are unstable and chaotic. In
addition, the third level is the need for love. The more a family is able to support their
child's education, the more successful the student will be (CEP, 2012). Maslow also
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included belongingness in this level of needs that built from the lower need of stability.
Once the student feels stable and has a sense of belonging or support they have the
opportunity to fulfill their esteem needs. There are two types of esteem needs, the need
for achievement and the need for power. The need for achievement refers to the need of
the student to need attention and recognition of their accomplishments no matter their
degree skill (Braden, 2000). The ultimate goal is to get the students to reach self-
actualization. Maslow described the need for self-actualization as " the desire to become
more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming"
(Griffin, 2014).
Factors Affecting Memory The factors that affect the memory of the student are the senses, working memory,
and long-term storage of information. The factors that concern the senses are how the
students gains an impression of what they experience. In this study this will be
represented by what modality does the student learn best. This will be qualified by
giving a multiple intelligence test. The Garner's multiple intelligence test is a way to
diagnose how the senses are used to process information. The student’s ability to retain
and manipulate information is called their working memory. Its deficit impairs the
students ability to process information quickly and efficiently. I will discuss how it
works and how it affects the students ability to remember. Long-term memory storage is
dependent on the working memories ability to attach to information in the long-term
memory in order for it to stay there.
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The Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence test is administered to the students at
the beginning to gain base line data of the student learning styles. Gardner's multiple
intelligence survey has eight intelligences such as linguistic, logical-mathematic,
visual/spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist.
Inner city students tend to be mostly visual/spatial and bodily-kinesthetic (Wright, C.,
Diener, M., & Kay, S., 2000). The part of the brain or brain function that affects memory
are the hemispheres of the brain, novelty and working memory.
Research shows that there is a correlation between learning styles and
hemisphericity. For example, students that were more kinesthetic and visual, statistically
used the right-hemisphere of the brain more than those that are mostly visual, which use
their left-hemisphere significantly more (Dunn, Beaudry & Klavas, 1989). The left
hemisphere is responsible for calculating numbers, spoken language, written language,
reading, and reasoning. The right side of the brain is responsible for music awareness, 3-
dimensional forms, art awareness, imagination, and intuition (Sousa, 2005). In order for
students to retain information taught to them, students must be involved in the learning
(Tinto, 2005). It is important for teachers to chunk the size of the information taught
because if there is too much information, the student will not be able to transfer the large
amount of information from short-term memory to long-term memory. By making the
information available in small bites, the students can more effectively transfer
information over to long-term memory. This information is then integrated into their
24
previous knowledge. If the integration of this information is not done with care, then the
information may not be retrieved successfully (Gaines, 2001).
Novelty is used in the classroom to get the student’s attention and engage them in
the lesson. The use of novelty activates the release of dopamine (Adams, 2013). Novelty
can be very useful within an inner city environment because the teachers are competing
with an immense amount of distractions from the students. A high school is competing
with video games, social media, and pop culture. Novelty is defined as a response that is
not expected or predicted in a given context on the basis of prior knowledge. Novelty is
what drives us to continue to do something and the lack of it in the classroom is the
reason why students drop out of school (Guenther, 2001).
Novelty can be used to maximize learning by presenting new information with
recognizable objects. In addition, information that is congruent with existing knowledge
(a schema) is usually better remembered than less congruent information (van Kesteren,
Ruiter, Ferandez, & Henson, 2012). Conversely, information that is unfamiliar and
incongruent is difficult for the bran to remember information. A curriculum that supports
the students learning strengths and their dominant brain hemisphere including introducing
novelty to the lesson a student, has a high probability of transferring information from
their working memory to long term memory. If the brain receives information that is
interesting enough to pass from the short term memory to the working memory. If the
information is deemed important enough, which includes the degree of novelty, then the
25
information will be transferred to long term memory and stored as an experience (Souza,
2011).
Working memory is the ability for one to hold information (auditory or visual) in
the mind’s eye for a particular amount of time. Information passes through working
memory by two processes, the phonological and the visuospatial. The two are governed
by the central executive. The phonological loop can be broken into several parts such as
the phonological store (passive) and the phonological rehearsal (active) (Baddeley and
Logie, 1999). The phonological store is where words that are read or heard are stored
briefly. The stored information has a time limit of about 6 to ten seconds before it is lost
and subsequently needing to reacquire the information. The phonological rehearsal is an
active process and is used to refresh information before it decays. The visuospatial is
broken up into the visual cache and the inner scribe. The visual cache stores information
about form and color. The inner scribe deals with spatial movement information. In
addition, it rehearses information in the visual cache and transfers information to the
central executive (Baddeley and Logie, 1999). The central executive governs how the
two processes blend the information with each other and with information from long-term
memory (Alloway, 2006).
The students at Hawthorne High School bring to the table some advantages and
some disadvantages. An advantage these students have is their ability to visualize
information and their disadvantage is their inability to focus long enough for information
26
to make it into long-term memory. My students can visualize images very well, as long
as they have seen them before as an image. They have a large visual cache of images that
need to be accessed. However, they are very deficient in the phonological store time due
to a high percentage of them having ADHD. ADHD affects memory retention directly.
Another reason for them to have a low phonological store is their exposure to a variety of
words and vocabulary. Consequently, if the information is not rehearsed immediately (6-
ten seconds), then the information is lost and must be acquired again (Klingberg,
Forssberg & Westerberg,2002).Which highly likely due to their disadvantages.
Importance of KWLsThe importance of the KWL strategy is to build from the student’s prior
knowledge so they may pose their own questions and reflect upon the information they
have learned. Henry David Thoreau said, "Knowledge that becomes ours is knowledge
that we construct" (Ogle, 1996). Before we can start building we must locate the
foundation to make sure that it is sturdy enough to add to. The strategy of using KWLs
was chosen because the steps necessary to implement the KWL matches the needs of
assessing memory retention and it works with cognitive function. The KWL strategy is
designed to extract student's prior knowledge before moving on to giving them new
knowledge. I will discuss how KWLs offer structure to the lesson and the student, used
as an assessment tool for both student and teacher, used to construct new knowledge.
27
Why Use LegoThe use of Lego to improve memory will be useful in several ways. The first
thing is that Legos are fun to play with. Therefore, they are very non-threatening because
it’s a children’s toy, right? Next, is working with their learning style which means that
this is how they sense things to gather information about their world. I will explain how
Legos work with the learning styles of my students. Third, Lego models are used as a
place holder. This means that while the students are applying vocabulary to a picture(s),
they do not have to hold that picture constant in their mind while applying vocabulary.
Lastly, Lego models are continuously the same throughout the lessons. If the material is
not continuous throughout the lesson(s), then the predictive error of the novelty increases
and less information makes it to long-term memory (van Kesteren, Ruiter, Ferandez, &
Henson, 2012).
Plato said "You can learn more about a person from a hour of play than you can
from a lifetime of conversation." Lego Serious Play (LSP) is a subsidiary of the Lego
Corporation. LSP is an innovative way to enhance innovation for employees of large or
small companies. This process is based on research that shows that hands-on and minds-
on learning produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the world and it's
possibilities. The bricks work as a catalyst and when used for building metaphors, they
trigger processes that one was previously unaware of (LSP, 2013). The bricks
themselves get the brain thinking, making associations and creating novel experiences. It
is these types of novel experiences that say longer in the working memory. Because of
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the use of metaphor, more associations can be made to previous knowledge and then
taken to long-term memory. LSP calls it hand-mind connection to the concept or subject
at hand, however it is more than that it is literally external thinking. The teacher is able
to "see" what the student is thinking because of the hand-mind connection. Both the
student and the teacher benefit from this because the student is able to discuss, develop
questions, and get instant feedback of their work. Teachers benefit by being able to give
corrections to thinking and make formative assessments from even across the room.
Therefore, the students are able to improve their memory because what they do in
the classroom is more meaningful because they were able to discuss what they have
created from a concept, get instant feedback and provides natural opportunities for
metacognition. Based on how the brain works and it's natural pathways, students can
effectively abstract information and transform it into concrete ideas to be stored in long-
term memory. In the study the amount of information that is stored in long-term memory
will be measured by the relative difference between the students initial knowledge and
what they have retained at the end of the lesson. The affinity of the information is tested
against the students poor diet, absenteeism and stress level.
The students use Lego models to access their prior knowledge and then
manipulate the models based on questions and reflection they answer during lecture and
activities. My hypothesis is that if the students use Lego models, then they retained more
information versus traditional teaching methods. The literature review discusses in depth
29
the factors that influence student memory retention of inner city students, current
practices that hinder students memory retention, the parts of the brain that affect memory,
the use and implementation of KWL strategies and the use of Lego models to enhance
student performance to increase memory retention. Legos allow the teacher to gain
insight as to what the student is thinking while building the Lego model. The model
allows the student to get instant feedback from the teacher during formative assessments
and the teacher may use target interventions based on what is observed. One intervention
could be a review of vocabulary using the Lego model. The teacher says a vocabulary
word and the student points to the structure or model that it represents. This method
allows the students to develop vocabulary more quickly. A method similar to this is use
by major corporations for team building. Lego Serious Play (SLP) has developed a
methodology to make content more meaningful by only using four essential steps. The
four essential steps are posing the question, construct, sharing, and reflection (Frick,
Tardini & Cantoni, 2013). These four essential steps are used in the classroom but in a
different form, however still maintaining the original intent.
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Chapter 3
Methods
Setting
Hawthorne high school is located in Los Angeles in the city of Hawthorne.
Hawthorne is a part of Centinela Valley Unified School District. The district has charge
of 4 high schools. Hawthorne itself is divided into several small learning communities
(SLC) or academies. There are a total of 4 academies at the site. They are the
International Baccalaureate (IB), School of Manufacturing and Engineering (SME),
Visual and performing Arts (VAPA) and Criminal Justice (CJ). Each teacher is assigned
to one or more academies. I have been assigned to the VAPA and CJ academies. The
school has recently upgraded its science department with a new science building. The
rooms are equipped with 9 lab tables, 3 on each wall of the room. The room is very
conducive to conduct experiments and various activities. The lab tables seat 4 students
with 2 on either side facing each other. The lab tables have built in sinks with running
water and gas lines. There is a large space in the middle of the room for students to write
on with chalk, walk easily to do station labs, or stage activities. The front of the room is
a demonstration table with a sink and computer hook up. In front of the demonstration
table is a large flat table with an equally large Lego model of a landscape spanning from
the ocean to the desert. Clouds and other celestial objects hang from the ceiling to
represent the heavens and the atmosphere. There is a projector that hangs from the
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ceiling and works in conjunction with a Smart Board. This is flanked by equal sized
white boards where I write the assignments and vocabulary so both sides of the room
may see clearly.
ParticipantsThe students at Hawthorne high school have their similarities and their
differences when it comes to interfacing with academics. The student’s ethnic
background can be anything from Caucasian to North African. However, a majority of
the students are Hispanic. This group itself is diverse because there are so many cultures
that fit within this category. These cultures will have different beliefs and ways of
thinking that are counter to what the culture is in a classroom setting. Another major
difference about the students is the way they learn best. One students can learn just by
listening, while another must touch or feel to obtain the concept or idea. Their
similarities come in their lifestyle. Students are incredibly insecure so it’s difficult for
them to be courageous and be different. There are exceptions, but this is mainly the rule.
This includes poor habits at home and school, foods they eat, and home life. These will
be discussed in detail below.
There are three main ethnic groups in the City of Hawthorne. The first group with
the highest percentage of 52% is Hispanics, followed by whites (32%) and then African
American (27%). Many of the Hispanic population are Non-US born residents (36.3%)
and 57.8% speak a language other than English in the home (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).
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As mentioned above, in addition to, there are other groups such as a small group of
Asian, Polynesian, African and South American students.
The students come to my class are mostly juniors and seniors that have not done
well in other science classes. They come to my class with a variety of ways they learn
best. Though, a majority of the students are visual and/or kinesthetic learners. I have 3
classes that are in the same small learning community (SLC) called visual and
performing arts (VAPA). These students are geared toward dance, art, and music. Their
learning styles will still vary because an artist looks at the world very differently than a
dancer. I will account for the different learning styles by qualifying my students with a
multiple intelligence survey at the beginning of the action research.
The students at Hawthorne High School come to school late and infrequently.
Attendance is a big problem at our school. In nearly all periods of the day students will
come in late to class or not show up at all. Students can be as much as a half an hour late
or miss up to a week at a time. The students that do come to class show up with a poor
attitude or apathy toward learning. These attitudes come from poor teaching, their ability
to concentrate and stress.
These students come from homes that may be chaotic, unstructured and/or
abusive. In addition, most of these students are not getting the proper nutrition. The
parents of students are not educated on proper nutrition and/or do not have time to cook
food at home. Students have certain foods that they eat because they are popular. Most,
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if not all, of the food has large amounts of sugar or fat. These foods metabolize quickly
and leave the student sluggish and tired after about an hour after consumption (Western
Dairy Council, 2002). The last item that has a drastic effect on the students is the amount
of sleep they get. Students typically do not get enough sleep or have an irregular sleep
cycle.
Role of the ResearcherThe role of the researcher has many aspects. At the beginning of the study a
survey is given to establish baseline data. This data is collected and entered into a data
table to track student progress and accumulative scores measured via KWL worksheet.
While administering the KWL worksheet, the teacher acts as a facilitator to extract prior
knowledge from the students. It is important that the teacher not correct the student’s
information or misconceptions during the brainstorming activity. During the “W” portion
of the KWL, the teacher guides the students through a questioning strategy lesson to help
students understand how to ask their own questions effectively. Then, teacher facilitates
students through writing focused questions to answer. Next, teacher has designed lessons
based on the student’s interests and focus of questions.
In addition, teacher provides feedback to students’ models, the grading quizzes
and exit slips, and questioning students one on one. While students are building their
models, teacher asks questions to direct students thinking in the right direction. Teacher
corrects quizzes and exit slips with a letter grade (A-D). The exit slips may have small
34
comments so students can re-write their response. During activities and lecture, the
teacher may not give students answers to their questions, but, rather, ask students
questions to lead them to the correct answer.
At the end of the study, the teacher grades student presentations with a rubric,
grade quizzes, and administer a post study survey to get students opinions about the two
different teaching styles. The teacher created a rubric that has specific performance
objectives that must be met within four categories. Teacher grades quizzes from a test
bank answer key. Teacher distributes questionnaire about how the students feel about
how each style of teaching.
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InterventionThe intervention begins after the students have been taught the scientific method,
cooperative learning tasks, and concept mapping. The plan is to split the set of four
classes into two categories. The first category is the use of Lego models during lecture
and activities as a form of visual aid. The second category is traditional teaching style.
The intervention plan spans over two section of chapter two of Environmental Science by
Heithaus and Arms published in 2013. The two groups will begin each section the same
with a concept maps and a video. However, when lecture begins the two groups are
treated differently to test if the Lego models are better for memory retention for this
group of students. The lecture was given using direct interactive instruction which
engages the students by responding to questions or perform a movement for a formative
assessment.
The first day of the intervention students will provide their knowledge of the
information to this section by using the vocabulary to create a concept map. The concept
map they are using is a cluster map. Cluster maps have the main topic in the center of the
paper with subcategories and topics attach to it depending on its association. The
students are instructed to use the vocabulary taped their desks and arrange them the way
they think they go together. Next, they use a white piece of paper and draw a circle in the
center with the word “GEOSPHERE”. The vocabulary words are attached to the main
topic along with any other words that they know or think they know how it associates
with the vocabulary word. The students are given about 20 minutes to complete this task.
36
After the time is up the students are instructed to get up out of their seat and walk around
the room to see what other students have done. If the students see something they want
to add to their map they will have done this in a different color. This will distinguish
between what they know and what the other students know. The students have five
minutes for this activity. Finally, the students write down what they know in the
“KNOW” column of their KWL sheet. This will be compared to the summative
assessment at the end of the section.
On day two the students watched a video on the “Birth of Earth”. The intent of
having them watch a video was to engage their well-developed visuospatial memory so
they may have a visual image to reflect on or attach a word onto it later in subsequent
lessons. While the students were watching the video they were writing down what they
thought was interesting. By writing down what they are interested in it bridges the gap
between the KWL chart and engaging them in the video. The information will be written
on a cluster map. The map will have the main topic, Birth of Earth, in the middle and
prewritten for them are four categories the video covers. This way the students will be
able to use less processing so they may focus on the content. Students are instructed to
write down information anywhere next to the specific category. This way students are
not using processing to think about formatting while taking notes. After the video,
students use the “L” column of their KWL sheet to write three to five questions that they
would like to know more information about from the video or other sources.
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On day three the classes get split into two the categories. In periods 2 and 5, the
traditional style, students were given a lecture that consisted of five power point slides.
The lecture is specifically designed to engage one part of the working memory. There is
a pattern of using the phonological or the visuospatial part of working memory. The
pattern is to flip-flop between the two and then have them come together at the end to
sum up what they have learned.
Before the lecture, a short video was shown about the layers of the Earth to give
the students a visual reference of what they are about to learn. This is designed to engage
the visuospatial part of working memory. The first slide provided the students with the
objective of the lesson which was to describe the physical and compositional layers of the
Earth. The next slide consists of three warm-up questions. Where the students are
reading and writing to mainly engage the phonological loop. As the students read they
are using phonological rehearsal where the words they read are echoing in their head.
This information will then be stored in the phonological store where is not used in 10 -20
seconds the information will disintegrate. The students are given about 15 to 20 minutes
to answer the warm-up questions from the textbook. They are encouraged to ask
questions or discuss topics with their table mates. After the time is up, students are
chosen randomly to answer one of the three questions. The student is notified if they got
the correct answer or if they answer was incorrect or was lacking detail, then another
student would assist them.
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The next slid is made to engage the visuospatial part of the working memory and
to foster the learning of visual/kinesthetic learners. After the warm-up questions,
students copy a drawing of the Earth’s layers and label it using the textbook. Once the
students are finished, the correct labels are revealed to the class. The class repeats the
words to make sure they got it. This is a very informal formative assessment to qualify
the students understanding.
After the drawing and labels is the concept map. The concept map is a way to
organize the vocabulary used in the section for students to read over as a quick review of
what they have learned. This part of the lecture is intended to refresh what they have
learned thus far and give the words meaning to send them into long-term memory. The
vocabulary words for this lesson are associated with each other via a concept map by
connecting the words associated to each other for easier flow of understanding.
Finally, students answer an exit slip question to qualify their understanding of the
lesson. This slide is intended to allow students to bring together their phonological and
visuospatial to practice using them in tandem to sum up what they remember of the
lesson. The exit slip will be reviewed and given a letter grade depending on content and
detail of content. Students that receive a poor grade are given the opportunity the next
day to correct their answer when it is shown to them. If the lesson requires a reteach
because the grades were too low then the information to gone over in a similar fashion.
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The Lego classes, period 4 and 6, received the same lecture, but they had at their
desks a Lego model of the Earth’s layers. The model was specifically designed to match
the color and pattern that is in the book, video and pictures they see throughout the
lesson. After the students drew and labeled the layers of the Earth, they held up their
model and pointed to the structure that was called out. Throughout the lesson students
were able to access the model for reference to recall the word attach to the structure.
Day four the students participated in an activity to further their understanding of
the Earth’s layers. Periods 2 and 5 received different worksheets than periods 4 and 6. In
periods 2 and 5 the students recreated the Earth’s layers by using different viscosities of
corn syrup and food coloring. When the liquids were poured into the graduated cylinder
in the proper order it created the layers of the Earth with their perspective colors. In
periods 4 and 6, students used the same models as they saw in lecture to complete the
activity. On the worksheet the students were asked to label the model and then write
specific details about each layer using the textbook. Once the students were done with
the activity they were asked one of four questions. The answers to the questions were
given a ranking of 0-5. If the student didn’t say anything after the question was asked
they received a 0. If the student gave an average answer by using the vocabulary
correctly, but left out details they received a 3. However, if the student gave a detailed
answer by using the vocabulary correctly they received a 5. Along with the questions,
the students were asked what they thought of the activity in terms of likability (i.e.
keeping their interest) by ranking the activity from 0-5. If the student was totally off put
40
by the activity and brought nothing in a way of interest and/or joy they would give a 0. If
the activity was just average they would give it a 3. However, if the student really
enjoyed the activity and offered a fun and interesting way of learning they would give a
5. The response were recorded and can be viewed in the appendix.
Day five was a lecture about plate tectonics. The objective for the lecture was to
describe the movements of tectonic plates. Following the same cadence from the first
lecture students first see a short video that supports the objective of the day and see a
series of five slides as above. Periods 2 and 5 used hand motions to model the
movements of tectonic plates during a formative assessment. While periods 4 and 6 used
the same Lego models from the last lecture and activity. The models are designed so that
the lithosphere and the asthenosphere slide past each other in the same fashion as the
textbook describes (see model in appendix). The students modeled the motions of each
tectonic plate movement with these models as the names of the movements were said.
Then, I modeled the movement and the students told me what they were. All periods
received the same exit slip question to qualify their understanding of these movements.
The question was, “What tectonic plate movement creates mountains?” As before the
question will be graded and returned to the students so they may have the opportunity to
fix their mistake(s).
The next day is followed by an activity that supports the learning from the lecture
to hopefully fortify their memory from the day before. Periods 2 and 5 received different
41
worksheets ten 4 and 6. Periods 2 and 5 received worksheet that had a model that they
were to cut out and color so they may recreate the tectonic plate movements. Once this
was done they were to use the text to answer a series of questions above their
movements. The students were instructed to look in the text and the ancillaries to
describe how the plates moved before they modeled them. The intent was to engage the
phonological independently of the visuospatial for a more effective result. Periods 4 and
6 used the same Lego model from the last two lectures and the last activity. However,
this time they are instructed to put both models together (There are two models per table
to accommodate the four students) so they may see how the plates interact with one
another. Using the textbook along with some ancillary worksheets to practice the three
movements and the details they carry with them. This will be a two day activity to allow
more time for periods 2 and 5 to make their models. If the students in periods 4 and 6
finish early they will receive a worksheet of the layers of the Earth and plate tectonics to
label and color.
The next day, day two of plate tectonic activity, I noticed that the students were
not writing enough detail in their descriptions of the plate movements. To correct this I
had them specific information to write down. They were to write about the margin, the
plate movement and what happens to the lithosphere and the asthenosphere. Near the end
of the period I went around the room to ask students that were done or close to done a
series of four formative assessment questions to collect data to measure the amount of
information learned.
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The eighth day of the intervention was a lecture on earthquakes. The lecture
followed the same cadence as the other lectures. The video I showed at the beginning of
lecture that supported the objective of the lesson, which was, “Explain how earthquakes
are measured.” The first video was the six minute 9.1 earthquake in Japan in 2012 to
show what it is like to be in a high magnitude quake. The other video was a closed
circuit video camera of a convenient store just as an earthquake hits. This was to show
the different waves that arrive during an earthquake. These are the waves that are to be
measured in magnitude. All periods had the same exact lecture due to the fact that Legos
did not fit here. I could have use a Lego model of an earthquake simulator, but the
novelty will distract the students from the learning. The students learning was qualified
by a formative assessment on wave arrival and an exit slip at the end. The questions
was,” What is the difference in energy released between a 5.0 and a 6.0 earthquake?” The
answers are collected and reviewed to be passed back the next day. The students will be
given the opportunity to correct their answer.
The following day is an activity that compliments the learning from the day
previous. As in lecture and in the activity, I had to treat both classes the same due to the
inability for me to come up with an effective way to simulate an earthquake with
materials other than Lego that are similar in their effectiveness. The effectiveness is the
ability to engage the student will still able to learn from the model. At the beginning of
each worksheet the students read about what are going to learn. Then, students complete
a pre-activity by breaking pasta. The pasta strands represent an increment of magnitude
43
of an earthquake. The students are to break one noodle and then 30. This will give them
a sense of the difference in magnitude of a 4.0 versus a 5.0. After the students complete
that task, they are to use the Lego earthquake simulators to recreate the different waves
that arrive during a quake. Throughout the activity students are answering questions
about earthquakes and how they relate to plate tectonics. Near the end of the activity I
walk around and ask students that are done or close to done a series of formative
assessment questions to collect data to know how well they retained the information
learned.
On day ten of the intervention the students received a study guide in the form of
an insurance document to apply for earthquake insurance for a house they built from
Legos. The students were to answer a series of questions that applied to the three areas
studied Earth’s layers, plate tectonics, and earthquakes. Once the students were done
with a section, it was reviewed by me and stamped for approval. For periods 4 and 6 I
put out the Lego models for the students to manipulate to recall information. Periods 2
and 5 may use their paper models if they choose.
On the eleventh day the students are given a 15 question quiz that summarizes the
learning for this section. There were four versions of the quiz given because four
students sit facing each other while taking their quiz. This is to avoid the temptation of
cheating. Once the quiz I completed the students were asked to participate in a survey of
how they feel the lessons were taught. I told them to use a half sheet of paper and divide
44
it into two columns “THE GOOD” and “THE BAD”. This was a forum to allow students
to vent want they felt they liked and what they didn’t like about what they learned and
how they were taught. The results can be seen in the appendix.
The twelfth day the study began the start of the new section, the atmosphere.
Students began the section as they did the first. However, instead of the students working
on paper they were to create concept maps on the floor of the classroom with chalk. I
began class introducing the vocabulary words to them by saying them correctly. Then, I
brought their attention to the middle of the floor where I have drawn a large circle with
the word “Atmosphere”. They were then told to attach other words along with the
vocabulary that they believed were connected with one another. Students worked in
groups of four and collaborated their prior knowledge to create a concept map. The
reason I have them work together is due to their insecurities about expressing the
knowledge. If they see that others know as much as they do they will more likely to
share with others. After students completed their concepts maps together, they were
encourage to look at other’s maps to see if they would like to change anything for
themselves and/or the group. Finally, once the students gathered all the information they
needed, they wrote what they “know” on their KWL chart in outline form to organize the
information. This will be compare to the summative assessment at the end of the section.
At the beginning of lecture on day thirteen I showed my students a video in the
different layers of the atmosphere. I followed the same cadence and number of slides as
45
the other lectures. Due to the limitations of Legos, I was not able to differentiate the two
study groups with manipulative. However, I used the Lego landscape as a model to show
the layers of the atmosphere and their prominent features. The objective for the lesson is
to describe the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. At the end of the lecture students
received an exit slip to qualify their understanding of the lesson. The exit slips were
graded and handed back to the students the next day.
The activity on the fourteenth day was differentiated with Lego and non-Lego
activities. At beginning of the lesson the students volunteer to read aloud one paragraph.
The paragraphs contain information to answer questions throughout the worksheet and at
the end. In periods 2 and 5, students were to graph the change in temperature with the
increase in altitude. This was a modified graph because I believe that the students
processing would be too slow to understand or complete the assignment in a timely
manner. It was modified by adding the altitude numbers in a data table and they only
needed to fill in the temperatures be reading the graph. This engages the working
memory separately. By reading the altitude they are only engaging the phonological
loop. As they scan for the temperature they need to engage the visuospatial to save the
image of where the altitude is to find the correct temperature. In periods 4 and 6 the
students used Legos that were color-coded by temperature. They had to find the
temperature on the graph, find the color Lego and then write the temperature by the
correct altitude. Once again, the working memory is only using one part at a time to
complete the task. The students engaged the visuospatial by looking for the correct
46
temperature and scanning for the correct Lego piece that represents that temperature.
Then the used the phonological to write the correct temperature next to the correct
altitude. I believe that this activity will be more meaningful and memorable than the
other because it is more “real”. The students can touch it, feel it and connect the pieces to
get the correct pattern of colors, which have meaning. I did not qualify the student’s
knowledge with a formative assessment because students were not finishing in time.
On the fifteenth day, at the very beginning of class, I gave the students a survey.
The survey had one question about the lesson and two were about how the students felt
about the lesson. The question was aimed at what the students retained from the day
before based on the effectiveness of the activity. The results can be seen in the appendix.
After the survey, I gave a lecture on energy transfer in the atmosphere. The objective of
the day was “Relate the greenhouse effect to the three types of energy transfer”. The
students watched two videos prior to the lecture. The first video was about heat and the
atmosphere and the second was a video they have seen before about how energy from the
sun gets trapped in our atmosphere. Right after the video I gave a demonstration of how
the three types of energy enter our atmosphere with the large Lego model in the front of
the room. In the lecture the students received the same number of slides and the same
cadence as the other lectures for both study groups. The lecture ended with an exit slip
that qualified their understanding of the material for the lesson.
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The next day, sixteen, was an activity that was designed for students to experience
the different parts of heat transfer. The lesson began with students reading the
introductory information. Then the students participate in an activity for conduction,
convection, radiation, and the greenhouse effect. For radiation the students used a
thermometer to measure the temperature at different distances from a light source. They
were to measure at 12 inches, 6 inches, and zero inches away from the light source.
Next, for conduction, the students heated a container of sand and a container of water for
three minutes to see which one conducted the most heat. Then, students cut out a
convection spiral from paper. They are to hold this above a hot plate and the convection
from the heat moves the convection spiral. Finally, students use the container with the
sand and place a plastic dome over it to represent the atmosphere. They place a light
source over the dome to heat the air inside. This is to replicate the greenhouse effect with
the plastic dome an analog for greenhouse gases. The students took the temperature
before and after the addition if the light source. The students answered questions with the
aid of the textbook and their experience during the activity.
The seventeenth day of the study the students received a study guide before they
take the summative assessment. The study guide is a combination of pictures and text.
The picture is of the Earth’s surface and above is the atmosphere. The students are to
draw and label the layers of the atmosphere. In addition, they are to draw in special
features of each layer and the variance in temperature as altitude increases. The reverse
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side is a series of questions that are similar to the quiz. The students can work in groups
of four or work independently.
Data Collection MethodsThe data collection methods for this study were a mix of qualitative and
quantitative data. Initially, baseline data was collected to get an idea of where the
students are as far as their nutritional habits, stress level, and thoughts during a lesson.
Throughout the study a series of formative and summative assessments were used to
gather data. As mentioned above, the data can be categorized by qualitative or
quantitative. The qualitative data that was taken was in the form of the KWLs at the
beginning of the section, formative assessments and surveys. The quantitative data is in
the form of summative assessments, exit slips and surveys. The following paragraphs
will explain how the data was collected. I will first will explain the baseline data,
followed by qualitative data and then quantitative data.
Baseline data was collected by using a survey that was divided into three
categories. The first category is nutrition, the second stress and boredom, and thoughts. I
chose these categories because they represent variables that will affect the memory of the
learner. All three of the categories affect memory retention to some degree. The students
were given the survey on a sheet of white copy paper. The questions came in two types;
the question had a prompt with a series of choices or there was a number to circle to
indicate a degree felt by that question. The students were given explicit instruction at the
beginning of the survey that they did not have to answer any questions they did not want
49
to, do not put their name on the paper and that some questions could have more than one
answer. The data was collected in an excel spread sheet. The data was entered by
category and subcategory answers. The numbers in the data set represent the frequency
students chose that response. The baseline data will be compared to other data collected
and research information mentioned before. A sample of the survey is located in the
appendix. Another type of baseline data collected was a multiple intelligence survey.
The Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Survey was administered after the above survey was
given. Students were instructed on how to properly take the survey and how to properly
calculate the type of learner they are. This data was collected to compare the learning
style with the amount of information learned. If there are a number of students that are
musical and interpersonal, then they may not do well with learning with Legos.
However, I believe that most of the students are visual and/or kinesthetic.
The first form of qualitative data collected was the KWL. It is considered
qualitative because the students are qualifying what they know at the beginning of the
section before they learn any “new” information. The students qualify their knowledge
by using the vocabulary words to create a concept map. The students have been taught
that a concept map is a tool to link words together based on their association to one
another. The students are given the main topic to place in the center of their paper. They
are instructed to place the vocabulary words and/or any other words that they can think of
that may associate with the vocabulary words around the main topic. The intent of this
process is to extract prior knowledge and how they associate the words or concepts.
50
Once they have done this on their own or as a table of four or less, then they will compare
what they did with others in the room. However, this will be done in a different color
pencil to clearly differentiate between the information. Finally, the students were
instructed to write down what they “KNOW” in the “K” column from the information
they just gathered. This information will be compared to the summative assessments at
the end of the section.
Another type of qualitative data collected was done near the end of the activities
using a rubric. Near the end of the activity, students were asked one of four questions
that related to comprehension and the other questions was to what degree they like the
activity. During the activity I am walking around the room assisting students as needed.
Once a group of students were finished with their questions, I asked them a series of four
questions. I allowed the students to choose who answered what. Based on the richness
and the amount of assistance they needed in order to answer the question I gave them a
score of zero to five. A zero was given if they could not answer the question at all. A
five was given if they used higher forms of Bloom’s taxonomy to answer. For example,
if a student could apply what they learned or analyze the information.
The exit slips are the next type of qualitative data. A question is given at the end
of each lecture to qualify students on the information they just received. The questions
were either intended to summarize the learning or to target a particular concept. Each
question was graded on a scale of A - D based on the amount and detail of information.
51
At the end of the lesson the students turn in their notes with the exit slip on them and they
are graded and handed back to them the next day.
The last type of qualitative data collected was an exit survey at the end of the
section. This was a very general survey where I wanted to know how they felt about how
the information was taught. I wanted to give my students an opportunity to vent any
frustrations or celebrations they had in this section. After the quiz, the students were
instructed to make two columns on their paper. On one side they labeled it “GOOD” and
on the other side they labeled it “BAD”. The students were to reflect back and recall
what they remember as being s good experience or a bad one. The intent here is find out
what they student’s grievances are or to inform me what is working. It also gives me
insight as to what degree they liked or dislike the activity by the very act of remembering.
If it wasn’t memorable, good or bad, it doesn’t matter. The survey tells me what the
students found memorable.
The quantitative data collected is in the form of the frequency of responses given
in a survey or on a summative assessment. The frequency of responses were gathered
and entered into an excel spread sheet. The frequencies of responses in class without
Legos will be compared with the frequency of responses in classes with Legos. The
frequency of responses that data will be compared to are baseline data, formative
assessments, and summative assessments. The data collection methods for baseline data
and formative assessments have been stated above. The data for summative assessments
52
was collected in an excel spread sheet. Two columns were made for the spread sheet;
one column labeled “correct” and the other “incorrect”. The frequency of correct versus
incorrect was recorded for each form of each test. This data will be compared to the
baseline data and the formative assessments to see if the information has been maintained
or degraded.
The above data collection methods were used to answer this question, “do
students retain more information with Lego models compared to traditional teaching?” in
the following ways. The multiple intelligence survey was given to get an idea of best the
students learn. The use of Legos is primarily visual and/or kinesthetic learning. Students
that don’t learn in this way may do better in a traditional setting versus a Lego teaching
environment. The formative assessments on comprehension given near the end of the
completion of an activity will help answer the question which method works best for
retaining information. Finally, the summative assessments at the end of the section will
be the most definitive way of discerning between which method works best.
The above data collection methods were used to answer this question, “What
strategies will work best to increase a students working memory so they may retain more
information?” in the following ways. The data collection methods that help me best
answer this question were the surveys during the activities and the surveys after the
quizzes. As mentioned above, formative assessments were given during the end of the
activities to measure comprehension and likeability. If the activity can hold the student’s
53
attention because it is enjoyable and is informative enough for them to comprehend, then
this is a possible strategy or activity to increase a student’s working memory. The
surveys given at the end of the quizzes will inform me what the students liked or didn’t
like after some time has gone by. The information given is an indication of what was
most memorable about what they experienced.
Plan for Increasing ValidityThe validity of this research comes from the methodological triangulation to
gather data that supports the two research questions,” Do students retain more
information with Lego models compared to traditional teaching?” and “What strategies
will work best to increase a students working memory so they may retain more
information?” Methodological triangulation was used because both qualitative and
quantitative data were used to gather information from the two groups. Another reason is
that the research took place over a long period of time to establish a pattern in how the
students react in different situations with the Lego models and without. Finally, there
were many factors that influence how well a student will remember information,
therefore, many different types of data needed to be collected. The two questions were
answered by gathering a baseline of data about how the students think, eat and how much
stress they incur on a daily basis. In addition, students prior knowledge of the vocabulary
used in the section was established before a lesson was given. Formative assessments
were given immediately after the lesson and the activity to measure the amount of
information retained by the student. Finally, summative assessments were given at the
54
end of the section to assess how much information was retained over a greater period of
time.
Adding to the validity, particularly in answering the second research question, the
lessons and activities were personally designed by the researcher to follow a particular
cadence so that the parts of working memory (phonological and visuospatial) are working
at different times in the lesson so not to over tax the students' processing. This was a
very important part of the research. I found this out by mistake before I conducted the
research intervention. I had read an article by Tracy Alloway on working memory that
changed how I now teach. This has not only effected how my lessons are structured, but
how I come at my students on an emotional level. When I read the article I was doing an
activity with my students that qualified them in how well they can do several activities,
such as following directions, working as a team and staying organized. The activity was
building a house out of Legos. The first period was to create a floor plan, the second
period were to build the walls from the floor plan, the third period were to make furniture
for the house, the fourth period were to create a front and back yard and the last class
were to change anything they wanted to after checking to see if the instructions were
correct. I thought this would be a one to two day activity because I thought the directions
were very straight forward and step by step. However, this was not the case. After the
first day of the activity all five classes were still on the floor plans. The next day I went
back and modeled exactly what to do and still very little got done again. After reading
the article on working memory I realized what I was doing wrong. I was giving them too
55
many things to do at once. Specifically, I was asking them to use their phonological and
visuospatial at the same time and expecting them to apply it immediately. I fixed the
activity by making the students housing inspectors. This allowed the students to first use
their phonological to first read the directions and them look to see if it was done
correctly, then using the visuospatial they can imagine what the correction should look
like. Once the correction was made the students finished faster and with greater accuracy
in the activity.
56
Chapter 4
Findings and Discussion
This action research project was performed to investigate the usefulness of Lego
models are to help students retain more information and strategies to increase memory
retention. The action research study to place over a period of 18 days. Two groups in
the study were compared to see which group was able to retain more information, the
group using Lego models or the traditional style of teaching. The first group, periods 2
and 5, was taught using traditional style teaching methods. The second group, periods 4
and 6, were taught using Lego models. The research was aimed at answering two
questions, first, do students retain more information with Lego models compared to
traditional teaching? Secondly, what strategies will work best to increase a students
working memory so they may retain more information?
At the beginning of the research a survey was given to gather data about the
student's behavior, habits and thoughts that have an effect on learning in the classroom.
The students were asked questions on nutrition, stress and boredom, and their thoughts
during class. The intent of the survey was to get a working idea of how the student's
brain is able to function before the intervention begins. During the intervention, data was
collected using the triangulation process of gathering student's prior knowledge using
KWLs, measuring to what degree they retain the information with formative assessments
and ultimately how much they remember on a summative assessment. The data collected
57
showed how the student's learning is affected by their environment, prior knowledge,
and willingness to learn.
First, the study looks at the current state of the student as they interface with the
lesson. Nutrition was compared within the groups and then compared to each other. In
Figure 1, periods 4 and 6 show very different results in their eating habits. Although,
both periods do not eat breakfast frequently enough for optimal learning. By comparison,
periods 2 and 5, Figure 2, have very similar eating habits and have more students eating
breakfast during the week. When comparing the two groups, it would seem that the
traditional style teaching group eats breakfast more often than the Lego model group.
According to the data (figure 2), period 4 has more students not eating breakfast in the
morning than the rest of the periods. Period 5 and 6 are next in line with the students
eating breakfast only a few times a week.
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Lego Model Traditional
Figure 2
58
Next, the study looks at the amount of stress the students encounter on a daily
basis. This was a measure of overall stress given as a barometer of how the student feels.
The data was compared within groups and then compared between groups. Figure 3
shows that students in period 4 feel the effects of stress more than the students in period
6. In periods 2 and 5, there are more students feeling the effects of stress in period 5 than
in period 2. The data shows that the periods that feel the effects of stress the most are
periods 4 and 5.
The last part of the baseline data taken was the multiple intelligence survey to see what
types of learners the students are. It was important to the study to see if students were
more apt to learning one way versus another. The research question being asked implies
that students will remember better if they are more visual and kinesthetic learners.
However, the data (see Figure 4) was very surprising when it revealed that throughout all
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
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Figure 3
Lego Model Traditional
59
periods the student's learning styles were extremely varied and somewhat homogeneous
as to the degree in which they report having a particular learning style. The observations
and other data suggested that the varied learning styles did not impact either style of
teaching. However, there were a few students that were apprehensive about using the
Legos.
At the beginning of each section the student’s prior knowledge was measured
using a concept map that will be transferred to a KWL worksheet. The data collected is
qualitative because I want to know what they know or don’t know about the subject.
The finds are from observations and reviewing student’s work. In addition, the finding
Lingu
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Logic
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Period 2Period 4Period 5Period 6
Figure 4
60
were fairly consistent throughout all classes. In the first section there were very few
students that put the vocabulary in the correct order in the concept map. The students
could provide little detail to add to the vocabulary words. However, about a third of the
students could identify the relationship between the crust, mantle and core. The
vocabulary for the first section was crust, mantle, core, lithosphere, asthenosphere, plate
tectonics, fault, magnitude, Richter scale, and earthquake. In the second sections very
few students could identify relationships with any of the vocabulary. There was very
little similarity or continuity between the maps of students. The student's conversations
at the time corroborates their understanding. The vocabulary for section 2 was
troposphere, stratosphere, radiation, conduction, ozone, convection, and greenhouse
effect.
In verifying the effects of the two teaching styles, exit slips were given at the end
of lecture to qualify the student's understanding of the material. The data (see Figures 5
and 6) shows that the periods that understood the material best at the end of the lesson are
periods 4 and 6. This is also consistent with the formative assessment data at the end of
the activity. In this lesson the Lego model group was able to remember more about the
information than
Exit SlipExit Slip
61
the
more traditional style of teaching. This is in
despite of the student's nutrition and stress they feel on a daily basis.
The lesson for
plate tectonics
showed that the
students in periods
4 and 6 received
higher scores on
their exit slips (see Figure 7 and 8), on average, than the students in the traditional
teaching style group. In the activity for this lesson students in the traditional group were
not able to answer the formative assessment questions because they were not finished
with the activity. This was many due to the fact that students were distracted by other
students or were spending too much time on making their model. The students in the
Lego model group were able to finish faster and answer the formative assessment
questions with greater detail, while modeling the process.
A's B's C's D's0
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Exit Slip
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Figure 6
62
P2 P4 P5 P60
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Exit Slip Exit Slip
Figure 7
Figure 8
63
The earthquake lesson was not differentiated by groups. The content in the lecture and
the activity remained the same because I could not find a complimentary activity for the
traditional style of teaching that would match that of the use of Lego models. This turned
out to be a fortuitous mistake because the data shows that it had a greater affect on the
traditional style o teaching group than the Lego group (see Figure 10). There was a great
amount of novelty in this activity due to the fact that the students were using earthquake
simulators made from Lego bricks. The exit slips show that in both groups students
acquired the same amount of understanding.
Section 2 shows very different results as far as the effectiveness of the use of Lego
A's B's C's D's0
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Period 2 EarthquakesPeriod 5 Earthquakes
A's B's C's D's0
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Figure 9
P2 P4 P5 P64.2
4.3
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Earthquake Activity
Earthquake Activity
Figure 10
64
models. This is mainly due to the fact that use of Legos was very limiting when
discussing the atmosphere. I was also limited by the objectives that needed to be taught
and time. The second activity in section 2 was not counted in the study because I was not
able to use any Lego substitutions. The Legos used in the atmospheric layers activity was
also more abstract than the models used in the geosphere. This may explain why the
results are so different from the three lectures and activities prior. I do not have the data
on the exit slips for periods 2 and 5 because they were missed placed. However, from
memory, the data was not much different. The students scored very high marks for their
understanding of the information in lecture. This is due to their familiarity to the ozone
layer. However, when they were asked to recall information about how the temperatures
1 2 30
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65
change in the atmospheric layers the next day they all had trouble remembering (see
Figure 11). Period 2 was able to remember the most out of all four of the periods.
Ironically, after scoring so low on recall, the students reported high marks for the
effectiveness of the lecture and the activity.
The Lego model group's exit slips reveal that they have a good understanding of
the information from lecture (see Figure 12). Periods 4 and 6 were able to remember
more overall compared to periods 2 and 5, the traditional group. The Lego model group
had more than half the students get the correct temperatures of the layers of the
atmosphere.
The data for the summative assessment on section 1 of the geosphere
shows a great amount of understanding compared to the beginning of the lesson. When
comparing the student's prior knowledge at the beginning of the section to the number of
1 20
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Atmopspheric Layers P6 Q1Atmospheric Layers P6 Q2Atmospheric Layers P6 Q3
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A's B's C's D's0
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Period 4 Atmospheric LayersPeriod 6 Atmospheric Layers
Exit Slip
Figure 12
Figure 13
66
correct answers in the summative assessment it is clear that both groups were able to
retain more information than they started with. Without performing statistical analysis it
will be difficult to tell which group got a significantly more correct answers than
incorrect answers. However, it is evident that both groups were able to get twice as many
correct answers than incorrect answers.
In
the
second section, the students were less familiar with the content and the vocabulary. This
Form A Form B Form C Form D0
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67
was evident in the initial KWL activity while qualifying the student's prior knowledge.
The concept maps the students created with the vocabulary had very few correct
associations to each other. In addition, the
students conversations during the activity also
confirms their ignorance of the material. The data shows that the students were not able
to retain as much information as compared to section 1. However, when comparing the
two groups period 2 and period 6 were the most successful at retaining more information
than the other periods.
Conclusions
Form A Form B Form C Form D0
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P4 Section 2 CorrectP4 Section 2 Incorrect
Form A Form B Form C Form D0
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P2 Section 2 CorrectP2 Section 2 Incorrect
Form A Form B Form C Form D0
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P5 Section 2 CorrectP5 Section 2 Incorrect
Form A Form B Form C Form D0
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P6 Section 2 CorrectP6 Section 2 Incorrect
68
The data collected in the study did not directly answer the question, ”Do students
retain more information with Lego models compared to traditional teaching?” However,
the data did show that even when students have high degrees of stress or have poor eating
habits that the use of Lego models do help in retaining some information as long as it was
familiar to them to begin with. The baseline data shows that period 4 reported having the
greatest amount of stress and poorest eating habits, yet were able to retain a greater
amount of information than the other periods. The Lego models seems to be an effective
tool for students to express ideas that they currently have but cannot articulate and to
recall information they have difficulty matching the picture in their head with the word.
This is a good match for students in low income areas where there are high levels of
stress and high degree of absence. One of the parameters of the study was to try and keep
the Lego models the same throughout the lessons or successive, if possible, so that
students that are absent are able to catch up with the material faster. I recall a specific
situation during the study where this occurred. I have a student that is consistently
absent. He was in class for the earth's layers lecture and activity, but he missed plate
tectonics. Because the models where the same and he was already familiar with the
layers its fairly easy to show him how the two top layers make plate tectonic movements.
The data showed that both groups remembered about the same amount of
information on the summative assessments, however, there were higher scores for the
Lego models in the lecture and the activities. It is difficult to say why this has occurred. I
can say that the question on the summative assessments had similar questions than the
69
formative assessments, but the summative assessment's questions were on the lower end
of Bloom's taxonomy than the formative assessments. The student's answers in the
formative assessments gave far richer information than on a multiple choice exam.
The data collected for the study was able to find answers to the second question,
“What strategies will work best to increase a students working memory so they may
retain more information?” The research for the study has help me plan better and more
effective lessons because I now know my students need to use only one part of the
working memory at a time. Administrators and veteran teachers give new teachers
advice to chunk their lessons if the students are not understanding the material. A new
teacher may make the mistake to chunk the lesson into smaller pieces, but fail to realize
that the students are still performing two operations at the same time and still not
understanding. By using the strategies for working memory, one can pin-point what
should be done and when. Engaging only one part of the working memory at a time
allows the brain to process the information more effectively and without frustration. The
students feel more confident in what they are doing and will be more willing to do more.
This is particularly important in low income areas where students have a high level of
insecurity when it comes to their education. The use of the Lego models allows the
students to preserve the image, while they can rehearse the vocabulary or concept in their
head to remember the information more accurately. This process engages only one part
of the working memory at a time. Using the same model over the course of several
lessons builds stronger memories of the content, thus better recall.
70
RecommendationsLego models can be an effective learning tool if the students take them seriously.
I would highly recommending teachers to properly sell the effectiveness of the tool by
showing websites of other schools using them, Google several images of Lego models
used in science and Lego serious play. Once the students understand their effectiveness
and how much fun they are to learn with the Lego bricks become more effective.
When designing lessons and models it would be more effective if the lessons and
the models are successive. It is important for students in low income areas with high
levels of stress to have material that is continuous and persistent throughout the section,
chapter or unit. The more cohesive one can make both, the more the students will
remember. For example, the models made for the geosphere were designed after the
pictures in the book and the pictures used in lecture. I believe the video that was shown
had a similar image that the model was based on. The same model was used in the next
activity. I also have a model of a landscape from the ocean to the desert in front of the
classroom. The model has all aspects of what the student will learn throughout the year.
The model's information will build over time for the students and the past information is
used to help explain the new information so the older information is not forgotten.
If one does not have many Lego pieces, then one may use a smaller amount to
have students build structures that represent vocabulary words at the beginning of a
lesson to help create a memorable image of the word and then put into a concept map so
that they can write a well organized summary.
71
I feel as an educator it is my goal to find effective ways of teaching students that
have been mislabeled as stupid or unable to learn. For five years I have been trying to
find ways that are effective in teaching a population of students that seemed like they did
not want to learn. This study has shown me that is wasn't the strategies that were not
working, it was the way the students approached them as far as their working memory
and at the pace the students received the work. It is important to note that students in low
income areas process information much slower than teachers expect. I can personally
attest to that. By slowing down and engaging one part of the working memory at a time
the student will get more from the lesson and have more confidence in what they are
doing. This might mean that the teacher go slower than the pacing guide suggests, but
the student will benefit much more than if the teacher go faster than the student can
process.
References
72
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Baddeley, A.D., Logie, R. H. (1999) Working Memory: The Multiple-Component Model
Balfanz, R., & Bymes, V. (2012). Chronic Absenteeism: Summarizing What We Know From Nationally Available Data. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Center for Social Organization of Schools.
Braden, P. A. (2000). Lecture: McClelland's Theory of Needs
Center on Education Policy (2012) What Roles Do Parent Involvement, Family Background, and Culture Play in Student Motivation?
Frick, E., Tardini, S., & Cantoni, L. (2013). White Paper on Lego Serious Play A State of \ the Art of Its Application in Europe
Gaines, M. (2001). What Factors Effect Retention in the Classroom?
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Gordon, H. R. D. (1998). Identifying Learning Styles
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Appendices
74
Appendix A
Informed Consent Form English Version
PARENTAL CONSENT OF RESEARCH IN AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
DateDear Parent(s),
I will be conducting a study in our classroom to increase working memory. The study will last six weeks. This is a part of my final research project for my master’s degree at Concordia University Irvine, CA.
I am writing to ask permission to use the data I collect from your child during this process. Participation in this study involves taking surveys and doing regular school work.
Dr. Newell has approved this study for implementation at Hawthorne High School.
The purpose of the study is to find strategies to increase working memory in students so they may more successful in life.
The benefits to your child for participating in this study include better memory and the ability to remember more information at one time.
Only Dr. Machesky—my University Supervisor—and I will have access to your child’s identity and to information that can be associated to your child’s identity. The data and documentation will be destroyed by December 15th 2014. You may contact me at any time regarding your child’s participation. My phone number is 310-263-7139 and my e-mail is [email protected].
Use of data from your child is voluntary. You may contact me at any time if you decide you do not wish to have your child’s data included in the study.
Please check the appropriate box below and sign the form:
□ I give permission for my child’s data to be used in this study. I understand that I will receive a signed copy of this consent form. I have read this form and
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understand it.
□ I do not give permission for my child’s data to be included in this project.
____________________________ ____________________________________Student’s name Signature of parents/guardian____________________________Date
Sincerely,
Appendix B
Principal Consent Form
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AUTHORIZATION FOR AN EDUCATION INSTITUTE TO SERVE IN A RESEARCH STUDY
Title of the Study: Student Researcher(s): Research(s) Employment Affiliation(s): Reseacher(s) Phone Number(s) & Researcher(s) E-mail(s):
Researchers University Supervisor: Supervisor Phone Number & E-mail: Location(s) of Educational Institute(s) where Study will Occur: Purpose(s) of the Study: Procedures to be Followed: Time and Duration of the Study: Benefits of the study: Persons who will have access to the records, data, tapes, or other documentation: Date when the records, data, tapes, or other documentation will be destroyed:
---------------------------------------------Authorization----------------------------------------------I understand that participation in this study is confidential. Only the researcher, collaborators, and supervising professor will have access to students’ identities and to information that can be associated with their identities. Please check the appropriate box below and sign the form:
_____I give permission for my educational institution to participate in this project. I understand that I will receive a signed copy of this consent form. I have read this form and understand it.
_____I do not give permission for my school to participate in this project.
______________________________________________________ ___________Signature of principal or appropriate administrator Date
Appendix C
Baseline Data Survey
77
Directions: Read all the questions carefully. Take the time to understand what the question is asking. If you are not sure, please raise your hand for more clarification of the question. Circle the answer or answers that best describes your response. Even if it is not exactly your answer choose something as close to your response.Nutrition:
1. How many times a week do you eat breakfast?0-1 1-3 4-5 6-7
2. How many bottles (12 oz.) of water do you drink on a weekly
basis?
0-3 3-5 5-8 8-10 More than 10
3. How many times a week do you eat fish (salmon, )?
0-1 1-3 4-5 6-7
Stress/Boredom:1. From 1 to 10, 1 being low stress and 10 being very high stress
would you say that you feel on a daily basis? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Which classes stresses you out the most?Math English History Science
3. Which class is the most boring?Math English History Science
4. What activity stresses you out the most?Reading Writing Drawing Thinking
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5. Which activity is the most boring?Reading Writing Drawing Thinking
Thought Process:1. To what degree do you ask questions in class?
Never Sometimes Frequently Always
2. What are the reason(s) that you do not ask questions in class? (You may choose more than one)
I wasn't listening. I don't care about the subject.
I don't know how to ask the question. Day dreaming.
Trying to figure out what the teacher is saying.
3. From a rating from 1 to 10, 1 represents remembering nothing from the day before and 10 remembering every detail. How much do you remember the next day? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. How often do you day dream in class?Never Sometimes Frequently Always
5. How often do you review your notes or homework? Never Sometimes Frequently Always
6. How many things can you think about at one time?0-1 1-3 4-5
7. When the teacher is explaining the lesson, what are you thinking about? (You may choose more than one)
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Something you’re doing afterschool. . Something your
friend said recently. Something a teacher said. Boys
Girls Sports Something the teacher said that
reminded you of a story.
Mean act or comment from a student.
Appendix DBase Line Data Period 2
Thought ProcessQ1 1 2 3 4 None
2 23 2 1 n=28Q 1 2 3 4 5 None
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26 10 12 4 20 1
Q3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
None
0 2 0 4 3 4 6 5 3 1Q4 1 2 3 4 None
1 16 9 2Q5 1 2 3 4 None
4 19 6 1Q6 1 2 3 None
2 23 3Q7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 None
17 10 5 5 6 8 7 5Nutrition
Q1 1 2 3 4 None
5 13 7 3 28Q2 1 2 3 4 5 None
8 4 6 5 4Q3 1 2 3 4 None
20 7 1Stress/Boredom
Q1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
None
0 2 3 1 9 3 3 5 2Q2 1 2 3 4 None
14 8 4 7Q3 1 2 3 4 None
8 14 7Q4 1 2 3 4 None
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6 15 5 5Q5 1 2 3 4 None
8 14 5 3
Base Line Data Period 4
Thought Process
Q1 1 2 3 4 None
4 24 5 1 n=34
Q2 1 2 3 4 5 None
5 2 10 15 17 3
Q3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
None
0 0 2 4 6 7 6 5 2 1
Q4 1 2 3 4
16 14 5
Q5 1 2 3 4
3 23 7 1
Q6 1 2 3 None
1 27 8
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Q7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 None
19 8 18 7 8 11 15 8
Nutrition
Q1 1 2 3 4 None
15 9 10
Q2 1 2 3 4 5 None
6 6 8 5 9
Q3 1 2 3 4 None
24 9 1
Stress/Boredom
Q1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
None
4 3 1 5 6 3 11 1 1
Q2 1 2 3 4 None
11 12 8 8 2
Q3 1 2 3 4 None
7 16 9 3
83
Q4 1 2 3 4 None
7 16 4 3 4
Q5 1 2 3 4 None
19 6 4 1 4
Base Line Data Period 5Thought Process
Q1 1 2 3 4 None
518 6 n=28
Q2 1 2 3 4 5 None
5 313 8 15 1
Q3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10
None
1 1 0 0 4 6 4 4 5 3 1Q4 1 2 3 4 None
112
10 5 1
Q5 1 2 3 4 None
713 6 2 1
Q6 1 2 3 None
123 4 1
Q7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 None
84
17
14
10 8 8 8 7 7 2
NutritionQ1 1 2 3 4 None
911 6 3
Q2 1 2 3 4 5 None
2 7 9 3 8Q3 1 2 3 4 None
19 7 2 1
Stress/BoredomQ1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10
None
1 3 5 3 5 3 2 2 4 1Q2 1 2 3 4 None
13 9 6 9 1
Q3 1 2 3 4 None
715
10 3
Q4 1 2 3 4 None
11
13 3 7 1
Q5 1 2 3 4 None
15 9 2 1 1
Base Line Data Period 6Thought Process
Q 1 2 3 4 Non
85
1 e
321 5 1
n=30
Q2 1 2 3 4 5
None
7 413 12 15 4
Q3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10
None
0 1 1 2 6 1 4 9 1 3 1Q4 1 2 3 4
412
13 2
Q5 1 2 3 4
419 5 3
Q6 1 2 3
None
221 8
Q7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
None
21 9 8 7 10 11 7 3 3
NutritionQ1 1 2 3 4
None
516 2 7
Q2 1 2 3 4 5
None
610 6 2 6
Q3 1 2 3 4
None
25 5 1
Stress/Boredom Q 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Non
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1 0 e2 2 3 5 5 4 3 2 2 3 1
Q2 1 2 3 4
None
12
12 6 13 1
Q3 1 2 3 4
None
910 6 5 2
Q4 1 2 3 4
None
611 7 7 2
Q5 1 2 3 4
None
13 6 4 3 6
Appendix EGeosphere: Earth’s Layers, Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes
Formative Assessment Questions: Earth’s Layers
1. What is the difference between the compositional layers and the physical layers?
2. What are the three compositional layers and what are the five physical layers?
3. How do the lithosphere and the asthenosphere relate the plate tectonics?
4. How do scientists investigate the layers of the Earth?
Formative Assessment Questions: Plate Tectonics
P2 P4 P5 P60
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Earth's Layer Activity
Earth's Layer Activity
87
1. What plate tectonic movement causes the formation of new lithosphere?
2. What plate tectonic movement creates mountains?
3. What plate tectonic movement causes the lithosphere to move under the asthenosphere?
4. What plate tectonic movement cause the destruction of lithosphere and asthenosphere?
Formative Assessment Questions: Earthquakes
1. How is magnitude measured?2. Where are the most geologically active places on
the Earth’s surface?3. How do plate tectonics relate to earthquakes?4. What is a fault?
Appendix FAtmospheric Layers Activity Survey
1. What happens to the temperature (tell me increasing or decreasing) in each layer of the atmosphere?
2. How effective was the lecture in remembering this? (0-5)
3. How effective was the activity in remembering this? (0-5)
P2 P4 P5 P60
1
2
3
4
5
6
Plate Tectonic Activity
Plate Tectonic Activity
P2 P4 P5 P64.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
5
5.1
Earthquake Activity
Earthquake Activity
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Appendix G
Earth's Layers: Lego
Name:_________________Period:____________
Date:_________Earth’s Layers
If we consider the physical properties of each layer the Earth can be divided up into five layers. The Earth’s outer layer is the lithosphere. It is a relatively cool, rigid layer, 15 km to 300 km (9 miles to 186 miles) thick, that includes the tectonic plates. The asthenosphere is
the layer beneath the lithosphere. The asthenosphere is a pliable, solid layer of the mantle made of rock that flows very slowly and allows tectonic plates to move on top of it. Beneath the asthenosphere is the mesosphere, the lower part of the mantle.
Earth’s outer core is a dense liquid layer. The inner core, at the center of the Earth, is dense and solid, made mostly of metals iron and nickel. The temperature of the inner core is estimated to be between 4,000°C to 5,400°C
1 2 30
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Atmopsheric Layers P2 Q1Atmospheric Layers P2 Q2Atmospheric Layers P2 Q3
1 2 30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Atmospheric Layers P4 Q1Atmospheric Layers P4 Q2Atmospheric Layers P4 Q3
1 2 30
2
4
6
8
10
12
Atmospheric Layers P5 Q1Atmospheric Layers P5 Q2Atmospheric Layers P5 Q3
1 20
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Atmopspheric Layers P6 Q1Atmospheric Layers P6 Q2Atmospheric Layers P6 Q3
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(7232°F to 9392°F). It is solid because it is under enormous pressure. The Earth’s outer and inner core together make up about one-third of the Earth’s mass.
Studying the Earth beneath our feet is not easy. The deepest well that has been drilled into Earth’s interior is only 12 km (7 miles) deep. An alternative method must be used to study the interior of Earth. Scientists can use seismic waves to learn about Earth’s interior. These waves travel through the Earth’s interior during an earthquake. The seismic waves are altered by the nature of the material through which it travels. Seismologist measure changes in the speed and direction of seismic waves that penetrate the interior of the planet. By doing this, seismologists have learned that the Earth is made up of different layers and have inferred from the data what substances make up each layer.
Questions: Answer in complete sentences from the textbook page 61.
1. What are the 3 compositional layers?
2. What are the 5 physical layers?
3. Explain how the lithosphere and the asthenosphere relate to plate tectonics?
4. How do scientists know what the inside of the Earth looks like?
Use page 61 to fill in the physical layers of the Earth. Below is a Lego Model and a slice of the Earth similar to figure 1.3 on page 61. In the blank spaces below fill in the correct layer as you relate them to both pictures. After filling in the blanks, follow the directions to build the model. At the end of the activity you will be quizzed on the layers of the Earth.
1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________
1
2
3
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4. ____________
5. ____________
Use page 61 to fill in the description of each layerPhysical
LayerDescription of Layer Lego
ColorLithosphere
Brown
Asthenosphere Beige
MesosphereRed
Outer CoreOrange
Inner CoreYellow
4
5
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Appendix H
Earth's Layers: Traditional
Name:_________________Period:____________
Date:_________Earth’s Layers
If we consider the physical properties of each layer the Earth can be divided up into five layers. The Earth’s outer layer is the lithosphere. It is a relatively cool, rigid layer, 15 km to 300 km (9 miles to 186 miles) thick, that includes the tectonic plates. The asthenosphere is the layer beneath
the lithosphere. The asthenosphere is a pliable, solid layer of the mantle made of rock that flows very slowly and allows tectonic plates to move on top of it. Beneath the asthenosphere is the mesosphere, the lower part of the mantle.
Earth’s outer core is a dense liquid layer. The inner core, at the center of the Earth, is dense and solid, made mostly of metals iron and nickel. The temperature of the inner core is estimated to be between 4,000°C to 5,400°C (7232°F to 9392°F). It is solid because it is under enormous pressure. The Earth’s outer and inner core together make up about one-third of the Earth’s mass.
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Studying the Earth beneath our feet is not easy. The deepest well that has been drilled into Earth’s interior is only 12 km (7 miles) deep. An alternative method must be used to study the interior of Earth. Scientists can use seismic waves to learn about Earth’s interior. These waves travel through the Earth’s interior during an earthquake. The seismic waves are altered by the nature of the material through which it travels. Seismologist measure changes in the speed and direction of seismic waves that penetrate the interior of the planet. By doing this, seismologists have learned that the Earth is made up of different layers and have inferred from the data what substances make up each layer.
Questions: Answer in complete sentences from the textbook page 61.
5. What are the 3 compositional layers?
6. What are the 5 physical layers?
7. Explain how the lithosphere and the asthenosphere relate to plate tectonics?
8. How do scientists know what the inside of the Earth looks like?
Use page 61 to fill in the missing parts of the chart. You will be given the physical layer. You must figure out the order of the colors that will make the layers of Earth. If you get it wrong, the colors will mix. If you get it right, the layers will look similar to that in the textbook.Physical
LayerDescription of
LayerColor Amou
ntLithosphere
Green2 mL
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250 km thick, the solid, plastic layer of the mantle between the mesosphere and the lithosphere; made of mantle rock that flows very slowly, which allows tectonic plates to move on top of.
Color is the same
as lithospher
e
none
Mesosphere10 mL
Outer CoreOrange 5 mL
1,228 km radius; a sphere of solid nickel and iron at the center of the Earth.
5 mL
How to Make the Layers:1. Once you have filled out the chart correctly pour the proper
amount into the graduated cylinder.2. Start with the densest layer to the least dense layer.3. Tilt the graduated cylinder on its side at a 45° angle. 4. Pour each liquid slowly as not to mix the layers.5. Use the pebble and drop into the cylinder.6. Note the speed of the pebble as it passes through the
different layers.
Observations: Note your observations of the pebble’s speed below.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Graduated Cylinder
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Appendix IPlate Tectonics: Lego
Name:______________Date:__________
Period:______Plate Tectonics
The lithosphere is divided into pieces called tectonic plates that glide across the underlying asthenosphere in much the same way a chunk of ice drifts across a pond. The continents are located on the tectonic plates and slowly, over eons, move around with them. The
major plates include the Pacific, North American, South American, African, Eurasian and Antarctic plates.
Much of the geologic activity at the surface of Earth takes place at the boundaries between tectonic plates. Plates may move away from one another, collide with one another, or slip past one another. Enormous forces are generated at tectonic plate boundaries, where the crust is pulled apart called a divergent boundary, is squeezed together called a convergent boundary, or is slipping
called a transform fault. The forces produced at the boundaries of tectonic plates can cause.
When tectonic plates collide, the crust becomes thicker, is pushed up, buckles and folds, and eventually forms a mountain range. The Himalayan Mountains in south-central Asia begins to
form when the Eurasian tectonic plate and the Indian tectonic plate began to push into each other about 50 million years ago.
95
Types of Plate Boundaries: Look at the picture below and match the type of plate boundary activity to the three on the left side. Draw a line and circle where you see it in the picture. Use the information above to answer the questions.
1. What happens to the plates at a convergent boundary?
2. What happens to the plates at a divergent boundary?
3. What happens to the plates at a transform fault?Plate Tectonics: Plate BoundariesRead the hand-out about plate boundaries. Then, look at the pictures below to match the correct plate boundary interaction and label it correctly. Finally, summarize the interaction from the information in the hand out.
Plate Boundary:_____________
Plate Boundary:_____________
Describe
interaction:___________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________Describe
interaction:___________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
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Plate Boundary:_____________
Modeling Plate boundary Interactions:You will use both models to model all three plate boundary interactions. Use the models to demonstrate convergent, divergent, and transform fault. At the end of the activity you will be quizzed on all the information.
Questions:1. Scientists discovered strips of rocks having polarity, which were
found as mirror images across the oceans ridges. What plate boundary accounts for what was found?
2. What dynamic, ever changing, process produces new oceanic lithosphere?
3. What process destroys the Earth’s lithosphere to make magna for volcanoes?
Describe
interaction:___________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
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4. Which two of Earth’s layers are responsible for plate tectonic activity?
5. What is an example of a transform fault?
6. What process is related to volcanic activity?
Appendix JPlate Tectonics: Traditional
Name:______________Date:__________
Period:______Plate Tectonics
The lithosphere is divided into pieces called tectonic plates that glide
98
across the underlying asthenosphere in much the same way a chunk of ice drifts across a pond. The continents are located on the tectonic plates and slowly, over eons, move around with them. The major plates include the Pacific, North American, South American, African, Eurasian and Antarctic plates.
Much of the geologic activity at the surface of Earth takes place at the boundaries between tectonic plates. Plates may move away from one another, collide with one another, or slip past one another. Enormous forces are generated at tectonic plate boundaries, where the crust is pulled apart called a divergent boundary, is squeezed together called a convergent
boundary, or is slipping called a transform fault. The forces produced at the boundaries of tectonic plates can cause.
When tectonic plates collide, the crust becomes thicker, is pushed up, buckles and folds, and eventually forms a mountain range. The Himalayan
Mountains in south-central Asia begins to form when the Eurasian tectonic plate and the Indian tectonic plate began to push into each other about 50 million years ago.
Types of Plate Boundaries: Look at the picture below and match the type of plate boundary activity to the three on the left side. Draw a line and circle where you see it in the picture. Use the information above to answer the questions.
4. What happens to the plates at a convergent boundary?
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5. What happens to the plates at a divergent boundary?
6. What happens to the plates at a transform fault?Plate Tectonics: Plate BoundariesRead the hand-out about plate boundaries. Then, look at the pictures below to match the correct plate boundary interaction and label it correctly. Finally, summarize the interaction from the information in the hand out.
Plate Boundary:_____________
Plate Boundary:_____________
Plate Boundary:_____________
Modeling Plate boundary Interactions:Use the fault model cut out to demonstrate all three plate boundaries.
Questions:
Describe
interaction:____________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________Describe
interaction:____________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________Describe
interaction:_______________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
100
7. Scientists discovered strips of rocks having polarity, which were found as mirror images across the oceans ridges. What plate boundary accounts for what was found?
8. What dynamic, ever changing, process produces new oceanic lithosphere?
9. What process destroys the Earth’s lithosphere to make magna for volcanoes?
10. Which two of Earth’s layers are responsible for plate tectonic activity?
11. What is an example of a transform fault?
12. What process is related to volcanic activity?
Appendix KFault Model: Tradtional
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Appendix LEarthquakes: Lego and Traditional
102
Name:_______________Date:__________
Period:______Earthquakes
A fault is a break in the Earth’s crust along which blocks of the crust slide relative to one another. When rocks that are under stress suddenly slip along a fault, a series of vibrations is set off. These vibrations of Earth’s
crust caused by slippage along a fault are known as earthquakes. Earthquakes are occurring all of the time, but many are so small that we cannot feel them. Other earthquakes are enormous movements of the Earth’s crust that cause widespread damage.
The Richter scale is used by scientists to qualify the amount of energy released by an earthquake by a series of waves (P, S and Surface waves). The measure of the energy released by an earthquake is called magnitude. The smallest magnitude that can be felt is approximately 2.0, and the largest magnitude that has ever been recorded is 9.5. Each increase of magnitude by one whole number indicates the release of about 30 times more energy that the whole number below it. For example, an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 releases 30 times more energy of an earthquake magnitude 5.0. Earthquakes that cause widespread damage have magnitudes of 7.0 or higher.
The majority of earthquakes take place at or near tectonic plate boundaries. The area where earthquakes occur is called the “Ring of Fire”. This is in the Pacific Ocean where the Pacific plate is moving under the Eurasian plate and the South American plate. In addition, over the past 15 million to 20 million years, many earthquakes have occurred along the San Andreas fault, which runs almost the entire length of California. The San Andreas fault is where parts of the North American plate and the Pacific plate are slipping past each other.
Understanding the Wave:After reading the three different earthquake waves, put the waves in order of arrival as if you were feeling them in your home.The faster of these body waves is called the primary or P wave. Its motion is the same as that of a sound wave in
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that, as it spreads out, it alternately pushes (compresses) and pulls (dilates) the rock. These P waves are able to travel through both solid rock, such as granite mountains, and liquid material, such as volcanic magma or the water of the oceans.
The slower wave through the body of rock is called the secondary or S wave. As an S wave propagates, it shears the rock sideways at right angles to the direction of travel. If a liquid is sheared sideways or twisted, it will not spring back, hence S waves cannot propagate in the liquid parts of the earth, such as oceans and lakes.Surface waves travel more slowly than body waves (P and S). Surface waves roll like ocean waves, they move both vertically and horizontally in a vertical plane pointed in the direction in which the waves are travelling.
Order: 1. _____________ 2. ____________ 3. ______________Understanding Magnitude:Re-read the paragraph about the Richter scale. Then, use the spaghetti to replicate the increase in energy that is felt from one order of magnitude to the next. Take and break one strand of spaghetti. Next, gather up thirty strands of spaghetti (they don’t need to be whole, you just need to be able to break them.). The difference you feel is the difference in energy from one order of magnitude to the next. For example, the energy difference between a 4.0 and a 5.0.
Question: What is meant by the magnitude of an earthquake?
Understanding Earthquakes and Structures:The two most important variables affecting earthquake damage are (1) the
intensity of ground shaking caused by the quake coupled with (2) the quality of the engineering of structures in the region. The level of shaking, in turn, is controlled by the proximity of the earthquake source to the affected region and the types of rocks that seismic waves pass through en route (particularly those at or near the ground surface).
Generally, the bigger, closer, and shallower the earthquake, the stronger the shaking. But there have been large earthquakes with very little damage either because they caused little shaking in populated areas, or because the buildings were built to withstand that kind of shaking. In other cases, moderate earthquakes have caused significant damage either because the shaking was locally amplified, or more likely because the structures were poorly engineered.
104
The challenge: Build a structure out of Lego that will withstand a large earthquake and keep the people inside as safe as possible.
1. Be sure that the furniture and person are set before shaking begins.
2. Place the room/house on shaker table.3. Turn the crank back and forth a small amount to make the table
move slowly to simulate the arrival of P waves.4. Then, increase the shaking to simulate the arrival of S waves.5. Finally, shake the table by quickly moving the crank to simulate
the Surface waves.
Observations: In your observations write down what is happening to the furniture and the person in side for each type of wave (P,S and Surface). Include the time (in seconds) between each wave for a more accurate simulation.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Questions: You may find the answers to these questions from the text or from this worksheet. Answers must be in a complete sentence.
1. What is a fault?
2. What is another name for geologically active?
3. What is the function of the Richter scale?
105
4. How is magnitude measured?
5. What is the difference in magnitude between a 6.0 and a 5.0 earthquake?
6. What is the order in which seismic waves arrive during an earthquake?
7. Where are the most geological activity places on the Earth’s surface?
8. What are the characteristics of a strong earthquake?
9. What are the two most important variables affecting earthquake damage?
10. How are plate tectonics and earthquakes related?
Appendix MAtmospheric Layers: Lego
Name:______________Date:__________
Period:__________ The Atmospheric Layers
Earth is surrounded by a mixture of gases known as the atmosphere. The atmosphere contains 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% of other gases. Earth’s atmosphere changes constantly as the gases are added and removed. For example, animals remove oxygen when they breathe in and carbon dioxide is added when they breathe out. The atmosphere also insulates
Earth’s surface. This insulation slows that rate at which Earth’s surface loses heat. The atmosphere keeps Earth at temperatures at which living things can survive.
106
In addition to gases, the atmosphere contains many types of tiny, solid particles, or atmospheric dust. Atmospheric dust is mainly soil but includes salt, ash from fires, volcanic ash, particulate matter from combustion, skin, hair, bits of clothing, pollen, bacteria and viruses. When this particles mix with water vapor or droplets they form aerosols. Under the right amount of pressure these aerosols can form clouds. Clouds are formed in the troposphere where almost all of the weather occurs. The troposphere is the nearest to the Earth’s surface. It extends to about 18 km above Earth’s surface.
Above the troposphere is the stratosphere. The stratosphere extends from about 18 km to an altitude of about 50 km. Temperature rises as altitude increases because ozone in the stratosphere absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) energy and warms the air. Ozone, O3, is a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms. Almost all the ozone in the atmosphere is concentrated in the ozone layer in the stratosphere. Ozone reduces the amount of harmful UV radiation that reaches Earth.
Pre-Activity: Write your answers in complete sentences.
1. Label the layers of the atmosphere on the picture to the right.
2. What is the temperature doing in the troposphere?
3. What is the temperature doing in the stratosphere?
4. What is the composition of the gases nitrogen, oxygen and other gases in the atmosphere?
5. In what layer is the ozone layer located?The atmosphere is divided into four layers based on temperature changes that occur at different distances above the Earth’s surface. The four layers, from the lowest altitude to the highest, are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The different color Lego bricks will represent to differences in temperature as the altitude increase. Read the legend to see what colors represent what temperature.
2 x 2
107
Use the 2 x 2 Lego bricks for this activity (see picture). Each brick represents a different temperature. First, look at the temps in the table below and write in the correct color. After writing in the colors then put together the Legos in the correct order.Once they are all put together and then answer the question on the other page.
Color and Temperature:Red = +60 °C Yellow = 40°C Orange = 20°C Green = 0°C Blue = -20°C Grey = -40°C White = -60°C Brown = -80°C Black = -100°C Atmospheric Layer
Altitude
Temp. Color
2 km 0°C 6 km -20°C
Troposphere 10 km -40°C 20 km -40°C 30 km -20°C 40 km -20°C 50 km 0°C
Stratosphere 55 km 0°C 60 km -20°C 67 km -40°C 72 km -60°C 80 km -80°C
Mesosphere 90 km -100°C 101 km -80°C 105 km -60°C 108 km -40°C 115 km -20°C
Thermosphere 120 km 0°C 125 km 20°C 130 km 40°C
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135 km 60°C
Analysis Questions: Answer the questions in complete sentences.
1. What are the four atmospheric layers?
2. What causes them to form layers above the Geosphere? (There are two reasons.)
3. What happens to the temperature in the troposphere as the altitude increases?
4. In what atmospheric layer do clouds form?
5. What happens to the temperature in the stratosphere as the altitude increases?
6. What is the form of oxygen that protects Earth from the sun’s UV rays?
7. In what layer is the ozone located?
8. What is the coldest temperature in the mesosphere?
9. Why is the temperature hot in the thermosphere, but we don’t feel the heat?
Appendix NAtmospheric Layers: Traditional
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Name:______________Date:__________
Period:__________ The Atmospheric Layers
Earth is surrounded by a mixture of gases known as the atmosphere. The atmosphere contains 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% of other gases. Earth’s atmosphere changes constantly as the gases are added and removed. For example, animals remove oxygen when they breathe in and carbon dioxide is added when they breathe out. The atmosphere also insulates
Earth’s surface. This insulation slows that rate at which Earth’s surface loses heat. The atmosphere keeps Earth at temperatures at which living things can survive.
In addition to gases, the atmosphere contains many types of tiny, solid particles, or atmospheric dust. Atmospheric dust is mainly soil but includes salt, ash from fires, volcanic ash, particulate matter from combustion, skin, hair, bits of clothing, pollen, bacteria and viruses. When this particles mix with water vapor or droplets they form aerosols. Under the right amount of pressure these aerosols can form clouds. Clouds are formed in the troposphere where almost all of the weather occurs. The troposphere is the nearest to the Earth’s surface. It extends to about 18 km above Earth’s surface.
Above the troposphere is the stratosphere. The stratosphere extends from about 18 km to an altitude of about 50 km. Temperature rises as altitude increases because ozone in the stratosphere absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) energy and warms the air. Ozone, O3, is a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms. Almost all the ozone in the atmosphere is concentrated in the ozone layer in the stratosphere. Ozone reduces the amount of harmful UV radiation that reaches Earth.
Pre-Activity: Write your answers in complete sentences.
6. Label the layers of the atmosphere on the picture to the right.
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7. What is the temperature doing in the troposphere?
8. What is the temperature doing in the stratosphere?
9. What is the composition of the gases nitrogen, oxygen and other gases in the atmosphere?
10. In what layer is the ozone layer located?
The atmosphere is divided into four layers based on temperature changes that occur at different distances above the Earth’s surface. The four layers, from the lowest altitude to the highest, are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.
Directions:Use the graph to the right to fill out the table below. You are to look at the altitude on the chart and write down is corresponding temperature. Then, answer the questions on the last page using this chart.
Atmospheric Layer
Altitude
Temp.
2 km6 km
Troposphere 10 km20 km30 km40 km
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50 kmStratosphere 55 km
60 km67 km72 km80 km
Mesosphere 90 km101 km105 km108 km115 km
Thermosphere 120 km125 km 130 km135 km
Analysis Questions: Answer the questions in complete sentences. Answers to questions can come from the graph to the right or from the textbook.
10. What are the four atmospheric layers?
11. What causes them to form layers above the Geosphere? (There are two reasons.)
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12. What happens to the temperature in the troposphere as the altitude increases?
13. In what atmospheric layer do clouds form?
14. How do clouds form?
15. What happens to the temperature in the stratosphere as the altitude increases?
16. What is the form of oxygen that protects Earth from the sun’s UV rays?
17. In what layer is the ozone located?
18. What is the coldest temperature in the mesosphere?
19. Why is the temperature hot in the thermosphere, but we don’t feel the heat?
Appendix OSummative Assessment Section 1
Chapter 3—The Dynamic Earth Quiz Form AMULTIPLE CHOICE
1. How did the Himalaya Mountains form?a. erosion c. glacial movementsb. convection d. colliding tectonic plates
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 1 OBJ: 2
2. Which one is NOT a compositional layer of the Earth?a. Crust c. Mantleb. Mesosphere d. Core
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 1 OBJ: 5
3. Which of the following is the most geologically active region on the surface of Earth?a. glacial valleys c. boundaries between tectonic platesb. mountain peaks d. recharge zones
ANS: C DIF: 1 REF: 1 OBJ: 2
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4. Which of the five physical layers are responsible for earthquakes?a. Lithosphere c. Mesosphereb. Asthenosphere d. Both A and B
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 1 OBJ: 1
5. How do scientists know what the inside of the Earth looks like?a. They just know. c. Tsunami Wavesb. Seismic waves from earthquakes. d. Study meteorites.
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 1 OBJ: 4
6. Convergent boundaries move ____________________.a. away from each other. c. along side each other.b. toward each other. d. None of the above.
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 1 OBJ: 1
7. Divergent boundaries move ______________________.a. away from each other. c. along side each other.b. toward each other. d. None of the above.
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 2
8. Lithosphere is being destroyed in what plate boundary?a. Convergent c. Transformb. Divergent d. None of the above
ANS: A DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 29. What is an example of a transform fault?
a. Subduction c. Seafloor spreadingb. Himalayan Mountains d. San Andreas Fault
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 2
10. What plate boundary have scientists discovered mirror image rock layers s that are magnetic and occur on ocean ridges?a. Convergent c. Transformb. Divergent d. None of the above
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 211. What is a fault?
a. Crack in Earth’s lithosphere. c. When someone is not good at something.b. Magma coming out of the ground. d. None of the above
ANS: A DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 2
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12. What is the name of the machine that measures the energy released by an earthquake?a. seismometer c. Richter Scaleb. polygraph d. Line Scale
ANS: C DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 2
13. What is magnitude?a. Energy released by a sneeze. c. Energy released by a wave.b. Energy released by an earthquake. d. Energy created by falling rocks.
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 214. What is the difference in magnitude from a 6.0 to a 5.0 earthquakes?
a. 10 c. 30b. 3.0 d. 300
ANS: C DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 215. What is the order of seismic waves that arrive during an earthquake?
a. P wave, Surface waves, S waves c. Surface waves, S waves, P wavesb. S waves, Surface waves, P waves d. P waves, S waves, Surfaces waves
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 2
Appendix PSummative Assessment: Section 2
Chapter 3—The Dynamic Earth Form AMULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Why is the temperature of the stratosphere warm if the troposphere and the mesosphere are so cold?a. Radiation and greenhouse gases c. Ozone and greenhouse gasesb. U.V. radiation and Ozone d. None of the Above
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 1 OBJ: 22. Which of the following is Earth’s densest atmospheric layer?
a. mesosphere c. thermosphereb.
stratosphere d.
troposphere
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 23. In the troposphere, which of the following decreases as altitude
increases?a. temperature c. pressureb. radiation d. Both (a) and (c)
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 2
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4. Which atmospheric layer contains most of the Earth’s gases?a. stratosphere c. thermosphereb.
troposphere d.
mesosphere
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 2
5. What force allows Earth to hold and maintain an atmosphere?a. Gravity c. Condensationb.
Temperature d. Evaporation
ANS: A DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 2
6. Without the greenhouse effect, Earth’s atmosphere would be _____ to support life.a. too hot c. too wetb. too cold d. lacking the oxygen
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 47. Between what atmospheric layers is the ozone layer located?
a. Mesosphere and Thermosphere c. Stratosphere and Mesosphereb. Troposphere and Stratosphere d. Troposphere and Thermosphere
ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 4
8. Which atmospheric layer do clouds form?a. mesosphere c. thermosphereb. stratosphere d. troposphere
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 29. Which atmospheric layer do meteorites burn up in?
a. mesosphere c. thermosphereb. stratosphere d. troposphere
ANS: A DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 210. Which atmospheric layer has the hottest temperature?
a. mesosphere c. thermosphereb. stratosphere d. troposphere
ANS: C DIF: 1 REF: 2 OBJ: 211. Which of the following is NOT a mechanism of energy transfer
through or within Earth’s atmosphere?a. radiation c. conductionb.
condensation d. convection
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ANS: B DIF: 1 REF: 212. ______________ is the transfer of energy that takes place when variations in temperature moves
the matter making up air or water.a. radiation c. conductionb. condensation d. convection
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 213. What are the two types of heat transfer that drive the Earth’s weather?
a. Radiation and convection c. Conduction and radiationb. Condensation and conduction d. Convection and conduction
ANS: C DIF: 1 REF: 2
14. What is being released into the atmosphere that causes the greenhouse effect?a. Radiation gases c. Conductive gasesb. Aurora gases d. Greenhouse gases
ANS: D DIF: 1 REF: 2
15. Which types of heat transfer are responsible for the greenhouse effect?a. Radiation and convection c. Radiation and conductionb. Convection and conduction d. None of the Above
ANS: C DIF: 1 REF: 2
