8/19/2005

PV STEMNET:

TEACHERS IMPLEMENTING IMAGING AND IMAGERY FOR THE CLASSROOM

ABSTRACT OF PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTING IMAGING TECHNOLOGY INTO TEACHING

Philip Lussier

Problem statement: This plan is for a specific application of the skills acquired during the weeklong session this summer. I have been teaching a basic emergency medical technician training course at Mohawk Trail Regional High School for 18 years. Because of changes made by the state in the method for approving such courses this course will no longer be offered as part of the school's science curriculum. To take its place I have developed a course I am calling First Responder Plus! that is a combination of human anatomy, pathophysiology and first responder and CPR training. One of the requirements for this course will be for students, either individually or in small groups, to complete a project and present the results to the rest of the class. I am going to make imaging technology an important ingredient in the documentation of the projects.

Motivation: I am interested in incorporating imaging technology into the presentation portion of the project requirement because it will enhance the peer-teaching component of the lesson. It will provide equity for the class because the equipment will be provided and it will impart a structure because the entire class will be given the same parameters for the assignment.

Approach: The final project will be due during the last two weeks of the semester. If all of the students in the class were equally adept in using a digital camera and PowerPoint it would be a simple task to give them the assignment to create their project presentations using those media and then wait for the results. However this is not necessarily the case and some students will have greater or lesser facility with the technology. My plan is therefore to assign a mini-project and presentation for mid-semester which will be developed individually (no groups) and will require research and a presentation on some topic in the physiology or treatment of human disease and injury. I will model the steps for completion of the mini-project by leading the class through the process a week prior to the start of their own work. I will use the MTRHS science department's mobile ibook computer lab and two digital cameras for this.

Results: The objective of this plan is to have students individually produce and present a seven-slide PowerPoint presentation outlining the results of their research into one aspect of the topic area. It is hoped that the skills learned producing a PowerPoint presentation for their mini-project will transfer to the presentation they will make on their larger, semester-long project.

Conclusions: The ultimate objective would be to make the students better observers and communicators as well as reinforcing and enriching the content of the course.