No Test Today, Put Your Papers Away!

Students will participate in a science investigation designed to discover how many pennies will fit into a paper cup boat before it sinks. They will all start with a standard paper cup 4 cm. high and a plastic basin filled with water. In partnerships they will fill their boats with passengers (pennies) until the boat sinks and record their data. After completing the experiment ten times they will find an average and record it on a chart on the interactive white board. Next students will discuss what variables could be responsible for the differing results. I hope to illicit ideas like wet pennies, wet cup, placement of pennies, volatility of the water, etc. Then students will pick one of the variables, make a change and repeat the experiment. Historically students would record this information in their lab books and we would have a class discussion and then students would write a reflection...but never again!

Today after beginning to listen to the first group I realized I needed to capture the fabulous comments they were making so I grabbed my flip camera and let them explain their thinking and what they discovered while I filmed them. They could tell me about it and show me what they meant with their boats, pennies and basins. In three to five minute videos I learned more than I ever have in any lab book or on a test - to explain and question their findings my fifth graders were talking science! I saw critical thinking, debate and discussions demonstrating the highest level of thinking I had ever witnessed with this experiment and best of all my students can also see their own thinking and that of their peers and I have the videos to use later for grading purposes!

As we move forward in 21st century skills we need to find alternative ways to assess student learning and with this lesson I know that the flip camera can help me do that. As a teacher, the BEST lesson is when I see students excited about sharing what they think and learn and this one was one of the best for all of us! I am swimming with ideas for other ways I can use a flip camera for assessments.