TPACK Questions

What is the content you are focusing on in your science lesson?
In my lesson I focused on teaching the Kindergarten Content Standard 3 Objective 1: Investigate changes in seasons. I wanted the children to be able to explore the different defining characteristics of seasons, identify seasons, and use pictures to compare different seasons one to another and visually represent their knowledge.

What is the pedagogy you are using and why is it a good fit with the content?
In this lesson I used active involvement by encouraging oral and visual investigation. I also required the students to use a higher level of thinking to apply what they had learned in creating a concept map. Rather than rattling off a list of facts about season, I used pictures to direct a dicussion about the different characteristics of each season. By analyzing each photo and applying what knowledge they already had, students were able to learn more about seasons than they ever would by just listening to the teacher. By creating a concept map, students were able to further apply all they had learned as they compared the different characteristics of each season in a visual representation.

What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?
Google Earth and Kidspiration were a perfect fit with this lesson because it allowed the students to be active investigators as well as allowed them to apply their learning. These programs encouraged the students to be curious about the world around them, ask questions, make educated guessed and apply their learning.The Google Earth program allowe the students to explore different areas of the earth and use their knowledge of seasons to guess what season each region was experiening. The Kidspiration program allowed the students to apply all of their learning in creating a last visual represention. By actively involving the student in the learning process and have the students apply their knowledge, the learning experience is so much more meaningful and memorable.