HR: 1340h
AN: ED53A-0320    [Abstracts]
TI: Exploring Form and Pattern: Pinecone, Fern, and Tafoni
AU: * Boxerman, J
EM: jzbox@yahoo.com
AF: Jonathan Boxerman, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, Department of Geosciences, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AU: Kudritzki, P
EM: pkudrizki@hotmail.com
AF: Patricia Kudritzki, San Francisco Unified School District, Aptos Middle School, 105 Aptos Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 United States
AU: Tanner, K
EM: kdtanner@sfsu.edu
AF: Kimberly Tanner, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, Department of Biology, San Francisco, CA 94132 United States
AB: During the 2004-20005 school year, two classes of sixth-grade earth scientists from Aptos Middle School in San Francisco explored forms and patterns of various natural objects. This classroom was unique in that there was a partner geoscientist working with the teacher and students several days a week throughout the school year as part of the SFSU GK-12 Partnership Program. This lesson on form and pattern was inspired by the challenge to create a hands-on investigative activity about forms and patterns in Nature that could compliment the partner geoscientist's Masters research project on the tafoni rock weathering pattern. In this fun, engaging, and distinct hands-on earth science activity, students actively investigated forms and patterns using tools such as rulers and hand lenses. The lesson objectives were to teach students about form and pattern and to help students recognize forms and patterns through careful investigation of natural objects. The natural objects were pre-selected for their well-defined forms and patterns and included: a pinecone, a fern branch, a foliated sandstone, a pineapple, a succulent limb, a cross-section from a redwood tree, a spiraling shell, and a section of sandstone undergoing tafoni weathering. To assess student learning, students were asked to define both form and pattern before and after the activity. A positive shift in student responses occurred, and students learned how to identify a form and interpret how a form can repeat spatially to create a pattern. Sketches and observation notes students made demonstrate that they had become more sophisticated observers of forms and patterns in natural objects. This activity was very successful and all students actively participated. Fruitful class discussions suggested that most students were well prepared by this activity to understand the essence of the partner geoscientist's research on tafoni. Emphasizing form and pattern to explain a complex and esoteric geologic phenomenon made the study of the tafoni weathering pattern more accessible to those with limited science backgrounds or personal experiences in natural settings. (Supported by NSF Grant #DGE-0337949).
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
DE: 4460 Pattern formation
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005