EDU 202 Model of Effective Instruction

Itzi I. Garcia Contreras

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 202 – 1001

Professor Christensen

May 09, 2021

Introduction

My name is Itzi Garcia Contreras., I have chosen 8th grade biology and the effective

model of instruction will be cooperative learning. Science has always been a subject I have

enjoyed, and I think that being able to work in teams during class is such an amazing experience,

especially during labs; it allows students the opportunity to bond with their classmates and get a

second-hand opinion when they are unsure of themselves or a step during their experiment.

Definition

Cooperative Learning: Cooperative learning is built on group-based learning and growth.

Students are placed into small, diverse groups where they may be tasked with an array of

different assignments such as projects, readings, classwork, etc. These groups are then evaluated

as a whole and so is each individual student in the team. With cooperative learning, students can

set expectations, roles, and standards for each other since a part of their grade is to rely on each

member’s work. Requirements for a successful cooperative learning environment: a diverse

group of students at different academic levels, 2-6 people per group, space for them to sit in a

circle so everyone in the group is face to face, and responsibilities established early on in order to

create a bond of trust between teammates. The purpose of cooperative learning is to teach

students how to healthily interact in an academic setting and work with their peers to reach a

common goal.

Standard

MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and

genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.

Observable Objectives
 1. Students will be able to list the different ways the environment and an organism’s

physical attributes hinder or expedite their growth patterns ( 4 Analyzing).

2. Students will be able to predict and justify how a change in environment or genetics may

or may not affect an organism’s growth (2 and 5 Understanding and Evaluating).

Introduction-Learning Process

With a partner, students will think of a couple of characteristics or advancements that

help humans live about in their day-to-day modern life (5 minutes).

From there, the teacher will introduce the lesson with this informative PowerPoint lesson:

https://csnedu-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/5007225283_student_csn_edu/

EfZAyjr1KERImpVZNsowd6UBuS7x9IEwTEujDHhj0E4TLQ?e=2FBEfd (20 minutes).

Students will participate in the lesson by answering questions given by the teacher

throughout the lesson such as, “Why is it important for variegated plants to receive more light

than non-variegated plants and how does variegation impact a plant’s growth?” “Explain why an

organism may go into dormancy during the winter.” And “Justify how a higher food supply may

impact an animal population.”. Higher level questions, along with mid-range and lower-level

questions will be asked throughout the lesson as well.

 After the PowerPoint presentation, students will work in groups of 2-6 to complete the

following assignment. When working on question #4, they can split the work (25 minutes).
Students will complete an exit ticket (5 mins).
 References

AgPhD. (2018, November 9). Farm basics #1074 what affects plant growth? (Air Date 11-4-18).

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRljDOUiuNQ. 

Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research. (2019, February 14). Bloom’s

taxonomy of educational objectives (revised). Northeastern University.

https://learning.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2019/02/BloomsTaxonomy-

1.pdf.

BBCEarth. (2017, November 3). Eel suffers toxic shock from brine pool | Blue Planet II.

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwuVpNYrKPY. 
Sadker, D.M., Zittleman, K.R. (2014). Teachers, schools, and society: a brief introduction to

education. [5th edition]. E-Book. Retrieved from McGraw-Hill.

State of Nevada Department of Education. (2014, February). Nevada academic content standards for

science (topics). State of Nevada Department of Education.

https://doe.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/nde.doe.nv.gov/content/Nevada_Academic_Standards/

Science/NSACCSScienceTopics.pdf.

Stile Education. (2019, September 11). Competition in ecosystems.

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L24Kp72V67g. 

Reflection

I chose to use the cooperative learning instructional model; with this type of model,

students are placed into diverse, small groups in order to achieve a common goal (in this case,

completing the above assignment). All students are responsible for contributing towards the

assignment equally and failure to do so can result in a low grade, however, students are also

individually graded to ensure their individual work is not being affected by the contribution from

their classmates (or lack of it). The subject I have chosen is 8th grade biology, particularly the

section that goes over organisms and their growth patterns. Growth patterns in organisms can be

altered by outside and personal sources; climate, geographical location, resources, etc. play
important roles in the progress of an organism’s growth so understanding what exactly is

affecting growth patterns is crucial. I feel like there could be more for students to engage with

during the teacher’s instructional time such as using clickers to interact with the lesson and

maybe even asking students what their favorite color is and looking for plant mutations/patterns

with those hues (adding a personal factor into the lesson to encourage long-term memory). One

strength in the lesson is the information provided; I think that the information on the PowerPoint

is a good starting point and if time permitted, I could probably go back and add more

information. As for weak points, I think the student assignment could be better. I also struggled

with thinking of questions about animal growth based on genetics because when it comes to

alleles, DNA, RNA, etc. I find it hard to absorb and retain information.