You are on page 1of 7

LauraDouglas

EPS541
UnpackingPCKandDevelopingaGrowthPlan
IllinoisAssessmentFramework(IAF)12.7.78statesthatstudentsshould
understandthatsomechangesinthesolidearthcanbedescribedastherockcycle:rocks
attheearth'ssurfaceweather,formingsedimentsthatareburied,thencompacted,heated,
andoftenrecrystallizedintonewrock.Inordertoeffectivelyteachtherockcycle,Imustask
myself:Whatdostudentsneedtoknowtounderstandtherockcycle?Tounpackthe
conceptandidentifymajorcomponents,Icreatedtheconceptmapasseeninfigure1
below.

Figure1:RockCycleConceptMap

Asseeninfigureonetherearetwomainconceptstotherockcycle,thethreemajor
classificationsofrocks,andthecausesofchangeinrocks.Thethreemajortypesofrocks
are:metamorphic,igneous,andsedimentary.Eachofthetypesofrockscanforminto
anotherrockthroughoneormoreofthefollowingprocesses:heatandpressure,melting,
weatheringanderosion,orcompactionandcementation.Themostimportantthingtonote
thattheconnectionbetweenthesetwomajorcomponentsiscyclicalandongoing.
Whilesedimentsandliquidrock(magmaandlava)donotnecessarilyfallunderthe
threemajorrockcomponents,theyareanintricatepartoftherockcycle.Asseeninthe
conceptmap,sedimentsareaprecursorforsedimentaryrocks.Similarly,lavaandmagma
aretheprecursortoigneousrocks.Whenobservingtheconceptmap,asyoubeginto
branchoutfromthethreemajorrocktypes,yougetintomoredescriptivetermsofwhat
eachrock,fromappearancetohowitisclassified.
Thedifficultthingaboutteachingacycle,iswheretostart?Shouldthestudentslearn
abouttheindividualrocksfirst,howrockschange,oracombinationofthetwo?Aftermuch
thoughtandresearchonline,Iconcludedthatitwouldbebesttoteachthebasicconceptof
therockcycletostudentsandthenbuildoffofthere.Amorebasicrockcycleisshownin
figuretwo.

Figure2:SimpleRockCycle
Bystartingwithasimplifiedrockcycle,studentscanreallyseetheassociations
betweenthekeyconcepts.Coyne,Kameenui,andCarnine(2011)saythatvisualmapsof
bigideasaddtotheoverallconsideratequalityofaninstructiontool.Aconsideratetool
actsasanaidtoeasecomprehensionbysupportingstudents.Iwouldliketostartoffwith
thissimplifiedmodel(figure2).
Inordertogetstudentsexcitedaboutlearningabouttherockcycle,Icouldintroduce
thebasicconceptsusingarockcyclecrayonlab.Thelabintroducesthemajorconcepts,
rocktypeandcausesofchange,usingcrayonsasrocks.Studentsbeginbyweathering
anderodingcrayonrockstheyscrapeofbitsofdifferentcoloredcrayonstoformdifferent
coloredsediments.Nextstudentsdepositthesedimentsinlayersonapieceoftinfoil,fold
thefoilover,andcompactthesedimentstogether.Theyhavenowformedasedimentary
crayonrock,seefigurethreeforanexample.Icouldthenhavestudentslistcharacteristics
oftheirrock.Iwouldmakesuretohighlightthefactthatithadlayers.

Figure3:CrayonRocks

Toformametamorphicrockstudentswouldhavetoapplyheatandpressure.
Studentswouldtaketheirsedimentaryrocks,wrappedintinfoil,tomeandIwouldbriefly
placethepacketonahotplateandpressdownonthefoil.Oncethepackethascooled
studentswoulddiscovertheirmetamorphicrock(figure3).Iwouldinstructstudentsto
discussthedifferencestheynoticedinthechangefromsedimentaryrock.Again,Iwould
makesuretohighlightthefactthatyoucanstillseethedifferentcolorsfromtheoriginal
rocks,butthebandshavebecometwistedandmixed.
Finally,studentswouldbringmetheretinfoilwrappedmetamorphicrockandonce
againIwouldplaceitonahotplate.Onlythistime,Iwouldleavethepacketonlongenough
forittomeltandbecomemagma.Oncethepacketscooled,studentscouldinvestigate
theirnewrock(figure3).Studentswouldbepromptedtodiscussthechangestheysaw
again.
Tocheckforunderstandingoftheintroductorylesson,Icouldaskprobingquestions
like:
HowcouldIturnthisigneousrockintoasedimentaryrock?
Doyouthinkonlyametamorphicrockcouldbecomeanigneousrock?Why?
Thesequestionwouldnotonlycheckforunderstanding,butIcouldscaffoldthemtomeet
thelevelofthestudents.

Figure4:SedimentaryShaleMetamorphosed
Thefollowinglessonswouldinvolvenotetaking,visualrepresentationsoftherock
cycle,andobservationsofrealrocks.Coyneet.al(2011)statesthatampleopportunities
toapplytheconceptarenecessaryifstudentsaretofullyunderstandtherelevanceand
utilityofaconceptorbigidea.InapreviouslessonItaughtontherockcycle,Igave
studentsasedimentary,metamorphic,andigneousrockthatfollowedtheprogressionof
therockcyclefromthesamematerial.Thiswaystudentscouldmakereallifecomparisons
ofthechangesinrocksanexampleofthisisseeninfigure4.Studentscouldalsoobserve
sedimentaryandmetamorphicrocksunderamicroscopetohelpthemunderstandhowa
rockchangesonamicrolevelwhenheatandpressureisapplied.Adiagram,suchasthe
oneinfigure5,wouldofferagoodvisualizationforthestudents.

Figure5:SedimentaryandMetamorphicRocksMagnified

Inordertocheckforstudentmisconceptions,itwouldbeimportantthatIcheckfor
understanding(CFU)regularly.IdescribedsomemethodsforCFUwiththecrayonlab,but
additionalmethodswouldincludeexitslipandworksheetanalysis,aswellasobservations
duringstudentconversationsandgroupwork.OnemisconceptionIhavenoticedwhen
previouslyteachingtherockcycleisthatstudentsconfusedthebandingonsome
metamorphicrocks,likegneiss(figure4),forlayersofsedimentaryrocks.Toaddressthis
misconceptionIwouldhavestudentsdirectlycomparegneisswithaclearlylayered
sandstonerock.Iwouldthenaskscaffoldedquestionsuntilstudentscametotherealization
thatthebandswereintertwinedandnotseparatelikethelayers.Researchhasshownthat
plannedrefutationsweremoreeffectiveinchangingstudentsnaiveconceptionsto
scientificunderstandingthaninstructionthatlefttheteachertpproviderefutationalmaterial
spontaneouslyduringinstruction(Coyneet.al,2011).
Asafinalpieceoftherockcycleunit,Iwouldlikestudentstobeabletocompletea
componentsort,liketheoneseeninfigure6.Whilemyoriginalconceptmapcoveredmore
material(figure1),Ifigureditwouldbemorebeneficialforstudentstobreaktherockcycle
downintotwosmallerunits.Oncetheyhavedemonstratedmasteryofthemain
components,bycompletingadiagramlikefigure6,Icouldmoveontothenextunitand
delvedeeperintothecharacteristicofeachofthethreemajorrockforms.

Figure6:RockCycleSort(completed)

IbelieveIhaveaverystrongbackgroundincontentknowledgeforthissubject.Inthe
futureIwouldliketofocusmypracticesongatheringdataonstudentknowledge,sothatI
coulduseittohelpguidemyinstructionwhichwouldinturnbuildmyinstructional
knowledge.Liketherockcycle,thethreeareasofpedagogicalcontentknowledgeand
theirintegrationareintertwinedstrengtheningoneleadstonewknowledgeinotherareas
toconsider.

Reference
Coyne,M.D.,Kameenui,E.J.,Carnine,D.W.(2011)EffectiveTeachingStrategiesthat
AccommodateDiverseLearners.UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PearsonEducation.

You might also like