Wyland Oyama

Implementation Project Proposal

For my implementation project, I want to return to the WISE website and use one of the
projects that walks the student through cellular respiration in relation to photosynthesis. The
project is centered on Mary who wants to grow food for her bunny. Mary was surprised to find
that her initial prediction that plants will die quickly without light was incorrect, and asks the
student to make sense of her findings. This lesson would follow the photosynthesis content
lessons, as it is pertinent to have background knowledge in order to complete the first section of
the program. In doing so, I am applying the second principle of learning by having the student
use what they already know.
The project asks the learner to create a basic chemical formula for photosynthesis using
both pictures and compounds before having the student follow and write down the energy
transformation in a fill-in-the-blank format. Also, the learner makes initial predictions as to
where the plant is getting its glucose from and what will happen to the different parts of the plant
(sweet potatoes and the leaves). This formative assessment is seen throughout the exercise and
allows the teacher to track conceptual change. Later in the project, the student returns to these
initial pictures and responses, helping apply the metacognitive strategies also seen in the learning
principles.
The project then has an animation where the student controls whether the light source is
on or off. The animation of the plant changes based off of the students choices, and
demonstrates how the glucose moves around the sweet potato plant under specific conditions.

The student then draws conclusions based off of the evidence given. The same animation is used
later in the exercise, but a graph is added to chart the total glucose stored, made, and used. In
doing so, the project implements the fourth learning strategy, using different strategies and
approaches to cater to all learning styles.
The exercise generally has at least one sense making or prediction question on every
subchapter, allowing the student to continuously reform their perspective in order to create a
better understanding of the content. In the experiment section (where the chart is made) I was
compelled to see how I could manipulate the specifics to create my own tailor made information.
Since it is run through the program, this kind of manipulation still generates accurate data that
the learner can apply to follow up questions in the activity and personal sense making. Having
this freedom embodies the 5th and 6th principles by creating an inherent motivation to pursue
knowledge and provides practice in order to shape what the student learns.
In between this initial research and the second project (a summative assessment that takes
the learned concepts and applies them in test format), I would have students discuss their
findings with a partner. This would give the students some cognitive rest and allow the resource
of a peer to help digest information and better shape student understanding into an articulated
response. This would include the social component, the seventh learning principle, and ensure
that both formative and summative assessments are used throughout the activity.
In summation, all of the principles of learning are met, because the experience is
scaffolded with existing knowledge, while new concepts are applied that follow major content
milestones required by the sunshine state standards (first learning principle).