Assignment: Case Study

How Does This Fourth-Grade Classroom Use Developmental Principles?

Here is a classroom case based on authentic teacher experiences. Read the case carefully. Then
answer the open-ended questions by applying the theories and research discussed in the chapter.
“All fourth-grade scientists, please prepare your science observation journals and be
ready to report to lab in one minute,” Mr. Chang announces. Students write the date in the
upper-right-hand corner of their journals and have their pencils in hand. Mr. Chang’s objective is
for students to articulate and write clear hypotheses and to introduce the concept of density.
He invites the students to sit by team on the rug in front of the science demonstration
table. Students place their journals and pencils in front of them and wait for the demonstration
to begin. Mr. Chang has mysteriously covered objects on the table with a cloth. “What’s he going
to do this time?” Jeremiah giggles in anticipation. Mr. Chang has donned a white lab coat and
black-rimmed glasses: “Mr. Archimedes will be demonstrating today’s science lesson.”
“Shhh,” Samantha reminds her teammates. “Remember, mr. Achimedes only starts when
we’re listening.”
The fourth-graders watch as their teacher dramatically pulls back the cloth on the
science demonstration table to unveil a cantaloupe, a grape, and a clear glass bowl filled with
water. He holds up the grape and cantaloupe so all students can observe them. “Now turn to
your science partner and tell them which fruit you think is heavier.” Mr. Chang calls one student,
randomly selecting their names out of his jar of Popsicle sticks containing all the fourth-graders’
names.
Darius replies, “I know the grape is lighter, because it’s smaller, and I’ve helped my
grandma pick out grapes and cantaloupes at the supermarket.”
“That’s good to recall your personal experiences, Darius, that can help us to understand
the new concepts we’re learning,” Mr. Chang replies.
“Next, fourth-grade scientists, I want you to make a hypothesis about what will happen
when we put the cantaloupe and grape into this bowl of water,” Mr. Chang continues. “Before
we make our hypotheses, I want you to open your journals to our science vocabulary section
and remind your partner what it means to make a hypothesis.” “Christine, what is a
hypothesis?”
“It’s when you make a good guess about something,” Christine reponds.
Mr. Chang encourages her to elaborate: “Can you give us an example?”
Christine answers, “Yeah, I think the cantaloupe will sink when we put it in the water.”
“Okay, let’s transform Christine’s thoughts into the language scientists use.” Mr. Chang
continues: “You see, scientists write very specific hypotheses so that they can test and retest
them. For example, you wouldn’t want your mom to come up with a hypothesis that was too
simple, like, “I think Christine and her brother and sister will get along great if they eat lots and
lots of Brussels sprouts for dinner.” You would ask your mom to be more exact. What does she
mean by ‘getting along’ and exactly how many Brussels sprouts does she plan to feed you for
dinner? If your hypothesis is unclear, the outcome of your experiment will be confusing and you
won’t be able to retest your original hypothesis.”
 Mr. Chang models how to use the scientific vocabulary by writing an example on the
wipe board. “If I put a cantaloupe and grape into a bowl of water, then I hypothesize the
cantaloupe will sink and the grape will float.”
Next, Mr. Chang gives each student a sticky note and asks them to write down a
hypothesis for the demonstration, based on the posted exemplar. As students hand in their
hypotheses, Mr. Chang organizes them into categories on the board for the class to review.
Thirteen students hypothesize the cantaloupe will sink and the grape will float. Five hypothesize
both of the fruits will sink.
“Okay, scientists, now that you’ve all written hypotheses, I want you to carefully observe
Mr. Archimedes’ demonstration. Today, Mr. Archimedes wil conduct the experiment twice. First,
he wants you to simply observe what happens. During the second demonstration, he wants you
to record what you observe in your science journal.”
Mr. Chang inquisitively looks at both fruits as he holds them above the bowl of water. He
quickly scans his audience to make sure all eyes are on the experiment. The students are riveted
as he gently drops the fruit into the sater: “Look, the grape is sinking fast.” “Wait, the
cantaloupe is staying at the top, even though it’s so heavy.” “Oh, weird.” Mr. Chang performs
the demonstration a second time as the students write observations in their science journals.
“Today during your ‘Scientists Experiment’ time you will practice writing clear
hypotheses and recording your observations.” Mr. Chang sends the teams to their desks and
summons the ‘supply masters’ from each team to pick up materials. He gives each team a clear
plastic container to be filled with water and a bag of objects. Objects include metal washers,
tooth-picks, Popsicle sticks, plastic straws, an orange, and an apple. He wants his students to be
surprised when their experiments don’t match their hypotheses. Tomorrow, he wants them to
draw on these experiences when he introduces the concepts of mass and density.
“Okay, time for teams to report out to the class. I’d like to hear your hypotheses and
findings,” Mr. Chang announces. After the class discussion, Mr. Chang has students respond to
two questions: “What surprised you during your experiments? What questions do you still
have?” He plans on starting tomorrow’s lesson with their responses.

Application and reflection questions

Please answer the following questions using information taken directly from the case. For each
response, make sure you base your answer on relevant educational psychology theories and
research.

1. What are some strategies that the teacher used to promote sutdents’ cognitive
development?
2. Which of the development principles were applied during the lesson and how?
3. To what extent were the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky applied in the lesson?
4. Did the teacher use any strategies to promote students’ language skills?
5. Did the teacher demonstrate an awareness of diversity in cognitive development?
6. Evaluate the overall effectiveness of the lesson according to the three development
theories that you learned by including both strengths and weaknesses.

FP/Yeo/MPPE1123/September 2015/source: Moreno