Patrice Toulson

Information Literacy Lesson Plan Patrice Toulson

FRIT 7136 Dr. Stephanie Jones Fall 2009 Pathfinder URL http://sites.google.com/site/toulsonspathfinder

Patrice Toulson

Information Literacy Lesson Plan

GRADE: 6th Grade Math Class TEACHER(S): Patrice Toulson Anne Lamb CONTENT TOPIC: Finding the mean and median and graphing the data in Microsoft Excel STANDARDS FOR THE 21ST-CENTURY LEARNER GOALS Standard 1: Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge. Skills Indicator(s): 1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects and make the real-world connections for using this process in own life. Benchmark(s): Use a critical-thinking process that involves asking questions, investigating the answers, and developing new understandings for personal or academic independent-learning activities. Dispositions Indicator(s): 1.2.3 Demonstrate creativity by using multiple resources and formats. Responsibilities Indicator(s): 1.3.3 Follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information. 1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning community. 1.3.5 Use information technology responsibly. Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s): 1.4.2 User interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process. 1.4.4 Seek appropriate help when it is needed.

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Standard 2: Draw conclusions, making informal decisions; apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge. Skills Indicator(s): 2.1.1 Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying criticalthinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge. 2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations. 2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information. 2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings. Benchmark(s): 2.1.1 Interpret information and ideas by defining, classifying and inferring from information in text. 2.1.3 Draw conclusions based on explicit and implied information. 2.1.4 Identify and apply common productivity tools and features such as menus and toolbars to plan, create, and edit word processing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. 2.1.6 - Create products that incorporate writing, visuals, and other forms of media to convey message and main points. Dispositions Indicator(s): 2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning. Responsibilities Indicator(s): 2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world. Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s): 1.4.3 Monitor gathered information, and assess for gaps or weaknesses.

Patrice Toulson

CONNECTION TO LOCAL OR STATE STANDARDS (List here relevant content, information literacy, and technology standards) M6D1 Students will pose questions, collect data, represent and analyze data, and interpret results. a) Formulate questions that can be answered by data. Students should collect data by using samples from a large population (survey), or by conducting experiments. b) Using data, construct frequency distributions, frequency tables, and graphs. c) Choose appropriate graphs to be consistent with the nature of the data (categorical or numerical). Graphs should include pictographs, histograms, bar graphs, line graphs, and line plots. d) Use tables and graphs to examine variation that occurs within a group and variation that occurs between groups. e) Relate the data analysis to the context of the questions posed. MSBCS-BCSI-9: Students will develop and apply basic spreadsheet skills. OVERVIEW: Sixth grade students learn to calculate mean and median in their math class. After they learn this concept, they gather data on the height of sixth grade students in their classroom and compare their height to NBA professional players. They use the information gathered to examine the connection between data distribution and measures of central tendency. They manipulate the data and then examine various types of graphs to determine which graph will be most beneficial in expressing the data so the students can understand its meaning. They will use formulas in Excel to determine the mean and median of their data. FINAL PRODUCT: The students manually calculate the mean and median of the data they collect. Then the students produce an Excel Spreadsheet that includes formulas that show the mean and median of the data collected. They will graph the data in numerous ways to determine which graph best expresses the data. They will have an explanation of which graph worked the best and why and how their manually calculated data compares to the mean and median that was calculated through formulas.

Patrice Toulson

LIBRARY LESSON(S): Students will learn to gather data dealing with real-world information. The math teacher will go over the lesson on mean and median and will teach this concept to the students. After the math teacher completes her lesson, the media specialist will assist the students in gathering information on the height of sixth grade students in their classroom. After gathering the data, the students will convert the height of the students from feet to inches. Calculators may be used for the special needs students. Then the media specialist will take the students to the computer lab and give them a website (www.nba.com) to use to gather height information for professional NBA players. They will convert their heights to inches as well. Again, the special needs students may use calculators for the conversion. After all data is gathered, the media specialist will have a lesson with the students on how to create an excel spreadsheet, input data, use formulas and graph in Microsoft Excel using fictitious information. After the Excel lesson is delivered and it is believed all the students understand how to use an Excel Spreadsheet, the students will input the actual data gathered into an Excel spreadsheet, use formulas to find the mean and median, and graph the data to compare the data between the sixth grade students in relation to the NBA players. The students will use various graphs to determine which graph best expresses the data. ASSESSMENT Product - Teacher, media specialist and students will use a teacher-developed rubric to assess the collection of data, conversion of data from feet to inches, graphing of data and an explanation on which graph works best in comparing sixth grade students heights to NBA players heights. Process - Teacher and media specialist use daily tickets out the door to confirm the students are understanding the lesson being taught. They also use the final product Excel spreadsheet to determine if the students understand how to use formulas to find the mean and median and use graphs to compare data. The teacher and media specialist will use a rubric to grade the overall product. Student self-questioning 1) What is data? 2) Why are we collecting data? 3) What can I learn from this data being gathered? 4) How can this data be helpful to me in finding mean and median? 5) What technology tools will help me organize and make sense of the data I collected? 6) Why do we graph data? 7) Will my manual calculations of mean and median be the same as the mean and median that were determined using formulas in Microsoft Excel? 8) What would happen to the mean if we didnt include the NBA players?

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INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN Resources students will use: nline subscription database(s) Web sites Books Reference O Nonprint Periodicals/newspapers Other (list): Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Computers and Projector www.nba.com Instruction/activities o Direct instruction: The media specialist will assist the students in gathering data on the height of their sixth grade classmates and monitor them as they convert their heights from feet to inches. The media specialist will take the students to a computer lab and give them a website to use to gather data on the heights of professional NBA players. The media specialist will monitor how the students convert these measurements from feet to inches. After all the data is collected, the media specialist will introduce Microsoft Excel to the students on how to create a spreadsheet, use formulas to find the mean and median and formulate graphs to compare the data collected. o Modeling and guided practice: Using the data gathered by the students using information from the sixth grade students and information from the website on NBA players, the students will create an Excel spreadsheet and will input the data collected while the media specialist monitors. They will try manipulating the data with different graphs to determine which graph represents the data most effectively. They will use formulas to determine the mean and median. o Independent practice: Students will gather the data from fellow students and the NBA website. Then, they will input the data collected into the Excel spreadsheet, use formulas to determine mean and median and graph the data in multiple formats. Then they will get ready to present to the class their graphs and explanations on why their choice of graph is the best one to express the data gathered. o Sharing and reflecting: While using a computer and an overhead projector, the final product of the Excel graphs will be shown in the classroom. After looking at these graphs, the students will answer a few questions: 1) Why is the mean height larger than the median height? 2) What impact do the basketball players have on either of these measures? 3) What would happen to the mean and median if we excluded the basketball players data from the graph? Why?

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Rubric:

CATEGORY Data Collection Conversion of data from feet to inches Manually formulated mean and median of data collected Graphs

4 Collects complete and accurate data Conversion was complete with accurate numbers. Manually formulated mean and median was completely accurate. Produces at least 3 graphs to determine which graph best expresses the data There is a legend that was easy to read and contained all the information needed to understand the data. The X and Y axis have a clear, neat label that describes the units. Title is creative, clearly relates to the problem being graphed, and is printed at the top of the graph.

3 Collects accurate data Most of the conversions were correct. One of the numbers was correct.

2 Produces some errors in data collecting Some of the conversions were correct. Neither of the numbers for mean and median were correct Produces at least 1 graph to determine which graph best expresses the data Legend contains inaccurate information that described the data.

1 Inaccurate data collected due to design flaw. Conversions were inaccurate. Did not attempt to manually calculate the mean and median. There were no graphs completed.

Your Score

Legend

Produces at least 2 graphs to determine which graph best expresses the data Legend contained some information needed to describe the data. The X and Y axis have one label that describes the unit correctly.

There was no legend.

Labeling of X axis and Y axis

The X and Y The X and Y axis have a axis are not label but does labeled. not describe the units accurately.

Title

Title clearly A title is present No title is relates to the at the top of the present. problem being graph. graphed, and is printed at the top of the graph.

Patrice Toulson Formulas used in Microsoft Excel Formulas used in Microsoft Excel to determine mean and median are correct. The work is presented in a neat, organized way that is easy to understand. Analysis is well thought out and indicates a great understanding of the data. The presentation showed the student understood the concept of mean and median and graphing the data One of the formulas used in Microsoft Excel to determine mean and median was correct. The work is presented in a neat, organized way that is usually easy to understand. Analysis is well thought out and indicates a fairly good understanding of the data. The presentation showed the student had a fairly good understanding of the concept of mean and median and graphing the data. Neither of formulas used in Microsoft Excel to determine mean and median were correct. The work is presented in an organized way but is sometimes hard to understand. Analysis indicates some understanding of the data. The presentation showed the student had some understanding of the concept of mean and median and graphing the data.

Did not attempt to use a formula to determine mean and median. The work is presented in a sloppy, unorganized way that is very hard to understand. Analysis indicates very little understanding of the data. The presentation showed very little understanding of the concept of mean and median and graphing the data.

Neatness and Organization

Analyzing Data

Presentation

Your Score: Rating Scale: Score 11 12-26 27 - 41 42-44 Rating Unacceptable Unacceptable Acceptable Target Grade 65 75 85 95

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Assessment Results: The rubric proved to be a very useful assessment tool for this project. It gave the students an understanding from the beginning of what was expected of them and it gave the teachers an understanding of what exactly to look for when grading. The majority of the students did an exceptional job on this project. They gathered the data and put it in the Excel spreadsheet and were able to find the mean and median of the data by using formulas and graph the findings. Then, they did a really good job presenting the information to their classmates. According to the rubric that I assessed, the student breakdown is shown below: Student Shabreia Alyea Alesha Brandon Dontavious Nikeria Kristopher Clifford Kane Bobby Malik Billy Marquella Kaneisha James Dontavis Grade 44 11 25 42 42 42 42 40 42 42 42 14 42 43 40 44 Explanation if any Special Ed Student with severe hearing problems Special Ed Student

Special Ed Student - ADHD

Based on the above data, 69% reached the target score of 42-44. The percentage that reached the acceptable mark was 12.5%. The percentage of students who scored in the unacceptable level was 18.5%. The 18.5% that scored in the unacceptable range are students that are in the special education program. One of these students only missed the acceptable range by 2 points. So, as you can see based on the data above, the students did very well and it appears that they grasped the concept of mean and median and how to input data they collected into an Excel Spreadsheet, formulate the mean and median by using formulas and graphing the data so that it best expresses the data being compared.

Patrice Toulson Tickets Out the Door:

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Along with the final rubric that was used to assess the students, tickets out the door were also used. The day that I took the students to the lab to teach them how to use Excel using fictitious data, the ticket out the door was What questions do you have about gathering data and inputting the data into an Excel spreadsheet, using formulas to come up with the mean and median and graphing the information? By answering this question, the students helped me have a better understanding of what they didnt understand and what I needed to do to explain it better. The day that the students actually put their collected data into the Excel spreadsheet, the ticket out the door was What other areas in our lives could we use mean and median to help us understand information better? This will help the media specialist and teacher see if the students have a clear understanding of what mean and median are and how they can use them in their real life situations.

Patrice Toulson Reflection:

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First of all, time was a major issue. I worked with a sixth grade math teacher. I also teach full time so this was a difficult task. The only saving grace was that I was able to work with her during my planning period. I utilize my planning period daily for work in the classes that I teach so my actual classes may have gone a little lacking during this time but we all managed to get by. The teacher I worked with was very easy to work with. We collaborated well together and she was extremely helpful in assisting me. The initial collaboration was a little difficult because our planning periods were not the same. So again, time was our biggest issue. We soon realized that email was our best source in communicating and creating our roles for this project. Our personalities complimented each other. Her personality is very aggressive and quick to get things done. Mine is more laid back and more passive. We established the roles that we each would do and assisted each other. When she taught the lesson on mean and median, I walked around the room and assisted the students who were not grasping the concept. We each assisted the students when they were measuring sixth grade students and converting the heights to inches. Then when I took the students to the lab to research on the website and teach Excel spreadsheets, formulas and graphing, she was their assisting me. The major issue that I may change with this lesson was gathering the data. It was pretty chaotic when the students were trying to gather the heights of their fellow students and converting the data to inches. We put the students in groups to do this. Sometimes group work gets a little noisy and hectic. Some of the students had trouble with the conversion. Maybe it would be better after the students got the measurements of their classmates if the students would get back to their desk and the teacher/media specialist and the students did the conversion together using the ActivBoard. The actual lab experience with the students went very well. Usually when students are in front of a computer, things go well. The boys really enjoyed gathering the data from the NBA site because most of them were familiar with the players and thought this was pretty cool getting information about some of their favorite players. Most of the girls did not get too excited about the subject we were collecting data on. Maybe the next time, I could figure out a subject to research that both genders could get excited about. All the students enjoyed using the Excel spreadsheet and creating the graphs that went along with the information. The teacher stated that normally with this lesson she has the students draw out the charts on construction paper. She said the Excel spreadsheet graphs were so much more graphic and brought the information to life with the students so much better than when they draw it out on paper. The only negative thing about the Excel spreadsheet usage was the teacher was not that comfortable with the program. She had not had an opportunity to use Excel very much so she had to somewhat learn the program along with the students in order to help them. I should have checked on this prior to teaching Excel. However, this did not pose a large problem. I taught Excel to the students using fictitious information before I actually let them put in the real data. So, the majority of the students picked up on the program very easily. All in all, I think the lesson went very well. I think the students benefited from the collaboration between me and their math teacher. I think the students were able to grasp the concept of mean and median with the usage of real life data and seeing it

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come to life in an Excel graph. The math teacher agreed that she believes the Excel graph helped them see it better versus drawing it on construction paper. Although this was a lot of work, the teacher asked if I would help her with a few of her classes in the future when our schedules would coincide. So, this made me feel like overall it was successful.