TPACK Questions

1. What is the content you are focusing on in your science lesson?
In my lesson I am focusing on being able to distinguish living and non-living organisms in an environment by using criteria to do so. The criteria for a living organism is that it must be able to grow, move, and reproduce. If an organism does not meet that criteria, then it is classified as a non-living organism.
2. What is the pedagogy you are using and why is it a good fit with the content?
The pedagogy I am using in this lesson is focused on hands on activity. The students will be actively engaged in collecting the data from their environment. Once they have collected their data, they will have easy access to refer back to it again. I think that discussing how to determine what criteria makes an organism living or non-living is a higher level thinking activity. By implementing higher level thinking the students are challenged and more apt to participate and stay interested and also remember and connect what they have learned for a longer period of time.
3. What is the technology you'll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy you are using?
The technology I am using is digital cameras and the ability to download the pictures onto a computer for easy access. Although this technology is simple, I believe it is very effective in this lesson because it helps with both pedagogy and content understanding. It is helpful with the pedagogy because the students have taken pictures of objects that they can call their own. Ownership of a project makes the lessons go easier and the students are more involved in taking control over their own education. It also helps with the content because the ability the technology gives the students to gather data and also refer back to the exact image they saw initially allows for accurate descriptions to take place.