Students will investigate a field trip site for their PBI unit. This site should offer an authentic experience and make a clear connection to real world applications of the unit theme. Students will choose one site, visit, then report on how the site will be integrated into their project.
1. The Theme of the Project-Based Unit: Human Reproduction and Development
2. The Application of the Project to Real World Experiences: The survival of humans as a species relies on being able to successfully reproduce and develop into sexually mature organisms which can repeat the process and complete the cycle. Self-awareness of our bodies are also an important part of “being human”, and knowing how our bodies develop is a big part of that.
3. The Location of the Feld Trip Site: Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) Tampa, Fl.
4. The Educational Resources that are Currently Provided at the Site: The educational programs currently provided at the site are too numerous to list all of them. Instead, I will list the ones which are expressly for school groups grades 6 and up:
a. This is Your Brain: Live @ The Amazing You – Science Theater Program
b. Minecraft Invention – Design and Technology
c. Action Reaction – Chemistry Lab
d. Lighten Up! The Science of Light – Physics Lab
e. The Code of Life – Genetics Lab
f. CSI: Tampa – Forensic Lab
g. Creatures of the Deep – Dissection Lab
h. Vital Signs – Dissection Lab
Permanent exhibits at MOSI include “The Amazing You”, “Disasterville”, “Bio Works Butterfly Garden”, The Saunders Planetarium, and “Mission: Moonbase”. These permanent exhibitions are used to immerse visitors into different STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) fields through interactive shows, simulations, and models. The exhibits are appropriate for and are used to engage learners of all ages, from the very young to the young at heart. They use real life situations to show the STEM concepts behind every day occurrences in order to inspire further inquiry and aspirations of advancing, or at least better understanding, the STEAM fields.
5. The Potential Educational Resources Embedded at the Site that Support the Unit:
§ On site, there is an extensive permanent exhibit that is exclusively about human development and anatomy called The Amazing You. This exhibit is a “state-of-the-art, informative, educational, and interactive exhibition”. Visitors will be able to physically explore human development at each life stage from birth to the end of life. Because human development is so connected with reproduction in this unit, it provides an opportunity for students to really explore human development and apply their knowledge of other body systems while learning important material for the unit. Having a 3-dimensional image of what the body looks like when it’s giving birth, as it is being birthed, and how it changes as it develops into sexual maturity will be important for students to truly grasp the interconnectedness of reproduction and development. The exhibit also has information on common medical conditions and diseases which occur in each developmental life stage, what causes them, and how to avoid them. The purpose of the exhibit is preliminarily biomedical, but contains plenty of content that expands into the topics included in this project-based unit.
§ Classroom lessons necessary for preparation of this lesson include a general knowledge of body organ systems, other than the reproductive system. These systems will provide background knowledge and will provide a greater understanding of the body models shown throughout the exhibit. Common medical problems that afflict each organ system should also be taught, so the students also have background with the symptoms and terminologies discussed during the different life development stages. Also, the vocabulary used to describe the different life stages (i.e. infancy, adolescence, puberty, etc.) should be taught before going on the field trip. Instead of giving them more information, allow them to learn it from the exhibit, and write down notes, or answer questions on a worksheet to review in a class after the trip.
6. Your Rationale For Choosing this Site to Support and Enhance Project Instruction:
- I chose this site to support and enhance project instruction because of how well it allows students to immerse themselves within and investigate human development through the permanent The Amazing You exhibit. In addition, the The Code of Life genetics lab educational program can add an important connection for students. This program allows students to explore how DNA is considered the “blueprint of life”. They will examine and extract chromosomes from actual plant cells. They will also be able to run a gel electrophoresis to investigate DNA fingerprinting and begin an exploration of biotechnologies. This can serve as a fun reminder and extension of what the students learned about DNA earlier in the year, which can be incorporated into lessons on gamete formation, birth defects, physical characteristics developments, and aging, as DNA plays a role in all of these concepts. Cost was another benefit of choosing MOSI for the field trip site. Students can visit all of the permanent exhibits and participate in a session for The Code of Life for only $8, and chaperones visit for free. Also, the site is a feasible distance from Alachua County at an approximately 2 hour drive away. MOSI has been an important educational resource for young Floridians for decades, but seeing the The Amazing You exhibit, along with all of the other amazing STEAM exhibits, can be a unique opportunity for students who come from low SES backgrounds and cannot afford the normal transportation cost and $18-$21 price tag of general admission. This site is perfect for promoting student learning and understanding of the content in this unit, and could also lead to further engagement in STEAM fields, which can translate directly into harder and better work in the classroom and for the product of this project. Students will have from 11:00 am to 1:30 to do the 45 minute The Code of Life program, have lunch, and then explore the The Amazing You exhibit. Any remaining time can be used to explore other exhibits that student groups can agree upon.
7. The Field Trip Protocol for the Classroom You Are Currently Observing:
§ Alachua County requirements: Alachua County has an in-state/distance requirement that this trip meets. Alachua County also requires that students be chaperoned on a 15:1 ratio, but MOSI requires 1 chaperone for every 10 visiting middle school students. This is also a feasible requirement to meet, and will help uphold the Alachua County requirement that supervisors and chaperones “shall know the location of every student in the group” on the trip. Buses will be needed for transportation to and from MOSI, and cannot interfere with the normal arrival or departure school times for the students. Regular school buses can hold 5 groups consisting of 10 students and their 5 chaperones, so the number of buses requested should reflect the number of students and the minimum number of buses necessary to transport them. Alachua County also requires parental permission forms be filled out for each child attending the trip. A list of students and adults attending, along with a comprehensive itinerary, must be turned into the office before leaving campus.
§ School requirements: Fort Clarke’s first bell rings at 9:10 am, and the release bell rings at 3:30 pm. A 9:15 departure time and a 3:20 return time should provide enough time to not interrupt normal student methods of arriving to/leaving school.
§ Teacher/Classroom requirements: Classroom requirements are minimal as this day will be spent outside the classroom. However, as mentioned before, the teacher is responsible for compiling and turning in a list of students and adults attending, along with a comprehensive itinerary, before leaving campus. If so desired, the teacher could prepare a worksheet of questions that will guide the students through each stage of the The Amazing You exhibit. The questions should focus on connecting the presented content to concepts already learned for their projects, or that will be learned in future lessons in class.
8. Anticipate any additional costs that would need to be paid (either by the school, student, or outside organization) that this trip will incur.
- One additional costs that students will be responsible is for providing and bringing their own food to eat for lunch. MOSI does not have a food court, but they will “provide pre-packaged sandwiches and snacks available for purchase” at their café for students to buy if they do not/cannot bring their own meals. There is a high percentage of students on free and reduced lunch at Fort Clarke, I would check and see if the cafeteria could provide a sack lunch for these students at their normal lunch cost; and also check if those lunches can be provided to other students who may want that option as well.
- Target offers field trip grants worth up to $700. It would be worth applying for one of these grants in order to fully or partially fund this trip. Funds from this grand could also go towards helping make the trip outside of school hours, which would be more expensive to do, but would allow for more time at the museum for the students to explore more of the permanent exhibits.
1. The Theme of the Project-Based Unit: Human Reproduction and Development
2. The Application of the Project to Real World Experiences: The survival of humans as a species relies on being able to successfully reproduce and develop into sexually mature organisms which can repeat the process and complete the cycle. Self-awareness of our bodies are also an important part of “being human”, and knowing how our bodies develop is a big part of that.
3. The Location of the Feld Trip Site: Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) Tampa, Fl.
4. The Educational Resources that are Currently Provided at the Site: The educational programs currently provided at the site are too numerous to list all of them. Instead, I will list the ones which are expressly for school groups grades 6 and up:
a. This is Your Brain: Live @ The Amazing You – Science Theater Program
b. Minecraft Invention – Design and Technology
c. Action Reaction – Chemistry Lab
d. Lighten Up! The Science of Light – Physics Lab
e. The Code of Life – Genetics Lab
f. CSI: Tampa – Forensic Lab
g. Creatures of the Deep – Dissection Lab
h. Vital Signs – Dissection Lab
Permanent exhibits at MOSI include “The Amazing You”, “Disasterville”, “Bio Works Butterfly Garden”, The Saunders Planetarium, and “Mission: Moonbase”. These permanent exhibitions are used to immerse visitors into different STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) fields through interactive shows, simulations, and models. The exhibits are appropriate for and are used to engage learners of all ages, from the very young to the young at heart. They use real life situations to show the STEM concepts behind every day occurrences in order to inspire further inquiry and aspirations of advancing, or at least better understanding, the STEAM fields.
5. The Potential Educational Resources Embedded at the Site that Support the Unit:
§ On site, there is an extensive permanent exhibit that is exclusively about human development and anatomy called The Amazing You. This exhibit is a “state-of-the-art, informative, educational, and interactive exhibition”. Visitors will be able to physically explore human development at each life stage from birth to the end of life. Because human development is so connected with reproduction in this unit, it provides an opportunity for students to really explore human development and apply their knowledge of other body systems while learning important material for the unit. Having a 3-dimensional image of what the body looks like when it’s giving birth, as it is being birthed, and how it changes as it develops into sexual maturity will be important for students to truly grasp the interconnectedness of reproduction and development. The exhibit also has information on common medical conditions and diseases which occur in each developmental life stage, what causes them, and how to avoid them. The purpose of the exhibit is preliminarily biomedical, but contains plenty of content that expands into the topics included in this project-based unit.
§ Classroom lessons necessary for preparation of this lesson include a general knowledge of body organ systems, other than the reproductive system. These systems will provide background knowledge and will provide a greater understanding of the body models shown throughout the exhibit. Common medical problems that afflict each organ system should also be taught, so the students also have background with the symptoms and terminologies discussed during the different life development stages. Also, the vocabulary used to describe the different life stages (i.e. infancy, adolescence, puberty, etc.) should be taught before going on the field trip. Instead of giving them more information, allow them to learn it from the exhibit, and write down notes, or answer questions on a worksheet to review in a class after the trip.
6. Your Rationale For Choosing this Site to Support and Enhance Project Instruction:
- I chose this site to support and enhance project instruction because of how well it allows students to immerse themselves within and investigate human development through the permanent The Amazing You exhibit. In addition, the The Code of Life genetics lab educational program can add an important connection for students. This program allows students to explore how DNA is considered the “blueprint of life”. They will examine and extract chromosomes from actual plant cells. They will also be able to run a gel electrophoresis to investigate DNA fingerprinting and begin an exploration of biotechnologies. This can serve as a fun reminder and extension of what the students learned about DNA earlier in the year, which can be incorporated into lessons on gamete formation, birth defects, physical characteristics developments, and aging, as DNA plays a role in all of these concepts. Cost was another benefit of choosing MOSI for the field trip site. Students can visit all of the permanent exhibits and participate in a session for The Code of Life for only $8, and chaperones visit for free. Also, the site is a feasible distance from Alachua County at an approximately 2 hour drive away. MOSI has been an important educational resource for young Floridians for decades, but seeing the The Amazing You exhibit, along with all of the other amazing STEAM exhibits, can be a unique opportunity for students who come from low SES backgrounds and cannot afford the normal transportation cost and $18-$21 price tag of general admission. This site is perfect for promoting student learning and understanding of the content in this unit, and could also lead to further engagement in STEAM fields, which can translate directly into harder and better work in the classroom and for the product of this project. Students will have from 11:00 am to 1:30 to do the 45 minute The Code of Life program, have lunch, and then explore the The Amazing You exhibit. Any remaining time can be used to explore other exhibits that student groups can agree upon.
7. The Field Trip Protocol for the Classroom You Are Currently Observing:
§ Alachua County requirements: Alachua County has an in-state/distance requirement that this trip meets. Alachua County also requires that students be chaperoned on a 15:1 ratio, but MOSI requires 1 chaperone for every 10 visiting middle school students. This is also a feasible requirement to meet, and will help uphold the Alachua County requirement that supervisors and chaperones “shall know the location of every student in the group” on the trip. Buses will be needed for transportation to and from MOSI, and cannot interfere with the normal arrival or departure school times for the students. Regular school buses can hold 5 groups consisting of 10 students and their 5 chaperones, so the number of buses requested should reflect the number of students and the minimum number of buses necessary to transport them. Alachua County also requires parental permission forms be filled out for each child attending the trip. A list of students and adults attending, along with a comprehensive itinerary, must be turned into the office before leaving campus.
§ School requirements: Fort Clarke’s first bell rings at 9:10 am, and the release bell rings at 3:30 pm. A 9:15 departure time and a 3:20 return time should provide enough time to not interrupt normal student methods of arriving to/leaving school.
§ Teacher/Classroom requirements: Classroom requirements are minimal as this day will be spent outside the classroom. However, as mentioned before, the teacher is responsible for compiling and turning in a list of students and adults attending, along with a comprehensive itinerary, before leaving campus. If so desired, the teacher could prepare a worksheet of questions that will guide the students through each stage of the The Amazing You exhibit. The questions should focus on connecting the presented content to concepts already learned for their projects, or that will be learned in future lessons in class.
8. Anticipate any additional costs that would need to be paid (either by the school, student, or outside organization) that this trip will incur.
- One additional costs that students will be responsible is for providing and bringing their own food to eat for lunch. MOSI does not have a food court, but they will “provide pre-packaged sandwiches and snacks available for purchase” at their café for students to buy if they do not/cannot bring their own meals. There is a high percentage of students on free and reduced lunch at Fort Clarke, I would check and see if the cafeteria could provide a sack lunch for these students at their normal lunch cost; and also check if those lunches can be provided to other students who may want that option as well.
- Target offers field trip grants worth up to $700. It would be worth applying for one of these grants in order to fully or partially fund this trip. Funds from this grand could also go towards helping make the trip outside of school hours, which would be more expensive to do, but would allow for more time at the museum for the students to explore more of the permanent exhibits.