TPACK Questions

The content I am focusing on in my lesson is the appearance of Earth and the moon, which content is outlined in Standard 1, Objective 1 of third grade science. This content focuses on the physical appearances (spherical shape) of Earth and the moon, as well as the motions of Earth and the moon regarding revolution and rotation.

The pedagogy I use is mostly observation. Students observe physical appearances of the planets and they observe the revolutions and rotations of Earth and the moon. Students also predict how Earth's axis rotates in order for night and day to occur; they get to predict then observe by viewing the actual motion of Earth's rotation on the computer screne. Once students observe Earth's rotation, they measure night and day in relation to the sun. Another pedagogy strategy students use is describing data; they describe relationships between Earth and the moon's physical appearance and between Earth's day and night in comparison with the sun. Students collect this data and can later analyze/study the data.

The technology I used is Celestia, a solar system program. Celestia is a good fit for the content and pedagogy; in fact Celestia is an almost perfect match. Celestia is a perfect way for a student to see the physical appearances of Earth and the moon. Also, Celestia shows the actual rotations and revolutions of Earth and the moon. The content is well covered through Celestia. Celestia covers basic teaching strategies such as observation, prediction, and analysis. These are described above how Celestia covers these. Celestia is an incredible program that gives students the opportunity to teach themselves the content.