Gizmo Exploration

Set-up

I enrolled in Gizmo as a student in Talya’s class. Talya is my cooperating teacher for Spring student teaching. She teaches 6th grade Science: Physics and Ecology.

First Impressions

- I like that the Gizmos are sorted by Academic Standard, Grade & Topic, or by Textbook. The Academic Standard part is honestly SO useful!

- I was nervous that this would be a boring simulation reminiscent of the ones that I completed in Middle School. So far, it looks like the Gizmos have some nice real world applications, like Rainfall measurement or Coral Reef ecosystems. Yay! I can’t wait to explore these in depth.

- I appreciate that Talya does not rely on Gizmos completely. She is using these as a last resort for the all-virtual students who do not come to school and may not have the tools to complete a particular experiment at home. I think this is a smart way to employ the tool; hands-on experiences should be the first priority for student laboratories.

Toying with Gizmos

- First, I sorted the Gizmos by NYS Science Standards: Middle School Life Science.

- I completed a Gizmo that looked at the effect of rainfall on finch beak depth. This simulation was interesting in that I learned something about this relationship that I did not previously know, but the simulation didn’t feel fun or meaningful to me. On to the next!

- Coral Reefs - Biotic Factors was a Gizmo that allowed for change in storm severity, ocean temperature, and ocean pH over time. When these abiotic factors were changed, we saw coral populations change, which affected the populations of fish and other marine life. I liked this simulation because we could see the different species that inhabit the coral reef ecosystem, clicking on plants and animals to learn more about them. It was great to see the physical changes in the ecosystem occurring due to alterations in environmental conditions. This simulation was MUCH more meaningful than the Rainfall/Finches exercise. I will save this one for later!

- The Flower Pollination Gizmo taught me about the differences between self-pollination and cross pollination. I learned these processes in college but I truly think that this interactive experience made the learning much more “sticky”. I don’t know if I am sad or happy to say that I, a person with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, have a much greater understanding of plant pollination because of this Middle School Gizmo. This is good news for my students, at least!

Takeaways

- I like the Gizmo quiz questions. Rather than asking the students to “steal and spit” information from the simulation, each question asks students to make connections, identify patterns, or understand and apply cause and effect. I know that these are part of the Next Generation Science Standards but I don’t always see science teachers asking students to engage in this type of scientific thinking. I am glad to know that I can use this tool to help me create strong questions to push my students into deeper understanding of scientific phenomena.

- After working with the Gizmos, I see benefits outside of the use for virtual learners. Now I understand that there are certain things that students just cannot do in their Middle School laboratory, and Gizmo provides a simulation that can get students involved in this process. I wish I had been exposed to a pollination simulation before this point in my education! Now I see that these Gizmos do not even have to act as laboratory experiments, but they can simply be used to teach life processes that we cannot bring to the lab in an interactive way.

- I did not find a way to create a Gizmo library, but I decided to create a Google Doc for myself that keeps track of the Gizmos I tested and my impressions of these simulations.