SPECIMEN FOR A CHESSBOARD
GOAL & METHOD
GOAL#5 POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT APPROACHES
METHOD#1: communication techniques
Advised Age Group
16-19 year-old
Target
ALL LEARNERS
Subject
PRACTICAL SUBJECTS
Requires
Assessment rubrics, building or crafting spaces and tools
Length
LONG
Introduction
Design a learning unit that aims at the realization of specimens made of concrete that are suitable for paving an outdoor chess board to be realized in the school backyard. The learning unit is designed over a 16 lesson-time (LT) period.
Identify learning goals
The following learning goals can be set for this activity:
● To select working materials depending on their use and work process
● To define and plan the operational stages
● To choose the adequate resistance and compression for the project
● To calculate and mix the components of concrete into the correct proportions
Identify the outputs for the lab work
The following outputs can be defined for this activity:
● Preparation of one specimen by each group; mechanical tests in a professional lab and compilation of a datasheet relative to the type of concrete;
● Drafting of a calculation report;
● Making a descriptive video for the other learners as the final audience.
Outdoor experience
Include a learning experience outside school, such as a visit to a professional lab specialized in the testing of construction materials in order to study the facilities and the ways concrete testing is carried out in a real laboratory and test the concrete specimens that have been previously realised.
Different methodologies and tools
Employ a mix of different methodologies and tools: frontal instructions; group work; problem based learning; research of study materials; lab work; textbooks; ppt presentations; multimedia devices; building tools; lab tools.
Stages
Stage 1: first activity – structural concrete and mix design (4 LT).
Stage 2: second activity – materials lab (2 LT).
Stage 3: technical visit to a professional lab specialized in the testing of construction materials (6 LT).
Stage 4: video making and discussion on the experience (4 LT).
Assessment
Carry out the assessment through a variety of forms: continued observation; formative evaluation for the first activity (i.e. written report); formative evaluation for the second activity (i.e. scientific table to fill); summative evaluation by using a rubric on cross competencies.
Tools: assessment rubric for evaluation of cross competencies and assessment rubric for evaluation of product in the Appendix, pag. 133 of the pdf version of the Teacher Kit.
SUMMING UP
Even in school-specific subjects or subjects strictly related to practice such as construction, you can design activities that improve cross competencies such as the personal and social competence, and improve the overall quality of communication and relationships among learners.
As a teacher reported: “The components of each group had specific roles, each group had a coordinator/spokesperson that had to show up in the video and explain the stages of the work. I encouraged some students who were more introverted or less disposed to socialisation to play this role. The work was in part analytical and in part practical, and for each stage every student had to deal with something related to the others.”