| Making Content Connections Your Name: Mark Fearer Date: June 23, 2025 | |||
| Lesson Goal: | Teach a sixth grade understanding of ecosystems. | ||
| Content Area: | science | Specific Topic: | ecosystems |
| Grade | six | Estimated Time: | One hour |
| Strategy | Use methodologies of ‘positive interdependence’ via padlets, and ‘group processing’ via blogs. | ||
| Describe how the strategy is used as a before-during- and/or after-reading activity (List steps of strategy) | Positive Interdependence, as taught by Fisher and Frey, is a methodology wherein tasks are constructed in a way that the independent contributions create the sum of the whole. No single contributor can accomplish the overall task at hand. This model should force students to work together in a project environment. | ||
| Describe how the strategy is used as a before-during- and/or after-reading activity (List steps of strategy) | Face to Face Interaction, as taught by Fisher and Frey, requires real-time dialog in a synchronous learning environment. Whether a virtual Zoom or in a classroom, Face to Face Interaction may be a subset of Positive Interdependence. | ||
| Describe how the strategy is used as a before-during- and/or after-reading activity (List steps of strategy) | Group Processing, as taught by Fisher and Frey, may be similar to Positive Interdependence as described above, with additional novelty in the group together as a whole discusses status and possible room for improvement. | ||
| Describe how you would incorporate the strategy into a content lesson (application of strategy) | For using Positive Interdependence to teach ecosystems in a sixth grade class, I will incorporate padlets wherein a virtual wall will be used as a Mindmap and ideas will be listed in Brainstorming fashion. There are no wrong or bad ideas in Brainstorming. | ||
| Describe how you would incorporate the strategy into a content lesson (application of strategy) | For using Group Processing to teach ecosystems in a sixth grade class, I will incorporate blogging, much like we are in this EDRD 619 George Mason masters level course. Students will blog, e.g., post to a personal web page and then each student will provide collaborative feedback. | ||
Three Ideas
Positive Interdependence; Group Processing; and Face-to-Face Interaction.
Two Strategies
Padlets may be used for Positive Interdependence; and blogs may be used for Face-to-Face Interaction.
One Question
I am curious about Fisher and Frey’s teaching of Reciprocal Teaching. It sounds like a combination of Positive Interdependence and Group Processing with the additional step(s) of stopping from time to time to assess with the teacher.
Mark Fearer EDRD 619 blog 
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