An Intelligent-Immersion Classroom–Lab for the Sciences: Design, Constructionand Teachers Training

María Yadira Rosas Bravo, Gema Martínez Flores, María de los Ángeles Díaz Rodríguez,

Francisco Javier David Martínez Sánchez and Enrique González Vergara

Preparatoria Ibero Puebla, Puebla México.

Benemérita Universidad Autónoma dePuebla. Puebla, Puebla. México

This presentation has two goals

Share our experience promoting science learning as students learn a second language.

Receive your suggestions for us to take home and improve our project

Problems in Mexico´s science education

Low PISA and ENLACE results Two types of professors Lack of professional development

interest (frustration) Classes with 30 students Student´s believe system about

science (boring, difficult) 2% or less of the student population

select science majors in college

Problems whitin the preparatoria Ibero Puebla

The biggest tradition are social studies

Science is just recently considered as part of social development

There were not any authority interested in science

It is often considered that the teacher-

student pair is the most important in

teaching and learning of a particular

subject, however it is important to recognize

that the environment where this process

develops is also fundamental. In the case of

sciences, this environment is even more

important given their experimental nature.

As the technological advances grow at giant steps,

our classrooms and laboratories do not seem to

change a great deal from the traditional ones.

However, there is a trend to reshape these

environments especially with computers,

connectivity, and LCD projectors.

This is happening mainly in the

classroom and only a few laboratories are allowing

these important tools.

Here we present our proposal, which consist of a

Classroom-Lab considered as a fusion of an

intelligent and immersion classroom (science as

a language).

We take many concepts of both approaches in a

way to provide a collaborative environment in

which pupils and teachers build a continuously

changing setting for informal as well as formal

learning.

Immersion education is generally accepted to

have started in Quebec, Canada. In 1965, a group

of English-speaking parents succeeded in

initiating an experimental immersion kindergarten

for their students. Their goal was to ensure that

their children achieved a high level of French, as

well as English

This approach has achieved widespread recognition for the learning of a second language.

However it is important to recognize that classrooms in kindergarten have the same principle although they are used as environment for a variety of subjects.

In primary school this concept is extended and has been useful for many years.

However, in junior high school and high school the concept is lost and traditional classrooms only contain students and teacher desk, chairs and blackboards.

It is interesting that kindergarten education uses what we should be using in High School education

However our classrooms are as classic as early classrooms of the twentieth century

Rigid and invisible

Teacher´s centered

The concept of an intelligent classroom has come

to revolutionized the classical setting allowing

many changes that will and are changing our

traditional classrooms.

Many initiatives have been developed to

transform our twentieth century classrooms into

the so called classrooms of the future.

Findings – Several factors were observed in

the learning environments: mobility,

flexibility, use of technology, interactions.

Relationships among them were found

indicating that the new environments have

positive impact on pupils' behaviour

Tulio Tiburcio, Edward F. Finch, (2005) "The impact of an intelligent classroom on pupils' interactive behavior", Facilities, Vol. 23 Iss: 5/6, pp.262

In the past five years, we have been

experimenting in the design and construction

of intelligent classroom-labs with some

important achievements.

Recently, we got a grant to construct such an

environment at the Preparatoria Ibero Puebla,

a high school of over four hundred students

The setting has been achieved, however the

important issue is now who will teach in such

environment.

Thus an ambitious program has been designed,

previous the academic semester as well as in a

parallel way, to include the teachers and invite

them to live such environment, thus, this program

will allow us to check and find out the strategies

to obtain the best results, once the students are

using it.

INTELLIGENT-IMMERSION CLASSROOM (IIC) PREPA IBERO PUEBLA

INITIAL TEACHER´S ASSESMENT

This instrument is designed to assess what is the initial state of training of teachers for the

use of the Intelligent-Immersion Classroom (IIC)

For you, what is an Immersion Classroom?

For you, what is an Intelligent Classroom?

Do you know and have worked in the (IIC) of the Ibero High School?

What are your top three proposals to improve the IIC?

What is your perception about using the technique of micro-scale approach in the IIC?

What is your perception about using the approach of green chemistry in the IIC experimental activities?

Are you able to work using both approaches micro-scale and green chemistry?

What do you need to start using our IIC effectively?

What do you need to use the new High School classroom in the form of Ibero Intelligent-Immersion Classroom?

What do you think about that our IIC has 10 computers for use

in the classroom?

Have you worked in virtual environments for experimentation

(biology, physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy, etc.)?

What do you know about Webquest methodology (design,

development and evaluation)? Have you developed any?

Have you used the programs Rasmol, Chime, Jmol to visualize

molecules?

Do you know the Site Biomodel (in spanish) for teaching

chemistry and biology of biomolecules?

Have you used meta-search engines to research a topic?

Have you used EBSCO?

Have you used Scirus and Highwire?

Have you ever made an educational video? With Whom?

What project?

Have you used youtube and teachertube in the classroom?

What specific steps would you make to start the transformation of the IIC from

its current state to what you would like it to be?

Who do you think should be the main actors of these transformations?

What would you need to actively collaborate in the implementation and use of

IIC?

What would you propose as a plan of action to accomplish in this semester?

Some of the answers Most of the answer were negative The principal actor is the coordinator I would work in the classroom but

with a good planning (!?) 10 computers is not enough To start working the classroom should

be finished You tube is trash-like. Kids spend too

much time in computers

CONCLUSIONS The IIC of Prepa IBERO Puebla is now a

reality.

The training of our teachers has begun.

The initial assessment has been carried out.

We know now our weakness and strengths (long way ahead us).

We are ready for the challenges ahead of us.