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ACTIVITY in Culminating Project. Last updated April 10, 2020.

Summary

In this activity, students will solve a multistep problem in a video so others can learn how to solve it.

Grade Level

High School

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to

  • Explain how to solve a difficult to solve problem.

Chemistry Topics

This lesson supports students’ understanding of

  • Problem solving

Time

Teacher Preparation: 10 minutes

Lesson: 10 minutes to multiple class periods (depending on how the assignment expectations)

Materials

  • Video recording device
  • Computer

Safety

No specific safety precautions need to be observed for this activity.

Teacher Notes

  • This resource could be used as a post-AP Chemistry exam activity.
  • This activity can be assigned in partners or as an individual assignment.
  • Students could be asked to critique each other’s videos as a check point in the assignment.
  • This resource is part of an article in Chemistry Solutions about formative and summative assessment.

Read an article about this activity in the March 2015 issue of Chemistry Solutions.

For the Student

Lesson

Background

To help you review the problems that you have done so far in this class, and to help next year’s students, in this project you will make a short movie teaching a topic.

Procedure

  1. Pick a problem, with a mathematical solution, that you had trouble solving or that you think someone else may have trouble solving.
    1. Type out the problem using an easy-to-­read font, 16 point.
    2. Type the entire problem in bold.
  1. Use a digital camera, smartphone, or tablet to make a movie clearly showing the following:
    1. The step-by-step solution to the problem.
    2. Your voice narration should be clear and at an understandable speed.
    3. Be sure that your hand does not get in the way of showing the solution.
    4. This video should be between two and four minutes.
  1. Video tips
    1. Start the video by pointing the camera at a blank white page for two seconds.
    2. Point the camera so that the writing hand does not cover what is being written.
    3. Have enough light so that the typed question is visible and readable.
    4. End the video by pointing the camera at a blank white page for two seconds.
    5. Mount the camera to a support or have someone else hold it so it’s steady.

What to Turn In

  1. The problem, typed onto a single sheet of paper.
  2. The digital file of the problem and the video. Both files should be named using the format Topic-YourName (no spaces anywhere).
  3. The movie file should be in either an wmv, mov, mp4, or m4v format. The document file should be in a doc, docx, or pages format.

Due Date: _______________________________________________