Earth and Space Science Curriculum Guide

[Pages:139]Corporate Headquarters PLATO Learning, Inc. 10801 Nesbitt Avenue S. Bloomington, MN 55437 800.869.2000 952.832.1200 (FAX) PLATO Support Services Website: Email: Voice: 800.869.2200 International Offices PLATO Learning (Canada), Inc. 200-1311 Howe Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2P3 Toll free: 866.567.5286 Phone: 604.691.1792 Fax: 604.691.1763

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Contents

CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INFORMATION ............................................................................1 Overview...........................................................................................................................1 Product Overview .............................................................................................................3

CHAPTER 2 PLATO LEARNING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES .............................9 Overview...........................................................................................................................9 Individualized Instruction ...............................................................................................11 Competency-Based Instruction.......................................................................................12

CHAPTER 3 INSTRUCTOR ORIENTATION TO PLATO LEARNING COURSEWARE .........................................................................................................................................13 Overview.........................................................................................................................13 Implementation of Computer-Based Education..............................................................14 User Modes .....................................................................................................................16 Troubleshooting ..............................................................................................................17 Orienting the Learner......................................................................................................18 Navigating through the Courseware ...............................................................................22

CHAPTER 4 LEARNING ACTIVITY AND QUESTION TYPES.....................................27 Overview.........................................................................................................................27 Lessons............................................................................................................................28 Applications ....................................................................................................................30 Tests ................................................................................................................................32 Question Types ...............................................................................................................33

CHAPTER 5 TESTING STRATEGIES.................................................................................37 CHAPTER 6 LEARNING AIDS.............................................................................................39

Overview.........................................................................................................................39 Calculator ........................................................................................................................40 Conversion Tool..............................................................................................................42 Options/Mute ..................................................................................................................44 Options/Colors ................................................................................................................45 Glossary ..........................................................................................................................46 Help.................................................................................................................................48 Audio...............................................................................................................................50 CHAPTER 7 PLATO EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE COURSE SCOPE AND SEQUENCE...............................................................................................................................52 Overview.........................................................................................................................52 Unit 1: Looking at Earth's Features................................................................................53 Unit 2: The Energetic Earth ............................................................................................55 Unit 3: Rocks and Soil ....................................................................................................58 Unit 4: Water in Our World ............................................................................................60 Unit 5: Weather and Atmospheric Processes..................................................................63 Unit 6: Earth, Space, and the Universe ...........................................................................66

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Overview

Chapter 1 General Information

Introduction

The PLATO? Earth and Space Science curricula teach learners science concepts and principles while meeting a majority of state standards and aligning closely with widely used textbooks.

Benefits

The PLATO Earth and Space Science curricula help learners to learn important standards-based content and apply knowledge to interactive problems and activities. The curricula does the following:

? Provides learners enrolled in PLATO Earth and Space Science courses with supplemental instruction.

? Augments teachers' instruction and provides reinforcement. ? Assists learners who need earth and space science as a prerequisite for

graduation or to fulfill unit completion criteria. ? Provides learners with content knowledge aimed to improve achievement

on standardized, norm-referenced tests.

Assumptions

This guide is written with the assumption that the instructor and learner are familiar with a Web browser, including navigating to a specific Internet address or Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

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General Information Overview, Continued

Using this guide

This guide provides an overview of the structure and content of the PLATO Earth and Space Science course. Because you play a key role in ensuring a positive experience for learners, it is important to review all sections of this guide.

Section General Information PLATO Learning Instructional Strategies

Instructor Orientation to PLATO Learning Courseware Learning Activity and Question Types Testing Strategies

Learning Aids

Scope and Sequence

Description Introduces the course. Read this material as an overview of the product. Describes the three companion activities that are part of each PLATO Earth and Space Science topic, including how each is scored and how the score is reported. Suggests how to implement PLATO Earth and Space Science, discusses the available modes for previewing and using the course, and suggests ways to introduce learners to the course. Describes the characteristics and scoring of the lessons, applications, and tests used in PLATO Earth and Space Science. Describes the kinds of learner assessment provided at various levels of the curriculum. Consult this section to get acquainted with the PLATO Learning approach to assessment. Provides basic information for the instructor about PLATO Learning on-demand tools and Help features available when working in the courseware. Identifies the units and topics in PLATO Earth and Space Science and lists objectives.

Contact us

If you need help, please contact PLATO Learning Support using any of the following methods:

? Website: ? Support Request: ? Phone: 800-869-2200

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Product Overview

Introduction Two learning paths are available in this course.

? PLATO Earth and Space Science ? PLATO Earth and Space Science with Assessments

Note Learners should be assigned only one of the two learning paths.

PLATO Earth and Space Science

Designed with classroom implementation strategies in mind, this flexible implementation can facilitate whole class, small group or individualized instruction. Each topic includes a lesson, application and test. The test is "quiz like" and designed to meet the needs of many classroom situations.

The PLATO Earth and Space Science course is divided into the following six units:

? Unit 1: Looking at Earth's Features ? Unit 2: The Energetic Earth ? Unit 3: Rocks and Soil ? Unit 4: Water in Our World ? Unit 5: Weather and Atmospheric Processes ? Unit 6: Earth, Space, and the Universe

PLATO Earth and Space Science With Assessments

Each topic contains the same lesson and application as PLATO Earth and Space Science, however practice tests and a mastery test make this version ideal for structured individual learning situations such as credit recovery. The practice tests are activities that evaluate learner performance on a specific topic objective and report completion status when all items are answered correctly to the PLATO? Web Learning Network or PLATO? Pathways. If all items are not answered correctly, the learner is directed to remediate the topic objective in the lesson before retaking the practice test. The mastery test evaluates learner performance on all topic objectives and reports mastery if the student achieves a score of 80% or better.

Note PLATO Earth and Space Science with Assessments is only available for PLATO management systems (including: PLATO Web Learning Network and PLATO Pathways)

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Product Overview, Continued

Terminology

PLATO Earth and Space Science uses slightly different terminology when describing the upper level structure of the course. Refer to the table below to see how the terminology relates to the more familiar terms found in PLATO Learning courseware. See page 20 for additional information.

PLATO Earth and Space Science Terminology

Course Unit Topic Lesson Activity Application Test

Pathways/PLATO Web Learning Terminology

Curricula Course Module Tutorial Activity Application Test

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Product Overview, Continued

Courseware features

The following design and presentation features are integrated into PLATO Learning courseware to benefit learners:

? Animated graphics and interactions help illustrate objectives. In the example below, the learner must answer the questions correctly before moving to the next application.

? Lessons, applications and tests help learners understand concepts and principles that aid them in discovering connections among concepts. In tests, question randomization alters fixed pools of questions and their potential answers, thus greatly reducing repetitive item exposure.

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