Formats

Each lab/activity should include two major sections:

one for teachers, called "Suggestions for Teachers"; and
one to duplicate and give to students, a "Student Activity" handout.

NOTE: For a few activities, the Student handout will not be necessary; please discuss specific instances with the APS Education Office staff.

Suggestions for Teachers

The Suggestions for Teachers section MUST include the following information (PLEASE use these titles for your sections):

Purpose: What is the overall purpose of the lab/activity? For which age group(s)/grade level(s) would you recommend this activity?
Objectives: What are the specific objectives for students? You may wish to break these down into content and process objectives.
Materials: How many students will work together on this activity (e.g., individually, in pairs, etc.)? What materials are needed for each group of students? For example, if students will work in pairs, give the materials needed for one pair of students...the teacher can easily determine the total materials needed for his/her class size. If there are materials which are needed for the group as a whole (for example, one large diagram, one bucket of soapy water, etc., note these as well). Please note: If you know of a good supplier for a piece of equipment or a consumable supply, please note it here and give a list of suppliers (address, phone, fax, URL) under References and Resources (below).

Please make sure the equipment and materials that are required for the lab/activity are reasonable for teachers to provide; activities requiring expensive consumables and state-of-the-art permanent equipment are unlikely to be used by most teachers.

Preparation and Procedure (teacher): Make suggestions on how the teacher could structure this laboratory or lesson. Include information on how many days the lab/activity will require, whether there are lab skills students should already have mastered (e.g., use of microscope), and "trouble-shooting" hints (i.e., "if ______ happens, try ____________").

What does the teacher need to do to prep for the lab/activity? For example, "Solution A must be made three days in advance of the laboratory." Are there advance assignments that students should complete before the activity is done in class? (For example, "Take your resting heart rate before arising in the morning and record it," or "Read the background piece before class.")

Safety: What safety considerations are there for the lab/activity? Are there specific precautions to take (e.g., "students should wear safety goggles and aprons") or warnings to make (e.g., "warn students to not look at the sun through the prisms")?
Questions to Ask: We want to assist teachers in encouraging inquiry and exploration among their students. Therefore, we want teachers to ask guiding and exploratory questions rather than provide fast answers. List some good questions here that teachers can use to guide students through the lab/activity and to challenge students to explore the topic further or expand their thinking about the subject.
Where to Go From Here: Where does this lab/activity fit into the regular curriculum? What would be a good follow-up laboratory or activity? Would this be a good opportunity to invite a researcher, physician, physical therapist, or other science/engineering-related professional for a classroom visit on this topic? Are there activities the student could do on his/her own to continue their explorations in this area?
References and Resources: What references were used in developing the activity? What resources would you recommend to the teacher? What additional readings might you recommend for students? Are there organizations with good resources in this area? Are there good sources for equipment or materials? What websites can you recommend for additional information or ideas.
Suggestions for Assessment: Provide some ideas for assessing student understanding of concepts presented, mastery of skills, etc. Assessment ideas can include some of the products of the lab/activity. For example, students may complete a joint laboratory report for their group; this could be used as an assessment tool for the unit. If possible, provide a sample rubric.

The Student Activity handouts will vary from one activity to another. In general, please make sure the student handouts...

provide tables or space for data collection (unless learning to set up and generate data tables is part of the activity); and
emphasize process skills and concept understanding rather than terminology acquisition.

* A Final Note on Plagiarism

Although it is usually acceptable to copy materials from a variety of sources for use in the classroom, the materials that you develop will be published and copyrighted by the American Physiological Society for use at many sites around the country. Therefore, copying materials to include in your activities without appropriate permission would be plagiarism. If you wish to adapt or copy an existing laboratory activity for your workshop, that is acceptable. However, please discuss it with the APS staff so that we can obtain appropriate permission to reprint or adapt the activity from the original source. If you are adapting an activity quite substantially, this may not be an issue. Please note: ALL issues related to copyright or plagiarism MUST be resolved before APS will publish your unit!