Course Prototype: An Online, Asynchronous Science 9 Unit
Course Profile: Atoms and Molecules
Quick Links
Target Audience and Rationale
This course is designed for students who are enrolled in a semester-long, face-to-face Science 9, but will be absent for an extended period due to travel. This often occurs when a student is travelling to their home country to visit family, and they are typically gone for 3-5 weeks.
To support these students, I have developed this online course, allowing them to stay on track while they are away rather than rushing to catch up upon their return. because I often have at least one student gone for an extended absence per class. Though primarily intended for students on extended absences, the course will be accessible to the entire class as an additional enrichment resource.
Course Length
This course is designed to take approximately 25 hours to complete. Ideally, students will work on it for about one hour per day, as to not get overwhelmed with content. However, they may progress at their own pace based on their individual circumstances.
Course Materials
Students will need:
- A device with internet access (school laptops are available to borrow if needed).
- Supplies for at-home labs (common, relatively inexpensive household materials).
- Science 9 textbook (student will be provided with a copy).
Additional Supports and Considerations
- Closed captioning will be provided where possible.
- Students will be shown how to translate documents such as slides, their textbook, etc.
- If students are unable to complete the course while away, they will finish it before the final assessment upon their return.
Course Outcomes
This course introduces students to the classification of matter, the Periodic Table, and physical and chemical reactions. All modules align with the Saskatchewan Science 9 curriculum and focus on the following learning outcomes:
- AE9.1: Distinguish between physical and chemical properties of common substances, including those found in household, commercial, industrial, and agricultural applications.
- AE9.2: Analyze historical explanations of the structure of the matter up to and including the Dalton model, Thomson model, Rutherford model, Bohr model.
- AE9.3: Demonstrate an understanding of the classification of pure substances (elements and compounds), including the development and nature of the Periodic Table.
Course Delivery and Rationale
For the majority of grade 9 students at my school, attendance in face-to-face classes is not a major issue. However, when a student is absent for several weeks, catching up in multiple classes can be overwhelming. This fully online, asynchronous course provides students with an opportunity to learn at their own pace, without falling behind, while they are away.
The course will be delivered through my Google Classroom and will incorporate Google tools such as Google Slides, Google Docs, and Google Forms.
Instructional Approaches
Modules will include a variety of educational technologies and learning activities, outlined below:
| Labs/Activities | Assignments | Formative Assessments | Summative Assessments |
| PhET interactive simulations
At-home labs
Lumi (H5P) interactive activities |
Google Docs
Textbook questions
|
Google Forms exit slips
Kahoots! quizzes |
Google Forms multiple choice and short answer quizzes
Face-to-face summative, comprehensive course exam (upon return)
|
What I like about this is the use of virtual labs like PhET interactive simulations to enhance students’ understanding of this concept. But for grade 9 students, will they be able to navigate the platform without guidance?
The use of textbook questions for home labs is also a good one. Is it possible to get a free online copy of any science textbook used in Saskatchewan?
Thanks for your questions. Ayodele!
As for the PhET simulations – students will be given lab instructions that include how to use the program. I already do this with my grade 9s with a PhET Electricity Circuit simulation and it works great! I find that students are often pretty good at incorporating some trial and error into online platforms that they are unfamiliar with 🙂
As for the textbook, there is not an online version BUT I asked our Resource teacher if we had a way around this. And the school can get copies of the online textbook (because we have purchased the hard copies) and they can be “borrowed” out to students.
Great work! I love the idea of developing online content for students who are away for an extended time. Every semester, I have a handful of students who are away for a month at a time, if not more, and it so so challenging to provide meaningful learning experiences to these students.
I also found your profiles focus of Science to be quite intriguing. I teach ELA and Social Studies and I find that these subjects are easy to translate to an online environment, so I can curious how a science course will look.
Thanks, Mariah!
That’s interesting that you find it easy to translate ELA to an online environment because I (am totally assuming, here) think that there would be a lot of partner and group discussion. I’m curious as to how you think this could be done if it was an asynchronous class?
Thank you for your input! 🙂
This looks great! I have a similar thought to Mariah in that I find it easier in my Humanities realm to transfer to online and so I am looking forward to seeing your course develop. I also have students gone home for 3-5 weeks at a time to visit family and run into similar issues with requiring them to continue to stay caught up while away – this online structure is a great answer for that.
Is PhET something that is used commonly throughout sciences in your classroom? I haven’t heard of this before.
Hi Jessica – thanks for your feedback!
I use PhET in my face-to-face classes probably once or twice a semester, depending on the class. I find that the interactive simulations give good data for labs and are something different that the students like to play around with.
I find that my students really enjoy the molecule building interactive, circuit building interactive, and natural selection simulator. You can look at them all here: https://phet.colorado.edu/
Hey
Great work on your course prototype! I really like how you’ve designed the course to keep students on track while they’re away, offering flexibility and support. The integration of different tools like Google Classroom, Kahoot!, and PhET interactive simulations is fantastic, making learning engaging and accessible. It’s great to see you’ve considered various learning styles and provided necessary supports, ensuring all students can succeed! Lastly, I really liked the way you have presented you blog, it’s so spontaneous.. 🙂
Thanks, Neeraj!
I really like that you have a recommended amount of time students should spend working on the course while also allowing them to work ahead if need be. Everybody’s schedule can vary so much. It’s good to not work too far ahead and possibly get burnt out or end up retaining very little information, but if a student knows they’re not going to be able to spend an hour each day on it then it would definitely be better to work ahead rather than feeling like they have to cram everything in at the end.
Thanks, Joshua!
I’m glad you picked up on the flexible schedule because I did specifically keep that in mind while creating my prototype. I think it’s important to allow this flexibility because sometimes a student can spend 3 hours on Science, while in other cases, they won’t have any time at all. Also, if they are really engaged in a topic, they can continue working on it until they begin to become disinterested and take a break.
Splendid way to engage students who are not in the classroom due to absences. We have a similar problem in my Indigenous school which has also prompted me to create my prototype. Since the goal is additionally for class too, it helps all students. Giving credit to you, it is not for too long or arduous.