Lesson Plan

Day: M T W T F Date: 24th Feb Time: 8.51am Year: 9

Learning Area: Science Topic: Biology Reflex Arc

Curriculum content description: (from ACARA)

Multi-cellular organisms rely on coordinated and interdependent internal systems to respond

to changes to their environment. (ACSSU175)

Students prior knowledge and experience:

Students have covered;

Central nervous system
Structure and function of neurons
Neuron types (drawn and located components)
Previous years science curriculum

Learning purpose: (May refer to the Elaborations of the curriculum content description
here)

To gain understanding of the physical processes involved in reflex actions within the human
body

Learning objectives: Evaluation:

On completion of this lesson, students Written feedback from students (filled

will be able to: out worksheet).
Group discussion questions in
Label the components involved in
reference to prac will be completed.
reflex arc
Labelled diagram and extension
Describe why reflexes occur
questions provided to be completed
Understand the process of reflex arc
independently. Written answers will
Understand the implications of
be collected and evaluated.
reflexes with regard to bodily
Verbal feedback to teacher.
responses
Preparation and Resources:

Sufficient desks/seats for students organised in groups of 6

Reflex arc worksheet (1 per person)
Sufficient text books (booked from science lab)
Torches (sufficient for 1 per pair)
Diagram of the neuron (blank labels, 1 per pair)

Catering for diversity (detail any adjustments considerations for educational/resource

adjustments)

Extension questions for the advanced/fast learners.

Visual cues and labelled diagrams for visual learners
Hands-on component for physical learners.
Verbal and written provided
Staff assistance on-hand to provide direct instruction/clarification if required
Lesson does not require a prohibitive level of physicality, will be accessible to all
students regardless of physical ability.

Timing: Learning Experiences:

1. Introduction: (How will I engage the learners?)

Mentor teacher will introduce the class, and announce the student teachers.

Class will be split into smaller groups to enable more direct attention (group of 6)

Quick verbal re-cap of previous lessons

2. Sequence of learning experiences: (What will you do to help the

students achieve the learning objectives? What tasks and activities will
the students be involved in to help achieve the learning objectives?)

5mins
Refresher of the topics covered so far, incl. a diagram of neuron structure
(labelled), neuron types and function of the central nervous system. Very quick.

5mins Explain the process that will be involved in the short hands-on prac, including
safety concerns (dont stick the torch into someones eyeball), the steps involved.
Prac details are also supplied in writing.
5mins Teacher can supervise closely throughout the experiment, collect torches
immediately after use and facilitate discussion on the results, and how the results
build on previous knowledge of CNS and neurons. Guided discussion is centred
5mins around supplied questions, and students will write answers.
 Students will then use the textbook to fill in a diagram provided (of reflex arc)
and answer several short questions directly relating to diagram. Supporting
If time information in the text book.
availab
le Extension questions are provided that build on knowledge of reflex actions in a
practical sense, and how they relate to common functions. Teacher assistance will
be on-hand to guide and discuss.
Total
20mins
approx
.

3. Lesson conclusion: (How will you summarise the learning and relate it
to the lesson objectives?)

Brief discussion on the significance of reflexes. Ask students individually to

answer some of the guiding questions in order to gauge their level of
understanding. Explain that the topics will move onto brain structure and
function. Hand class back to mentor.

Lesson Evaluation:

We (myself and Zarina, fellow student teacher) were somewhat underprepared with regard
to class layout and organising the desks in such a way as to facilitate easy separation into
groups. Changing the desk layout after the students were settled was a disruption that
could have been avoided with some forward-planning.

The experiment itself, worksheets and source material worked well within my group of 6,
engaging the students and stretching them without tackling anything too daunting or
confusing. Once student was quite withdrawn to begin with, but became more engaged
once I let them perform the experiment on me. Being involved directly seemed to get them
all more interested. Some students needed the information from the text book reworded
and presented vocally with the addition of real-world examples in order to grasp the concept
and complete the written answers, but all gave verbal feedback indicating understanding,
including describing back to me the mechanisms that allow reflexes to occur quickly, why
this is important and used some examples from their own experiences, such as mild electric
shock, stepping on sharp objects etc.

I did not focus sufficiently on probing each individual in my group to fully gauge
understanding, it was more of getting informal feedback in an ad-hoc way through
discussion and checking their written answers after the class. In the future it would be far
more efficient to assess each student in a systematic way, as in going around the group and
quizzing each student.

Another significant oversight was our failure to monitor the timing of the class. Our twenty-
minute class stretched to over thirty as we were engrossed and did not watch the clock,
which impacted on the progress of the second part of the class. I did not stop the class at
the end of the regular worksheet and allowed all students to progress well into the
extension questions, essentially treating the extension as a regular part of the learning
activity.