1. Unit Portfolio Presentation Staci Kwast
Scuba Dive!
Unit Portfolio Presentation
Staci Kwast

2. Unit Summary
Scuba diving is a recreational sport that is enjoyed by thousands of people world-wide. However, it is also a sport that can be fatal if the equipment malfunctions or if divers are careless. In this unit, students will make some basic measurements and knowledge of gas laws to calculate the amount of air required to remain underwater for a given time, devise a method for measuring the amount of air needed you would breathe in 30 minutes, and calculate the final pressure of a scuba tank holding that much air. Students will create a web-based presentation describing their work.

3. Curriculum-Framing Questions
Essential Question When conditions change, how do we know what is going to happen?
Unit Questions What are the properties of matter? Why are the physical properties of gases?
Content Questions What influences the behavior of a gas? How do the properties of gases affect everyday life?

4. Scuba Dive! Project
This project will help my students develop 21st century skills by:
Framing, analyzing and synthesizing info in order to solve problems and answer questions
Using digital technology, communication tools and/or networks appropriately to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge economy
Defining, prioritizing and completing tasks without direct oversight

5. Gauging Student Needs Assessment
Purpose of the Assessment
To gather information about what students already know and what misconceptions they have about gases
What I want to learn from my students?
I want to find out what they already know about the Unit Questions and what they know about setting up experiments.
How I have tried to promote higher-order thinking?
I ask students to design and carry out an experiment to measure the amount of air you would breathe in 30 minutes.
How the assessment information helps me and my students plan for upcoming activities in the unit?
For students having difficulty with setting up an experiment, we can brainstorm possible solutions. For students who are having difficulty with the calculations, online practice problems can be provided.
What feedback or additional ideas I’d like?
I would like to know other ways to pre-assess my students and alternative ways for them to present their experiments.

6. My Goals for the Course
Find ways to get my students more interested in learning science
Learn about different kinds of technology my students and I can use
Share ideas with other teachers

7. Goals for My Students
To learn how scientists collect and think about data
To become more independent learners
To relate science to real-life

8. Request for Feedback
Ideas for ways to present their information besides a prezi or a wiki