Medical Technology: organ harvesting and Transplants

the definitive answer to alternative fuels, but the unit has
proven successful and will, hopefully, encourage teachers to
explore curricular activities covering all aspects and types of
alternative fuels.
In 2007, experiments with biodiesel were suggested during
an experimental laboratory class at Utah State University.
The term “biodiesel” was made familiar through media
exposure. However, little was known about its applications,
attributes, or the process of producing the fuel. Through
guidance and a demonstration from a graduate student,
students learned that biodiesel could be produced at a skill
level appropriate for middle school students. After the
purchase of required equipment, the class experimented
with the process of making and testing biodiesel. At that
point, the author realized he had his next unit of instruction
idea. He had been looking for a unit that would cover the
Standards for Technological Literacy (STL) area, “Students
will develop an understanding of technology and society,”
which consists of standards four through seven (ITEEA/
ITEA, 2000/2002/2007, p. 15). Learning about and
introducing a new technology that represents a current
global issue has been exciting. Before this experience, the
author had not taught anything on alternative fuels but
realized how vital this topic is for today’s students.
Methodology
The development of a standards-based unit of instruction
for middle school students on alternative fuels was used as a
project for an MS degree at Utah State University. This unit
was structured using the backwards-design approach. In the
first stage, the following standards were selected from the
Standards for Technological Literacy document:
• Standard 3—The relationships among technologies and
the connections between technology and other fields.
• Standard 4—The cultural, social, economic, and
political effects of technology.
• Standard 5—The effects of technology on the
environment.
• Standard 6—The role of society in the development
and use of technology.
• Standard 7—The influence of technology on history.
• Standard 15—Agricultural and related biotechnologies.
• Standard 18—Transportation technologies.
(ITEEA/ITEA, 2000/2002/2007, p. 15)
After these standards were selected, lesson objectives and
student outcomes were established. The scope of the unit
covered history, production, use, and impacts of ethanol
and biodiesel. A pretest/posttest was developed to evaluate
student knowledge before and after instruction to measure
their increased knowledge from the unit of instruction.
Finally, learning activities were developed to bridge the
standards and objectives to the evaluation outcomes.
A variety of instructional strategies were utilized to
appeal to various learning styles. Probing questions and
classroom discussion were used to facilitate a Socratic
learning environment. Some classroom discussions
involved having the students survey their parents and
report back to the class. Direct instruction and PowerPoint
presentations were used to present factual information.
Demonstrations and laboratory activities were used for the
hands-on learners, and video clips were used for the more
visual learners. The video clip resources included: twostroke
engine (Howstuffworks, n.d.), four-stroke engine
(Howstuffworks , n.d.), diesel engine (Howstuffworks, n.d.),
The 3/27 Methanol Test (Bowen, n.d.), The Ethanol Solution
(60 Minutes, 2006), and Live Green Go Yellow (General
Motors Corp. 2006).
To quantify the effectiveness of the unit of instruction, the
sensitivity to instruction (SI) index was calculated for each
test question using the following formula:
SI= R – R a b
T
SI - Sensitivity to Instruction Index
Ra - Number correct after instruction
Rb - Number correct before instruction
T - Total number of students tested
(Gronlund, 1998, pp. 127-128)
SI scores can range between -1.0 and 1.0. (A 1.0, and an ideal
score would result from a situation in which all students
missed the test item before instruction, and all students
were able to answer the item correctly after instruction.)
Using multiple-choice test items increases the possibility
of guessing and lowers the potential SI score. On a fouroption
multiple choice item, one fourth of the students are
expected to guess the answer correctly before instruction,
lowering the potential SI score to 0.75
The qualitative evaluation of the unit was established by
inviting parents, school and district administrators, and
the regional newspaper into the classroom to observe and
provide feedback. In addition, student reactions to the new
unit were observed and noted.
The Unit of Instruction
Field-Testing. This unit was field-tested at Orion,
Snowcrest, and Wahlquist middle schools in the Weber
School District, Utah. The entire unit of instruction lasted
ten days, or ten class periods. Five class periods were
devoted to ethanol, one-half period was devoted to internal
21 • The Technology Teacher • April 2010