PETERSBURG — Science teacher Lindsey Hampf wanted her students to demonstrate their knowledge of the rock cycle in a way that piqued their interest and engaged them in the process.
While perusing some teacher sites online, she found a way that she felt would be effective and also incorporated some creativity.
“We recently completed our Rock Transformations Unit and as a final assessment, students created a model to show rock transformation and the energy that drives the process through a comic strip,” Hampf said. “They did a great job. I’m always amazed by how talented these kids are.”
Hampf, who teaches five sessions of seventh-graders, about 100 students in all, has been with the district for 16 years. She now lives in the Petersburg section of the township after growing up in Smithville and graduating from Absegami High School.
The rock cycle describes transitions among the three main types — sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous — how they are related to each other and how processes such as erosion and plate tectonics change them from one type to another over time.
Hampf said not only did the students have to accurately describe the rock cycle, using all of the proper terms, but, more importantly, they had to include the energy source that drives the transformation.
“I thought that instead of giving them a standard pencil-and-paper test as we do with most assessments, give them an opportunity to incorporate some creativity and to do a different type of a model as opposed to hands-on or digital model we often do in class,” Hampf said.
The idea Hampf found online from Morpho Science on Teachers Pay Teachers was basic, dealing only with the three types of rock. She said she wanted to make it more in-depth so adapted the activity to incorporate the energy sources.
“They really did a nice job. It’s kind of amazing when you give them a chance to be creative and don’t set parameters too small, the things they come up,” Hampf said, noting that core content standards require proficiency in both aspects.
Hampf said the rubric required students to use the appropriate vocabulary terms as they outline the cycle in their comic strip. They were graded on content and accuracy, how well they explained the rock cycle, illustrative effort, dialogue, spelling and grammar and overall creativity.
“It gives them an opportunity to be assessed on content in a unique way. It gives them an opportunity to utilize their creativity in more of a performance assessment as opposed to traditional pen-and-paper assessment,” Hampf said. “I think they enjoyed switching things up, changing the routine and having an opportunity to show what they learned in sort of an unusual fashion.”
She said students had just two periods to complete the project.
“I was really impressed by their final products,” Hampf said.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff