Is that edible?

After class today there was a book fair in the Hudson auditorium that I volunteered to help work at. While walking around straightening up books, I saw a cookbook and thought to myself, "hmmmm I really want to start cooking more often, Aquinas food isn't always that good." So I bought the book and haggled one of my friends to drive me to our local Price Chopper. I had picked out a recipe during the car ride there and decided I was going to make a seafood avocado salad. Bad decision in hindsight, my advice to anyone reading this, if you have no experience in preparing seafood then get someone who does and watch them first. So I get all of the ingredients and I bring them back to school. I had already cut up the seafood and I was moving on to the avocado. I was REALLY surprised when I tried to cut through it that the knife wouldn't go all the way through. I was perplexed because I didn't think that avocados had a seed, well boy was I wrong. This is a picture of the seed from the avocado:

It was gigantic! I was thoroughly impressed with it. It was bigger than a golf ball, closer to the size of a lacrosse ball really. Oh and if people were wondering, the salad was horrible. So no, it was not edible.  :(

Of Electricity and Atoms

This chapter dealt a lot with the concept of energy and the alternative conceptions many students will have. However, these are not the only alternative conceptions that occur with this subject. It is found among teachers, administrators, creators of curriculum materials, and many others exist in the science education system itself. In the chapter two teachers are given science kits to use to introduce the unit on electricity. The kits even come with manuals for the teacher and the student. Wonderful!!! One might think this, but often teachers make the mistake of following these instructions thinking that this is the best thing for the students. It is a good idea to read the manual to get an idea of what you could do, but the true lesson planning should come from the teacher themselves. This is because we should be personalizing the content to our students and getting them engaged, not having them follow a how to booklet on how to make a circuit. The same goes for the molecule building kits that even I was fond of as a child. We should have the children explore using inquiry and if the little booklet doesn't include that little tidbit then it is up to us to create it. 

Meeting Ms. Benfer

Today our class for Science Methods in Childhood Education went to the elementary school right on campus, Bishop Dunn Memorial School, to observe the science teacher leading an inquiry based lesson with the fifth graders. We filed into the classroom before the students got there, and talked with Ms. Benfer quickly about what the students were learning at that point in time and what she was going to do with the students that day. She opened up the lesson by activating prior knowledge and asking the students to recall what they had been learning about in the previous lesson. She then proceeded to engage the students by providing concrete examples of what a mixture and a solution were. For a mixture she made a bowl of trail mix, adding m&m’s, banana chips, pretzels, chex, and other ingredients. She then made lemonade, and reinforced the knowledge that a mixture’s elements can be separated, while a solution cannot be separated because a chemical reaction had occurred. The students loved this lesson and were active and participating throughout the given time Ms. Benfer had. I was amazed because the class was on the larger side, and they had just come in from lunch and recess. This time of the day is hardest to get the students focus back on learning and work. I learned a lot today as to how to keep my students engaged and some ideas of how I would present mixtures and solutions if I were to ever teach a fifth grade science class.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie that's... a full moon!!!

Through this assignment, I learned a lot about the phases of the moon and how observable the waxing and waning of the moon is from day to day. Before completing the assignment, I had the basic understanding of why the moon waxed and waned and what it would look like, but looking for it every night with my own eyes was a completely new discovery for me. I realized that the weather conditions often make it difficult to see the moon, and that these nights were darker than most. This assignment really helped me to understand that teaching science does not just occur in the classroom, but that students should be exploring their environments and asking questions about things that interest them. Observation is one of the most important skills that children can learn and a skill that will help them in all areas of school and life. I would use this assignment in my classroom to reinforce the idea of cycles, or if we are learning about the solar system, or about the moon itself. Instead of the assignment being six weeks long however I may make it shorter such that the students will not be too deterred to complete the assignment.

What to do....?

This difference between a science activity and a science lesson is that an activity is the students exploring, whether they are experimenting with liquids, exploring atomic structure, or investigating earthworms. Doing these activities we can lead them toward critical exploration of their world. A science lesson, however, is the process of performing the activity and reflecting on it. It was in this chapter that we learned how to set up a scientific inquiry lesson. The segments of an inquiry lesson are as follows (according to the book): goals, science ideas, engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. Questioning is one of the most effective skills a teacher can learn and use. Open ended questions, those that lead to multiple answers, are especially important because they help students think critically about the investigation they are conducting. Teachers use questions for multiple different things. There are questions that invite students to action, ones that access a students' own ideas and prior knowledge, and ones that check for understanding. What I thought was great about this chapter was it addressed some strategies for doing science with students with disabilities. Modifying a lesson such that it is accessible to students with disabilities is crucial to keeping them engaged and learning in the classroom. It is also important because we want these students to feel like they're on the same page as everyone else, and not falling behind.

Around and Around and Around and Around......

Most science curricula are constructed so that science topics, and the key ideas associated with them, pop up repeatedly in different grades. This, known as a spiraling curriculum, is one way to develop depth of understanding of a topic. Spiraling does not mean that students engage in the same activity over and over. Rather, as they mature, they build on earlier science experiences and develop a greater depth of understanding about a topic. 

What I loved about this chapter was that they included science stories that accurately depicted a spiraling curriculum. Showing how density lessons can get more and more in depth. As children learn more and more on a topic, they will bring to the next lesson more prior knowledge then the time before, building up their understanding of the world and how things work.

Seeds and Dirt and Worms!!!! Oh My!!!

Even when I was little I've always had a bit of a green thumb. I loved to be able to dig in the dirt and plant my seeds, watering them every few day. I had a garden on the side of my house when I was little, I would grow carrots and green beans and strawberries, along with a few herbs. I would get really excited when I first saw the green sprouts showing, letting me know that my work was not in vain. To be alive, i believe that something must interact with it's environment, completing an action in a way. With this broad reasoning, not only animals are included in this 'alive' term, but also plants. These types of lessons are those than can be taught over the span of a few days, or even a few weeks. The point of these lessons is that you keep building upon an idea, or a questions throughout the days, discovering new things and going back to change a conclusion if proven wrong. Working in groups or with partners is a really important experience for children to have. By being in a group, students explore together throughout the lesson, and each has their own contributions or input to have. By working in groups, students may learn things that they would have missed if working by themselves, the collaboration is also an important skill for children to work on. Group work is essential in a classroom, in order to be successful  in life you have to know how to work well with others.

My Article Review Response

I believe that one of the most important practices in the field of education is being up to date with the latest research and technology. I don't want to be using a method of teaching science that later shows that it's ineffectual and does not impart meaning to the students. That's why using teaching methods that have already been tested and research is very important. This article made me appreciate how much work and effort teachers put in to giving students the most practical and meaningful education as they can possibly achieve. It made me think about how I would integrate exploring outside with my students, and how I would make sure that they are really learning from this experience. It's almost an impossible task to predetermine these activities, as the outdoor conditions of schools is vastly different throughout the country. I don't know whether or not i'd be teaching in a city, suburban, or country school, each of which having different outdoor conditions. If I were to teach in a city school then in order for students to get outdoor exploration work in I'd have to find a park and set up a field trip for them. If I were to teach in a suburban or rural location however, I may be able to take the kids right outside of the classroom and let them explore on the safety of the school grounds. There is a lot of work that must be put into these activities, but I look forward to implementing it with my future students.

Sink or Float??

This seems like it would be a really fun activity to do in an elementary school class. I do wish that there were enough materials such the groups could have been a bit smaller, such that everyone would have a chance to handle the materials. Also, I felt as though there wasn't quite enough time to fully use the lesson to it's potential. It was fun to be able to go through the process that our students themselves go through. I feel it's important to run through the experiments with the eyes of a students, to make sure that the lesson completes what the objectives of the lesson will be. Making sure the lessons are meaningful for students and that they reflect the national and state standards is, what i believe, to be the most challenging part of being a teacher. I look forward to more activites like this!

4th Grade Science Test.. Oi Vey!

It was interesting to take a fourth grade math test again in the beginning of the year. It seemed so easy, that it's hard to believe that at one point such common knowledge for me was something so new and foreign. I was incredibly nervous, however, that I would get one of the questions wrong. How embarrassing would that be to get a question wrong that a fourth grade student should know. Alas.. when I compared my answers with the answer key I did indeed get one question wrong. I was mortified, and still am to a certain extent, but at the same time I can give myself a pat on the back, and give credit to my teachers in elementary school. The fact that I can still remember some of the things that I learned in elementary school that aren't common knowledge, or used on a regular basis shows that my teachers did an outstanding job at making sure I would remember and comprehend what I was learning. I hope my students will be able to look back 10 years from now and remember what I taught them as I remember what my teachers taught me.

A Response to Chapter 2

Our scientific self is the aspect of ourselves that questions the world around us and goes out to look for answers to these questions. I feel scientific most of the day, when I take a shower I remember what I learned about air pressure systems in earth science, and when walking to class I think about the different types of clouds that I can pick out.

We always have the opportunities to explore nature, but often times it is only to a certain degree. Without the help of technology we cannot observe the difference between plant cells and animal cells. I can go outside and observe snowfall, or the sun moving across the sky, or the Hudson freezing over. I can feel with my hands how the soil feels or how different foods taste.

When I think back on my own schooling regarding science I only have fond memories of the teach and the class.I had so many great teachers throughout my schooling that I could probably write a novel if I were to talk about each of them, but my favorite teacher had to be Mr. Burowa. He brought his science classes to life with hands on activities and interesting videos that went along with what we were learning. His love of science was contagious and it was probably my favorite class for the day. It propelled me into taking more science courses, even when I wasn't required to take one any longer.

I drew a picture of a scientist, and I may have already guessed at the point the book was trying to make, but I made the drawing look like myself. I did this because I believe that everyone is a scientist in one way or another. When reflecting on this, it tells me that my attitude about science is very worldly and realistic. In my opinion, science is a subject that anyone of any age can take part in and enjoy.

Chapter 1 Text Responses!

•  What is an example of someone’s exhibiting a scientific way of thinking?

An example of someone exhibiting scientific thinking is when they want to know by how much the stars move every night, and then set up an experiment that measures this, or when they question how we know what black holes are.

• Can you think of a time when you had a significant misconception or alternative conception about the way things worked? How did you realize your thinking had to change?

 I had a significant misconception about the weather cycle when I was young. I thought that the sky just made clouds and that it produced new water for the world. However, I soon realized that things cannot just manifest into being, but that there was an entire cycle that water goes through in weather and that the amount of water we have can not just increase.

• Why is it important for students not just to recite what they have learned but to demonstrate it in a new context?

It’s important for students to demonstrate it in a new context because it means that they can actually comprehend what they have learned instead of just memorizing words. Words are meaningless unless you can give them meaning and have an understanding of what they are learning.

• In your own life, how, if at all, has technology helped you learn?

Technology has enabled me to look at things that would normally have been invisible to the naked eye. It has allowed me to collaborate on research projects and look things up that other scientists around the world have worked on. Technology has helped me because I’m primarily a visual and hands on learning, so through technology I can watch how icicles are formed or how a tadpole becomes a frog.