3...2...1...We Have Lift Off at the Science Fair!

The Science Fair was awesome this morning! The students were eager and excited to share their projects and their findings. I participated in judging the 8th-grade students; there were a wide variety of ideas and many different subjects. Anything from which type of dance burns the most calories to the concept of whether video games help people produce faster reaction times, and everything in between. Do horses grow less hair with the use of lighting, was probably my favorite only because I can relate to the horse world. The students' eyes lit up when I mentioned my daughter and I ride also.

I was so excited because this was my first ever Science Fair! Science Fairs create an environment where students can observe and challenge ideas, present their science project results either by giving reports, displays, and models they have created. It allows students to pick a choice of topics that interests them already or something totally new. I liked seeing that some students to work as teams while other chose to work individually.

8th grade Science Fair Projects

 MSMS - Graduate Program Projects



For my Science Fair project, I chose Biogas, to compare how much methane gas is produced by various fruit/vegetable waste products. However, I decided to title it "Food Waste." My hypothesis was correct, in that, the onions produced the most gas. With certain newer forms of technology, this gas can be used in place of some fossil fuels to heat stoves and for electricity.

I hope as a teacher to utilize this experience in my classroom each year. Not only does it allow students to be actively engaged in something of interest to them, but they can also use their math skills in producing graphs and analyzing data, enhance their writing skills, and it promotes independent thinking. It allows them to find the answers to the questions they created, in a way they choose. Will they be right?

Using Technology to Teach, great job Group 2!

Group Two provided two great lessons on Green Energy! In the Direct lesson, the teachers started off by asking questions, engaging students from the outset. Their use of the Smart Board presentations and allowing the students to the Board to complete matching and sorting activities was fantastic. You could see the students were excited to participate. They also related the lesson material to everyday life, asking the students what they could do to preserve energy or what students know about energy, and how or where they received that information. My colleagues also interacted together in a positive way, keeping the material flowing.

For the Inquiry, the students had to help save the Earth by becoming Activists. Each Group had to conduct research and choose a renewable energy that they thought the U.S. should use. Then they had to write a letter to the Department of Energy stating based on their research, why the United States should use that particular source.

There were several sources of technology used throughout both lessons, including; the Smart Board, Voki, a website they developed, and computers.

I also liked that each student group presented their findings, although some of them were hard to hear because others students were talking over them.

Using the technological advances we have today, I feel is important in technology. It allows children to engage in a hands-on approach by looking for information themselves or by using various games to reinforce their knowledge and skill set. Technology provides stimulation and supports lessons by providing a visual presentation. Technology is fun for students, why not utilize it?

One can find almost anything on the internet, scientific experts, research information, pictures, microscopic pictures of items children may never see otherwise, updated pictures and information that we wouldn't find in textbooks. In some cases, websites provide games that reinforce knowledge and understanding of concepts.  

Students have fun doing what they know, if we can use it as a tool to teach (managed in an appropriate way), why not use and encourage it?!

Group 1...Calling all Geologists!

Last night, my group, taught our first set of lessons (Direct/Inquiry) for the After School Science Program and the nerves indeed set in!!! I do not believe it is something that can be helped but rather will come with time and experience.

I feel that the students as a whole had a hard time sitting still during the Direct, and I heard a few of the student's comment about whether not the lesson was almost done, they didn't want to sit, etc...I don't know that this had anything to do particularly with the lesson but rather than they've already had a full day but something that we as teachers will certainly experience.

Group 1 covered an Introduction to the Solar System and the Earth. We provided definitions on meteors and comets, discussed the eight planets briefly and taught the children an acronym to remember them. Quite a few of them commented that now it was easier for them to remember. We completed two learning activities and wrapped up the Direct with an assessment to see what they learned.

During the Inquiry, we had a video message from a friend of mine, Geologist Gandhi, who was experiencing a problem with Global Warming and the melting of the polar ice caps. He asked if the students could help him find ways to preserve the ice.
Geologist Gandhi's Message

As far as an analysis of myself, I feel like, it was hard for me the firs time around and certainly quite an experience. There is certainly room for improvement in both my presentation and in writing the lesson itself. For the presentation itself, I was extremely nervous, and it now seems like a blur. It was brought to my attention, which I also caught myself saying, was that I used the term "guys" when referring to the class. Language is something I have to be more conscious of; it's a bad habit. I will also work on speaking louder. I am developing my pedagogical knowledge and that is what I am here to focus on and learn from these experiences.

From the feedback we received from Dr. Smirnova just before class, I would create the next lesson as more of a story rather than a lesson plan itself. I would try to incorporate more creative visual tools for engagement. We, as a group, did make some quick changes just before the class coming in. I feel I did my best to accommodate that.

I felt very uncomfortable in 1)being the first group to go and the fact that I had no idea what to expect, 2) it's my first education class, period, and 3) my first time teaching a room full of students with my peers observing. Being comfortable is something I will certainly work on, and perhaps in changing my lessons, to create more of a story. Hopefully, this will help in making it feel/appear more natural, rather than word for word.

Additionally, I would ask the children to reiterate more of what I am teaching (repeat after me). I would ask them to repeat important words or definitions, and not taking the first child's answer as right (if that is the case) but also asking if their peers agree or disagree with them and why.

As far as preparation for the lesson, part of our group spent a lot of time writing the plans and preparing for it. Being that three out of four of us were new to the Program, overall, I think we did okay. Not the best and not the worst. We knew the material but needed to "loosen up" in our presentation.

One thing I did take away from the lesson, is the gap in the student's abilities, even within the same grades. Some children had a hard time spelling while others had a hard time reading or writing. One of our colleagues mentioned that our lesson included activities which had a lot of spelling. At first, this made me want to reconsider the amount of spelling but then in thinking about their varying levels of difficulty, and I figured it was a good way to utilize the repetition of words in helping them learn the vocabulary and at the same time.

We also added an extra activity for some students who we felt were capable of higher performance based on what we learned in the first classes "Getting to Know You," introduction. We felt this would provide an extra challenge for a few of the students. At the same time, I felt the way that we utilized all of the activities, from spelling to reading, to collaborative learning and teacher support allowed for all of the students to readily participate in a positive way!

It's a learning process... Onto week 5!

Scientific Meeting of the Minds...

Feeling overwhelmed but we finally had our first night of class. We started off by meeting our After-School Science Program students and completing the pre-assessment worksheet. Our group will scan them tomorrow and upload them so that our class can review them.

In class this week, we worked with the children on a "Get to Know You" project in which our group had the students go around their circle, roll the dice and answer the corresponding question to their number on the dice. Our questions included personal questions about the students such as "How many pets do you have," "Do you like to read?" and "Do you play sports?" We also included some general questions about the Solar System and the planets. At one point we asked the students in each group if we could play with them too, they seemed excited at the aspect of learning something about us as well.

It was a fun project which allowed us to start building a relationship with the students. I find this will be helpful in the future as a teacher in doing these types of projects to create relationships with my students. Our group also made a list of some of the students who were chattier with particular peers and took away from the assignment. We will utilize this for assigned seats during lessons. I was surprised to learn that most of the students favorite subject were math.

Some other observations among the student teachers were that, again, some children had more energy than others and were disruptive at times. Some children were much more outgoing than others, while some sat quietly until called upon others continued to talk. The knowledge level of some children varied quite a bit. And the details presented by some students were quite extensive for some students while others had one-word answers.

Tonight I'm working on choosing a Science Fair project, and tomorrow our group is meeting to do a final review of our lessons before next class. I can't remember the last time I participated in a Science Fair, oh, I haven't! Another first for me.

Intergrated learning...and assessments!

I've been continually editing and trying to memorize our lessons and coordinate them with the Prezi. It's certainly been a learning experience for me. Group 1, met earlier this week again to review our lessons.

I received my new hard copy text this week! Yea...

In reviewing Chapters Five & Six again, they have been full of helpful strategies on how to engage students, how to create work spaces for the children, and how to increase listening skills. SO much information!

One thing I took away from Chapter 6, is the idea of utilizing Science Notebooks, in which the children write about their scientific experiences starting at the beginning of the year through till the end. I know with my children, it's been a great way to not only know how their thoughts and concepts change from the beginning of the year till the end but to be able to monitor if they've experienced changes and whether or not they have advanced in their thinking. It would also provide a personal view as to how the students are receiving the information I am teaching. Thoughts in whether they are enjoying the subject material and where they may be having difficulties they may not want to address in class.

  In becoming a teacher, I want to integrate different techniques of learning so that I can provide my students with a creative environment. I remember utilizing Eric Carle books with my children to teach science. Using the literature-based integration can not only teach science but integrate ELA, math, and sometimes history without children even realizing it. Using project-based integration invites children not only to participate in teamwork, but it allows those who may not join to take on new roles in hands-on projects. I love being hands-on!

And then, there's the assessment process, what raises children's anxiety levels quicker than reminding them that there is an upcoming test or assignment due? I know I get test anxiety! 

 Assessments play a crucial role in the educational system and reform. Assessments can be conducted in several different ways: summative, interim, and formative. Formative for example is used on a daily basis, it is linked directly to the learning experience and assesses what knowledge the student has mastered as a result. Formative assessment can also be done in different ways through teacher observation, through discussions with the students, or by having students write a letter discussing what they learned, for example. This information can be used to adjust and change lesson plans as needed. Interim assessments, identify gaps in student learning, the data is usually used at a classroom level to evaluate lessons and curriculum bring taught. Are the students grasping the unit plans for example, are they getting the overall concepts of what are being taught mid-semester. And the last being summative assessments, such as the end of year testing. While testing the students and the alignment with content standards, it evaluates teachers and holds them accountable. 

What Do We Do Now?

I was so looking forward to starting class on campus this week and meeting the Professor and my classmates, however, this week was yet another snow storm brought class to us online.

From the text, I have read a lot about the Inquiry style of teaching, science itself, and how to engage children not only in science but to be able to relate it to math, and life in general. I think most children by nature have a sense of exploration and figuring out the “unknown.” These new concepts can either be stunted or built upon depending on the style of teaching and one’s attitude towards teaching a particular subject. I would hope, as a teacher, that I would be able to provide students with the tools to explore the world in front of them and expand their knowledge along the way.

One personal thing I noticed from the readings, is that while I question a lot of things generally speaking, as an adult I tend to “look” at things more instead of observing them. I hope this will help change my view.

This past week’s readings also brought me back to the initial drawing we were asked to draw the first night of class. Our scientist! I realized that my drawing was the perfect stereotypical picture of a scientist. Apparently, my subconscious brought that out, even though I was raised in a house where women were thought to be able to accomplish anything.

Science has not always been one of my strong suits. However, the first several weeks reading assignments have made me excited about the prospect of teaching young minds. My new experiences, thus far, have given me positive attitude in my potential to help children learn through hands-on experiences and in allowing them to expand their potential of being lifetime learners.

As we've been developing our lesson plans for presentation, I have not only read information about them, but I learned the importance in creating them everyday as a guideline and goal in what you have to accomplish on any given day. Lesson plans ensure that we as teachers have day-to-day programs for our students along with activities that coincide to optimize learning. It also accounts for individual education plans when necessary and how to accommodate students so that we can provide them with equity-based learning. Lesson plans have an initial topic in which to engage the students, it stipulates objectives, and in what way they will be accomplished, goals for the students within a particular lesson and ways to measure the goals have been met. Unit plans, however, may have several lesson plans within the specific content. Unit plans identify the content being taught and the goals for learning. The rationale provides a reason to why you are learning particular lessons. Did students do poorly on a pre-assessment, do they lack knowledge of a particular topic, etc.? I've learned thus far, that preparation is essential. As teachers, we can't "wing," what we are going to teach each day as distractions happen and they can assist us in staying on track. They also account for what information students have learned and provide guidance in how different types of students can be assisted in the process, for example, presentations and all other materials will be read aloud because some students may have reading difficulties. 


I have a lot to learn, although I am tackling the information and running full speed ahead. I’m nervous to start student teaching next week!!! Not to mention, it’s been a rather odd start to the semester not having been IN class yet. But I’m also excited at the opportunity for a new and rewarding career.