SCIENCE, SCIENCE, SCIENCE

EDEL 436

[kdx78]

[inlovewiththejojo]

Lmaoo

[kimreesesdaughter]

LMFAOOOOOOOOOO

[themoonisfree]

And goodbye.

[reenuka-deactivated20181217]

He did it.

[phuckindope]

So dope !!

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Love this

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[sciencefrommrwong-blog]

SHINE BRIGHT

This week marked the beginning of our teaching for our science lessons. Kaity and Colette were the first two to teach for the group, and I think they did a wonderful job! They were able to grab the attention of the students by dressing the part (wearing scuba masks) and by playing aquatic themed music. By doing this, the students were taken from their normal classroom setting and brought to "life under the sea." They then engaged the students by having them participate in many collaborating activities (e.g. think-pair share, jigsaw). One of the things that was impressive was when the students asked questions about the topic in the beginning of the lesson, and then they were able to answer their own questions due to the inquiry based lesson!

Later in the day, we were able to experiment with batteries and lights, and other tools that would help conduct electricity. We also had to discuss with our tables the way the circuits were being opened and closed, and how that related to the lighting of the lights. 

[sciencefrommrwong-blog]

PLANNING

This week my group observed the fourth grade class we would instructing for our science unit. As my group began meeting for our upcoming unit, we realized how important it is to be prepared by laying a foundation for the unit. The topic we will be covering for our unit will be ecosystems. One of the problems that we encountered while thinking of lessons for this unit was our time constraint. There were many topics that we wanted to cover, but we had to pick and choose which ones would be most beneficial to the students. Because we are only theoretically given eight weeks for this unit, we chose to focus on the the aquatic biome and the rainforest. We chose these two because we believe there is an abundant amount of information that the students will find interesting and because there are many activities that we thought would be fun and intriguing to them. 

Planning is critical for inquiry based instruction because we want the students to achieve the learning goals that are set for them. At the same time, we want the students to question the topic themselves to help them curve their own learning. Although we want the students to control their learning, instructors still need to guide them in the right direction. When planning an inquiry based lesson, instructors will need to incorporate the five E's (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate) into their lessons. 

[sciencefrommrwong-blog]

[sciencefrommrwong-blog]

BEACH GETAWAY

Science Notebooks. This was one idea that was brought up in this week’s readings. I find these notebooks to be a great way for the students to keep track of their data, to keep track of their progress, and to reflect on their past experiments. By giving them a place to keep all of this information in one place, the students are able to quickly recall an inference/prediction they made and see if it aligns with their data.

Technology. There are many ways educators can bring technology into the classroom. By utilizing the technology available, educators are able to reach the needs of some students, as well as gain the interest of others. Technology is such a powerful tool that can truly enhance the learning experience.

Classroom Time. During class we were able to expand our knowledge on the life of sand dollars and squids! We were first given sand dollars to observe and then we were asked to record our observations. We were also instructed to write a question that we would like to explore about the lives of these creatures. I find this activity beneficial because like I mentioned before, the students are the ones controlling their learning. As the student, I was able to discover something about the sand dollar that I was interested in learning. We then shared as a class our findings! We also brought technology into this activity by using a digital microscope to help us with our observations! The next activity we completed was to dissect a squid. I’m pretty sure everyone on campus knew we were doing a dissection because the classroom became very potent. Although there was a powerful stench, this activity could help the students learn about the anatomy of a squid in a more hands-on, exciting way compared to simply reading a text or looking at a picture.

Future Plans. The readings also featured some wonderful lesson plan ideas that I may want to use in the future! Some of those included “The Leaky Faucet” and “The Soda Can.” One thing that I plan to do in the future is to connect my lessons to personal experiences. By doing this, the students will be able to feel your excitement and your passion for a particular subject!

[sciencefrommrwong-blog]

[sciencefrommrwong-blog]

A Scientist Can Be Anyone

Science was a topic that was rarely covered in elementary school for me. One of my favorite memories from elementary school was actually a science experiment though! We talked about force and how at the end of our study we were going to drop a bottle from the roof of one of the buildings. Inside the bottle would be an egg, and our goal was to design the inside of the bottle so the egg would not crack. Although I did not win, this is always a fun way of learning that stuck with me. I believe that is one of the main reasons why I love science so much! I love that it can be a very hands-on experience!

This week in class we talked about science in the kitchen. It truly is amazing that if we really think about it, science is all around us! Something that really struck me from this class was the perception we all have of a scientist. It is so common now for people to see a scientist as a male figure l, but I want to help change that perception. I want all of my students to see themselves as a scientist. Anyone can be a scientist!

During this class session we also had the opportunity to participate in two experiments. The first was where we had to question why raisins would float in a mixture of baking soda and warm water. As we conducted the experiment we observed to see if we could answer our own questions. I believe this is a great way for the students to learn because they are answering the questions they made. This is helping them to determine their own learning, which will make them excited to learn since they are curving their learning. An important point made about this style of learning is to not force the students to answer their questions because that will discourage them from asking questions. The second experiment we conducted involved dropping food coloring in milk. The next step was to drop laundry detergent to observe the reaction. I have posted a video below of the results!

Overall, I am very excited to explore the science methods in this class and I cannot wait to conduct more experiments!