This article, "Teaching for Conceptual Change: Confronting Children's Experience," is about just what the title reads. This article is about teaching students to accept change and knowing the difference about everyday meanings and scientific meanings. For example the students have their own misconceptions about why the sky is blue but there is an actual scientific meaning behind why the sky is blue. The students have a hard time understanding the scientific meaning when they have their own about something. This article covers the misunderstandings of how students thought when wearing a sweater the temperature would rise but in this experiment the students found out that this was actually false. When the students performed the experiment the students found out when putting a thermometer inside their sweaters the temperature did not rise. Since the students were living in Massachusetts and going through those hard, cold winters they believed that inside their sweaters were warmer than outside but in reality the temperature did not rise. The students performed experiments after experiments trying to figure out an explanation as to why the temperature did not rise and the teacher was in a bit of a dilemma because she could not decide if and how she would tell them the difference between holding heat and emitting heat. This article describes how the teacher can make changes in the lesson plan and be flexible during the lesson just in case something happens unexpectedly, this article teaches a lesson about conceptual change. The students are having trouble changing their mind about the sweaters due to their own stubbornness, language, perception, the children's developmental stage, and their own thinking about everyday meanings. The teacher finally decided to try to change their everyday meaning about how the temperature does not rise in sweaters. The teacher challenged the students thinking by giving them another activity and the correct scientific meaning of why the sweaters did not rise in temperature. This activity challenged the students thinking and made them steer away from their own misunderstanding and onto the correct scientific understanding.
This article does impact me as a teacher because it helps me see how a lesson has to be flexible and take more time on something that you thought would only take a few minutes. I think the most important thing to do as a teacher is to be flexible because you never know what is going to happen that day. I really like how this teacher provided the students with more understanding and helped them get to the right understanding by using science. As a teacher being able to make your students steer away from their misconceptions and on their way to the right understanding is hard to do but it has to be done. Providing students with the right understanding and how they got there is very important and this article really opens my eyes to this concept.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Private Universe
1) Phases of the Moon: The phases of the moon occur because of how the moon rotates around the earth and how the light reflects off the sun to show the moon.
2) Seasons: We have seasons due to the earths orbit around the sun and how it gets warmer when the sun is farther to the earth and colder when the earth is closer from the sun. It is because of how the Earth tilts on its axis.
3)Lunar Eclipse: A lunare eclipse occurs because of the position of the moon while rotating around the earth. The sun is right behind the moon. When the moon is a shadow.
2) Seasons: We have seasons due to the earths orbit around the sun and how it gets warmer when the sun is farther to the earth and colder when the earth is closer from the sun. It is because of how the Earth tilts on its axis.
3)Lunar Eclipse: A lunare eclipse occurs because of the position of the moon while rotating around the earth. The sun is right behind the moon. When the moon is a shadow.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Peters Reading
This article focused on the different methods and foundations for constructivist teacher. The main points in this article really focused on Piaget's way of teacher, Vygosky's method of teacher and the constructivism method of teaching. Piaget really focused on the stages of development and that students constructed their own knowledge by their internal thinking and by growing up. He really focused on how development was the leading role of learning and that is how students learn. Vygosky on the other hand was a bit different. He saw learning as leading the development process meaning the students were engaged in learning a specific concept they would pick it up in context by not really knowing it and then later recognizing the concept and understand what it means. These two methods are very interesting to read about because they opposite of each other. The other method this article focused on was constructivism. A constructivism approach is a learning process in terms of the student and not the teacher. This method really forces the students to get involved and it promotes active learning as well. This method also focuses on if a student interprets or recognizes their surroundings then this recognition is influenced by prior knowledge which is a key concept of constructivism. Piage's work helps provide insight into how the students grow intellectually by defining the stages of what the children go through as they grow older. And Vygosky studies behavior in a social and historical context seeing how children react under social and cognitive constructions.
I think both of these methods are interesting and I can take parts of them and learn from each person and method. There are draw backs to each method which is why if I were to use them in my classroom I could combined to help learn how to individualize my lessons and make sure each students understands the lesson and it is not to easy or hard for them. I think this article does impact me as a teacher because it does make me think about things that I have not thought about and I need to start thinking about to become a teacher. I think this article was very interesting and provided some good information.
I think both of these methods are interesting and I can take parts of them and learn from each person and method. There are draw backs to each method which is why if I were to use them in my classroom I could combined to help learn how to individualize my lessons and make sure each students understands the lesson and it is not to easy or hard for them. I think this article does impact me as a teacher because it does make me think about things that I have not thought about and I need to start thinking about to become a teacher. I think this article was very interesting and provided some good information.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Misconceptions
This article focuses on the misconceptions the kids of any age have regarding science terminology. These misconceptions that kids are having are due to several factors such as teachers focusing too much on terminology, teachers focusing on to little terminology, a bad textbook, students not understanding the concepts of the lesson and simply not taking the time to learn terminology because they feel it is to hard. Teachers focus on to much terminology and lose the sight of what the main point and idea of the lesson which makes it harder for the students to understand and learn the subject matter. This happens a lot because teachers feel that vocabulary is a very important aspect in science, math, social studies and pretty much every class but when they focus to much on vocabulary the teacher loses the main concepts of the lesson and they have lost their students. I remember in high school physics my teacher was big on vocabulary and that was a main part of the course but it was hard for me because I knew the vocabulary words but did not understand the concepts very well. Also when students have a boring textbook they are not into reading the material as much as if it was a more interesting book and containing clear concepts. The article also mentioned how the teachers could help these misconceptions. Some solutions would be to choose a textbook that is more interesting to the students and has clear concepts and good explanations of the subject matter, having labs in the classroom creates hands on experience, and start at the beginning with the students and make sure to clear up any misconceptions before any tests so students understand and learn the material not just memorize vocabulary.
This article does impact me as a teacher because it opens my eyes to these misconceptions and makes me aware of what I should be looking for in a classroom when I observe or volunteer in a classroom. I think helping students understand the concepts of what ever subject they are studying will help them in the long run because if they just memorize it will not be useful when they actually need the information. By providing new textbooks, having hands on experiences and starting from the beginning will help clear up these misconceptions and help students learn and understand the concepts and not just memorize.
This article does impact me as a teacher because it opens my eyes to these misconceptions and makes me aware of what I should be looking for in a classroom when I observe or volunteer in a classroom. I think helping students understand the concepts of what ever subject they are studying will help them in the long run because if they just memorize it will not be useful when they actually need the information. By providing new textbooks, having hands on experiences and starting from the beginning will help clear up these misconceptions and help students learn and understand the concepts and not just memorize.
Krajcik Reading
This article focuses on the social constructivist model of teaching and the way teachers should be teaching in their classroom. To start this reflection, I really want to share a quote I found very interesting and meaningful in the article, it states: "Tell me, and I forgot."
"Show me, and I remember."
"Involve me, and I understand."
I really think this quote explains the process of learning and how students learn. If a teacher just lectures, the students will get distracted and block the lecture out, but if there are visuals involved and props then the students will remember, but the best way is to get the students involved in the activity then they will understand the subject matter and remember. In this article there are several main key ideas to take away as teachers.
Some key ideas include active engagement with phenomena which means that students are actively involved in the lesson by asking questions, refine questions and predict and even explain their phenomena. Students respond much better with concrete materials rather than just sitting and listening. Some other key features of the social constructivist model of learning include use and application of knowledge, using multiple representations, use of learning communities and authentic tasks. All these features help students learn, understand and make connections about the subject matter which is the best way to learn. Another main important feature to take into the classroom is for both teachers and students and that is to use prior knowledge and experience. Teachers need to be able to know what the students already know to be able to help them learn and become better learners.
All of these key features help me think about things that I need to know in becoming a teacher. This does affect me as a teacher because I want to be able to incorporate all these key aspects into my teaching methods such as helping students reflect on their own work, showing them using tools, involving them using activities and games to help them understand. I also think it is very important to help students connect what they are learning in class to their outside lives. I think this is a good method to follow but I also believe a teacher needs to be able to figure out their own teaching style and what feels most comfortable to them. This article was very interesting to read and there is a lot of good information in the article.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Diffendoofer Day
1) What does it mean to know how to think?
A person thinks when they are interested or knows about a topic. Thinking can be when someone has a question or is curious about something and wants more information about a certain topic. Knowing how to think can also mean doing it accidentally such as wondering about something and questioning the subject they want to know more about.
2) How does a teacher teach a student how to think?
A teacher can teach a student how to think in various ways. Teachers can teach a student how to think by challenging them and making them wonder or be curious about something. Teachers also can teach them how to learn by asking questions, providing a spark of interest for the students to start their thinking process and let them discover more about a topic.
3) Have you ever been in a class where you really had to think?
Yes, I have been in a class where I have had to think. In several of my classes my teachers would provide us with a starting question and we were suppose to be creative and think for ourselves on what that topic or question meant to us. Also I have to think when the classes are the hardest and that don't come to me naturally, for example math is easier for me compared to history.
A person thinks when they are interested or knows about a topic. Thinking can be when someone has a question or is curious about something and wants more information about a certain topic. Knowing how to think can also mean doing it accidentally such as wondering about something and questioning the subject they want to know more about.
2) How does a teacher teach a student how to think?
A teacher can teach a student how to think in various ways. Teachers can teach a student how to think by challenging them and making them wonder or be curious about something. Teachers also can teach them how to learn by asking questions, providing a spark of interest for the students to start their thinking process and let them discover more about a topic.
3) Have you ever been in a class where you really had to think?
Yes, I have been in a class where I have had to think. In several of my classes my teachers would provide us with a starting question and we were suppose to be creative and think for ourselves on what that topic or question meant to us. Also I have to think when the classes are the hardest and that don't come to me naturally, for example math is easier for me compared to history.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Rising to Greatness
In the article "Rising to Greatness," there were several key points the author was trying to convey to the audience and to the Iowa community. This article is talking about whether Iowa is up for the challenge for improving the education system. According to the article, "Iowa students' futures are at risk." The education system at Iowa is struggling a bit because the reading progress is slowly slipping backward, the math progress is also slowly slipping, not enough enrollment in schools, and the students are just underperforming. There are also race, poverty and disability learning gaps that need to be fixed, mathematic scores and classes in middle school are not at the level they should be at and the national test scores are not the best for Iowa. This message that the article is trying to convey to the audience is kind of a scary thought and does have an impact on me since I went to these schools in Iowa. But I also think that our education system can compete and this article is focusing on only the bad. We have scored very well on the ACT test which helps with students getting into college. I know the state of Iowa can improve their scores and catch up to the rest of the world, we are just taking our time. Iowa needs to start building their workforce with high-quality teachers which will help the students with their test scores, and learning in general. This article does impact me as a teacher as well because when I graduate, if I want to stay in Iowa, I know I have to be a highly-qualified teacher to help improve the education at Iowa to catch up with the rest of the nation. I know the requirements to achieving a job here at Iowa will be harder because they are working towards only hiring highly-quality teachers but with the program at the Universtiy of Iowa, I think they will help me stand out and become that highly-qualified teacher. Iowa is my home and I want to see the state succeed and if all the teachers in Iowa become world-class quality then Iowa is one step closer to competing with the rest of the world in education.
Five Good Reasons to use Science Notebooks
In the article "Five Good Reasons to Use Science Notebooks," the author talks about why notebooks are important to the learning process. The five reasons to use a notebook are: they are thinking tools, they guide teacher instruction, enhance literacy skills, they support differentiated learning and lastly they foster teacher collaboration. These five reasons are why students need to use notebooks in science and in any other class. Notebooks help children write down their own thoughts and observations about a topic in class and they actually help the students study more deeply into the subject matter with their peers. The students were able to discover more questions about the subject matter by thinking harder about what they did in class by wondering what they should write in their notebook. Notebooks make the students study harder and bring up things in class that they have never thought about before. They also help the teacher by having everything in one notebook and the teacher can see the students thought process and questions if they still have them. This is a way for the students to be creative and talk about the subject matter in their own way such as pictures, drawings, graphs, and writing. These notebooks would benefit me as a teacher because it would give me a way to see how each student learns best by their responses in their notes, if they draw visuals or just written paragraphs. This is a great idea to use in the classroom and I would definitely use it in my science class. I do not see one negative aspect about notebooks because the student can express their opinion or observation however they would like. I think this a very informative article and I really enjoy reading different ways to teach in a classroom and I think this is a very good idea that would most definitely benefit the students.
Line of Learning
How do elementary students learn
science?
Elementary students learn in several different ways from listening to visuals to hands on activities. In Elementary school students need to be involved with what they are doing in order for them to learn the content. It is important for the students to be engaged in the activity with hands on activities also some students learn best by pictures or images or using props to further explain the material. Another method students learn by is listening to the teacher talk about the subject matter. The students also need to learn by working in groups or pairs, this is a good way for students to talk to their group or partner and bounce ideas off from each other while learning the material. The most important way Elementary students learn science is by interacting with the world around them, by learning how to wash their hands, playing in the grass, catching a butterfly or other insects, and just being observant and being a kid. Being curious and interacting is the best way for students to learn something new.
7/3/2012
Students have to discover things on their own even though it is hard to teach that way because it is very time consuming and hard to tell when the teacher should step in and tell them what the misconception is and the right answer.
9\17\2012
This week we read an article regarding hands on activities amd inquiry learning. I thought this article was very helpful because I know in my science class in elementary school we mostly did hands on activities where the teacher told you what to do and you were expected to get the same answer the teacher got. This was learning to some extent but I think I would have learned a lot more if the teacherused inquiry learning and hands on activities. Inquiry provides the students with a little more freedom to investigate their questions and get to the solution they think is right and justify their answeR and show now they got it. It is not just a one answer lab they can have several the students must be able to justify their answer and show the teacher and or the class how they came about this answer. I think this way of learning helps students understand the material better and helps them actually remember the material. I also like that inquiry is not a memorizing technique it is a way for the students to remember and use the information later in school. I thought this article had some great details about what we should teach and gave us per service teachers advice on how to teacher and how students learn. They can learn by doing but it depends on if they have that inquiry and are suing this type of learning.
10/7/2012
Students learn through a variety ways and this week I learned that through the different ways of assessment students can learn the material if assessments are used the right way. There are two kinds of assessments: formative and summative. Formative is used every day every minute in the classroom and summative should not be used that often. Formative is everything the students do in the classroom such as a quiz, performing a project, a speech, observations, journals etc. A summative example is an end of the year test. Students are not the only ones that learn through assessments, teachers learn as well. Students can see how well they have done through assessments and the teacher can see how the students are doing through assessments as well. Assessments are not just tests and quizzes which I have learned this year. I remember in elementary school and middle school an assessment was always a test or a quiz but now I see differently because students need to be assessed everyday in several different ways. This will help the students learn as much as they can and help the teacher stay on top of what the students are understanding and if they need to go back and go over any misconceptions. I will defiantly use several different assessment tools in my classroom to make sure students are understanding the material and learning the material as well.
11/1/2012
During this week we started learning about our final project in science methods. This final project includes my group and I going to an elementary school to teach a science lesson to the students. As I was working on this lesson, I had to think about how students learn science and what the best way for my group to get across our lesson. We thought about the different ways students learn such as listening, mentally, etc. We wanted to touch on all of these ways of learning so the students who were in these categories would be able to understand the lesson in their own way of learning. This was a great learning process for me because it gave me the opportunity of thinking about the what the students need to get out of the lesson and how they learn.
11/7/2012
Continuing on from last week, I learned more about how students learn science. Through furthering our project we as a group had to think about the different needs of the students. One thing on our lesson plan is modifications and changes we need to make for those students who have disabilities and how we can make those changes in the classroom with our lesson plan. In our classroom there are a few students we do have disabilities so we as teachers need to recognize that and make accommodations and modifications to our lesson to meet the needs of those students. It really makes me think about when I am going to be a teacher and have to make changes everyday to help those kids out and stay on my feet because nothing goes as planned usually in the classroom.
What classroom environments facilitate elementary students’ science learning?
In the classroom students learn at several different paces and are distracted very easily. A classroom should be a comfortable environment for the students to concentrate on what they are learning. This classroom needs to be their place where they feel safe, confidant, respected, cared for, and be able to speak their opinion and of course have fun. The classroom is like a second home to some students because it is a place where they can learn independence, team work, social skills and just be a kid. The room should be decorated with lots of color with several different educational tools such as posters maps, globes, rulers etc. The temperature is also an important item to think about because if a student is to cold or hot they will be distracted and it will take away from their learning. Another important item is the way the room is arranged. In Elementary, I think it is best to have the students in groups, preferably small groups so the students can work in a team and work on social skills. The
way the classroom is designed, arranged and decorated are all very important concepts the teacher should consider because all of these items will help the students learn if the room is a fun, colorful learning environment.
9/11/2012
By reading all these articles I have learned that a science classroom needs to be a classroom where the children feel safe and where they start exploring their world. It should be a place where they start discovering their passion, applying what they know and bring the outside world into their own classroom. This will be a place where they start to experience the impact they can have and see whats out there in the world. Students should be able to investigate in this classroom and perform experiments in a safe environment. The teacher should have safety materials in the classroom for the students to use just like in the Sweater article. Another important item in a classroom these days is the technology. It would be very nice to have smart boards in a classroom or ipads for every student but that would very expensive for the whole school. I hope that classrooms do have smart boards because they help the students and the teachers with hands on learning.
10/11/2012
This week when preparing for the test I realized the environment in a classroom is very important. The teacher has to make the students feel comfortable in the classroom even when taking a test. During the test the teacher offered us a wide range of times we could take the test which helped me feel more relaxed about the test. There will be several students in a classroom that have test anxiety similar to me and when the teacher provides the students with a time range to take the test it helps the students feel more relaxed and helps with their test anxiety. Now it is different in elementary school compared to college but even in elementary school give the students the time and feeling that they, the students, can finish the test and can do the best they can. The teachers can help the students feel comfortable and get over their test anxiety by guiding them through the tests and making them feel that they can just do the best they can and that is just fine.
10/18/2012
During this week, we performed our long term investigation experiments. During our experiment presentations I thought it was very interesting to think about the environments of how students learn and how we give presentations. When I did my presentation I was really focused on what kind of environment the students need and the presenter needs. The teacher has to make sure the environment is a calm, warm and safe environment the kids can share their presentation with the whole class with out being nervous or afraid. During my presentation I felt very comfortable and able to share my presentation with the class with out being judged or criticized. It is the teachers duty to make sure the students feel comfortable with sharing items in-front of the class. Another item that I noticed when I was sitting in the audience as teachers watching the other presentations, some of the students stood right in front of the smart board so my group was not able to see their presentation. My suggestion is to make sure the students know where to stand and teach them how to avoid blocking the board and other students being able to see the presentation. These presentations were a great learning experience for me and gave me some really good ideas to help the students feel comfortable in their own classroom.
What should teachers know and be able to do to design and foster effective elementary science learning environments?
I think teachers should know to be fun, energetic, a good communicator, has high expectations, and is knowledgeable. Teachers are the role models to the students when they are in the classroom and even outside of the classroom. Students look up to their teachers and some may want to become a teacher in the future. Teachers should want to learn as much as they can to give their students the most recent and best education they can receive by taking classes to further educate themselves. A teacher should be able to help the students create independence, and include humor in their lesson plans. Every kid loves to laugh and a fun environment creates excellent learning conditions. A teacher also has to be insightful and flexible to be able to rearrange their lesson plan just in case it does not go the way they planned it that day. Every teacher has their own personality, which adds character to their classroom, and helps the students see the teacher for who they are and be comfortable and feel safe with them. When I become a teacher I want to be able to provide them with the best learning environment to be able to learn as much as they can before they grow up.
8/26/2012
One of the things I learned this week in class was that our society and way of teaching has changed throughout the years. I learned from the "Rising to Greatness" article that we as the state of Iowa are staying the same but not improving but it is ok. Because what I learned is that we don't need to teach to the test and that is what everyone is trying to do, only teach what is on the national tests to get that high national testing score. I think it is very important to teach everything in a classroom and never teach to the test because the students will not learn what they actually need to learn to take with them in life, such as social skills, good reading and writing skills, how to reflect on something and the list goes on. Teaching to the test does work to get great scores but that is not the only important aspect of the education system, seeing the students learn and grow is what is important.
9/2782012
One thing I learned this week that was very interesting is the five essential features of inquiry. The five essential features of inquiry are: engage, evidence, explanation, evaluation, and communicate. All of these terms need to be brought into the classroom by the teacher to help students learn and understand the material. The learners are engaged by scientifically oriented questions then give priority to evidence which allows them to develop and evaluate explanations that addresses scientifically oriented questions. After evidence the learners formulate an explanation from evidence to address scientifically oriented questions then they can evaluate their explanations in light of alternative explanations, partially those reflected scientific understanding. After the students have evaluated their work they then communicate and justify their proposed explanations. I learned that it is very important to have the students present to someone other than me or the teacher because they are comfortable with you. If you give them a real audience like another class they will give a very well done presentation because they will feel more nervous to give it to a different crowd rather than their home room. These five features of inquiry will help me as a future teacher lead the students into discovering things for themselves and learn to ask questions with out me telling them the answer. This will help the student become more student centered and discover things on their own and actually learn the material and understand what they are actually learning.
10/25/2012
This week we switched gears and did a project on how teachers should be aware of students disabilities and how we as teachers should teach science and help those students who have disabilities. During this presentation I learned that when you are designing a lesson plan and thinking about how you want to teach something you have to think about all your students and make accommodations and modifications. In this lesson I learned how to write accommodations and modifications to the lesson to make them appropriate for the students with disabilities. For example my group did the disability of writing. The students have trouble actually coming up with a sentence and physically writing the sentence out. For this disability we came up with a few accommodation which include, having a helper write the sentence for them, the students can draw a picture, create a matching worksheet for them etc. This lesson we did in class was a great eye opener to me to get me to start thinking about how to differentiate and provide for those students who do have a disability.
11/14/2012
During this week, while watching presentation I learned several key factors that will help teachers be aware of what we need to foster to help the students learn in the classroom. While watching the presentations I learned that we as teachers need to always be on alert. In the presentations if something went wrong the students had a back up plan to continue the presentation. Some other items that I learned was always stay positive and keep the kids guessing. I really liked how the presentations were challenging for the students and they had to figure out how to do the experiment by asking questions and investigating. It is ok for the students to struggle and I think that is hard for me to understand but it will help the students in the long run.
11/29/2012
During this week, we performed our presentation with the second grade class at Grand Wood Elementary. The first day we had so much doing our lesson. The kids loved making the tornado in a bottle because it was very different from what they usually do in class and it was student centered. During our lesson we needed to foster an effective learning environment right from the start of day one. We told the students right from the start that they needed to be quiet during carpet time and have voices at a 0 when we were talking but when we were asking questions and discussing they could have their voices at a 1 and voice their opinion. When we were doing our smart notebook activity, all the students really wanted to volunteer and it was hard for us to call on someone so we used popsicle sticks with their names and drew one for each question that way it was random and fair and let all the students have a turn. Day two went smoothly as well. The students had a lot of fun and we made sure each student was able to participate and share their opinions about tornados. I think this project went vry well and I had a lot of fun teaching the kids.
Elementary students learn in several different ways from listening to visuals to hands on activities. In Elementary school students need to be involved with what they are doing in order for them to learn the content. It is important for the students to be engaged in the activity with hands on activities also some students learn best by pictures or images or using props to further explain the material. Another method students learn by is listening to the teacher talk about the subject matter. The students also need to learn by working in groups or pairs, this is a good way for students to talk to their group or partner and bounce ideas off from each other while learning the material. The most important way Elementary students learn science is by interacting with the world around them, by learning how to wash their hands, playing in the grass, catching a butterfly or other insects, and just being observant and being a kid. Being curious and interacting is the best way for students to learn something new.
7/3/2012
Students have to discover things on their own even though it is hard to teach that way because it is very time consuming and hard to tell when the teacher should step in and tell them what the misconception is and the right answer.
9\17\2012
This week we read an article regarding hands on activities amd inquiry learning. I thought this article was very helpful because I know in my science class in elementary school we mostly did hands on activities where the teacher told you what to do and you were expected to get the same answer the teacher got. This was learning to some extent but I think I would have learned a lot more if the teacherused inquiry learning and hands on activities. Inquiry provides the students with a little more freedom to investigate their questions and get to the solution they think is right and justify their answeR and show now they got it. It is not just a one answer lab they can have several the students must be able to justify their answer and show the teacher and or the class how they came about this answer. I think this way of learning helps students understand the material better and helps them actually remember the material. I also like that inquiry is not a memorizing technique it is a way for the students to remember and use the information later in school. I thought this article had some great details about what we should teach and gave us per service teachers advice on how to teacher and how students learn. They can learn by doing but it depends on if they have that inquiry and are suing this type of learning.
10/7/2012
Students learn through a variety ways and this week I learned that through the different ways of assessment students can learn the material if assessments are used the right way. There are two kinds of assessments: formative and summative. Formative is used every day every minute in the classroom and summative should not be used that often. Formative is everything the students do in the classroom such as a quiz, performing a project, a speech, observations, journals etc. A summative example is an end of the year test. Students are not the only ones that learn through assessments, teachers learn as well. Students can see how well they have done through assessments and the teacher can see how the students are doing through assessments as well. Assessments are not just tests and quizzes which I have learned this year. I remember in elementary school and middle school an assessment was always a test or a quiz but now I see differently because students need to be assessed everyday in several different ways. This will help the students learn as much as they can and help the teacher stay on top of what the students are understanding and if they need to go back and go over any misconceptions. I will defiantly use several different assessment tools in my classroom to make sure students are understanding the material and learning the material as well.
11/1/2012
During this week we started learning about our final project in science methods. This final project includes my group and I going to an elementary school to teach a science lesson to the students. As I was working on this lesson, I had to think about how students learn science and what the best way for my group to get across our lesson. We thought about the different ways students learn such as listening, mentally, etc. We wanted to touch on all of these ways of learning so the students who were in these categories would be able to understand the lesson in their own way of learning. This was a great learning process for me because it gave me the opportunity of thinking about the what the students need to get out of the lesson and how they learn.
11/7/2012
Continuing on from last week, I learned more about how students learn science. Through furthering our project we as a group had to think about the different needs of the students. One thing on our lesson plan is modifications and changes we need to make for those students who have disabilities and how we can make those changes in the classroom with our lesson plan. In our classroom there are a few students we do have disabilities so we as teachers need to recognize that and make accommodations and modifications to our lesson to meet the needs of those students. It really makes me think about when I am going to be a teacher and have to make changes everyday to help those kids out and stay on my feet because nothing goes as planned usually in the classroom.
What classroom environments facilitate elementary students’ science learning?
In the classroom students learn at several different paces and are distracted very easily. A classroom should be a comfortable environment for the students to concentrate on what they are learning. This classroom needs to be their place where they feel safe, confidant, respected, cared for, and be able to speak their opinion and of course have fun. The classroom is like a second home to some students because it is a place where they can learn independence, team work, social skills and just be a kid. The room should be decorated with lots of color with several different educational tools such as posters maps, globes, rulers etc. The temperature is also an important item to think about because if a student is to cold or hot they will be distracted and it will take away from their learning. Another important item is the way the room is arranged. In Elementary, I think it is best to have the students in groups, preferably small groups so the students can work in a team and work on social skills. The
way the classroom is designed, arranged and decorated are all very important concepts the teacher should consider because all of these items will help the students learn if the room is a fun, colorful learning environment.
9/11/2012
By reading all these articles I have learned that a science classroom needs to be a classroom where the children feel safe and where they start exploring their world. It should be a place where they start discovering their passion, applying what they know and bring the outside world into their own classroom. This will be a place where they start to experience the impact they can have and see whats out there in the world. Students should be able to investigate in this classroom and perform experiments in a safe environment. The teacher should have safety materials in the classroom for the students to use just like in the Sweater article. Another important item in a classroom these days is the technology. It would be very nice to have smart boards in a classroom or ipads for every student but that would very expensive for the whole school. I hope that classrooms do have smart boards because they help the students and the teachers with hands on learning.
10/11/2012
This week when preparing for the test I realized the environment in a classroom is very important. The teacher has to make the students feel comfortable in the classroom even when taking a test. During the test the teacher offered us a wide range of times we could take the test which helped me feel more relaxed about the test. There will be several students in a classroom that have test anxiety similar to me and when the teacher provides the students with a time range to take the test it helps the students feel more relaxed and helps with their test anxiety. Now it is different in elementary school compared to college but even in elementary school give the students the time and feeling that they, the students, can finish the test and can do the best they can. The teachers can help the students feel comfortable and get over their test anxiety by guiding them through the tests and making them feel that they can just do the best they can and that is just fine.
10/18/2012
During this week, we performed our long term investigation experiments. During our experiment presentations I thought it was very interesting to think about the environments of how students learn and how we give presentations. When I did my presentation I was really focused on what kind of environment the students need and the presenter needs. The teacher has to make sure the environment is a calm, warm and safe environment the kids can share their presentation with the whole class with out being nervous or afraid. During my presentation I felt very comfortable and able to share my presentation with the class with out being judged or criticized. It is the teachers duty to make sure the students feel comfortable with sharing items in-front of the class. Another item that I noticed when I was sitting in the audience as teachers watching the other presentations, some of the students stood right in front of the smart board so my group was not able to see their presentation. My suggestion is to make sure the students know where to stand and teach them how to avoid blocking the board and other students being able to see the presentation. These presentations were a great learning experience for me and gave me some really good ideas to help the students feel comfortable in their own classroom.
What should teachers know and be able to do to design and foster effective elementary science learning environments?
I think teachers should know to be fun, energetic, a good communicator, has high expectations, and is knowledgeable. Teachers are the role models to the students when they are in the classroom and even outside of the classroom. Students look up to their teachers and some may want to become a teacher in the future. Teachers should want to learn as much as they can to give their students the most recent and best education they can receive by taking classes to further educate themselves. A teacher should be able to help the students create independence, and include humor in their lesson plans. Every kid loves to laugh and a fun environment creates excellent learning conditions. A teacher also has to be insightful and flexible to be able to rearrange their lesson plan just in case it does not go the way they planned it that day. Every teacher has their own personality, which adds character to their classroom, and helps the students see the teacher for who they are and be comfortable and feel safe with them. When I become a teacher I want to be able to provide them with the best learning environment to be able to learn as much as they can before they grow up.
8/26/2012
One of the things I learned this week in class was that our society and way of teaching has changed throughout the years. I learned from the "Rising to Greatness" article that we as the state of Iowa are staying the same but not improving but it is ok. Because what I learned is that we don't need to teach to the test and that is what everyone is trying to do, only teach what is on the national tests to get that high national testing score. I think it is very important to teach everything in a classroom and never teach to the test because the students will not learn what they actually need to learn to take with them in life, such as social skills, good reading and writing skills, how to reflect on something and the list goes on. Teaching to the test does work to get great scores but that is not the only important aspect of the education system, seeing the students learn and grow is what is important.
9/2782012
One thing I learned this week that was very interesting is the five essential features of inquiry. The five essential features of inquiry are: engage, evidence, explanation, evaluation, and communicate. All of these terms need to be brought into the classroom by the teacher to help students learn and understand the material. The learners are engaged by scientifically oriented questions then give priority to evidence which allows them to develop and evaluate explanations that addresses scientifically oriented questions. After evidence the learners formulate an explanation from evidence to address scientifically oriented questions then they can evaluate their explanations in light of alternative explanations, partially those reflected scientific understanding. After the students have evaluated their work they then communicate and justify their proposed explanations. I learned that it is very important to have the students present to someone other than me or the teacher because they are comfortable with you. If you give them a real audience like another class they will give a very well done presentation because they will feel more nervous to give it to a different crowd rather than their home room. These five features of inquiry will help me as a future teacher lead the students into discovering things for themselves and learn to ask questions with out me telling them the answer. This will help the student become more student centered and discover things on their own and actually learn the material and understand what they are actually learning.
10/25/2012
This week we switched gears and did a project on how teachers should be aware of students disabilities and how we as teachers should teach science and help those students who have disabilities. During this presentation I learned that when you are designing a lesson plan and thinking about how you want to teach something you have to think about all your students and make accommodations and modifications. In this lesson I learned how to write accommodations and modifications to the lesson to make them appropriate for the students with disabilities. For example my group did the disability of writing. The students have trouble actually coming up with a sentence and physically writing the sentence out. For this disability we came up with a few accommodation which include, having a helper write the sentence for them, the students can draw a picture, create a matching worksheet for them etc. This lesson we did in class was a great eye opener to me to get me to start thinking about how to differentiate and provide for those students who do have a disability.
11/14/2012
During this week, while watching presentation I learned several key factors that will help teachers be aware of what we need to foster to help the students learn in the classroom. While watching the presentations I learned that we as teachers need to always be on alert. In the presentations if something went wrong the students had a back up plan to continue the presentation. Some other items that I learned was always stay positive and keep the kids guessing. I really liked how the presentations were challenging for the students and they had to figure out how to do the experiment by asking questions and investigating. It is ok for the students to struggle and I think that is hard for me to understand but it will help the students in the long run.
11/29/2012
During this week, we performed our presentation with the second grade class at Grand Wood Elementary. The first day we had so much doing our lesson. The kids loved making the tornado in a bottle because it was very different from what they usually do in class and it was student centered. During our lesson we needed to foster an effective learning environment right from the start of day one. We told the students right from the start that they needed to be quiet during carpet time and have voices at a 0 when we were talking but when we were asking questions and discussing they could have their voices at a 1 and voice their opinion. When we were doing our smart notebook activity, all the students really wanted to volunteer and it was hard for us to call on someone so we used popsicle sticks with their names and drew one for each question that way it was random and fair and let all the students have a turn. Day two went smoothly as well. The students had a lot of fun and we made sure each student was able to participate and share their opinions about tornados. I think this project went vry well and I had a lot of fun teaching the kids.
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