Final Blog!

       

     Coming into this course I was definitely very nervous. I knew very little about technology and how to use it in the classroom and science is not my favorite subject. The first couple of weeks I felt very overwhelmed and was terrified about teaching my first full class lesson. I had no idea how I was going to keep the attention of a whole class for an entire period. Overall, I was very scared and hesitant to begin my journey. 
        Although I felt lost my first couple of weeks, my group was amazing with keeping me on track. They guided me through the entire lesson making process and I can not thank them enough for that. This class' fieldwork helped more than any other class I have taken before. It was the first time that I experienced full class instruction. Although I was nervous I was able to see first hand what being a real teacher was going to be like. I really enjoyed getting up in front of the class and this experience really showed me that I am making the right decision in becoming a teacher. 
      This class also helped me to improve my skills in technology. Prior to this class, I knew very little about Google Docs or Google Drive. I remember not even knowing how to insert a link on the first day of classes. I have been exposed to so many amazing technological tools that I will definitely try and use in my future classroom. Tools such as Hyperdoc, Adobe Spark, Voki, and many more make classroom learning much more engaging. 
     Although I was very nervous about the class, in the end, I feel like I gained many life long skills. I have improved as a teacher candidate, and now am even more excited to be able to apply these skills in my own classroom!

Trade Book Project

Although we never did the Trade Book Project in my science class, I felt that it was still important to find a book applying to science. I chose the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. This book can be used to teach about the life of a seed and how it eventually becomes a flower. The book details the life span of a seed and what occurs during each season. I found this interesting because I always just thought that a seed was planted and that was it. Instead, this shows how a seed is blown in the wind and how animals interact with this. This book can be used to teach the younger grades and can be used in a unit plan regarding plant life. I think incorporating literacy into science is very important, and using books is a great way to do it! 

Science in the News

This is a picture from the article which shows one of the girls testing the robot that they built!

For my "Science in the News" article, I chose International Underwater Robotics Challange a Focus for Seattle Teens regarding the problem of engineering and technology. This article follows three teenage girls who are trying to create an underwater robot to save a 200-pound diver trapped at sea. That was the task that they needed to complete at the Black Sea International ROV Competition and Exhibition in Romania. The girls have a $500 budget to create the robot so they use donated items of PVC, plastic pipes, old printer feeder, a comb, LED strips, a bicycle inner tube, cooking racks, and pool noodles.
I chose this article because I felt that the robotics aspects related to our unit of simple machines. Like the girls in this article, the students in our fieldwork also tried to take parts to try and build a working machine. This machine may not be simple but in the end, it related back to the idea of building and creating. Our students and the girls in this article both followed their curiosity to see where it took them. The girls were not always successful and faced many challenges in getting the robot to operate but they did not give up, just like our students.
There are many different ways in which this article can apply to my unit plan. I can discuss how like the girls in the article, the students are using the tools that they have in order to solve a problem. No matter what the problem may be, as the girls, the students can take their resources and put them together to create something great. It can also be used to discuss the different parts of machinery, and how simple machines can be put together to create more complex machines.
It is important to use news articles when teaching science because science is current and applies to the world outside. You can use news articles to show students that science does not just occur in the classroom. It is current and constantly evolving in the outside world. It is important to make sure that students understand the importance of science and how it can affect their lives in the real world.

Research Article Review

      Infusing Reading Into Science

      To be scientifically literate means being able to both read and understand a multitude of science texts and form valid conclusions, while also being able to participate in meaningful conversations about science. Despite the importance of scientific literacy, students today are struggling with reading their textbooks and content-area materials. The focus is more on covering content rather than learning how to learn from the texts.  
      To test the importance of science literacy in the classroom, a group of University of Florida research students collaborated in 2004 to create lesson plans, book lists, and other tools to expose the students to more reading in science. Students in this study were explicitly instructed in science-related language skills and reading strategies. They also were provided with award-winning science trade books through a home reading program.
      According to Zmach et al, the results from the research study suggest that "the students who received reading strategy instruction and access to award-winning science books had higher achievement in sciences than did students who did not receive such interventions" (2006, p. 63). By learning how to read scientific literature, it was seen that the students could be exposed to more difficult texts which could expand their learning on science. And as stated before, the learning did not just end in the classroom. Students took home award-winning literature to read and discuss with their families. They also were provided the opportunity to discuss their literature with the class and show what they had learned. These discussions allowed students to talk more in-depth about a topic and created engagement and excitement about learning. 
      After the research project ended in 2005, the teachers at the school continued to use engaging reading materials in the classroom. Unfortunately, many students are unprepared to tackle such difficult texts. This difficulty severely limits the amount of scientific knowledge that the student can gain. Using scientific literature may be proven to be beneficial to students, but it is up to the classroom science teachers to assume responsibility and provide science literature that students can read and enjoy. The teachers also need to help students develop strategies to read more efficiently. Teaching reading skills nos not an extra part of classroom learning, but an essential one. 

Atmosphere Hypderdoc

Last week in class we began a hypderdoc to explore different aspects of Earth science. I have not learned about Earth science since 8th grade, so it is a topic that I do not feel that comfortable teaching about. 

We each were assigned an area of Earth science to explore. I was given the atmosphere. We first began by exploring, and to do that we watched 2 videos discussing the levels of the atmosphere. The videos explained Earth's early atmosphere and the current atmosphere. We then had to write about what we had learned. These videos were very interesting and informative and gave me a good foundation for the topic. 

We next had to explain what we had just learned. We had to compare how the early atmosphere compared to the current atmosphere and how it affects life on Earth. 

We then had to make a video using Adobe Spark to discuss one of the layers of the atmosphere. I had never used Adobe Spark, so this tool was a little difficult to use at first. Once I figured it out I realized that it was a great educational tool. I used it to create a video about the troposphere. My video can be seen here!

This was a great activity that helped me learn a lot!

Celebration of Learning!

Today was our Celebration of Learning!

I can not believe that today was our last day of fieldwork! I felt like our time went by so quickly, and I am sad to leave the students!

For our celebration of learning, we planned a Kahoot that reviewed all that we had learned. The students loved the Kahoot and were very interactive. We also gave each student a certificate to celebrate all that they have achieved. 

I was nervous about starting fieldwork because I was not sure how the students were going to be. These students taught me more about simple machines than I even learned myself. It has been a pleasure to learn from them and to see them grow throughout the semester. 

I am sad to end this semester, but I am very excited to return to Bishop Dunn next semester for Social Studies!

Group 4 Inquiry Lesson

Today was the final fieldwork group lesson!

Group 4 did their inquiry lesson today, and I felt like it went very well! They began by introducing the problem. Ms. Benfer needed the students to help to build tools for the sensory garden. They were to build a compound machine using the tools that they were provided and were given 30 minutes to do so. The students were assigned a tool to build and then had to present their findings to the class.

I think the teachers did a great job of organizing this lesson. It can be hard to control an inquiry lesson, but I think that they did a great job! I loved watching the students build complex machines, and I felt that the choice of manipulatives was a good one.

This group did amazing and I am excited about the celebration of learning!

Group 4 Direct Lesson

Today the final group began their lesson! I feel that group 4 brought some new and creative ideas for their lesson. They taught the students about complex machines. They stated examples of compound machines, such as a wheelbarrow and a train, and then asked students if they could provide any examples. 

For their guided practice, they did a Kahoot and a matching game. I especially loved the Kahoot that they did because it really got the students involved! I also loved their closure, which was a clear, cloudy, and stormy chart. Clear meant that students should write something that they understand, cloudy meant the students should write something they were unsure of, and stormy meant they should write something that they had a question on. 

I loved this lesson, and I can not wait to see what they have in store for the inquiry lesson! 

My First Inquiry Lesson!

Teaching my first inquiry lesson was actually more overwhelming for me as compared to the direct lesson. We were still down a group member, and we had to edit the lesson and get the supplies in the span of a day. But we made it work, just like we did for the direct lesson.

Although I had never taught it before, the direct style was most similar to what I have done in my other fieldwork experiences. Inquiry was completely new to me, which was very scary. I found it very hard to prepare for inquiry because I had no idea how the student would react to what we were giving them. I struggled to decide if we were throwing too much or too little at them, and discovered that the only way to find out was to wait and see.

The problem that we posed to our students was that they needed to help Engineer Jane by building simple machines to help her finish building a rollercoaster. To create Engineer Jane we used a voki. I had never used a voki and thought it was a really engaging tool. I definitely will consider using a voki in future lessons. After posing the problem, we gave students pieces of simple machines and had them resemble them. They then had to explain what they did and draw a picture of how they would use their simple machine to build the rollercoaster.

After teaching the lesson, I feel that there were many things that we could improve on. We could have explained the inquiry sheet in more detail, or even cut the sheet down so it was not so overwhelming. When we had four group members we originally planned for each of us to stay with one group the whole time. With three members it was a little more challenging, and we did our best to jump from group to group. I feel that we should have helped each group get started so we could keep them on task. 

Despite the challenges, I feel that my group did well with what we were given. There is always room for improvement, but I am proud of how my group taught.

My First Direct Lesson!

This past week I taught for the first time in fieldwork. To be honest, I was completely terrified because this teaching and lesson style was still brand new to me. I spent a good amount of spring break practicing and perfecting what I was going to teach and felt that my group was ready for when we got back to school.

Unfortunately, things do not always go as we plan. The morning of our direct lesson we discovered that one of my group members sadly came down with the flu and would be unable to teach with us. The rest of my group spent the morning in other classes, and then we had to meet an hour before the lesson to figure out what we were going to do with a missing group member. I was very overwhelmed and was certain that the lesson was going to go terribly.

I do feel that there are things that I could improve on. For example, my academic language definitely needs to improve. The words "guys" and "gonna" were constantly being repeated by me, and I am happy that this lesson allowed me to realize that. I also need to work on slowing down while teaching. When we first began I was so nervous that I rushed through the worksheet, but eventually, I slowed down.

This lesson definitely did not go as I had planned. We were down one, and some of our note sheets had errors (as the students quickly pointed out to us). But overall I felt that my group did well, and I am very proud of how our lesson turned out. I am happy that the lesson went so well, especially for it being my first time teaching a whole class.

Group Two Inquiry Lesson

For their inquiry lesson, group two had the students create a leprechaun trap. But first, they began by reviewing what they had taught. I feel that the review was very clear and prepared the students for their activity. The teachers also replayed the Simple Machines song which I thought was a great idea since the students enjoyed it so much the first time!

The students then had to create a trap to catch the leprechaun. They could use any of the six simple machines to draw their trap, but they needed to include a wedge, an inclined plane, or a screw. 

I loved how creative the problem was, and it was clear that the students loved it too! The teachers thought that they were too rowdy, but personally, I feel that they were just so excited. I loved seeing the inventions that the students came up with because they were so creative. 

Group two did an amazing job for both lessons, and I hope that my group can follow in their footsteps next week!

Group Two Direct Lesson

Yesterday group two began their week of instruction. They started off with a very well taught direct lesson. This week the focus was on an inclined plane, a wedge, and a screw. 

I felt the group's lesson was set up in a very clear manner. When teaching each simple machine they followed the same process every time. Their process consisted of going over the definition, showing a video, providing the students with examples, and then going over a rap. 

I loved how this group incorporated music and raps/poems into their lesson. The students loved the song and it was so impressive to watch how quickly they learned the song! I felt this group was very creative in their teaching, and I loved the methods that they used! My only wish for the lesson was that there was a little more guided practice to ensure that the students really grasped the concepts. 

Group two had an amazing direct lesson, and I can not wait to see what inquiry brings!

Group One Inquiry Lesson

Today I got to witness my first inquiry lesson! 

Group one started their inquiry lesson by reviewing what they had taught in their direct lesson. They then introduced their problem and told the class that an elephant had fallen out of the rail car and they needed the students to help to get him back in. The students then had to create a blueprint of an invention using at least 2 simple machines to get the elephant back into the cart. They then gave the students 20 minutes to work. After the time was up they had the students present their inventions. The students then had to write a letter to the ringleader to describe the invention that they created. 

I felt this lesson was very creative and well thought out. I was confused about exactly what an inquiry lesson was, and this group really clarified my confusions. I enjoyed how the group explained the problem and got the students engaged. My only wish for the lesson was for the teachers to model exactly what they expected of the students.

Overall I felt this was an amazing first inquiry lesson, and I can not wait to see what the other groups come up with!

Group One Direct Lesson

On Tuesday, March 5th group one did their first lesson. This lesson was a direct one, and it was the first one that I had observed. I did not know what to expect, but I  feel that the group did a great job of introducing the simple machines. Their direct instruction was clear and I loved how they introduced the topics.

One plus that I had for the lesson was that I enjoyed how they went about introducing the topic. They had a very broad topic and trying to condense that into a lesson seemed to be a hard task that the group handled with grace. 

Another plus that I had was the color-coded exit tickets. I like how they separated the understandings into different areas instead of just broadly asking if anyone had any questions.

A final plus that I had was that their guided practice progressively became more complex to test for understanding. I feel that really assesses what the students know or need help on.

One wish that I had was that I wish there were a little more modeling and real-life examples to allow students to physically grasp the concept by seeing the machine in action.

Overall I feel that the group did very well, and I am excited to see how the rest of fieldwork goes!

First Day of Fieldwork!

For our first day of fieldwork, we had to create a "Getting to Know You" activity. My group met and created a game called "Sliding Through Science". The game works as follows:

• The students rolled a die and move their piece across the board.
• If they landed on a yellow square they got  to draw an "All about Me" card and answer a question about themselves, such as "Do you have any pets?" or "Do you have a sibling?"
• If they landed on a blue triangle they had to do a challenge. The students really enjoyed the challenges aspect of the game because it was different and fun and allowed them to move around. Examples of challenges include spinning around 10 times and touching your feet to your elbows. 
• The last spot that they could land on was a question mark. If a student landed on this spot they got to ask the teacher any question that they wanted. This excited the students because it allowed them to get to know the teachers which is something that they are not normally allowed to do.

The students really enjoyed the game and I felt it was a great way to get to know a little bit about them. I enjoyed getting to work with the students a little bit before I began to teach them. Although I am a little nervous, I am excited to get to eventually teach my lesson.

Fieldwork Pre-Test

Prior to fieldwork, we had to create a pre-test to give to the students. This pre-test is going to be used to test what understanding of the topics the students already have so we can adjust our instruction as needed. 

This pre-test was created using Google Forms, which was a bit of a challenge for me because I had never created a Google Form. It took a little while for me to figure it out, but luckily my group was helpful with teaching me how it worked. 

It was a little difficult for my group to come up with questions for the pre-test, for we were worried that our questions were going to be too difficult. Eventually, we came up with questions that we felt reflected what we were going to teach the students in the field. 

This is not my first time creating a pre-test, but it was my first time doing one in this format. It will be interesting to see what the students already know, and I am excited to see how much we can teach them!

Assessment

 We started our lesson today by thinking about assessment, instruction, curriculum, and learning. We were told to build a house and place each word as either a wall, a roof, or the foundation. Below you will see the house that I drew in class. I placed curriculum at the bottom because I feel that it is the foundation of learning. Without a curriculum, teachers would not know what to teach. I then put instruction and assessment as the walls because I felt they were intertwined. You instruct and then assess to check your instruction. Learning was the roof because it is the overall goal for your students and should be on top. Learning should be the outcome of the instruction, assessment, and curriculum. 

We learned about different modes of assessment. There are three different types of assessment. They are

• Pre-Assessment, which is an assessment before learning

Examples of pre-assessment are a pre-test, a KWL chart, and self-evaluation 

• Formative or Ongoing Assessment, which is an assessment for learning

Examples of formative or ongoing assessment are conferences, observations, questioning, exit cards, or journal entries.

• Summative Assessment, which is an assessment of overall learning

Examples of summative assessments include a unit test, a performance task, a demonstration, or a portfolio review.

After learning about the different types of assessments we got to add our own slide to the assessment powerpoint of something that we felt the presentation was lacking. Below you will see the slide that I created.

I decided to write more about formative assessment because I feel that it is vital for a teacher to understand. It is important to know that formative assessment can show you if your instruction is working, and if it is not then it is always possible to go back and revise!

Assessment is needed to ensure that teachers are teaching effectively. By learning about the different assessments in class, I feel that I am ready to one day implement them into my own classroom!

5 E's of Inquiry

This week we were given an assignment to explore the 5 E's: Engage, Explore, Explain, Eloborate, and Evaluate. We first were given a hyperdoc, which I found interesting because it is something that I have never used before. We then got to explore a Bill Nye video to watch which explained simple machines. I appreciated the video because I did not have a lot of prior knowledge of simple machines. To explain, we used Google Drawing, which is another thing that I had never used before. We had to draw an example of a simple machine. My drawing is shown below. To elaborate we were given a robot game to expand our learning. 

Overall I thought that this was a very engaging assignment. I enjoyed how it gave me more knowledge of what we will be teaching in the field. I also liked the technology that was embedded, and definitely would use this in my classroom one day!

Neil deGrasse Tyson: The Nature of being a Scientist

Neil deGrasse Tyson's video truly opened my eyes about what scientists do. Growing up, I assumed that scientists knew all of the answers. "I don't know," was never something that a scientist had to say, for they were some of the most intelligent people who had all of the answers. But the truth is, nobody has all of the answers! Scientist work tirelessly to learn more and more every day, and every day new theories come about, debunking the old ones. A scientists job is never finished, for they do not know everything about the world. 

Scientific Me

Exploring the outdoors even at a young age!

When I was younger, I was always forced to go to my brother's baseball games. It wasn't the game that I was watching though. Instead, I would sit and play with the rocks

and leaves around me until my mom would tell me to stop. I wanted to know everything there was to know about the environment and the world around me.

As I grew up, my curiosity remained, but over the school

years, my love for science began to fade. As I progressed through school science became more difficult and I began to struggle. I no longer was curious, and instead just wanted to do well in the class. I gravitated away from science, and once I got to high school wanted nothing to do with it anymore. I did not want to wear a white lab coat and be locked indoors researching all day since that is what I believed scientists did. My views were not far off from many others, as Jennifer DeMichele discusses having the same views in her Scientific Me biography.

Luckily for me, this class allows me to revisit my past love for exploring and questioning, and to debunk the beliefs that I once had about scientists. I am hoping that this class will revive the interest that I once had for the environment around me.

I think that science is all about exploration. It is about exploring the environment around you and digging deeper into questions that you may have about the world. Although I have not always had the best experience in science my past with science my curiosity and desire for learning have continued to push me to learn more. 

Flipgrids and Introductions

For our in-class introductions, we created a flipgrid, which is a video that we make about ourselves. In the video, we had to...

• Say our name, major, and certification we were seeking
• Show or tell a special talent that we possess
• Tell about something fun or interesting that we did in science when we were younger
• Ask our future students a science-related question. 

I had never made a video to introduce myself, but it is something that I definitely would do in the future. The video allowed me to watch myself and reflect on how I present. While watching my video in class, I learned that I need to work on talking slower so people could better understand me. 

In addition to our flipgrids, we also made a powerpoint slide for ourselves and then one with our groups. I enjoyed looking at everyone's slides with pictures because it allowed everyone to have their own unique aspect of their powerpoint. Our slide also included a link to our flipgrid, blog, and efolio. This allows the class easy access to our class resources so we can learn more about each other.

Although each group had the same task, everyones powerpoint introduced something different. I assumed we would be watching very similar presentations in class, but I enjoyed being able to witness how everyone brought their own creative flair.

I enjoyed learning about everyone, and I am very excited for the rest of this semester!

  

My Science Beliefs

Prior to attempting the science pretest, I was not quite sure the degree of knowledge that I had on science concepts. After taking the test, I realized that there are some concepts that I need to brush up on. Some of those topics include:

• Mass
• volume
• problems regarding the sun and moon. 

Science was not my strongest subject in school, and this semester I want to gain confidence in the subject. I am hoping this class will help me gain new beliefs that I can carry with me while educating students in science. 

I am excited to learn and grow as a science student this semester!

First Day of Class!

For our first day of class, we were told to draw what we believed a scientist looked like. In my picture, I drew a scientist named Dr. Peter who was working in his lab. I made sure to include things that I felt related to science, such as test tubes, a plant, magnifying glasses, and a beaker. 

My drawing of a scientist!

After we drew our scientists we went on a gallery walk around the classroom. I observed that everyone in the class had a different interpretation of a scientist, which was interesting to see. It is important not to stereotype a scientist and assume things such as:

• Scientists are only indoors
• Scientists can only be men
• Scientists are always doctors

Anyone can be a scientist if they want to be!