Interviews with Teachers

While interviewing teachers about their philosophies of teaching science, a comment was made that has stuck with me. One of the teachers said he liked to teach science because it was a great equalizer. When I asked him to explain what he meant he went on to say that even children that weren’t good in language arts or math could enjoy and do well in science. He believes science should be enjoyable for everyone and that everyone has something to contribute to a scientific process. Sometimes he has to look very hard but he can always find talents and skills in even his most difficult students. It gives him great pleasure to see those “ah-ha” expressions on students faces. He experiences those moments less with older students because they are more concerned with “coolness”, but it still happens.
When I asked him how his philosophies developed, he said he came with them. He has been experiencing science from before he could remember and believes everyone is a scientist at heart. I agree. I think we are experimenting all the time, trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t in this life. Just because we don’t consciously follow a “scientific method” per se, doesn’t mean we aren’t systematically learning and modifying future outcomes according to current results.
Another teacher said her philosophy of teaching science is constantly evolving. Every year she learns something new about teaching science. Her current philosophy includes helping students get information from textbooks. Although she believes science should be hands on and support the constructivist theory, she also believes students will benefit from being able to interpret and apply written material. She finds that when she plans lessons according to the inquiry method only a portion of the students understand the intended learning outcome. Whereas, when she specifically instructs using the textbook and a lecture method, a higher percentage of the students understand the material.
The last teacher I interviewed told me that she developed her teaching philosophy after raising her own children. She knows that she would not have been an effective teacher right out of college, but that the experience of motherhood prepared her for what she loves to do now. Her classroom is a safe place to learn, where students are comfortable exploring what they know and don’t know. She believes that if she doesn’t enjoy something, chances are the students won’t either. She also believes that science has to be fun in order to capture students’ attention and keep it for the learning period. Her attitude has a lot to do with making science fun in the classroom. She sees herself as a performer on a stage, always seeking ways to draw attention to what she is trying to do and make it as entertaining as possible.
I think if I interviewed a hundred teachers, I would get a hundred different philosophies for teaching science, my own included in the diversity. I believe teaching science should be fun, student motivated, academic and fulfilling. I don’t know that I want to be a stage performer, but I think I would even do that if it worked and I could get the “ah-ha” moments with my students. I don’t know yet what will and will not work with my personality, but I hope I don’t mess up too many students in trying to figure it out.

Sept 28

I visitied Mr. Borton's second hour today. It is interesting for me to notice differences in each class. Second hour seems to be a really good group. Today we worked on viewing slides of paramecium, ameoba, bread mold and diatoms and drawing them, complementary to some book work. The kids seems to really like viewing the slides. They are pretty much getting into the routine of things by now and know roughly what to expect. There are less questions, but still a lot of questions. Mr. Borton had prepared slides all set up for good viewing and this really decreased the time the kids needed to use. He said that he used to make them himself but eventually he just bought them so he wouldn't have to make them over and over again. Little things like this seem to make life for a teacher a lot easier. The most frustrating thing was that the kids kept moving the slides and this was bothering Mr. Borton. We both kept having to go and find again what the kids were supposed to draw. Most of the kids are starting to understand better how to use the fine adjustment of the microscope but I still had to help some of them.

Some of the kids appreciate it when I try to help them and then they feel comfortable to ask me for help. It is still weird when I see a waving child saying "Mr. Madsen," but I am beginning to like it. Other kids are 'hands off' and they would just assume keep a ten foot pole between me and them. This doesn't really bother me because I enjoy so much helping the kids which like or need my help. I really enjoy the excitement I see in the kids when they see something new, like the diatoms. I also like to see when the kids are really working the book hard and trying to be thorough in their work. It isn't hard to see which kids know how to work and which don't care. I try to look for weak spots in the class to try and mitigate what I can. If some boy has his pencil up his mouth slobbering for a while then I try to involve him by getting him on a microscope to draw or reminding him of his bookwork or asking him if he has a question which I can help him with to get him started. I feel it unfortunate that almost none of my time gets dedicated to the good students, because they are being well, good! For these I hope that the content and assignments help them learn something fun or useful to them.

The most challenging thing for me is sorting out what to do next and trying to keep some form of order in what I do. I feel a little like there is so much to be done that I have to prioritize and hope that it will be ok. Do I help this kid, or that kid or that kid or that kid or that kid. Do I bring something to the attention of the class or forget about it. Do I let this kid or that kid use the microscope next. That kid is goofing off - what do I do? It seems that when it is all done that the last thing I have thought about is how to help the best students excel even more. I must admit that I am very uncomfortable lecturing at this point and I love the labs! I feel ok at giving directions on how to do things, such as I did in making the paper helicopters, but I feel inadequate in lecturing.

Sept. 26-27

Sept. 26, 2006: 1:45 - 3 pm
In the large group area, students were introduced to a KWL form. Mrs. Seamons drew a K column, W column and L column on the board. She asked students if they knew what the letters meant and a discussion followed. She then asked students what they already knew about the planets of our solar system. She let each of the students that raised their hands tell something that they knew and then write it on the whiteboard in the K column. Not everything that was written on the board was correct. One boy wrote that the moon was made of cheese. She let it ride until the end. Some of the students asked questions during the discussion. She asked the student where the question belonged in the columns. Then students started asking lots of other questions and were excited talking among themselves. After 10 minutes, she concluded the discussion period by talking about whether all of the information in the K column was correct and suggested that some of the questions that students asked could be in response to the questionable material. She introduced the next activity, planet books. These books will be filled with information that the students search on the websites provided by her. She provided a list of minimum required information for each planet and the asteroid belt. However, once the books were started no more was mentioned about the KWL. I wonder how she will, if she does, tie the assignment back to it. It seems like a very effective teaching tool for helping students organize their thoughts and information. I wonder what kinds of studies have been done in this area of research.

Sept. 27, 2006: 1:45 - 2:45
Students were all independently working to fill their books with facts and information about the planets. I suspect that if students have the minimum required information that they will receive a “C” for the project and additional information will be rewarded with an “A”. I’m not sure how I feel about this method of grading. If a student completes an assignment as outlined shouldn’t they receive full credit. In my education classes a rubric is often provided, which is helpful for understanding a professors expectations, but in the process of fulfilling those expectations some of the spontaneity of learning is lost. The joy of discovering something on your own without promptings from a teacher is an incredible feeling. I have had “ah-ha” moments with a teacher figuratively breathing down my neck, but those moments are not as sweet as understanding something independently. Somehow, when the instructor expects you to perform at a certain level and you do, it is not as thrilling as working hard and performing at a level you never thought you could achieve. Grades stink. I wish there was a better system for motivating students. People use grades to get a picture of a student, but that picture is so incomplete.

Thoughts on the first day of school

I visited Mr. Borton's first hour class on the first day of school. The kids were all sheepish and quiet and considerate, I was amazed! Later on I was talking to Mr. Jedin, who I did a lot of my clinicals with last semester. He laughed and said how much he loved the first week because the kids were so good. It seemed to take about two weeks for the smart-alecy's to start shining through but you can't miss them now - although they aren't as bad as I was expecting with the sixth graders (I think they are worse by 7th). The first day Mr. Borton talked and the kids pretty much listened. We went over the rules(which took about 2 minutes). Then Mr. Borton described the how-to's on how to take notes, where to write your name on the paper, the procedures for borrowing pencils, etc. With sixth graders it seems to require a lot of investment in describing procedures and other "simple" things which are not even discussed in later grades. It is sometimes challenging for me personally to describe things in adequately simple terms for sixth graders, although I've already been stumped more than once by a really smart little girl.

Sept.26

I am having a very hard time getting up and involved in the class lessons. So far I have only helped a student once find Uranium on the periodic table. The teacher of the class expects me to just sit there abd watch, and I don't have enough courage or, or mebee even desire, to push my involment in the classroom. How often is every one else involved and to what level? Were you asked or did you offer of your own violition?

September 20-21

Wed. Sept. 20, 2006; 1:45 - 3 pm
Students that had finished their mobiles came up to Mrs. Seamons desk to receive instructions for the constellation boxes. The instructions were brief with time spent showing the students an example of a functioning constellation box. It was interesting to watch as very different variations on the theme emerged from their work. Some students had no trouble and produced a box within the hour allotted. Others struggled with even knowing where to begin. Instead of micromanaging the projects, Mrs. Seamons allowed the students to come to her with questions and concerns, letting everyone struggle to figure out what they understood and didn’t understand about completing the project. I am taking chemistry Lab right now and it is a very frustrating experience because we are not allowed to make mistakes. When we have questions, the instructor feels like he must give an answer immediately, sometimes without waiting to hear all of the question. So answers may or may not apply to the circumstance. For example, I was trying to use a balance. The position of the balance did not allow the doors to be opened. I began to ask how I could use the balance more effectively and the instructor immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was incapable of operating the instrument. After a short lecture on the proper use of the scale, it became obvious to him that the scale needed to be moved in order to be operated properly. Students are very capable and come to the classroom with many experiences and previous knowledge. I think as a teacher I need to develop skills to help students help themselves. Asking good questions, allowing students to struggle with problems and understanding when the struggle is no longer fruitful, helping students answer their own questions, understanding my limitations; these are all skills/insights that will help me as an instructor.

Thurs. Sept. 21, 2006: 1:45 -2:45
Students that were finished with their boxes were allowed to test them in the bathrooms, the only rooms in the school that have no windows. They work great! Students were very excited to see the constellations projected onto the wall. Students were instructed that if they shared 3 constellations with their family, they would receive a “C” for the project. If they shared more, up to 12 constellations, they could receive a higher grade, an interesting way to grade the assignment. If a student does the minimum required, they will get a passing grade, if they do more they can receive a higher grade. This is an example of letting students take responsibility for their own education, their own grades. I just don’t know how effective it is. Are there any studies that address this issue?

Comments and Reflections about the first few Journal Entries

Class,
Thanks for your entries in the Clinical Experience Journaling Blog. I had a chance to read all of the post created thus far and thought I could create one post that highlights some of the interesting items I found along with some thoughts regarding these:


“Do I specifically teach writing skills? And, how much do I weight writing ability in the science core?”
Great question-I have struggled with this myself and will continue. I want my students to be able to write. I want them to see this as an important part of science (communicating). I believe that the feedback they get from me in science, in an arena that isn’t directly teaching writing might make a stronger impression on students as they see its importance in action embedded for a real purpose. While I want to get to the experiments and creativity, I also want to be sure that along the way I am helping students with writing. It is sometime hard to divide everything as cleanly as we have traditionally done with our school subjects (math, science, and writing-blurry in real life)


“Mrs. Seamons and I decided to dress-up for this lesson. She dressed as a fortuneteller and I as a scientist (lab coat, protective glasses, and clipboard). She went around the room giving fortunes and I followed making notes on my clipboard.”
Awesome-I think students can see when we are putting effort into our work and while they may not always show it, I am sure they sometimes do. I also like the fact that two teachers are following each other around taking notes so that they can reflect on what is going on in the classroom. What a model. How can we ensure that we are always putting ourselves in these type of situations?


“I could tell that most of the class was frustrated but I didn’t know how to change it. I didn’t know how to salvage the lesson. I plowed on but it was pointless because none of the students were with me at this point.

I will get more information about what the students already know and understand about constellations and stars.2. During the set up process, I will talk to students about what we are doing. All of the stars in the night sky are not represented in our model; I will talk about these particular stars and their significance in the plane of the solar system.3. I will let the students move about the “sun” and tell me what they “see” standing on the earth at different times of the day, at different times of the year.4. I will give students more opportunities to express themselves; I will talk less after the initial explanations are given.”

I see a frustrated teacher here. I have been here. As I begin to panic, I talk more and more. For some reason, I think the more I talk, the less students talk, the more I can sound like I know what I am talking about. In the end, it appears to me that this frustrated teacher recognized where students needed to play a more central role in the lesson. If we don’t let students let us know what they know, we may only quickly pass by what they understand and only frustrate them. I want to continue to consider whether I am doing this in our wolf project and be sensitive enough to make adjustments when needed so that students and I don’t become frustrated.


“I don’t know how far I have facilitated their learning. Will I always wonder, or can I know for sure?”
Great question-It seems that starting with the teacher walking around the room following another teacher or just taking notes in her own class could help develop a sense of where the students are initially. I think KWL charts also help elementary teachers get a better sense of this. I am not sure we do enough of this at the secondary level.

“I know this sounds ridiculous, but I thought that in the SCED program I would learn all the magic words to say and as long as I implemented them correctly, I would be a successful teacher. Sort of like using calculus in Physics, if I know what formula to apply in given situations then everything turns out correctly. I think teaching is more like Columbus’s journey to the new world. You have lots of theories, you develop a game plan, implement it, then wait to see where it takes you. And like Columbus, where you end up may not be where you planned, but wisdom demands that you look for the positive effects or die thinking you are a failure.”

Wow-an incredible reflection. Does an awareness of cognitive changes in thought signal learning? This statement reminded me of the quote we had last week defining education “education is moving from cocksure ignorance to thoughtful uncertainty”.



“The most blatant things I see in the teacher I observe is that he is very hands off and casual.”
What are reasons this teacher may have arrived at this point?


Mr. Borton must get a million questions each day. Still some of the kids ask him what they are supposed to do even though he has repeatedly told them and always writes what they need to do each day on the same chalkboard.

This is an experience that I repeatedly had in middle school. I think I have mentioned this before, but one day while teaching the 180 students I had each day a student asked me an authentic reflective question. I realized that this was one of the first I had heard in a long time. After that, I tried to move toward allowing students to design their own procedures to the extent possible. This changed the questions in the class from “what am I supposed to do next” or “is this right” to “what do you think about this idea”. These are the questions I want to hear and want to help students solve.

Thanks for all of your sharing and reflection!!!!

I choose to read and share an article out of the July/Aug 2006 COLLAGE SCIENCE TEACHING, it is entitled "What Makes it Science?" I love the quote by Einstien at the beginning, "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of every day thinking." One of the big subjects in the article was whether or not inteligent design falls in as a science. This is the part I choose to discuss with a couple of teachers. Selby, author of the article, claims it is not a part of the newer defenition of science as it cannot be disproven. One of the instructors I spoke with agreed with this saying that it cannot be tested and therefor is not science, I kind of argued quite a bit with him. I totally agreed with the second. First he brought up the question of if string thoery(accepted my most as science) is science. Of course it is, and yet there is absolutely not way to test it or "disprove" it, it just isn't quite as "close to religion". Then he pointed out the fact that through out history, when many of the great scientific theories emerged there existed not means to try to disprove it.

Thursday Sept.21

On Thursday I stopped in to visit Mr. Borton's third hour class (I usually visit 1st hour). We partially completed the first part of a lab on microorganisms. Mr. Borton splits the class roughly in half, with half completing a reading from the book and answering certain questions and the other half working with the microscopes and completing drawings (making a 2 day lab). He split the kids into pairs and had them draw any "microorganism" they could see in a sample of pond water which they got to choose. He also let them bring in their own pond water sample and use that if they wanted to but it seemed like the kids samples didn't yield much in the way of results. Almost all of the kids enjoyed looking and drawing, though some kids just had a hard time figuring out how to use the microscope, even after you specifically helped them and showed them. At one point Mr. Borton had found a really nice Vorticella and he had all the kids line up to see it; this seemed to break the monotony a little for the kids who didn't care much for reading and answering the questions. Mr. Borton must get a million questions each day. Still some of the kids ask him what they are supposed to do even though he has repeatedly told them and always writes what they need to do each day on the same chalkboard. I hear him saying, "Look at your Study Guide", it says what you need to do.

Sept 18

The most blatent things I see in the teacher I observe is that he is very hands off and cassual. He has work for them to do in groups which try to apply things to their everyday lives. I believe this application is important, but I would sugjest that he be a bit more involed instead of sitting at his desk while they work outside or where ever.

Sept. 19, 2006 1:45-2:45 pm

Today was pretty fun. The students finished up their astronomy workbooks and began/continued work on planet mobiles. The students were given instructions for completing the mobiles and Mrs. Seamons only gave the instructions once. Immediately after she left to make copies of the shadow box activity, so I was in charge. Students worked quietly on workbooks at first until it was time to assemble the mobile. Several students came to the desk asking what they needed to do next. It was very difficult not to repeat Mrs. Seamons' instructions or simply tell them what to do. I instead tried to ask leading questions about what they thought they should be doing. When Mrs. Seamons returned I watch how she handled the students. She asked questions like, "What do you think you need to do now?" and "What equipment would help you?" and questions of that nature. She is never patronizing and about every other comment she makes is a positive one complimenting the students on this or that. She creates a very positive environment in her classroom that facilitates student development of confidence.

Sept. 12-14

Clinical Experience for the week of September 12 - 14

Sept. 12: 1:40-3 pm

Mrs. Seamons and I decided to dress-up for this lesson. She dressed as a fortuneteller and I as a scientist (lab coat, protective glasses, and clipboard). She went around the room giving fortunes and I followed making notes on my clipboard. We then discussed the difference between astrology and astronomy. Throughout the discussion, the point was made that there is a difference between what we believe and what we can see and evaluate, reproducible evidence.

Following this activity, I led the students in a discussion about early astronomy and what early peoples did to make sense of the stars. This was a very short discussion and in retrospect, I should have spent a lot more time talking about what experiences/observations the students have had looking at the stars. We then proceeded out to the playground and set up the model that Mrs. Seamons and I used this summer for the professional development seminar. At this point it was decided that I would simply set the model up for the students because of time constraints. However, I should have been talking to the students the entire time about what I was doing. I simply gave instructions to place this chair here and that paper there. I could have involved the students more effectively in the set up process without using too much time. I then instructed the students to stand in their birth month on our model. We talked about what constellations we could see at noon, sunset, midnight, and sunrise. I asked them what their horoscope sign was. Only a few of the students knew what I was talking about. So, we talked briefly (probably too briefly) about how astrologers determined the signs of each month. At this point some of the students have tuned out and are staring off toward the other class that was in the distance. I made the mistake of telling the students to go and stand next to the chair that had their birth month constellation on it. One girl got frustrated and said, “this is stupid!” When I asked her why she was so frustrated, she complained that she was confused as to what we were trying to do. She asked why, if her birth month was in January, was she standing next to the constellation across the circle. I asked her why she thought so and she just rolled her eyes and said she didn’t know. I could tell that most of the class was frustrated but I didn’t know how to change it. I didn’t know how to salvage the lesson. I plowed on but it was pointless because none of the students were with me at this point. After we got back into the classroom, Mrs. Seamons talked about how difficult the concepts in this lesson were and how even adults struggle with them. This made me feel a little better but I can’t help but think that I let the students down. I had envisioned such a fun activity/learning experience and it turned into a nightmare for them and me. Boy, if any of the students pursue astronomy as a career, it will be in spite of me, not because of me.

I am scheduled to teach this lesson again with the other 6th grade class. There are a few things that I will definitely change or incorporate into the lesson:

1. I will get more information about what the students already know and understand about constellations and stars.
2. During the set up process, I will talk to students about what we are doing. All of the stars in the night sky are not represented in our model; I will talk about these particular stars and their significance in the plane of the solar system.
3. I will let the students move about the “sun” and tell me what they “see” standing on the earth at different times of the day, at different times of the year.
4. I will give students more opportunities to express themselves; I will talk less after the initial explanations are given.

A skill that I would like to develop is the ability to ask questions that lead students to think for themselves, shed inhibitions and let me know what they are thinking. A tall order perhaps, but I think good questions are the key to effective teaching and learning. I need to learn how to ask a good question. In order for an inquiry based lesson to succeed students need to see where they are going and have some idea of how to get there.

Sept. 13: 1:45-2:30 pm

Mrs. Seamons gave me the opportunity to talk with the students about yesterday’s lesson. We talked about the plane of the solar system and I used the classroom to help with the discussion. The posters around the room on the walls were like the stars that we see in the night sky. Then I used the heads of the children to represent the sun and planets. All the heads were at the same level so we could see that they were in the same plane, but not all of the posters, clock, books, etc. were in the same plane. The posters that were in the same plane were like the stars of the zodiac constellations and were the back drop for how we see the planets and moon “move” through the night sky. The students were much more responsive during this discussion than yesterdays, but I think I still talked too much. After this, I helped students correct their workbooks. We corrected the books as a class.

In some ways I think I helped the students understand better the use of constellations and their apparent movement across the sky. However, I don’t really know because I don’t know what they know now versus what they knew before the lesson. I don’t know how far I have facilitated their learning. Will I always wonder, or can I know for sure?

Sept. 14: 1:50-3 pm

The students were at the library when I got to class today. This gave Mrs. Seamons and I a chance to talk about the last couple of days. She assured me that some of the trouble I was having with teaching these concepts of scale and the constellations was because they are hard concepts to learn. That coupled with the fact that science is in the afternoon right after lunch are factors to consider when teaching. But this begs the question; do conditions have to be ideal to have an engaging lesson? Concepts in astronomy are demanding intellectually, but I believe it is possible to engage students, even after lunch. I just didn’t do a very good job of it, but I don’t fully understand what I did wrong. In some ways I am like my students, just tell me what to do, say, think and I will do it. It is as if I don’t want to be responsible for designing the lessons because then if they fail, it is not a reflection on me and my abilities. My ego can’t take failure.

When the students returned, Mrs. Seamons took them through some more of their workbook pages. We had decided not to have the students do the pages on Mars’ seasons because there wouldn’t be anything on the year end test concerning Mars and we didn’t want to confuse the students. She then let me revisit with the students the worksheet on scale. I went through the first calculation with them and let them struggle with the remaining calculations. They moaned and groaned and asked why we had to do this sheet again. I wanted the students to redo this sheet so that I could collect it and submit it with my assignment for ELED 6240 and to see what misconceptions still existed. After we finished I felt terrible. I felt like I was just reinforcing their idea that science was hard, boring and no fun. When students complain, should I alter my lesson plan? How do I judge when something is too hard? What does a happy, engaged, enthusiastic class look like? Are my ideals too high in the sky? My vision of teaching has changed dramatically from before I started the SCED program. Whereas, I used to see myself as this fun-loving entertainer that guided student learning through engaging activities of my or other experts’ making, I understand now that the business of science education is demanding and complicated and there is no one-size fits all. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I thought that in the SCED program I would learn all the magic words to say and as long as I implemented them correctly, I would be a successful teacher. Sort of like using calculus in Physics, if I know what formula to apply in given situations then everything turns out correctly. I think teaching is more like Columbus’s journey to the new world. You have lots of theories, you develop a game plan, implement it, then wait to see where it takes you. And like Columbus, where you end up may not be where you planned, but wisdom demands that you look for the positive effects or die thinking you are a failure.

Sept. 11

Sept 11: 1:45-2:45

Students were instructed to work in workbooks, completing pages 9-15 individually. While they worked on the pages, Mrs. Seamons and I talked about the journal responses. Over half of the class did not use complete sentences or finish their thoughts on the responses I asked them to make about the lesson on scale. Mrs. Seamons and I decided that using complete sentences, especially after I specifically asked students to do so, was something they should be able to do at the grade level. I took some of the class out in the pod to work on completing this assignment. The rest of the class time for science was used for students to complete workbooks. Science ended at 2:30.
This brings up a question: how much should I expect my students to already understand or be able to do when they enter my classroom as far as Math, Reading and Writing are concerned? In this case, the students that are able to articulate their thoughts will far outshine those that can’t and I suspect in any subject this is the case. Do I specifically teach writing skills? And, how much do I weight writing ability in the science core?

Summary of Aug 29-Sept 7

I know I am a little behind in posting and will try to post everyday that I am in the classroom. However, instead of posting for each day previous I will sum up what has happened so far in my clinical experience to this point.

Aug. 29: 1:45-3 pm
Mrs. Seamons used a lesson out of a booklet she got from the Clark Planetarium. The series is called Kinesthetic Astronomy. The students were positioned about a helium balloon in a circle. She introduced the concept of night/day, tilt, orbit, rotation and seasons experienced on the earth relative to the sun. Each student in the circle was given an East and West stick to hold up and moved about the balloon mimicking the movement of the earth about the sun.
In the question and answer period after the activity there were some outstanding questions that really helped me understand exactly what the students were thinking and misconceptions that had arisen either from the activity or from previous experiences. The probing questions that Mrs. Seamons asked I think were critical to getting at what the students were thinking. Asking good questions really helps a teacher evaluate students effectively.

Aug. 30: 1:45-3 pm

Mrs. Seamons has created workbooks for the students to assist in helping them understand the concepts introduced throughout this astronomy unit. The worksheets were created using the Kinesthetic Astronomy Lessons. They are very visual and I think helpful for reemphasizing the lesson’s concepts. I noticed that throughout the lesson the same concepts are introduced and reintroduced in various ways, so that by the end of the period of time students have heard or seen the same information at least 3 times. I am wondering if this is unique to elementary education or should I be doing this same thing in High School science classes?
Also, I noticed the students had a difficult time working on the sheets independently. They constantly were asking if what they had written was correct. Mrs. Seamons continually told them to sit down and do what they could; she would discuss with the whole class the answers when everyone had a chance to think about each question. This goes back to our discussion in Teaching Science 1 on Thurs. about students not wanting to engage in their own learning; the mentality of “just give me what you want me to know and don’t make me think about it.” With this mentality students do not own their learning; it is not part of them. I think there is a balance though between giving factual information and letting a student struggle with obtaining a scientific concept.

Aug 31: 1:45-3 pm

Students were asked to write their address in the universe. An interesting discussion ensued after the activity; students wrestled with how a mailman would deliver a package to a house given the whole universe to search through. I really liked this activity and wished we could have spent more time with the discussion part. Students viewed a 35 minute video about our solar system. Following this, students measured the distance from the earth to the moon in a scaled model outside. Busy day but the students were constantly engaged in some learning activity. A question and answer period followed this last activity. Students were allowed to ask anything that they wanted about the universe and some very telling questions surfaced that indicated some misconceptions about distances and locations of solar system objects.

Sept. 5: 1:45-3 pm

I gave a lesson on the concept of scale. We first talked about scale models that we use everyday. I used a toy car, a house plan of my yard that I used for installing a sprinkler system, and a globe that Mrs. Seamons has in the classroom. We talked about the usefulness of scaled models. I had the students predict what they thought the size of the planets would be given a 20 cm diameter sun. We then calculated the scaled size of each of the planets in the solar system and evaluated our predictions. This activity took the entire amount of time. I was not prepared to discuss the mathematics involved in the calculations but that is what the discussion turned into. We worked the math out together, but again the students just wanted me to give them the answers. I realize now I should have had a discussion about how we would calculate the scaled sizes and let the students work out how to calculate the sizes for themselves. What I had planned for the lesson was not what happened in the classroom. This part of the lesson was only supposed to take 20 minutes and it took the entire hour and 15 minutes.

Sept. 6: 1:45-3 pm

I continued with the lesson and helped the students calculate the scaled distances of the planets. Yesterday the students had chosen different sized objects from a bag that contained various objects to represent the scaled sized planets. We taped these objects to a 3x5 card on a Popsicle stick. Then the students went out on the playground and created a scaled sized model of the solar system using the calculations they had determined. There was a lot of confusion and disorganization. I think my instructions were confusing for them because they got out on the playground and didn’t understand what we were trying to do. When I spoke with Mrs. Seamons afterwards she said my instructions made sense but that this class has a difficult time staying focused and on task. She thought we could have spent more time outside for the instruction process and conclusions, but that the chaos was simply part of the movement used throughout the lesson.

Sept. 7: 1:40-3 pm

When I got to class today, most of the students were still out to recess. I observed the newspaper staff deciding what articles and features would be in the first month’s issue. It was fascinating to watch these 6th graders interact and volunteer to do work. Mrs. Seamons simply directed the discussion and made assignments once in while when the students were unsure how to proceed. The students were very excited about putting this paper together. I have seen past year’s DES Gazettes and it is impressive how much goes into putting one together.

When class started, Mrs. Seamons gave students various tops to play with and little or no instructions. After about 5 minutes she told them to switch their top with someone that had a different top. After 5 more minutes the students were instructed to get out their science journals and move from their desks to the common area. A discussion ensued about rotation. Another toy was brought out that demonstrated orbit followed by another discussion. The student wrote in their journals about what orbit and rotation mean.
In this exercise, Mrs. Seamons used the students’ natural inquisitive natures to explore scientific concepts. The students were able to form an understanding of what orbit and rotation were because of the hands-on experience prior to the discussion. She drew on direct observations to help students make the connection between what they saw and a formal definition.

Following this activity, I had the students write in their journals about the lessons from the previous days. I asked them to write in complete sentences on the following about the scale lesson:
Name one thing that surprised you about the lesson on scale.
In your own words, define scale.
Name something that you have used that is a scale model of something else.
I have not read the journal entries yet but I’m curious to see what is said. I don’t know that these questions really get at what I am trying to evaluate and I don’t know how to evaluate my questions for effectiveness.

The students then corrected their workbooks up to “Rotation vs. Orbit”. Discussion proceeded throughout the correction process. Many misconceptions were weeded out and I felt it was a very productive effort.

Welcome

Class,
Because of problems getting all in the same webct section, we will use this blog to enter our journal entries from the Clinincal Experience this semester. Please be sure to post an entry after each clinical observation throughout the semester.
Thanks