Assignment #2
Clinical Experience
Assignment 2
As per the assignment, I was supposed to “introduce a lesson, begin class with a starter activity, instruct a small group in a lab experience, etc.” I arranged to teach a short lesson on the motion of the moon. As this was an impromptu experience, I did not have a prepared lesson plan, but instead let the students drive the discussion. I wanted the student to understand why there are not lunar and solar eclipses every month. I began by asking the students what they already knew about the motion of the moon. Many talked about the phases, as they had just viewed a video about it. One student had pointed out shortly after the video that the moon cast a shadow on the Earth. This began a discussion about eclipses. We talked about the fact that we don’t see eclipses every month and I asked for suggestions as to why this was the case. One student suggested that the Earth’s tilt had something to do with it. I put a diagram on the board to illustrate the relative positions of the Sun, Earth and Moon. I pointed out that the Earth’s tilt was not the major factor, but that the Moon’s orbital tilt to the Solar system’s plane was. We explored through the discussion how scientist can predict when the eclipses happen and where the best viewing locations on the Earth will be by understanding the motion of the moon.
I don’t know exactly what the students learned from this little mini-lesson, but I know the information that came out was more than I understood until college. My enthusiasm for astronomy and the excitement I saw in those students really made this mini-lesson come alive for me. I think I had more students with me for that 15 minutes, than I had for the 3 hours that I taught for my PD lesson. I am feeling more confident and secure with the idea of student teaching, but it still frightens me to think that I need to come up with hundreds of hours of meaningful lesson material. I hope I am up to the task.
Assignment 2
As per the assignment, I was supposed to “introduce a lesson, begin class with a starter activity, instruct a small group in a lab experience, etc.” I arranged to teach a short lesson on the motion of the moon. As this was an impromptu experience, I did not have a prepared lesson plan, but instead let the students drive the discussion. I wanted the student to understand why there are not lunar and solar eclipses every month. I began by asking the students what they already knew about the motion of the moon. Many talked about the phases, as they had just viewed a video about it. One student had pointed out shortly after the video that the moon cast a shadow on the Earth. This began a discussion about eclipses. We talked about the fact that we don’t see eclipses every month and I asked for suggestions as to why this was the case. One student suggested that the Earth’s tilt had something to do with it. I put a diagram on the board to illustrate the relative positions of the Sun, Earth and Moon. I pointed out that the Earth’s tilt was not the major factor, but that the Moon’s orbital tilt to the Solar system’s plane was. We explored through the discussion how scientist can predict when the eclipses happen and where the best viewing locations on the Earth will be by understanding the motion of the moon.
I don’t know exactly what the students learned from this little mini-lesson, but I know the information that came out was more than I understood until college. My enthusiasm for astronomy and the excitement I saw in those students really made this mini-lesson come alive for me. I think I had more students with me for that 15 minutes, than I had for the 3 hours that I taught for my PD lesson. I am feeling more confident and secure with the idea of student teaching, but it still frightens me to think that I need to come up with hundreds of hours of meaningful lesson material. I hope I am up to the task.
posted by Anonymous | 10:08 PM
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