Effecting change and developing the STEM skills of students is what drove me to pursue my Master's from Walden. In my first teaching experience, we were not to teach our students science or social studies because they were so behind in reading, writing and math. However, our state mandated a state science assessment the same year our administration made that decision. Our students were ill-prepared and I felt that I had committed a great disservice.
Because of that experience, I knew that I wanted to be a science teacher. This year, I have the opportunity to do what I have always wanted to as a science specials teacher. I get to provide hands-on, inquiry-based science for 15 different classes of kindergarten through 2nd grade students.
The greatest challenge I face now in my position is in terms of time. I only have 40 minutes, twice a week, with each group of students. This lack of time really limits the activities I am able to do and the depth at which we can explore topics. Time is also a factor in my abilities to plan effectively as I am creating a new curriculum, basically alone, as this is a brand new position within the school. I am able to collaborate with the 3-6 science specials teacher every two weeks for about an hour, which does not seem to be enough time. During our time together, we are really trying to develop our program and identify the logistics of our teaching and what we want each grade level to be able to do to be successful for the following year.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
What's Our Sputnik?
Reading the article by Thomas Friedman (2010) entitled "What's Our Sputnik?" left me feeling somewhat conflicted. In this article Friedman asserted that we, citizens of the U.S., should be spending more time looking inside ourselves to define our project rather than on waging war on terrorists. I agree with some of his points, as America is falling behind many other countries in preparing our youth for STEM futures and the global economic playing field is being leveled because of technology and the internet (Friedman, 2008).
However, I feel it is important to point out that much of our prosperity and many of the technological advancements we enjoy today can be attributed to our involvement in war throughout history. According to Strickland (2010) "wars tend to accelerate technological development to adapt tools for the purpose of solving specific military needs." These tools are then modified and evolved for non-military uses. Some specific examples Strickland (2010) cited in his article was the invention of radar. Then, when more and more countries had developed radar detection tools, we worked to find ways to avoid radar, engineering stealth aircraft technology. Through experimentation with radar we have microwave ovens, which many of us would not be able to survive without. The internet, itself, was created as a military project to keep people connected because of the threat of future conflicts. Sputnik, which is given so much credit for our previous scientific advancement, was also a symbolic project of our ongoing competition with the Soviet Union in the 1950's.
While not every technological advancement can be attributed to war and/or the military, many can. However, I do agree with Friedman's assertion that we should look within ourselves for our next big project. Every time I pay my energy bill or fill up my gas tank I am reminded that we need to decrease our dependence on the Middle East for oil and be a more self-sustaining nation. Perhaps what we need to focus on is just that. Finding and developing more cost-effective and clean means for providing renewable, alternative energy options, including solar, wind, hydropower and ocean energy would require advanced STEM development. When the government decides we can no longer continue to pay higher and higher prices to foreign countries for our energy needs, perhaps they will discover the importance of increased funding for the education or our youth, and especially funding for STEM education.
References:
Friedman, T. L. (2008). The conception of “The World is Flat.” [Video webcast]. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwhlzlCsw_E
Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our Sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.
Strickland, Jonathan. "Do wars drive technological advancement?" 30 August 2010. HowStuffWorks.com. 11 March 2012.
However, I feel it is important to point out that much of our prosperity and many of the technological advancements we enjoy today can be attributed to our involvement in war throughout history. According to Strickland (2010) "wars tend to accelerate technological development to adapt tools for the purpose of solving specific military needs." These tools are then modified and evolved for non-military uses. Some specific examples Strickland (2010) cited in his article was the invention of radar. Then, when more and more countries had developed radar detection tools, we worked to find ways to avoid radar, engineering stealth aircraft technology. Through experimentation with radar we have microwave ovens, which many of us would not be able to survive without. The internet, itself, was created as a military project to keep people connected because of the threat of future conflicts. Sputnik, which is given so much credit for our previous scientific advancement, was also a symbolic project of our ongoing competition with the Soviet Union in the 1950's.
While not every technological advancement can be attributed to war and/or the military, many can. However, I do agree with Friedman's assertion that we should look within ourselves for our next big project. Every time I pay my energy bill or fill up my gas tank I am reminded that we need to decrease our dependence on the Middle East for oil and be a more self-sustaining nation. Perhaps what we need to focus on is just that. Finding and developing more cost-effective and clean means for providing renewable, alternative energy options, including solar, wind, hydropower and ocean energy would require advanced STEM development. When the government decides we can no longer continue to pay higher and higher prices to foreign countries for our energy needs, perhaps they will discover the importance of increased funding for the education or our youth, and especially funding for STEM education.
References:
Friedman, T. L. (2008). The conception of “The World is Flat.” [Video webcast]. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwhlzlCsw_E
Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our Sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.
Strickland, Jonathan. "Do wars drive technological advancement?" 30 August 2010. HowStuffWorks.com.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Modeling Density Currents with 1st Grade Students
The first graders at my school have been studying the oceans. As part of their curriculum they were to learn about the three ways ocean water moves; tides, waves and currents. To help students visualize how temperature creates ocean currents, they experimented by adding ice water colored blue and hot water colored red to room temperature water to see how they reacted. After students had a chance to interact with the materials and explore for themselves what happens, I set up a density current model using a small aquarium. The students were fascinated to see this demonstrated and were able to accurately explain that cold water is more dense and sinks deeper into the ocean while warmer water is less dense and rises closer to the surface.
You can find the Density Current Model at the following link:
You can find the Density Current Model at the following link:
http://www.mediafire.com/?28xy7fbhkp9ayy4I
Warning: View at your own risk. This was filmed by a first grader. You may experience motion sickness!
Warning: View at your own risk. This was filmed by a first grader. You may experience motion sickness!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Natural Disasters
Natural disasters and man-made disasters seem to be occurring more and more frequently recently. Students are interested and often concerned about these events. When natural disasters occur, they can be used to teach students about earth changes and events, as well as helping students understand the importance of compassion and reaching out to those effected by the disaster. Our school uses Core Knowledge curriculum which covers weather and other disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes. The students are exposed to historical events of each type of disaster and can see the effects of those disasters on civilization. However, learning about a current natural disaster is much more relevant to them. Students can learn what causes these natural phenomenon through watching simulations, researching and communicating their findings and watching appropriate footage of the disaster.
Our school is already very culturally aware and compassionate to those in need. Since my own children have been attending the school, they have participated in activities to raise money to help those less fortunate in our own community but also to send aid to those affected by the Japanese tsunami and Joplin tornado last spring.
Our school is already very culturally aware and compassionate to those in need. Since my own children have been attending the school, they have participated in activities to raise money to help those less fortunate in our own community but also to send aid to those affected by the Japanese tsunami and Joplin tornado last spring.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Ask a Scientist
For my Investigating the Living World science class, we were asked to formulate a causal type of question about something we were curious about involving cells and their structures. After discussing our causal question with our discussion group we were to post it to the Ask a Scientist website at http://www.askascientist.org/askascientist/index.html.
The Ask a Scientist website is an excellent resource for questions related to biology and health and has other resources geared to students ranging from elementary age up to graduate level. The Ask a Scientist section allows you to ask a question in the hopes of getting a response. While the response time is not very fast, they do have archived questions that maybe similar to the one you have. This is what I found when exploring the website.
My initial question after reading about Notothenioids, fish with antifreeze proteins that allow them to live in arctic waters, was "How does a new species of animal just evolve? How do the cells differentiate so much as to create a new species?” I was curious about this question because the article asserted that 90 different species of Notothenioids have emerged from one single species millions of years ago (Matz, 2011).
Though my actual question has not yet been answered, I found that an answer to a question previously posted may help my understanding of how new species of animals just evolve. The key seems to lie in gene mutations that occur and get recorded into the DNA of the species and then replicated in new offspring. While this still seems complicated and abstract to me, it does make sense. I look forward to my actual question being answered to see if I am on the right track.
References:
Matz, M. (2011). Fish: Fresh, not frozen. Origins: Antarctica. Retrieved from http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/antarctica/ideas/fish.html
The Ask a Scientist website is an excellent resource for questions related to biology and health and has other resources geared to students ranging from elementary age up to graduate level. The Ask a Scientist section allows you to ask a question in the hopes of getting a response. While the response time is not very fast, they do have archived questions that maybe similar to the one you have. This is what I found when exploring the website.
My initial question after reading about Notothenioids, fish with antifreeze proteins that allow them to live in arctic waters, was "How does a new species of animal just evolve? How do the cells differentiate so much as to create a new species?” I was curious about this question because the article asserted that 90 different species of Notothenioids have emerged from one single species millions of years ago (Matz, 2011).
Though my actual question has not yet been answered, I found that an answer to a question previously posted may help my understanding of how new species of animals just evolve. The key seems to lie in gene mutations that occur and get recorded into the DNA of the species and then replicated in new offspring. While this still seems complicated and abstract to me, it does make sense. I look forward to my actual question being answered to see if I am on the right track.
References:
Matz, M. (2011). Fish: Fresh, not frozen. Origins: Antarctica. Retrieved from http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/antarctica/ideas/fish.html
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Evaluating Web 2.0 Presentation Tools
It's that time of year again and I am back to work and school. For my first blog entry, the assignment was to preview a couple of Web 2.0 presentation tools to evaluate for use in my course project but also for ease of use with and motivation for my young learners. I decided to play around with three different web-based tools. Because I have no experience with these types of programs I primarily chose tools with an included link for a tutorial or demonstration.
280 Slides
The first presentation tool I looked at was 280 Slides because it did have a tutorial. When playing with this, it was easy to use. However, I did not feel that it had any WOW factor. It was pretty straightforward. There were limited graphics and background choices which I did not feel to be very motivating. With this presentation tool, it was very easy to add graphics from the web into the slide show but it did not provide any options for transitioning from slide to slide or any cool text effects.
PreZentit
Based on how easy 280 Slides was to create, I decided to try out PreZentit even though it did not have a tutorial. The fact that it could be used collaboratively with more than one person working on the same project at a time and could be downloaded and shared without the need for an internet connection intrigued me (cooltoolsforschools, 2011). I would say it is a step ahead of 280 Slides. It definitely had more options. The background gallery was more extensive than the one available with 280 slides. It had the capability for some cool slide transition effects but was not as user friendly. I accidentally deleted the slides I created. However, it did have a handy undo command that reversed that error. But, it still did not have the WOW factor I was looking for.
Prezi
Just because our class resources for the week included a tutorial for Prezi, I did not want to make a quick decision that this was the tool I was going to use. However, after playing around with the tool briefly, it definitely has the WOW factor. There are so many cool effects that can be done in a Prezi presentation that I see this being a huge motivational factor for my young students. The presentations that can be created in this program have moved well beyond the typical slideshows possible through programs like PowerPoint and even 280 Slides and PreZentit. I know that I am going to have to really play and experiment with the Prezi tools but the outcome should be great and well worth the time.
On a side note, something else that really impressed me with Prezi was the upgraded membership/account available for teachers and students that allows for making content private, still at no cost. For even more options an EduPro license can be purchased at a very reasonable annual cost.
References:
Web 2.0: Cool Tools for Schools (2011). Retrieved from http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Presentation+Tools
280 Slides
The first presentation tool I looked at was 280 Slides because it did have a tutorial. When playing with this, it was easy to use. However, I did not feel that it had any WOW factor. It was pretty straightforward. There were limited graphics and background choices which I did not feel to be very motivating. With this presentation tool, it was very easy to add graphics from the web into the slide show but it did not provide any options for transitioning from slide to slide or any cool text effects.
PreZentit
Based on how easy 280 Slides was to create, I decided to try out PreZentit even though it did not have a tutorial. The fact that it could be used collaboratively with more than one person working on the same project at a time and could be downloaded and shared without the need for an internet connection intrigued me (cooltoolsforschools, 2011). I would say it is a step ahead of 280 Slides. It definitely had more options. The background gallery was more extensive than the one available with 280 slides. It had the capability for some cool slide transition effects but was not as user friendly. I accidentally deleted the slides I created. However, it did have a handy undo command that reversed that error. But, it still did not have the WOW factor I was looking for.
Prezi
Just because our class resources for the week included a tutorial for Prezi, I did not want to make a quick decision that this was the tool I was going to use. However, after playing around with the tool briefly, it definitely has the WOW factor. There are so many cool effects that can be done in a Prezi presentation that I see this being a huge motivational factor for my young students. The presentations that can be created in this program have moved well beyond the typical slideshows possible through programs like PowerPoint and even 280 Slides and PreZentit. I know that I am going to have to really play and experiment with the Prezi tools but the outcome should be great and well worth the time.
On a side note, something else that really impressed me with Prezi was the upgraded membership/account available for teachers and students that allows for making content private, still at no cost. For even more options an EduPro license can be purchased at a very reasonable annual cost.
References:
Web 2.0: Cool Tools for Schools (2011). Retrieved from http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Presentation+Tools
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Web based Technological Tools for Classroom Instruction
I am going to begin this blog by announcing that I have been offered and accepted a position as the K-2 Science "Specials" Teacher at the charter school my children attend. I am extremely excited about this position and have researched to complete this blog assignment based on that new position.
The school I will be working for uses The Core Knowledge curriculum and one "big idea" for the 1st graders is the concept of matter; states of matter, changing states of matter and properties of matter. In my position most of the content matter will be taught by the students' teachers and I will develop and implement the hands on investigations that will help the students actively participate, experience science and make their own meaningful connections to the content through their inquiry.
Through my research, I searched for interactive web based tools that would be age appropriate for the students I will be teaching and found many interactive activities that would help reinforce the concepts the students learn in their class and in our science investigations. These tools allow students to sort materials based on what their are made of and other physical properties, practice measuring items to centimeters and explore the molecular properties of the states of matter and what happens to objects when heated or frozen. The links are located below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/grouping_materials.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/sorting_using_mate.shtml
http://www.gamequarium.com/measurement.html
http://www.fossweb.com/modulesK-2/SolidsandLiquids/activities/changeit.html
http://www.fossweb.com/modulesK-2/SolidsandLiquids/activities/changeit.html
While the students will be involved mostly in hands on inquiry when working with me, it is important for them to learn to use technology in their learning in order to acquire 21st century skills. The above activities could effectively be used with small groups or individually and would give the students experience with technology and would also engage them while reinforcing the concepts taught.
A couple of limitations I see to my ability to use these resources is the limited amount of time I will have with each of the classes each week and the limited number of computers in each of the classrooms.
The school I will be working for uses The Core Knowledge curriculum and one "big idea" for the 1st graders is the concept of matter; states of matter, changing states of matter and properties of matter. In my position most of the content matter will be taught by the students' teachers and I will develop and implement the hands on investigations that will help the students actively participate, experience science and make their own meaningful connections to the content through their inquiry.
Through my research, I searched for interactive web based tools that would be age appropriate for the students I will be teaching and found many interactive activities that would help reinforce the concepts the students learn in their class and in our science investigations. These tools allow students to sort materials based on what their are made of and other physical properties, practice measuring items to centimeters and explore the molecular properties of the states of matter and what happens to objects when heated or frozen. The links are located below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/grouping_materials.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/sorting_using_mate.shtml
http://www.gamequarium.com/measurement.html
http://www.fossweb.com/modulesK-2/SolidsandLiquids/activities/changeit.html
http://www.fossweb.com/modulesK-2/SolidsandLiquids/activities/changeit.html
While the students will be involved mostly in hands on inquiry when working with me, it is important for them to learn to use technology in their learning in order to acquire 21st century skills. The above activities could effectively be used with small groups or individually and would give the students experience with technology and would also engage them while reinforcing the concepts taught.
A couple of limitations I see to my ability to use these resources is the limited amount of time I will have with each of the classes each week and the limited number of computers in each of the classrooms.
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