Beyond My Classroom????

As a fairly new science teacher, and balancing teaching, family, church, and Walden, I am doing good to just implement some of the ideas and strategies into my teaching in my room. At this time, I am not in a position to make much of an impact outside of my room. I share ideas and lessons with the special education teacher who teaches science to a small group of eighth graders. The seventh grade science teacher and I collaborate sometimes, mostly running ideas past each other for input to see if the other one thinks it will work or has any suggestions. We enthusiastically share new ideas we find with each other. So, next door (both sides) is as far as my science influence goes, so far anyway. We will see what happens as I have more time once Walden is over, and if I stay he 8th grade science teacher; there is always the possibility if going back to the elementary school, where I will have a better opportunity to share and collaborate with other teachers, affecting the science instruction more. I have joined a PLC that is focusing on student engagement, so that may open windows or doors for more sharing of science strategies, although I am the only science teacher involved.

Got Sputnik?

Sputnik crossing the night sky above a small coalmining town in West Virginia changed the world for Homer Hickam and his friends, as depicted in the movie, October Sky and Hickam’s book, Rocket Boys (1998). Inspired by his science teacher, he was one of the ones that went on to study science and work for NASA as a result of the push for science after Sputnik. And then there is the great line from Toy Story 2 when Sherriff Woody asks why Woody’s Round Up TV show was canceled, Stinky Pete replies, “Two words: Sput-nik; once the astronauts went up, children only wanted to play with space toys” (Disney-Pixar, 1999). Sputnik was an event that changed the course of American education and history. Unfortunately, the push for science and related fields have often taken a back burner in education in recent years. With the mandated 90-minutes of uninterrupted reading block, and trying to get in 90 minutes of math, science and social studies gets left out. The elementary schools in my district have gone to teaching science half of the grading period and social studies the other half. NOT NEAR enough of either one in my opinion. I believe that it will take another Sputnik-like event (Friedman, 2010) to light the fire under STEM education to get it the money and the focus that there needs to be. I am not, by any means, saying that reading is not important and does not need the time spent on it; everyone needs to read and understand what is read in order to be successful in other fields (I was a Title I Reading teacher for eight years; I know there is the need for more concentrated and effective reading instruction). But there is a place for STEM too. And the place to start is elementary school when the students are still in that mode where they are still curious and ask questions are still trying to figure out how the world around them works (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011). I think there should be some kind of an initiative that would provide the training and the money for needed supplies for all teachers to learn how to incorporate STEM into their classrooms. This would need to be on-going, not merely a year or two. It would be helpful to have a STEM coach at each building to help find resources and work with teachers to improve STEM education, similar to a literacy coach. Another idea I have, but not sure how to do it is that I think that many students do not go into STEM because they do not know the possibilities. Somehow getting more communication and exposure to what careers are out there would spark some interest and inspire students to pursue more STEM avenues. References Disney-Pixar. (Producer). (1999). Toy Story 2. Fredman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our Sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. 8 WK. 8. Retrieved January 16, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/opinion/17friedman.html?_r=0 Hickam, H. (1998). Rocket Boys. New York, NY: Random House Publishing Co. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011).Promoting STEM education in the classroom in Looking into the future of science and education. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Play Dough Scale Models

“When students are engaged in scientific modeling, they are able to notice patterns and develop and revise representations that become useful models to predict and explain—making their own scientific knowledge stronger, helping them think critically, helping them to know more about the nature of science” (Kenyon, Schwartz, and Hug 2008 p. 41). I found this statement true, as I watched my students and listened to their conversations while creating their play dough scale models of the layers of the earth. As layers of the earth are not in the 8th grade standards, I sought to make this lesson fit with our measurement unit we are trying to wrap up before fall break. Making a scale model would involve measurement and would give the students a chance to practice the skills of accuracy and precision. Due to missing two days due to sickness and scrambling to finish the measurement unit, I chose to do this lesson with a small group of students during lunch. It was a good thing. I would not have had near enough play dough for a class of 28 Honors students. I also ended up with no sand to use as the crust, so we used pieces of leaves. My students decided that was a better representation of earth’s plates anyway. My students loved this activity. One said, “This is what makes science fun”! As we sliced the models open to see the layers, I was amazed at the comments. They made the connections to accuracy and precise on their own. One classified comments made as quantitative and qualitative—tying in with a previous unit. My students were also very excited about being a part of a college assignment. I think when students create models, they have to apply the science concepts they should have learned, therefore it makes the learning stick better, and the students are more likely to remember the concepts. They not only read it or heard it, but they did it.

Natural Disasters and Students

When natural disasters strike, there is much teachers and students can do to learn about the natural disaster and get involved. This assignment reminds me of the 2004 Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami. The elementary school I was teaching at had fundraisers to help raise money that was donated to the Red Cross to help with the recovering and clean up effort. Many students gave up their snack money to the cause. They have done this for families in the area who lost their homes to fires as well. When the Sumatra, Haiti, and Japan earthquakes hit, I showed students where these places were on the map. With the Japan earthquake, we skipped to the Earthquake chapter and tied the chapter into what was going on in the news. We learned the science behind the event. We watched video clips of what had happened. I found websites with interactive explanations of what caused the earthquake and tsunami. With the string of tornadoes in the last few years, many have been in nearby counties. Again, money and even food can be donated, but also there were opportunities for families to volunteer and help with the clean up. I could have made these opportunities known to my students.

Ask a Scientist Reply

What are the elements that make up a cell? What elements are essential for a cell to survive? What role does each element play within the cell? were the questions I asked Ask a Scientist. As of Saturday, July 14th, I have not received an answer from Ask a Scientist. As these will require some research, I did not expect a quick reply. When I receive a reply, I will post it on this blog. I did receive some percentage breakdowns from a fellow student . . . hydrogen 59%, oxygen 23%, carbon 11%, nitrogen 4%, and other elements 2% (Qureshi, 2012). I am excited to have these percentage breakdowns. I will add this information in the lessons about the elements and their uses. I am still curious as to what elements make up the 2% of the “other elements”. I hope that I receive an answer this fall In chapter 26 of Integrated Science (Tillery, Enger, & Ross, 2009), the chemical breakdown of DNA was given. DNA is made up of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, phosphorus, and nitrogen. From this information, I learned that part of the 2% is phosphorous. I could use such websites as askascientist.org as a tool to model for my students one way in which they can find answers to science questions. Knowing where to look and where to find answers is an essential skill students will need in order to be successful. This is one method I can model. I like the questions posed to the website are answered by real scientists who are taking the time to share their knowledge with others. References Qureshi, W. (July 7, 2012). RE: Cell question. Week 3 Discussion. Walden University. Tillery, B.W., Enger, E.D., & Ross, F.C. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Web Tool Exploration

I tried out several of the web tool links in our resources this week. I found most of them were similar to powerpoint presentations, just with some added tricks and features. I did sign up for a ZOHO account and will experiment with this presentation tool. It is a powerpoint type program that included many features and cool animations, but it definitely will take quite a bit of figuring out. Not much seemed obvious. Has anybody used this program before? And can share any secrets? I also experimented with Museum Boxes. I loved the idea, and enjoyed looking at ones that others created. This is a program where you choose information to be included on the six sides of a cube. You can include text, pictures, graphs, charts, videos, music, etc. You click on a cube, it is enlarged and you rotate through the six sides. I think this would be a good tool to have my students use to show what they have learned. As a presentation tool, I think it might be cumbersome to switch between cubes. Since it takes up to fourteen days to receive authentication, I was unable to try and make my own museum box yet. I will definitely try this tool out, either for the course project or for school projects. I will create one to introduce my students to and then include this as a choice in the element project that they will be doing. Even though, I have used Prezi before, it is what I am leaning towards for the course project. I was introduced to Prezi last summer in a one-day technology workshop. Of all the web resources introduced that day, Prezi was the one that became a part of my teaching. I found it easy to figure out and was more appealing to my students than a typical powerpoint. I included creating a Prezi as a choice for the element project and a few students choose this medium. Other than having seen my first Prezi and a quick introduction, they ran away with the project and had excellent presentations. I stole some of their ideas in my next Prezis. Last week (before this course began) I introduced my nephew to Prezi and he was impressed and is planning to use it when he has to present his research for his PhD in chemical engineering. Even though I have used Prezi, there is more I can learn to better utilize this tool. Every time I have used it, I have figured out some new feature. Periodically, I get an email that introduces some new feature the company has added. Some Prezis that I made this past school year: (Hope the links work. Let me know if they do not and I will try including them in a different way. You may have to copy and paste the link into your browser). http://prezi.com/moclz2-q8pr1/levels-of-classification/?auth_key=d598d42a545e3156ec54a434b32dc2ae55eb51b5 http://prezi.com/5wf8rinthhi3/periodic-table-familes/?auth_key=6e5b2869affd9603dbd46b52e2f35010427b2622 My first one: http://prezi.com/be3pw-ppaefo/history-of-the-atom/?auth_key=4924ed18fb3f8ce36269a686715980583f05bedc Some that my students created: http://prezi.com/qrawogflmmye/zirconium/ http://prezi.com/hjdpjjnjmefb/p7nitrogenmakayla/

After much debate as to what topic to research and find resources for, I have finally decided on measurement. Our book has a whole chapter devoted to measurement. The last two years we have read parts of the chapter about each type of measurement and completed a chart that includes definition, examples, unit of measurement, abbreviation, instrument used to measure. As we learn about each one, we also practice. For example we learn about length and we measure the book, the table, etc. We learn about mass and practice finding the mass of items using the triple beam balances. Because it is not all “normal” school work, the students find this chapter kind of fun, except that this chapter also includes the Metric System. On the hands-on assessment, some do not do well. More practice and some more instruction is required by some. I have found some websites that we could put on the Smart Board and do as a class or we can go to the computer lab and get some individual practice. Websites are listed below with a brief description as to what is included.
Reading a Triple Beam Balance Tutorial http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=GCH202 or http://www.ohaus.com/input/tutorials/tbb/tbbentry.swf. Both websites have tutorials and walk the students through how to care for, measure, and read, with practice sessions.
Metric System http://www.think-metric.com/ has history, games, posters, links to other sites.
Graduated cylinder http://www.jabe.com/#F. this site has more than just graduated cylinders, but I used this one to create my practice sheets. You can create pictures of graduated cylinders with the liquid levels. This site was not super user friendly, but it worked. There are probably better ones out there.
Since this chapter deals with weight and mass. Students often have the misconception that they are the same thing. We talk about that weight changes; mass does not—no matter where you go. I found a website that you can put in your weight on Earth and it calculates your weight on the different planets and other celestial bodies. The students love this site. http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/
Hope these websites help you add some 21st Century skills to your measurement lessons. Happy measuring!

PS Anyone interested in my Measurement Chart, I can email it to you. I do not know how to link documents yet. :)