End of the Year

It's that time of year again- summer is almost here! There is only one week left of this science methods course and there is so much to do! There is still a final based on a plethora of things and an eFolio which is an online portfolio filled with assignments we were told to do throughout the semester...and then some. Our class had to submit things into our "moodle" program and then wait for our professor to grade them. That rarely happened. If the professor was to grade things in a timely fashion, I might have had the time to fix the assignments I did poorly on and successfully add them to my eFolio. Since this didn't happen, I have called out of work twice and skipped school just to finish the eFolio. On top of that, I have to present it. I don't see why we need to present something that isn't finished. Who knows when I'm going to get to that final...

Goodbye, students!

My science class has finally left the elementary school. There is no more teaching to be done there; fieldwork is over. It was a great experience though. I learned a lot about how to teach science as well as how to learn it. The key ingredients to teaching science are 'inquiry' and 'engagement.' When my group taught the whole class by ourselves, we used inquiry to capture their attention. We did this by asking multiple questions to get them thinking about chemical changes. We also played a video for them which was engaging. The video was a great way to engage the class because it was all about chemical changes so they got to see things explode. To their disappointment however, we didn't blow anything up. It was bitter sweet to leave them on Friday. I was going to miss the students but I left with a lot of knowledge about teaching science.

5th Grade Fieldwork

A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.  -Author Unknown

For the past week our science class has been helping teach a group of 5th graders at the elementary school on campus. We have been observing and assisting them with various experiments and lessons their teacher assigns. I have noticed lately how independent they really are. The last experiment we did involved constructing a boat out of either clay or tin foil. After the boat was constructed, they put as many pennies in the boat until it sunk. My student was very self-sufficient throughout the experiment and really did not have any questions. I tried to get involved by asking him to predict how many pennies his boat could hold and I also helped him record the dimensions of his boat but he wanted to do everything himself. I guess at 5th grade they are beginning to become independent. 

Full Moon

Last night was the biggest full moon in 18 years! I read on the internet that this moon was going to be huge but I did not believe it until I saw it. It was so big and bright that I didn't need a flashlight to walk outside. The street lights didn't need to be on either. You could see for miles as if it were day time because it was so big and bright. I look forward to the next time the moon is this big!

Sprouting

Today I was thinking about the lettuce seeds we planted in our science corner. Since it is spring break, no one has had a chance to look how far the seeds have come. I am not sure if they have even sprouted or not. I am worried that they have not sprouted because they have not had any water or sunlight. These are key ingredients for plant growth. Tomorrow my class is back in session and I will observe the lettuce seeds for the first time in a week. Hopefully they are sprouting and are on their way to becoming lettuce!

Spring Break

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, 

you gotta put up with the rain." - Dolly Parton

It has rained every day during my spring break. So much that roads are flooded and some people cannot even get into their houses. Many places in New Jersey have been evacuated because of the floods. There are images on the news of people getting around their towns in row boats! Tonights forecast says to expect a total of 5 inches of rain! My neighbors backyard is already turning into a lake. I couldn't even imagine 5 more inches. Next week however, they are saying it will be warmer and just cloudy. I do not want any more rain!

MicroTeaching

For the past week, we have been taking turns Micro Teaching in class. It is a really good learning and teaching technique. I really believe that this strategy will help me prepare to be a teacher. It is really interesting to see what some of the other students in the class come up with. All of the topics so far have been very interesting and engaging. Everything was taught from a KWL Chart to mammals. A live chinchilla was even brought in! I'm not sure what my topic is just yet but I hope that my partner and I will come together and have an engaging and fun lesson for our peers. 

For those who don't know what exactly Micro Teaching is, it's a process (like shown in the picture above). First, a lesson is taught. It doesn't have to necessarily be a full lesson but it could be a strategy or even just trying to activate the prior knowledge of the students. Once it is shared with others, they are supposed to try it on a student themselves. This will show them how the strategy really works. Sometimes there could be a wonderful outcome, but sometimes it doesn't work out the way it was planned. The last step to Micro Teaching is to get feedback. Someone should be able to tell you if your lesson was captivating or boring. Not only should they tell you what you did wrong, but it is also nice to hear what was done right. 

I've done Micro Teaching many times but never for a science class. My first time will be on March 23rd and I am very excited about it!