Science Autobiographies.....

• What are the skills and strengths that you bring to the schoolscience experience?

I now bring excitement and diversity to the school science experiment. I will use inquiry as a main focus while curriculum planning. Technology will be used as often as possible, and if possible, all of my activities will be hands on, minds on. Doing is learning.

• What are the areas in which you would like to improve as you set about doing science with students?

I would like to improve in my timing and knowledge. There is so much out there to learn, and there are so many interactive activities and ideas that I want to learn. I will never stand in front of the room to lecture followed by a test ever!!!! My timing needs improvement as far as lesson plans being carried out during a specified time frame, however, I believe this will come together with experience.

• How did your scientific self develop during this course?

My scientific self developed ten fold during this course. Dr. Smirnova brought me to a different world of learning, through technology and inquiry. I see the world of learning through a different set of eyes now thanks to this course. I went from hating science to wanting to be a science teacher! I love it!!!

• How do you define “science” now as you prepare to teach it?

Science is a process. Science is observing, exploring, applying, constructing, and asking questions followed by reflections. Science is everywhere, and it is everything that could be posed as a question. Science is AMAZING!

• What is your favorite science web site?

One of my favorite science websites is exploratorium.com this site is a science archive site that you can find information almost about anything in the wonderful world of science. It provides you resources, activities and numerous ideas for everything! 

• What contemporary science news event most interests you?

stem cell research and cancer research. Being a mother of three and a daughter to someone who is battling cancer, I want to know what new advances are coming about in both of these issues.

• What do you think is your greatest challenge in teaching science?

My greatest challenge is keeping my students engaged through differentiation, I need to ensure I stay current not only with the curriculum but also with technology so I can be sure it is integrated in my curriculum as much as possible!

• How will technology help you stay current and teach science in an innovative way?

It will keep me current and teach in an innovative way through attending webcasts, following blogs, and other science websites, as well as being able to have the world at my fingertips. I will have to do explore regularly and technology will help me by RSS feeds,  internet, blogging, workshops, interactive classrooms, virtual field trips, gaming etc. My students will not be strangers to technology by any means, I will ensure they know so much about technology that they will be teaching their future teachers about it!!!! What would this world be without technology?! 

Putting it all together.......

A PowerPoint presentation that represents my philosophy of teaching science would include:
Hands on minds on crucial part of curriculum planning
Reciprocal Questioning: students work together to ask and answer questions 
Jigsaw Classroom: students become "experts" on one part of a group project and teach it to the others in their group
Structured Controversies: Students work together to research a particular controversy

Learning need to be an active, social process

Scientific method

Collaboration among learners

Knowledge should be discovered as an integrated whole 

Engaging and challenging the learner

**Provide learners with an opportunity to discover and collaboratively construct meaning as the intervention unfolds. Learners are respected as unique individuals, and instructors act as facilitators rather than as teachers.

I would be interested in the certifications offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards because their site sums it up wonderfully:  

• Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
• Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
• Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
• Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
• Teachers are members of learning communities

http://www.nbpts.org/become_a_candidate/what_is_national_board_c

 “We teach who we are” 
Students know the teachers feelings and level of compassion one holds about the content being taught. It it up to the teachers to really gain an understanding and passion for everything they teach, because the more engaged they are about something, the more engaged their students will be. Students pick up on EVERYTHING





Reflection is crucial to being a great teacher and student. Teachers never stop learning therefore we should never stop reflecting. Reflecting is a way to think about what was done, what was successful and what wasn't. What should be done differently. How can something improve, how can one expand on this, etc. Reflections are some of the starting points for your next step in your curriculum planning.

Interactive Solar System

You have to check out this site!!!!! This is the coolest site ever!!!! It is an interactive 3D model of our solar system! Kids would love to explore this I bet!!!! This would be perfect to integrate into a science lesson really neat!!!! Check it out!!!!
3D Model of Solar System

SMART board literacy

This video amazed me! A four year old girl was interactively learning literacy concepts on a SMART board. I really really hope when I get hired as a teacher that I have the opportunity to have one of these boards in my classroom, because it will only enhance my student's learning! All students love interactive lessons, this little girl went to the board and moved the letter 'R' to pictures that started with that letter! I love SMART boards,  this will definitely be something I find out availability before I take a position! Crucial to have!!!!!

Plugging into the Web

 

"As a new teacher, you will experience excitement, confusion, and indecision when you think about whether or not to use technology, such as the Internet, in your classroom. Many factors come into play as you consider this issue. Is your classroom wired? Do you have access to computers? Do you know how to use the Internet? Do you have time to use the Internet? What about student safety? The list of questions goes on and on. 

This WebQuest will make you be able to make informed decisions as to how and when to use the Internet and other forms of technology to support your standards-based curriculum in your classes". (Debi Tisdell)

This is a very intensive exploration project that will familiarize teachers with how and when to integrate technology in the class. This site has teachers work together to explore a number of resources and tools at the fingertips of us teachers. It is very interesting how you can have such a complex assignment on the web such as this that forces teachers to collaborate with one another and gain a better understanding of the world of technology and its place in our classes. WebQuests are amazing tools all in themselves for teachers to have the students use on a regular basis. This allows students to participate in active research projects related to their current curriculum, as a part of class and home work all while learning with technology, brilliant!

cool tools for school is cool!!!!!!

I love this site!!! I am so exciting after reading through it, I am even more anxious to get into my very own classroom! These resources are AMAZING! If there is someone who is not up with the times, they need to start to explore or they are gonna be left behind!!!! I love it! This site has EVERYTHING you could imagine to develop, implement, instruct, reflect, etc. Very intriguing I must have went through this site five times already! This is a great resource for students and teachers alike! love it!!!!
Check out the site by clicking HERE

Video games in the classroom hmmmmmmm.....

I think video gaming in the classroom can be amazing! It is a way to incorporate technology in the class. You can also observe and assess how the students react to different situations such as group or team effort, confidence in content, winning and losing reactions, how they react to the immediate feedback and whether or not they change their actions according to the immediate feedback. This is something that is great and would keep students very interested and excited about content. Children need interactive play, and when it is related to content, most of them don't mind they just like to 'play' while the teacher incorporates learning! This also a way to teach children how to set goals and move towards attaining them!
I love it, just think it should be done cautiously with close monitoring and maybe the teacher can incorporate some kind of journal entry after each time played for reflection purposes.

Assessment, Assessment, Assessment!!!

Traditional --------------------------------------------- Authentic

Selecting a Response ------------------------------------ Performing a Task

Contrived --------------------------------------------------------------- Real-life

Recall/Recognition ------------------------------- Construction/Application

Teacher-structured ------------------------------------- Student-structured

Indirect Evidence -------------------------------------------- Direct Evidence

Authentic Assessment is truly where you don't just select a response, you act upon it, you model it, act it out. It is closest to real life situations where you can apply what you learned in real world situations. It is not where you try to just recall facts, you actually need to construct what you know, see if you can apply what you learned and use it in a situation. It is not teacher structured, it is student structured. This is where you have direct evidence to determine the student has learned what was actually taught.

There are three kinds of assessment: Diagnostic, Formative, and Summative. Assessment is an ongoing process. This is not lets just give a test at the end. Assessment should be done daily, on a regular basis, where the teacher is taking notice of what the students are doing and saying. This allows the teacher to really see what the students are grasping and what they aren't. Assessment should also be done in multiple ways. Through observing and listening. Through writing and discussing. Through presenting and working cooperatively. Through independent and group work. Through quizzes and tests as well. There are so many forms of assessment and a good teacher who is truly trying to ensure their class is learning what is intended, then the teacher will use as many different forms of assessment as physically possible in a class.

Assessment is crucial to success for the students

Portfolios, Assessment, Blogging....what will you use???

  

If I created a portfolio for my science methods course, I would include everything that we have in it right now. I would include a cover page, all of the assignments and papers that I have completed. I would have a list of resources, and reflect on everything like the one I have now. By doing this it enables myself along with others to see all of the hard work I put into this class, and it enables others to see what I know how to do. It is a centralized place where I have my lesson plans, my presentations, my blogs, my videos, my experiments, micro teaching, everything my professor needs to know about me is there. Portfolios are hard work to organize and put together, but you owe it to yourself to complete it so you can see how far you came in three months.; your work ‘sings’ to you as you flip through each and every assignment in your e folio. If I ever need anything I have done in this class, I can always reference back to my e-folio from any computer and access it immediately by the click of a mouse.

 

 It is important to use multiple forms of assessment because there is no perfect ‘one’ assessment. Some students are not good a test taking, some may not be good at writing; some may be good at presenting. Assessment should be done in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. Assessment is not just a one time deal, so there needs to be multiple ways of assessing throughout the year. Every student learns differently and every student should be assessed in multiple ways several times to ensure you truly address each student’s needs.

 

Different sorts of student presentations and performance assessments I have you seen in science classes include students using journals in science. I have seen children using blogs in science. I LOVE both ideas and I think they are both crucial to the learning experience. Children need to be able to reflect on everything and what better way to do so than in writing in an informal environment where they can focus on the content and ideas instead of structure and strict rules for writing. I also love video presentations, power points, posters, podcasts, etc. I will use everything I mentioned here because every student will find something they enjoy and will create some of their best work through these assignments. Children need differentiation and incorporating different kinds of presentation options for them like Dr. Smirnova does for us, then they will truly find their own potential.

 

 This chapter discusses writing as an assessment tool in science. You may not usually think of science as connected to writing. Does it surprise me that some teachers have students write extensively in their math courses?  Before this semester I honestly would say writing in math is weird. Now, after taking math and science methods courses it just makes sense. This is how children can really express their thoughts and processes. Writing gives the students the opportunity to really think and evaluate their own work in order to properly communicate it through writing. I love the idea of writing in math and science, because I truly believe it makes the students learn and retain much more than they would with out it. They are not just memorizing facts and formulas anymore. Incorporating writing forces the students to really learn and understand the content. I love it!!!!

 

 I have never blogged until this semester. I love it! Blogging is an amazing way to find yourself in your coursework. If allows you to be creative and opinionated all while reflecting on what you are learning. I think I could have the students make blog entries daily on their earthworm explorations including reflections on observations and research. This is an opportunity for students to really read, explore, and think about what they are doing. Blogging takes school to a whole other level for me. This is an opportunity for a teacher to have students do the learning outside of the classroom all while still being held accountable! I am so grateful I got the opportunity to learn and explore blogging this semester. I will definitely be that teacher who has all of her students creating blogs!!!!