“How do elementary students learn science? What classroom environments facilitate elementary students’ science learning? What should teachers know and be able to do to design and foster effective elementary science learning environments?”
19 JAN 2012
19 JAN 2012
I am a firm believer in learning science through experiencing science. The best lessons allow students to see, hear, write, AND do. Students should be able to experience science through their senses - by smelling, feeling, seeing - rather than listening to lectures or reading textbooks. A lab-type classroom is most condusive to this type of learning, but hands-on learning can be done in a regular classroom as well. For example, a classroom I recently volunteered in had students learning about animal kingdoms. They learned about the kingdoms, then watched different types of animals in their natural habitats on a video, then found materials to actually make an example of an animal from each kingdom. The results were phenomenal, and the students will have an easier time remember the information because they'll be able to recall the activity of making an animal.
Teachers should create an environment where students feel comfortable manipulating hands-on activities, engaging in discussions and materials, and asking questions where relevent. Teachers also need to be sensitive to students' needs - for example if a student is uncomfortable with a lesson or activity, the teacher needs to have an alternative lesson/activity planned to accomodate those needs.
Teachers should create an environment where students feel comfortable manipulating hands-on activities, engaging in discussions and materials, and asking questions where relevent. Teachers also need to be sensitive to students' needs - for example if a student is uncomfortable with a lesson or activity, the teacher needs to have an alternative lesson/activity planned to accomodate those needs.
24 Jan 2012
The readings this week reinforced the idea of social learning in the science classroom and the use of hands-on, interactive experiences to increase retention. Additionally, I was made to consider the importance of recognizing possible misconceptions students might have before they occur, and the value of preventing misconceptions in a student's learning. This wasn't a foreign concept, but not one I had closely considered, and definitely not in the context of science education. My previous experience with thwarting student mistakes/misconceptions was in math education, where it seems a little more obvious.
31 Jan 2012
Students have misconceptions that are sometimes difficult to identify (generally because we, as teachers, blatantly disregard pre-assessment, or wrongly assume that students know something). These misconceptions are also not easily overturned, even with one-on-one instruction, as was evidenced in the video we watched in class about the Harvard graduates and high school students. What this tells me, as a pre-service teacher, is that I need to be cognizant of misconceptions my students might have, and give them an opportunity to explore alternate responses. By allowing them to explore the alternative, rather than just telling them through instruction, the students will gain a better understanding of why their idea of something is misguided, and will retain the correct information better than they would through simple replacement instruction.
6 Feb 2012
The Keeley probes for teaching science are an effective way to clear up preconceptions students have about science topics. The format for asking a specific question, followed by an open-ended inquirey for the student to explain their reasoning presents the teacher with a better understanding of where the student's misconceptions come from and where the lesson needs to go. Pairing the probes with technology by creating an online forum to collect student responses gives teachers an easy and effectivce way to assess student understanding and misconceptions/preconceptions.
13 Feb 2012
As a teacher in the state of Iowa, I'm obviously going to be teaching in line with the Iowa Core standards. One of the important things about teaching that I learned this week is how to identify which standards are covered by the materials and experiments I'm using. By first identifying the essential concept being investigated, I can identify the standard and benchmark I'm striving for. I can use the National Science Education Standards to create lessons and experiments that are meaningful and effective for students. My learning goals and learning performances are based around the standard I've identified.
20 Feb 2012
The five essential features of inquiry provide the framework for which all classrooms should be based. In order to be an effective science teacher, I will need to be sure these essential features of inquiry are a part of each lesson and experiment. My role as the teacher in this type of classroom is to help form the students why questions into how questions, and guiding them to reliable resources to answer those questions. I will also need to engage the students through a variety of teaching methods. Students would be using their senses and other instruments to obtain evidence to answer their how questions. They would be gathering evidence in their science notebooks. Students would look at their evidence and form conclusions based on their findings. They would interact with their peers and share explanations and reasoning. The teacher can bring in outside experts or known data for the students to use to dispute or back up their findings. The students would understand well enough to be able to relay the information to someone else or recall their findings in a thoughtful explanation.
26 Feb 2012
Although the five essential features of inquiry might be present in all classroom activities, they may not be utilized to their full potential, or in a way that is most effective for students. Having a student-centered classroom with teacher guidance rather than teacher-led activities is important for maximizing student learning and comprehension. So, the feature of students engaging in a scienfically oriented question ranges from having a classroom in which students pose the question, to students engaging in a question provided by the teacher. Each feature of inquiry can be judged on a continuum from student-centered to teacher-directed. In general, having a more student-centered environment is going to be more beneficial, but teacher-direction/guidance is also important, somtime more important than other times. The key is to make sure each feature of inquiry is included in some capacity.
4 March 2012
Student assessment is an important part of ensuring student success. Formative assessment should always be taking place. Students should be given credit for the things they've done, rather than just get graded on the final project they produce. Assessment is not just a job for the teacher, but should be done by teachers, peers and the students themselves. It should be consistent, valid and reliable, and students should be aware of what is expected of them. Giving the students a rubric which is linked to the learning performances of the lesson will help them to know what it is they're expected to learn from the activity/lesson.
12 March 2012
Creating a valid and reliable scoring rubric based on the learning performances will help students better understand what is expected of them. It's important to make sure these rubrics do not include fluffer points that aren't related to the inquiry. Creating the rubric around the learning performances helps eliminate those fluffer categories that don't contribute to student understanding/learning. They may be valuable academic ideas, like penmenship, writing, grammer, etc, but they are not necessarily beneficial to the scientific inquiry the student is working toward. By using the learning performances set in the lesson, you can ensure the students are actually accomplishing the goals they set out for.
31 Jan 2012
Students have misconceptions that are sometimes difficult to identify (generally because we, as teachers, blatantly disregard pre-assessment, or wrongly assume that students know something). These misconceptions are also not easily overturned, even with one-on-one instruction, as was evidenced in the video we watched in class about the Harvard graduates and high school students. What this tells me, as a pre-service teacher, is that I need to be cognizant of misconceptions my students might have, and give them an opportunity to explore alternate responses. By allowing them to explore the alternative, rather than just telling them through instruction, the students will gain a better understanding of why their idea of something is misguided, and will retain the correct information better than they would through simple replacement instruction.
6 Feb 2012
The Keeley probes for teaching science are an effective way to clear up preconceptions students have about science topics. The format for asking a specific question, followed by an open-ended inquirey for the student to explain their reasoning presents the teacher with a better understanding of where the student's misconceptions come from and where the lesson needs to go. Pairing the probes with technology by creating an online forum to collect student responses gives teachers an easy and effectivce way to assess student understanding and misconceptions/preconceptions.
13 Feb 2012
As a teacher in the state of Iowa, I'm obviously going to be teaching in line with the Iowa Core standards. One of the important things about teaching that I learned this week is how to identify which standards are covered by the materials and experiments I'm using. By first identifying the essential concept being investigated, I can identify the standard and benchmark I'm striving for. I can use the National Science Education Standards to create lessons and experiments that are meaningful and effective for students. My learning goals and learning performances are based around the standard I've identified.
20 Feb 2012
The five essential features of inquiry provide the framework for which all classrooms should be based. In order to be an effective science teacher, I will need to be sure these essential features of inquiry are a part of each lesson and experiment. My role as the teacher in this type of classroom is to help form the students why questions into how questions, and guiding them to reliable resources to answer those questions. I will also need to engage the students through a variety of teaching methods. Students would be using their senses and other instruments to obtain evidence to answer their how questions. They would be gathering evidence in their science notebooks. Students would look at their evidence and form conclusions based on their findings. They would interact with their peers and share explanations and reasoning. The teacher can bring in outside experts or known data for the students to use to dispute or back up their findings. The students would understand well enough to be able to relay the information to someone else or recall their findings in a thoughtful explanation.
26 Feb 2012
Although the five essential features of inquiry might be present in all classroom activities, they may not be utilized to their full potential, or in a way that is most effective for students. Having a student-centered classroom with teacher guidance rather than teacher-led activities is important for maximizing student learning and comprehension. So, the feature of students engaging in a scienfically oriented question ranges from having a classroom in which students pose the question, to students engaging in a question provided by the teacher. Each feature of inquiry can be judged on a continuum from student-centered to teacher-directed. In general, having a more student-centered environment is going to be more beneficial, but teacher-direction/guidance is also important, somtime more important than other times. The key is to make sure each feature of inquiry is included in some capacity.
4 March 2012
Student assessment is an important part of ensuring student success. Formative assessment should always be taking place. Students should be given credit for the things they've done, rather than just get graded on the final project they produce. Assessment is not just a job for the teacher, but should be done by teachers, peers and the students themselves. It should be consistent, valid and reliable, and students should be aware of what is expected of them. Giving the students a rubric which is linked to the learning performances of the lesson will help them to know what it is they're expected to learn from the activity/lesson.
12 March 2012
Creating a valid and reliable scoring rubric based on the learning performances will help students better understand what is expected of them. It's important to make sure these rubrics do not include fluffer points that aren't related to the inquiry. Creating the rubric around the learning performances helps eliminate those fluffer categories that don't contribute to student understanding/learning. They may be valuable academic ideas, like penmenship, writing, grammer, etc, but they are not necessarily beneficial to the scientific inquiry the student is working toward. By using the learning performances set in the lesson, you can ensure the students are actually accomplishing the goals they set out for.
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