Science Webfolio

Below are each of the course objectives for EDU 374.  Each objective has a link to an artifact below it that shows how I was able to achieve the course objective.  With each artifact, I have included a What?, So What?, and Now What? to give a better understanding of what the artifacts are and how they have helped me to meet the course objectives.  Please read my reflections below and click on the links to view my work.  

 

1. Examine personal beliefs and attitudes and engage in metacognitive reflections regarding learning and teaching of science and environmental education and develop an understanding of constructivism as it relates to science education (*ACEI 1, 2c, 3e, 5a, 5b);

My Postion Paper

 What?:  This position paper was written by Kayla and I in our science methods course.  The paper describes why we feel evolution should be taught in schools. 

 
So What?:  Evolution is a very controversial topic and through research, I learned that the concept is extremely important in contributing towards a person’s scientific literacy.  The concept of evolution is built upon and connects to other areas of science.  In writing the paper, I was able to let the research support my belief that evolution should be taught in schools.  Writing the paper allowed me to really think about why evolution is important to teach.  It is not a teacher’s job to teach opinions but rather facts.  Any type of creationistic belief is founded on opinions and therefore does not belong in schools.  I learned that I would like to present my students with facts so that they can come to their own opinions on them.  Once students have a basis of knowledge to work with, they can build upon it and learn more.  This paper allowed me to reflect on my own beliefs and the research I read in order to think about what would be best to teach and for students to learn.

 
Now What?:  Students need to be given unbiased knowledge to work with.  When teaching science concepts, students should learn based on facts and not their teacher’s opinions.  When this is done, they can think and feel without feeling as if they are “wrong.”  I hope that I can use this idea when I write lessons and teach in the future.  This way, students can create their own opinions.

 

2. Demonstrate the ability to plan instructional activities that integrate science and environmental education across curricular areas, are student-centered and foster a positive attitude toward science, are grounded in a solid understanding of science content, are applicable to daily life, are developmentally appropriate, meet the needs of diverse learners, apply appropriate and varied assessment strategies, and understand and apply the National Science Education Standards, and the New York State MST Learning Standards in the context of your instructional activities (ACEI 1, 2a, 2c, 2d, 2i, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 4);

Science Inquiry Based Lesson

What?:  This lesson was created in my science methods course.  It teaches the concept of friction for third grade and was inspired by the book Ralph S. Mouse.

So What?:  This lesson plan incorporated both languages arts through the book Ralph S. Mouse and science through the concept of friction.  Although the idea for the lesson came from the book Ralph S. Mouse, the content was focused around the students’ understanding of friction and how it affects moving objects.  I came up with a question from the book: Which surface will Ralph’s motorcycle go the farthest on?  By coming up with a question like this, the student’s interest is peaked because it is the type of question they might ask.  Students would not be as interested if you randomly taught the concept of friction and it would not be as relevant to them.  The experiment involves moving matchbox cars across different surfaces to see which one has the most/least friction.  Most kids have played with toy cars or tried to push different wheeled objects across different surfaces at one time or another.  The fact that they are familiar with pushing matchbox cars across different surfaces makes the activity more fun for them.  Kids will already have an idea of what might happen and can make hypotheses about the experiment.  I thought about special needs students and provided differentiation so that all of the children would be able to participate.  If students have trouble seeing, they may need enlarged handouts.  If there are physical disabilities students may not be able to bend down to reach a carpet and would have to have carpet square on a table.  By allowing students to write a letter, a song, a skit, or to draw a picture describing friction and two ways friction can help or hurt Ralph, the assessment reaches most learning types.  It was also important to understand how the lesson connected to the standards.  In this case, the lesson not only dealt with science standards but with ELA and math standards as well.  There are more components to the lesson than strictly dealing with the concept of friction.  This lesson really helped me to integrate science across other curricular areas. 

Now What?:  While preparing this lesson, I was really forced to think about how science can be incorporated into language arts.  I had never considered being able to take such a small question and creating a whole science lesson from it.  I learned how valuable a lesson like this can be because you are essentially “killing two birds with one stone.”  In the class I observe, two and a half hours are devoted to language arts.  I have seen this semester just how important it is that other subject areas can be integrated with language arts since there is such a huge push for it.  After writing this lesson, I have a better idea of how to integrate subject areas.  I have continued to use this idea in some of my social studies lesson plans.  I will continue to try and use books as a basis for lessons because it makes the information more relevant to the students and allows them to have more fun with the content. 

3. Experience science as a form of inquiry through which one makes sense of the natural world, demonstrate knowledge of the nature of science and of the integrated nature of "the sciences" ( biological, physical, and earth sciences) as appropriate for the elementary school curriculum (ACEI 2c,, 2d, 3c).

Science Inquiry Based Lesson

What?:  This lesson was created in my science methods course.  It teaches the concept of friction for third grade and was inspired by the book Ralph S. Mouse.

So What?:  This lesson plan was developed from a question in the book Ralph S. Mouse.  I asked, which surface will Ralph’s motorcycle go the furthest on? This question is one that tries to make sense of the world.  Why does the motorcycle go further on some surfaces than others.  The question I looked into was a physical science question because it dealt with the force of friction.  Depending on the type of surfaces being looked at (grass, soil, etc.), the lesson might incorporate earth science.  The lesson supports my understanding of science as a form of inquiry and the nature of science. 

Now What?:  I gained a better understanding of how to use different subject areas together in writing this lesson.  A science lesson can come from a book that has nothing to do with science.  The most important idea is that the lesson be student centered and be based around a question that they would want to know.  Next semester, I want to write more lessons that are based around questions like this.  This way, students will be more engaged and will be able to discover for themselves instead of being told answers. 

4. Demonstrate and model professional skills required in elementary science teaching: reading, writing, listening, speaking, problem solving, and cooperative group work and become aware of the research base and professional organizations which support science and environmental education (ACEI 1, 2c, 2d, 3c, 3e, 5a).

My Position Paper

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What?:  This position paper was written by Kayla and I in our science methods course.  The paper describes why we feel evolution should be taught in schools.  I made this Podcast with my partner Kayla in our science methods course based on our position paper about why evolution should be taught in schools. 

So What?:  Positions or opinions on a given subject are great but they need to be voiced in order to make any sort of impact.  Writing the position paper was the first piece to that.  We had to read through research and others’ opinions in order to make sense of our own.  We had to decide which sites had reputable information and found out that PBS has a great deal of information available specifically for teachers on topics like evolution.  Then we worked together to compile our feelings on the issue and write our paper.  After the paper was done, we had to write a script together for our podcast.  To me, this seemed like the most daunting task because I did not know how we would be able to make it interesting and “long enough.”  It took us several class periods to complete our script so that there was good information presented in an interesting way. We wanted to stay away from newscasts because it seemed unoriginal and thought about using pictures or video clips to make an enhanced Podcast.  We finally choose to make the Podcast as if we were two teachers presenting what the sixth graders would be learning to parents at an open house.  This allowed us to get creative by explaining materials and projects that the sixth graders would complete.  The Podcast was probably the biggest project that allowed me to display professional skills because there were so many different pieces involved in it. 

Now What?:  I am not the best speaker, but I think that preparing what I was going to say ahead of time for the Podcast allowed me to feel more comfortable.  It also helped that I really knew what I was talking about and had a definite position.  Obviously, I cannot make a speech ahead of time for everything but I think it will definitely help to be well educated on the topic and feel comfortable with the information.  This will help me in all areas including presentations, interviews, and teaching a class.     

5. Become familiar with resource materials (written, visual, and those available electronically) and be able to use recognize and use appropriate criteria for selecting and using activities for science and environmental education instruction (ACEI 2c, 2d, 5a).

Informal Science Setting Review and Field Trip Rationale

What?:  This is my review of the Strasenburgh Planetarium at the Rochester Museum and Science Center as well as a field trip rationale as to why the fifth graders should take a field trip to the planetarium.  They were both done in my science methods course. 

So What?:  For this paper, I had to go visit the Strasenburgh Planetarium and describe it as well as the educational opportunities offered for students and teachers.  I not only went to the site but also looked online for some information about the planetarium.  I learned what to look for when assessing a facility such as the resources offered to teachers.  I was quite surprised to find that all of the program scripts can be viewed online and the New York State standards that each applies to are listed.  I found it helpful to not only see a description but a whole script of the show to know whether or not it would be appropriate for the group going.  The fact that the shows meet NYS standards also makes them more reputable.  Trained professionals who know how to operate the machines run the shows.  I was able to look at the facility itself and the website to determine if it would be a good quality appropriate resource.  This project allowed me to practice searching for science resource materials. 

Now What?:  When looking at future field trip sites, I will not only want to visit the facility before hand but also look at the website.  I have found that the website can tell a lot about the programs offered.  It is still important to visit the site to know if it is a kid friendly place and how well the staff will be able to handle a school group.  I would also want to make sure that there was something relevant to what the children were learning.  Now that I know that the programs change constantly, it would be silly to think that “Solar System 2007” will still be available in two months.  I would want to do the most research I could so that the whole class could have the best experience possible.