And more Science Projects...

This week the students were finishing putting together their science projects as I was able to work with both the second and third graders. I worked with the third grade class first, and many of the groups were pretty much done putting everything together on their board. I helped the few remaining groups finish putting their boards together, including the group I had work with previously with creating a circuit. We put the circuit back together as we had it before, and taped it to the board so that it could be presented to everyone else in the class. Once I finished with this group, the person who was in charge of explaining their project during the science fair went over some of the information she was going to discuss. I helped her understand the circuit as thoroughly as possible, and she did a very good job in going through the steps that they took to get their results. The most interesting part about this project for them was that they got the wrong answer, saying that using a longer wire will produce a brighter light than using a short wire in the circuit. My CT and I discussed this a little and he told me that if that is what they found, then they should use that as their results/conclusion. I found this very interesting because it is allowing the students to use their own observations to get their results, even though they may be incorrect. As long as my CT goes back over this information with them, I think it will prove to be a very rewarding learning experience. Later in the day I worked with the second graders, and their projects were a little more disorganized. I mainly helped them put their boards together, and again had to assign jobs to students as many of them were lost in their groups. They did good job, though, decorating their boards with pictures from the internet that related to their projects. Finally, the students went down to the cafeteria because Impression Five was there for a small assembly. They did an interactive experiment with a few of the kids, mainly to get them motivated for the night as the school was invited to go to Impression Five with their families and participate in the activities that they had set up there. Overall, I observed a variety of science activities today, and all most of it was hands-on for the students. For the class that I work with, this is very important because it provides the motivation that would not be there if they were just doing stuff out of a textbook.

Continuing with the Science Projects...

This past week in the field, I worked with the students on their group science projects again. However, this week I was able to work with the second graders. I helped many of the groups with putting organizing their information, helping them type things up and where to position them on the board. During this time, I was able to ask some of the students to explain to me what they did and how they did their experiment. It was interesting to listen to the students’ descriptions of their experiment and how they went about doing it. One student went through the results they had come up with when the gathered evidence about who had bigger hands, boys or girls. They had everything almost done this time around, which was not the case the last time I was helping them. They had some problems figuring out how to organize their information on their board, and many of the student needed guidance in what they were supposed to be doing. I went to a few of the groups and helped them figure out which person was going to do what job, such as writing out the procedure that was used or finding a way to organize the information on the board in a presentable manner. This definitely helped them move along at a smoother pace because it cleared up much of the confusion that they were having. This kind of activity allowed me to interact with the students for an extended period of time as well, letting me into what they were thinking as they worked on their projects. I was able to see how many students understood what was going on, and how many were lost during the group work and could not seem to find a job to help their group. Talking to my CT about what is occurring in the classroom is also helpful as he has explained why he is doing this project with them, among other things. Many of the students would struggle with this type of project if they had to do it individually, so doing it in groups with help from the teacher and people like myself allow for the students to experience all of the steps that are necessary when doing a science project such as this one.

Week in the Field

This week in the field, I worked with the third graders as they began to work on science projects. While some of the students are doing individual science projects, in the classroom they are doing group science projects in groups of 4 or 5. I was able to work with one group extensively on creating a full circuit with a batter, wires, and a light bulb. Their object was to make the light bulb light up, and to see if the brightness depended on the length of the wire involved (we used a short wire and a long wire). We had some trouble making it work the correct way as we had to make some corrections and changes to make it work better. There was also a small little motor in the science kit that they were using, and the students had a lot of fun using that with the battery to power it. Working with the students, I tried to make them see that the longer wire produced a dimmer light than when using the short wire. They had to use the scientific method for this project as well, so I helped them record their results, as well as to figure out what they were observing. They were able to do much of the work on their own, mainly because they had a list of steps to follow as their procedure. Their final product involved putting their different steps of the procedure on a tri-fold poster board. They had to type these up on the computer and glue them on. They did not finish this process completely because they ran out of time, but I began helping them figure out where on the board the different sets of information should go (mainly putting it on the board in order of the scientific method, making it easier to understand when reading it). I think that this type of activity in the classroom is very helpful because it shows the students how to conduct an experiment the proper way. I remember when I was doing these projects in elementary school I had to do them at home with the help of my parents. Doing them in the classroom allows the teacher to help them to ensure that they are doing it the correct way, and that they understand the steps as they go.

Inquiry

Meaningful questions are very important in the classroom, especially in science, as students continue to develop their understanding in different areas. Having the students create the meaningful questions themselves allows them to create questions that may interest them more. As they go through the material, whether it is an experiment, readings, etc., they are trying to find the answers to something that they are curious about. This provides them a source of motivation, driving them to find the answers, and it will allow them to use this information in a more meaningful way. They will likely remember this more effectively because, again, it is something that is of interest to them. The teacher could also provide the students with meaningful questions. By doing this, the teacher is giving the students something to look for, probably because it deals with important information within the unit. They may also revolve around something that will interest the students, relating back to motivating them to complete the work and find answers. Meaningful questions will hopefully prompt the students to continue searching for answers from outside sources. Instead of just reading the material from the text book, they could possibly go to the library and look through different books to build upon what they are learning. The meaningful questions could stretch the information across many different areas within the classroom, overall providing the students with more knowledge and hopefully allowing them to learn more from their experiences.

Relating to the fossils benchmark SCI.III.4.E.1, one example question could be: Why do you think the fossils lasted so long in the ground and did not disappear (disintegrate)? Another meaningful question could be: Why do you think fossils are found in some areas of the world and not in others? These questions would go beyond some of the material being taught, and could be answered through further research and experimentation.

Benchmarks

In order to see a student understand the benchmark about how shadows are made, I would want them to show me using different materials. For example, they could use a flash light and put an object in the way of the light rays, therefore causing the shadow. I would want them to show me and explain the principles of it as they are doing it. You would be able to tell if they understood by how they explained it to you while they were performing their demonstration. They would be able to explain how the light is being blocked, which stops the light from reaching the area behind the obstruction. Demonstrating this while describing it would be fairly easy if the student understood what they were talking about.

For the student to understand the benchmark about needing evidence when making scientific decisions, I would want them to show me an experiment they conducted and how they came up with their conclusions. I would want to see how they used their senses (seeing, hearing, etc.) to back up their data and conclusions. This would include having data written down, including observations that were made during the experiment. The more information that they are able to attain to back up their conclusions, the more detailed and concrete information they will have. It will overall only strengthen their argument, which is an area that I will be able to assess once it is done.

In the field

I had a very interesting past week in the field. The highlight of my week came on Tuesday when I was able to teach a science lesson on my own. My CT gave me about 45 minutes to teach a lesson and do a science experiment on fresh water compared to salt water. The kids were in groups and had two cups in front of them, one with salt water and one with fresh water. We then took cotton swabs and put a sample from each cup onto black paper, which when dry showed the salt that remained. The students had a great time drawing designs on the paper, which got them more involved, and they were able to really see that even though you can not see the salt in salt water, it is still there. We also had a discussion about where salt water and fresh water can be found, along with how are bodies can only use fresh water. I was able to get many students involved in this conversation because I continued to ask follow up questions to get them thinking about different aspects of each of the water types. The students were a little hard to control at times, as keeping them on task is always an issue. However, I feel that the experience was something that I can definitely build off of. I continue to learn how to teach the kids in an effective way, playing around with strategies to see what works and doesn’t work. This lesson plan will definitely help me when I teach my future lesson in the classroom for this class. I will be able to use what I learned in teaching this lesson and put it into use. I was also able to work with the students in some individual circumstances, again helping me learn the most effective ways to teach them.