Learning about teaching is a long enduring process that involves a variety of practices to be used within the classroom. However, the list seems to be infinite and not relatable until the time has come to actually use them in the real world. This science lesson planning and enactment project was a perfect way for me to implement some of the practices for a run of trial and error. Although I have learned in great deal about the inquiry process, it was not until this project that I got firsthand experience to seeing how the process can be done.
The first day came with a belly full of butterflies but heart full of excitement. My partner and I had met many of times to perfect how we wanted to introduce the different rock types to a 3-4 Wickham Elementary classroom. With anticipations of covering research, presentations and modeling all in the first day, we jumped right into the mix with lots of student discussion. Questions and initial claims were thrown out there with some uncertainty, so the students were very eager to begin researching their specified content. The students showed a great deal of communication throughout the whole process, whether through writing on sticky notes or discussing with their group members. Once the groups shifted from small group to large group, the class got a little more rowdy because the tasks were not as challenging or individualized. It was good to see which students knew how to delegate who does what but there were also signs of a few students who liked to sit along the sidelines and let everyone else take action.
Overall, I would say the first day went very smoothly. The only real issue that arose was the fact that we weren’t able to get to all of the things we had originally planned on getting to in the first day. We only really got to half! This showed to us the high amount of student interaction and discussion going on. There really was not enough time and all of the kids were fully engaged up until the last minute. This taught us to be flexible and plan day by day for the next lesson.
Our next lesson was three days later. My partner and I decided to alter some of the preconceived plans in order to get everything in. Instead of having the students begin day 2 with discussing which rock was which from the original hand out and then creating them out of clay first then edible material, we had to begin day 2 with the presenting of group posters. We had made layered Jell-O the night before to symbolize sedimentary rocks, got junior mints for igneous rocks and still had the taffy for metamorphic rocks. After the kids presented and we discussed some of their thoughts about which rocks were which, we went into the students getting the edible “rocks” and observing them. The students used their senses to observe the materials and referred to the posters made to decide which edible rocks represented which type of rock. This ran to the very last minute as well, so thank goodness we were prepared for a change!
The second day was a Friday so I feel that it contributed to why the kids were extra energetic. It was a great thing when we wanted them to do the activities, however it was hard for them to sit still and be polite when the other groups were presenting. Also, we weren’t given their expectations for presenting so the teacher had to stop the class and review that with them, versus us. As for them meeting our stated learning performances, the students did a GREAT job! Through the process, the students conducted research and became experts on specific rock types, worked in groups to create posters, created visual representations in which were the pictures drawn for the poster versus the clay because we weren’t able to get to that and they created the metamorphic edible rock while tasting the representations we brought for the others in order to classify these rock types in the end. Our last few minutes of the lesson were devoted to classifying the edible rocks into their types and then addressing any final theories or questions the students had. Many students were eager to share their voice in front of the classroom so I was thrilled to see that we conducted a positive open forum environment for the students to feel comfortable enough to express themselves.
From this experience, I learned a great deal about planning for science lessons. I was able to finally go through the process of defining a big idea and creating certain outlets for which the students will go to make meaning of the big idea. Also, I learned that it is imperative to be flexible and that making changes every day is a realistic occurrence for teachers. I also learned that students really enjoy talking so giving them the time to express their thoughts and opinions will allow students to negotiate their understanding. I also learned that students really like to take ownership of what they have learned, especially through visual representations. The kids enjoyed making the posters and were very prompt to sharing which part they added to the whole. This taught me to incorporate student-made work around the classroom as much as possible so that students feel valued and can track their understanding.
As I mentioned earlier, the biggest struggle with this lesson was timing. We foresaw the students breezing through all of the activities so we did not want to be underprepared. However, the opposite occurred and there were too many planned activities and things had to be removed. I think that it was a good idea to be prepared for more because deleting is easier to do on the spot than adding. As for modifications of the current lesson, I would like to have seen more writing used. The only time that the students wrote in any form, was when creating the visual poster. Half of the group wrote the interesting facts while the others drew illustrations about their expert rock. I like the idea of incorporating a chart that asks for beginning thoughts, thoughts during the process and then final thoughts/how have thoughts changed. Having this in writing can help deepen meaning as well as gives the students and teacher a way to assess understanding. Otherwise, I thought the lesson was actually very engaging and the students left the classroom with a new understanding of the types of rock. Of course, there is so much more for them to learn; especially only touching on the topic in two 45 minute periods! A quote that I feel symbolizes this experience for me is by Paulo Freire, “Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching, and whoever learns teaches in the act of learning.”
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