Bio Apps Reflection 2

Learning to read and reading to learn is a favorite educational quote of mine. This can easily be transformed into learning to write and writing to learn. Even though reading and writing are known to be subjects of their own, they are integrated within every subject and every act of communication we as humans complete. Most commonly reading and writing is through script or text of letter formations on paper however language can be read and communicated through symbols and sounds understood by others. This means that in no way can people communicate without any form of language. Even worse, how could anyone learn without languge? It's so necessary!
A cross-curricular way to integrate writing and science I found to like is and idea from Prain and Hand's "Writing for Learning in Secondary Science: Rethinking Practices." It supports the constructivist learning theory of student-centered instruction to have students "write 'translations' of their emerging understandings of science concepts in a variety of genres using their own words," (Prain and Hand). It serves as physical proof for conceptual understanding and is attractive to a wide-range of students by the diversity and freedom chosen by the student(s). As physical writing denotes communication of conceptual understanding, verbal confirmation through evaluating and negotiating claims involve language and are imperative. Communication is the transfer of knowledge that all humans must encounter.
*Important: Focuses on word-choice and selection are fundamental to a fully understanding student. Example: data versus evidence; Students must focus on the differences between to two in order not to confuse them or use them interchangably without caution. Data is gathered information from an experiment and evidence is the relative information gathered to back up an original inference or question. Evidence is always data, but data is not always evidence.

Bio Apps Reflection 1

     Science is the study of the inner-workings of the world. Somehow or the other, every little thing in our universe has an inner-working to be explored. It is our responsibilities as learners and educators to use our resources to dig deep into how and why these phenomenon work. As science is usually refered to through broad categories such as chemistry, biology, or social, there are plenty of domains that relate to science that many do not instantly think of such as; the science of art, the science of teaching, the science of communication and so on. Exploring science begins with a single or series of questions that then is to be explored either through research or testable experiments. The findings from these explorations, known as evidence, help to create claims in which are then presented and/or negotiated with by others. Furthermore, science is an all encompassing process involving the interaction of humans and the world.
     Creating hypothesis and negotiation were the fundamentals of sucessfully carrying out the "Mystery Tubes" activity's objective of science. While we wondered how it was constructed on the inside, we conceived educated guesses, hypotheses, then worked through how the inner-working of the tubes could find these hyptheses to prove true or false. Also, it showed how there are many different forms of experimentation by giving us a physical object to observe and then construct similar diagrams to create evidence based claims. As this activity served to be educational, it was also a fun hands-on way to explore science.
     The role of language in science is extremely imperative. There are very specific differences between terms and vocabulary that can serve to be dangerous if not understood and/or followed correctly. This is where the difference between "science language" and "casual languge" occurs. In daily talk, people may use a certain term lightly to describe a moment or thing that gets forgotten about minutes later. However in the science world, every chosen word must match up precisely in order for things to be measureable and legitimate. Scientific language should be implemented along with casual language in the early years of childhood so that they can differentiate their difference as well as the importance of such meanings. The importance of language is immeasureable itself because without some form of communication, science would only be found by sinlged beings but not widely explorable by the remainder of inquirers out there.

Final Vision Statement

          Open exploration of the world around us begins the process of learning. When a student of any age wonders about the inner workings of the world, they are creating questions to further their construction of knowledge. Socrates once stated, “Wisdom begins in wonder.” The student is in charge of their learning and will take on a series of steps to create a deeper understanding. Along with the student-driven learning approach, educators are in charge of finding out what their students previously know, letting students explore their questions and having them negotiate their understandings with voice. A positive environment for the exploration of questions will foster the motivation to learn.

            Self-motivated learning is a major connection between the constructivist learning theory and the inquiry approach. In the Krajcik article discussing the constructivist learning theory, it expresses that when a student has the passion or curiosity to learn something, it reflects authenticity and is more deeply ingrained. It also mentions the main components such as active engagement, use and application of knowledge, multiple representations, and use of learning communities. It was Vygotsky who believed that learning as leading development, as stated in the “Theoretical Foundations for Constructivist Teaching” article. This means that a student will develop quicker and greater once they have learned about the world around them. It also mentions the importance to incorporate the subject of language when exploring science. Inquiry is driven by this learning theory and touches on the integration of language.

          Science is most effectively learned through the inquiry-based approach. The inquiry-based approach for science includes the five essential features of engaging in scientifically based questions, gathering evidence, formulating explanations, evaluating explanations and communicating and justifying these explanations. Each step is equally important and creates the foundation for all conceptual knowledge. This approach was created for students to learn just as real scientists do. Inquiry is the process a student takes in order to construct deeper understanding, however the teacher must typically initiate the process.

The initial step for a teacher in a science-based classroom to take is probing the students for their current knowledge. At times, their ideas may be off the mark or otherwise known as misconceptions. Probing for these misconceptions if the formative assessment that a teacher must take in order to know where to go with a lesson. It is effective for the teacher to use the questions and answers provided by the students to create a pathway for the students to explore. An example of this could be through the use of concept maps, which can be altered throughout the learning process. Concept maps help create focus on the “big ideas” which drive the scientific approach. Here they would present any misconceptions or questions they have regarding the overall topic.

The “Misconceptions Die Hard” article expresses the importance for addressing misconceptions prematurely in order to redirect students towards properly conceived knowledge. Throughout the students’ learning process, it is also important to evaluate their understanding through a variety of assessments whether through self-evaluations or teacher and student conferences. It also mentions the significance of applying knowledge gained to the student’s real lives in order to continue passion about the topic. In addition to “Misconceptions Die Hard,” the “Teaching for Conceptual Change: Confronting Children’s Experience” article mentions working with student misconceptions. The following quote grasped my attention right away, “"For nine winters, experience has been the children's teacher." I have and still truthfully believe that students need to experience the world around them and take note of their observations in order to really learn. Whether the students are experiencing science within nature or through hands on experiments regarding physics, their authentic tasks create a deeper connection of science to self.

One of the major advantages about the inquiry-based approach is the fact that it leaves flexibility for where the students are on academic and skill levels. The big ideas are the initial building block for each student but how each student arrives there is dependent on their individual approach. This suitably supports differentiation because the learner must pose a question of their choice, explore and create explanations from their own gathered data and in the end must negotiate their claim. If a student seems to be moving faster through the process, it would be useful to mix in other factors or areas to explore while the another student may gradually approach the process one careful step at a time. Regardless of where students are within the process, students must be able to wrestle with their ideas with themselves as well as using their resources to negotiate their ideas. This will solidify their understanding long-term.  

Exploration has always come very natural to me. In the beginning of learning about the scientific-based approach of teaching and learning, I felt that I knew everything about it since I was so passionate about the subject of science and exploring the world around me. However, I have learned that there is much more than just observing, experimenting and discussing. I have learned that incorporating language within science helps to solidify the students’ understanding through their voice on paper. The “5 Good Reasons to Use Science Notebooks” was one of the first articles that put into perspective the importance of integrating the two subjects. While enhancing literary skills, science notebooks can be used for ongoing assessment as well as a template for student thought. This relates to the overall umbrella of communication.

Communication through written language is just as important as oral language within the classroom. Students must be able to negotiate their ideas with themselves, either in their head or on paper, but maybe more importantly with their peers. This allows for practice and the emphasis on justification. Explanations come from the initial exploration of questions. The students will then pay attention to other discoveries to challenge proposed ideas. My personal discovery about teaching science was to allow for student negotiation and not feeding student understanding with “correct answers.” Through my experience at Wickham Elementary in a 3-4 classroom, negotiation showed to be a vital method for the students when they were deciding which type of rock was which in a variety of instances. Without the direct instruction of my partner and I, we were able to challenge the students’ misconceptions as well as their correct answers in order for them to evaluate their explanations.

Learning of the inquiry-based approach of science as well as practicing it within a practicum experience has truly brought life to my ongoing passion of science. I believe that even though I was confident in understanding certain processes and important features unique to science, I have still grown in understanding how to apply such concepts. I now can relate to a variety of assessment strategies, classroom experiments, questioning strategies and relatable science topics such as those from School of the Wild or the peer teaching lessons. I still believe that enthusiasm and passion drive the efforts of productive learning, so those will be present in my future classroom.

As a teacher, it is important to foster an environment that allows for open negotiation of ideas whether it is reflectively or with peers and/or outside resources. This environment will remain positive and with the reminder that ideas are challenged, not people. Questions are the leading force to exploration, either presented by the teacher to initiate thinking or by the students to further and deepen understanding. Constant motivation to learn about the inner workings of science in the world will be maintained through the relation of big ideas to the students’ real lives. It is important for the students to be in charge of their own learning when constructing knowledge around a big idea. In order for teachers and students to assess their learning and show value to student voice, the use of writing in many forms will be applied to solidify their ideas. Day by day and moment by moment, inquiry-based science classrooms resort to the flexibility of big idea concepts to cultivate confidently engaged learners in the process of building their conceptual framework.

SLPE Reflection

            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.”

Talk about Misconceptions

Stumbled Upon this and got a few cracks out of it.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2vIa6O/parents.berkeley.edu/jokes/science.html

Education Findings

My mom sent this link to me so I thought I'd share it too.
Check it out:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201111040405/NEWS02/311040046

Also, I watched a special on CNN tonight called "Fixing Education" by Fareed Zakaria. It expresses the difference in education between the top 2 performing countries, South Korea and Finnland to the United States with alarming statistics.
This link it to an atricle summarizing the special but I suspect the film portion will be posted soon.

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/05/gps-special-fixing-education/

School of the Wild

 Reflection

     On a cold October Friday, I was fortunate enough to experience the School of the Wild at the MacBride Nature and Recreation Area. Of course four of us girls got lost in the process of finding the groups in the area, so when we arrived, we jumped in on a lesson in the garden. What a great place to start! Gardener Jason was extremely knowledgable and passionate about the garden, which rubbed off onto the 6th grade Solon students. There we learned about basil, tomatoes, squash, garlic and much more. One of the best parts about it was that we got to taste test! During this lesson, we did mostly learning versus teaching of any sort. Like the article of Environmental Education, we were getting immersed in the first step of awareness, "increasing student knowledge about the environment." We followed behind and listened to the information that the gardener gave us as well as watched how he interacted with the kids to keep them engaged. He had them try the things he would present, such as tearing off the basil in the right area so that it grows properly as well as standing on a rock and kicking your leg up like a karate kid to show balance (for fun). It was fascinating to see how he told jokes, made real life connections for the students to understand the concepts and how he was constantly on the move to keep the kids alert and interested for more.

     After the garden it was lunch time, so we had a break to prepare for our activities. Since the grade had been split up into four groups prior to lunch, us four girls were able to join a group that was going to the area next that related to the theme of our activity. I'm not sure what it is about lunch and recess, but man do they go hand in hand! The kids had SO much energy after lunch when it was my time for the activity! That was helpful though. I presented my activity and the kids actually enjoyed it greatly. Despite the few resources (hoops) and low number of students, the students were able to grasp my activity just fine. The students understood the concepts being presented about migration which taught me to always assess where student's understanding is prior to an activity. Here the students were interacting with the objective of knowledge from the Environmental Education article. The activity went quick and it was time for SPIDER POND!
     I was very excited to visit Spider Pond. I love nature, I love canoes and I love exploring the depths of an untouched pond. The instructor of Spider Pond led us to the shed in which we got our PFDs and of course, being an ex-canoe instructor, I just had to quiz the students on PFDs and canoe safety. (this pond was not going to be dangerous, this just happens to be second nature for me now... how great). We sent out on our way down a wooded trail to the quiet hallows of Spider Pond. When we arrived, the instructor gave us a tutorial about what Spider Pond was all about. Here the students were introduced to the issues ecosystems have with humans intruding and causing problems. This is the third step in environmental education, attitudes; to learn of the values and gain feelings of concern for the environment (Braus, Wood p. 5-6). We then discussed that our goal was to find anything amongst the pond that was interesting or moving; like a frog! We took turns in the canoes and pulled ourselves along the ropes across Spider Pond to explore the duck weed covered ecosystem.

     We learned lots about that ecosystem such as how frogs "hibernate," that bubbles come up to the surface from trapped methane gases and how the vegetation collects at the bottom of the pond creating a form of "muck." As I participated like a student, I also observed what kind of things the students found interest in as well as how the instructor went about explaining things. I noticed that the students learned best when given visuals, such as the duck weed particles in hand and the "seaweed" like vegetation. Also, they asked more questions once they felt comfortable with me and knew that I was curious and passionate about the whole experience.

As for the instructor, I admired his abundance of questions. Whenever he was explaining something, he prodded the kids with questions that led them to the answers rather than him lecturing about the content. Also, he would have students look at things in more than one way; i.e. canoeing as a human and canoeing as an animal in the waters. Unfortunately, it was past our time which meant the fun was over.

     In that quick amount of time, I made new friends in the elementary aged form, frog form named Bob and educator form but more importantly engaged in a lesson about nature that will forever stick within my memory as something that I want all of my students to experience. I find great relation of my experience and hopefully of the Solon students, to this quote; "Experiential learning has been shown to increase retention, motivate students to learn, and encourage group cooperation... nothing can replace first-hand experiences to help students understand their community, natural systems and environmental issues" (Braus and Wood p. 9).

Below is the activity that I did during my experience. I copied it from my word document because I couldn't figure out how to upload an attached word doc.

School of the Wild

Allie Meyer

Migration Activity

*Birds migrate south so they avoid harsh winter weather.

Materials:
*Hoops (if accessible)

Activity

1.    Divide hoops so that half are on one end of the field representing wintering grounds and the other half on the other side representing their summer/nesting grounds.

2. Discuss with students the reasons why wetland habitats are being lost. For example, could talk about the impacts of drainage, drought, fire, pollution and contamination of water, urban expansion, conversion to farmland, illegal hunting and diseases.
3. Students will then represent the thousands of water birds that migrate back and forth across the playing area as the teacher signals.
4. The hoops represent wetlands that can only hold two birds (people) at a time. If the birds cannot find a place to land then they must die. They must move off to the sideline.
5. The students on the sideline can then call a disaster that might lead to another loss of wetland and therefore the removal of another hoop, for example, an area is drained for an urban housing development.
6. Some of the dead birds can then become hunters or diseases that might result in loss of bird life.
7. As the story progresses and there are more on the sideline than migrating birds, students on the sideline can join in the migration by thinking of suitable conservation activities that might result in the saving of a wetland. For example, they could think about replanting boggy areas, fencing wetlands, purchasing wetlands as reserves, regulation of hunting to particular areas, and restoration of wetlands.
8. Conclude the story when you think the issues have been explored. 

Questions:

What did this activity demonstrate?

What are your feelings and thoughts about their experience?

Discuss the links to lost habitat and loss of animal life?

Why are wetlands important areas to migrate birds?