cool kids love science

I found the article by the National Science Teachers Association to be useful in my thinking about science. The article put an interesting spin on what science is and how it is/should be conducted in order to be considered science. I would definitely consider sharing this article (or at least parts of it depending on the age level) with my students as an introduction to science.

The readings from Backward Design, were quite intriguing, I must admit. I think that this idea of planning backwards is something that has been touched on at least briefly in all of my education classes thus far; however, how to go about doing this is rarely covered extensively or in a step by step manner. I am interested to see what this book has to offer over the course of this semester and how I can integrate this method of backwards design into my teaching.

(Al, sorry this is a bit late getting posted, I just figured out my password)

Please leave more helpful links as comments, I will try to add to this post when I find more cool links

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/life.htm

http://www2.asd.k12.ak.us/hauser/curriculum%20guides/biology.htm

http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/n100/ –great lecture notes to get ideas from!!

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/

http://www.newyorkscienceteacher.com/sci/movies/index.php –Movie Questions!!!

http://carolguze.com/text/102-19-tissuesorgansystems.shtml –good bio resource

    I love science and I love sharing science with anyone and everyone that I can get my hands on. Thus, the Get Real Science Program has been a great fit for me because I am constantly getting to share science with people from all walks of life. After this summer’s Get Real Science Camp, I was extremely pumped up and excited to start the STARS program this fall. I loved camp because I really feel like the students engaged in an authentic scientific investigation. Besides keeping the students on schedule, I feel like the students were really calling the shots during their camp investigation. However, I walked away from the STARS program with a much different feeling.

            There are several issues that I had with the STARS program as it was carried out this fall. The first problem is that there was just not enough time for everything that we had scheduled. This issue stems from the fact that we missed two entire sessions with the STARS because we started a week late and then missed a day because of Veteran’s Day. Also, playing into this lack of time was the fact that our first four sessions with the STARS were about background information and didn’t contribute directly to the main investigation. When all of these days are accounted for, we were left with three sessions to design and implement an investigation.

            From my perspective in this program, I see two solutions to this issue of time. First, the sessions on the background information could be reduced in number. Or, the other option is to increase the duration of the STARS program so that there are more sessions dedicated to the actual investigation.

            The second problem, which is more of a personal struggle, is that, as leaders, we have so many other things going on during the week that STARS sometimes takes a backseat to everything else. I know that there is no way to reduce the number of things that we, as graduate students, have to do during the semester; however, I think that there are things that could be done to make it easier on us and perhaps help us enjoy doing the STARS program more instead of seeing it as another thing on a to-do list.

            The first thing that would have made doing STARS a lot more enjoyable for me, and I think my peers too, is for us to have more upfront information about what we exactly had to do this past semester. For instance, many of us were under the impression that after we finished our 100 hours of observation that we would be able to start our student teaching. Based on this understanding, many of us planned our observation hours so that we would finish them soon and then be able to student teach. Instead of this plan working out, many of us ended up spending an extraordinary amount of time in observations, which makes the whole idea of STARS counting for 35 of our observation hours really pointless and makes our schedules a lot more crowded than they need to be.

            Having just completed the fall semester, I would love to see the STARS program kick of as soon as the semester starts instead of October. I think that the background sessions were great and should still be included in the STARS program, but there needs to be more time for the investigations if the students are going to authentically be engaged. If the STARS program started at the beginning of the semester then we could have plenty of time for the program and finish it a week or so before Thanksgiving Break.

            Due to the time constraints and the fact that we only had three weeks to start and finish their investigations, I really do not feel like I led my STARS in an authentic science investigation. I felt like I did too much for the girls; however, I don’t know how we would have finished our poster presentation if I had not done so much for them. Also, due to the time constraints and the need for human test subjects, many of the girls didn’t fully understand the experimental methods that we were doing until after the data collection, which was done by the leaders for the most part, was finished.

            While I do not feel that the girls participated in inquiry during their investigation, I think that they had a lot of opportunity to experience inquiry based science during the background weeks. Some of the activities that were done as background really challenged the girls to construct an investigation or question what they were doing, which was fantastic. I just wish that this kind of science had spilled over into their investigations, which they may have if we had not missed two weeks of the program.

            In the end, I feel like my STARS really pulled it together and were proud of what they had accomplished. Despite the critiques that I have about the program, I think that the program allowed the STARS to gain a positive science experience. I think that my girls really felt accomplished at the end of the semester; and if that was the goal of the program then I say that it was met.

            On a more personal note, I would say that I learned more about how to lead inquiry based science from participating in this program. I would also add that all of my attempts at doing inquiry in this program were not successful. For example, I think that the first activity that I did with the STARS using the ice bath was inquiry on the small scale. The girls were given the materials and the question and then figured out how to answer the question. I also think that my lesson using the jumping rope was a mostly successful attempt at using inquiry. However, the full blown investigation is not where I think that I succeed at leading the STARS in inquiry based science. Perhaps, if the tests that the girls used for their data collection had been a part of the background information I would feel a little different because it was basically me saying alright, great question, now let’s collect some data using these tests because we don’t have time for you to research and find a way to test your variables.

            In general, I think that I would be comfortable doing inquiry in my own classroom during a normal school day. However, I think that it would be hard because of curriculum related time constraints. I think that it is definitely possible to do inquiry in a classroom and that there are certain topics that may lend themselves more to inquiry labs than others. I also think that inquiry is something that you have to ease most students into because it is uncomfortable for them to not be told exactly what to do or how to do it.

Today was our last day of STARS, which is something that many of the ladies didn’t even seem to know. I would say that overall, it was a good day at STARS. The Flawless Female STARS finished thier poster (almost) and figured out what to do at thier presentation. I which that the girls would have had more time to fully put thier presentation together and that I wasn’t doing so much “behind the scenes” work. I guess that’s the nature of the beast though.

While I was impressed with the girls today, I was not impressed with myself. I totally could use a redo card right now…..Here’s the deal. I have nothing wrong with co-teaching, co-planning, or whatever. I do have a problem being watched like a hawk for no apparent reason, espeically when the hawk does nothing but serve as a distraction for the girls and an annoyance for me. UGH!! I hate being this way, but I just shut down in front of people. You would think that the pressure of having others watching me (or at least me feeling like they are watching me) would cause me to perform better. Not so much in my case. What can you do?

Time to prepare for saturday!!

A couple weeks ago, a professor from the U of R came into one of my classes to talk about the evils of extrinsic motivation; how extrinsic motivation kills intrinsic motivation. That’s all I have to say really.

I get the impression that in some school districts the word tracking has become a four letter word; however, other districts seem to embrace this concept.  Before entering my student teaching, I had mixed feelings about this idea of tracking students based on ability. I have read the literature about how de-tracking allows students from all levels to work together and bring each other to the same pace. They argue that the more able are able to help the less able and create a positive and productive atmosphere for all. However, after actually starting my student teaching, my feelings are no longer mixed about this idea of tracking.

From what I gather, my school tracks students to a certain degree, however, the largest population of students is found in the middle/average/normal area. I haven’t quite figured out how students get tracked into the honors or higher level courses yet; perhaps this is because I am working in the middle school where students seem to be less tracked.

At any rate,  my point is that it breaks my heart everyday to watch students who want to learn, who are very intelligent, and that are driven not get the opportunity to learn because the majority of their classmates don’t care and don’t want to participate. I struggle with meeting the needs of those more able students because I am constantly trying to keep everyone else under control and focused. It appears to me that the “good” kids are not the one’s persuading behavior. Rather, it is the “bad”kids that bring the “good” kids down to their level.

Perhaps the problem is not the de-tracking, but the ratio of “good” to ”bad”  that occurs when students are de-tracked.

I would also like to just add that I am definitely for inclusion in schools and I see inclusion and tracking as two different things. I have found that a student’s label has nothing to do with their academic abilities and drive.

As with most STARS sessions, today was hectic and crazy, yet fun and educational. I feel that by the end of the session that my ladies actually understood what we were doing. The downfall in saying this is that I feel like I had too much to do with them understanding what we were doing and why. I felt like we just didn’t have the time for me to let them sit there and just figure everything out…just like I don’t have time to let them create their graphs. At any rate, the data looks fantastic!! It definitely supports the hypothesis that the ladies made. I’m excited to share the data with them next week and let them make some conclusions (I actually feel like I have time for that in the schedule).

The one thing that I am worried about is that many of the students didn’t know about the science conference on December 1 and at least one of my girls can’t make it because she has another commitment. Others expressed concerns about getting to the conference….oh, I just hope that they show up….them and thier families because the interactive poster sessions are not going to be that interactive if there’s no crowd.

In the end, we are making headway, I am not convinced that the girls are getting everthing out of STARS that they should be and I don’t know that it is entirely my fault. I just feel like we lost so much time with starting a week late and then missing last monday’s session….This does not seem like authentic science to me, it seems very contrived. I can’t say that I believe that this is total inquiry or that this is all that the girls are capable of. I think that we could have had much better and more authentic work, but we just did not have the time. It is disappointing that time holds such a stake in the program and what the girls get from it.

I was talking to my CT for my high school placement and jokingly told him that I may not have hair by the end of the day (meaning that I might pull out all of my hair by the end of the day). Inresponce, (jokingly) he said, well, what if you get to my class next semester and don’t like working wtih me, too? What if its you?

While this whole conversation took place in a sarcastic tone, it brought something to the surface that I often worry about. What if it is me? What if I am supposed to be more like my CT? What if that’s how its supposed to be? Am I working from the wrong road map of education or pedagogy? Or, am I just a product of a different era of educational philosophies?

It is hard for me as an inexperienced preservice teacher to say with confidence that my methods are the best because I have no basis or evidence for saying this. Am I just very naive? I tend to doubt myself and place the expertise on everyone else’s shoulders…..

Time will tell….

Stars this week was madness…productive madness, if you will. My girls are a mix of very diverse personalities. I have the loud one, the quiet smart one, the I want to do what I want to do and that’s how it is one, and I’m not sure about the other one yet….I’ll get back to you. Either way, the girls are great. They are taking on a large task for such a short time period (especially since we don’t have stars this Monday…which was why it was madness this past week!!).

So, my ladies…the Flawless Females, as we call ourselves, yes, that’s right, we have a group name! We are investigating how dancing affects flexibility, coordination, and balance. I’m not sure that they fully understand how all of the tests we did test for these three things, but we were working on the connections. I think that they did a great job coming up with a variety of questions, narrowing it down to one, making a hypothesis, and  getting to work on their experimental method!!

So, here’s hoping that the girls remember to get their grove on during the two week break…and that they don’t forget what their experiment was!

I’m the prowl for some innovative classroom management techniques. I did my first lesson(s) last week in my placement, and the behavior issues abounded…of course, it didn’t help that I taught on the two days following Halloween and the students were buzzing on sugar I am starting my official student teaching this Monday (aka tomorrow) and I am going to do two things to help with the management issue:

1. We are going to practice entering the classroom in a respectful manner, which has never occurred in my 100+ hours of observing these students.

2. I am starting a new transition activity that they will do everyday. It basically involves me handing them each a slip of paper at the beginning of class. They will have to copy the day’s Target onto it and then, at the end of class, they will rank their understanding of the lesson and hand it back to me. This will also serve as my attendance for the day….we shall see how it goes. (I adopted this method from my old CT and just made some modifications to meet my goals).

I have had some other suggestions thrown my way about classroom management….but they are the tried and true methods like ‘don’t talk until they are quite’ or try something like raising your hand as a signal for them to raise their hand and stop talking. My issue is that if I don’t have their attention in the first place then why would standing silently or raising my hand get their attention??

We’ll see how it goes. One of my goals is to be able to meet every student at the door when they come into the classroom, hopefully this will help them transition from hall behavior to classroom behavior. The issue is that I travel between two classes, so it becomes difficult to do this for all classes, especially if I have to set up a lab.

At any rate, I am looking for any techniques or suggestions that people have. THANKS!!!