Week 14 Blog Post

1. What did you learn this week? 

This week we learned about particles and talked about why the plunger push works. Our groups original idea was that the air gets pushed out creating a vacuum.  We then talked about the difference between melting and dissolving. Which we learned consisted of a phase change and and energy transfer.

2. Which parts did you find clear and what was confusing?

During lab, I found the toilet plunger portion a little confusing. My group struggled to find a way to explain suction in kid language, and how we could potentially explain it in our classrooms. We were stuck initially, but when we met with other groups, it helped us understand the concepts a little deeper. I think it's interesting that a lot of this course is explaining things we see commonly in the world around us, but we have to find ways to explain them with kid friendly language, which is an interesting switch to what we are used to.

3. How can you apply what you have learned to your teaching in the future?

The use of picture books to allow students to start thinking of scientific concepts before fully engaging with the information is a good approach to not overwhelm them all at once in my opinion. I like how we talked about circling back on the book at the end of the lesson as well to allow them to try and figure out the ending is a great way to wrap a lesson as well. I also think making a flip book and recording a video is a cool way of getting students to engage with the material in a new medium for presenting information. 

Week 13 Blog Post

 1. What did you learn this week?

This week in class, we talked about scientific models and the different elements which they are composed of. We then discussed density of different things depend on the substance they are made of instead of the object itself. This was then demonstrated by drawing examples of how something that is the same size and shape, yet is has different densities because they are made from different substances. Then we went back a lab that we did two weeks ago with dropping m&ms in water to see the color off of them dissipate.  

2.  Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? 

This is related to what I learned in chemistry in high school in correlation to particles and density. we learned that atoms and particles never stop moving, which contributes to the spread of the dye in the water, and why it spreads quicker when the temperature of the water is higher.

3. How can you apply what you learned to your teaching in the future?

I think that having students create a model before and after they do an activity is a great way to show progression of learning. This could be complete as a group or individually so it is easily adaptable for what the lesson needs. 

Week 12 Blog Post

 What did you learn this week?

This week we learned and talked about some of the essential properties of matter. We first talked about what we did last week, tying it all together, and how we can directly apply this to science in the classroom amongst the various grade levels. Ee did five small labs at our table groups looking at five different essential properties of matter. They are mass, volume, conductivity, buoyancy, and magnetic force. We then made a data table to show our results. 

Which parts were clear and which were confusing?

I found that the conductivity lab and volume lab might be difficult for students. This is because even while we were doing the conductivity lab with the wires, battery, and lightbulb as pre-service teachers, the wires accidentally touched which made the light bulb illuminate which leads us to believe that the item was conductive which in reality it was not. We had prior knowledge of that the material would not be conductive which made us skeptical and redid it, but students may not have this and just take the information at face value.

How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future?

I can apply what I've learned from this week by changing the lab we did slightly to better accommodate the students that I will be teaching. With this being said, I do feel as though a lab such as the one we did this week provided both insight on the topic we were learning, but also allowed us to have fun and ask questions. This is important to me as I want my future students to have fun while learning to make the process as intriguing as it can be. 

Week 11 Blog Post

1, What did you learn this week?

This week we learned more about scientific observations. We really focused on what makes a good observation and how we can help our students make observations. It is important for students to be able to observe and make assumptions as well as ask questions to further their understanding. This will help teachers gain insight into their students thinking process as they learn about their world.

2. How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future?

I can apply what I have learned this week to my teaching in the future by using the activities we did to help students understand the concepts we learn. Breaking up the activities and going over them after the students have learned the new material could be really helpful. By having an engaging experiment, like the m&m's experiment, my future students will have a better time with being focused while also having fun. 

3. What are new or remaining questions?

What are easy ways for our students to gain an understanding of the different types of observations rather than just explicitly stating it from the teacher?