Finale

Science Methods has come to a close and I can definitely say that it has been a tough but rewarding journey. This is the second semester I have taken a course with Dr. Smirnova and I have found both equally helpful in preparing me for my future classroom as well as student teaching. In this course in particular I learned of even more interactive websites then I knew of before. My favorite one of these websites is Tiki Toki where my peers and I created a timeline about space. My favorite part about this website was that it allowed for me to put a picture of space in the background then present the timeline in 3D so it looked as if you were actually traveling in time through pace. 

Besides the different tools I learned throughout this course, I also learned an abundance of information regarding the field of science. Thanks to different projects my peers and I had to complete I learned about climate change, freshwaters, the layers of the atmosphere, different discoveries regarding space, facts about the planets, and much more. Most importantly, thanks to fieldwork, I fell as though I am an expert on the topic of rocks. I work for the Bishop Dunn extension program where I help fifth and sixth graders with homework after school and found myself helping the fifth graders with their homework about rocks since I learned so much. 

I practiced multiple skills in this course that I will take with me for years to come. I practiced my presentation skills as well as working together with my peers, two skills that are crucial in any field. I am sad to see this course come to an end but I am student teaching in the Fall and thanks to this course, I feel even more prepared! 

Science In The News

Science in the News 

I found that researching different Science topics was very interesting. The variety of the articles related to astronomy that I chose could be viewed using this link. I used a variety of websites including NewsELA and space.com. I especially liked the NewsELA articles because they are student-friendly by providing quizzes, highlighting tools, and various reading levels. This website is also teacher-friendly as it allows for the teacher to choose different articles for different students based on their Lexile level.  

I chose these particular articles to research astronomy and current events related to this topic. This topic relates to the subject of Space Science in the classroom. Through my research, I found current issues relating to astronomy. My favorite topic that I had no knowledge of prior was the topic of Planet 9. Prior to my research, I did not know that the potential of a ninth planet existed. They say that ths potential new planet is ten times the size of Earth! I also found it interesting that a classmate of mine brought in the same article because she too found the topic of planet 9 fascinating. 

These different articles can be used in the classroom as a means to have students be aware how important currents events are. Students can read articles picked out by the teacher and answer some questions that he/she provides. Or they can go directly on the NewsELA website and use the tools that it provides. Teachers can also assign students the task of researching their own articles on various media outlets in order to practice the search or current events. 

Climate Change Jigsaw Project-Fresh Waters

By clicking on the image above, you can look at the presentation on freshwater that Kelly and I created about Freshwaters. This presentation was part of a Jigsaw project where each group had to research a topic related to climate change. Based on our research, we found that climate change affects freshwaters because fresh water comes from glaciers and as glaciers keep melting, there is more freshwarer. However, at the threat that too many glaciers are melting, there is the possibility that there will no longer be a source for freshwater many years from now. 

The most fascinating part of this project for me was discovering the facts surrounding The Aral Sea. This sea used to be one of the largest lakes in the world, but because Soviet irrigation projects diverted the rivers that ran into it, it has shrunk considerably. In the images above you can see just how quickly the lake has shrunk and how big it started out. The worst part about this issue is that it is a problem caused by humans, not the environment. In an age where we need to work on protecting our environment and saving freshwaters, we can't afford to allow one of the largest lakes in the world to shrink considerably in size. Overall, I found this project very interesting as it allowed for me to not only learn more about freshwaters and climate change but it allowed me to be knowledgeable of a case study I was not aware of prior to the project.   

Research Article Review

The Importance of Technology in Science Curriculum 

For the research article review project, I chose to review the article "Preparing Tomorrow's Science Teachers to use Technology: Guidelines for Science Educators." This was a very informative article about the importance of incorporating technology in the science classroom. the article mentioned how there was a "hands-on" movement in science in the 1960s and that with the rise of technology it is important to incorporate that hands-on method of teaching through the use of technology. With the various methods of media teachers can use in their classroom, there is a multitude of ways to teach different content. Also, technology offers teachers and students a way to communicate that didn't exist before. Besides email, students and teachers can use platforms such as Google Docs in order to collaboratively work on in class and out of class projects. 

I chose this article because it's title stood out to me. This entire Science Methods course has provided me with the tools to use technology in the classroom, therefore I wanted to read what this article had to say about this particular topic. After reading the article my own views on technology have only been reassured. The fact that there are various websites as well as forms of technology to use in a classroom (SmartBoard, tablet, computer) is something teachers need to take advantage of. I will use this research in my teaching practice by applying the hands-on philosophy surrounding science and apply it to the use of technology in the classroom. By allowing technology to be incorporated into the "hands-on" science classroom, students will only become more engaged and more successful. 

Closing of Fieldwork

Last Day With Mrs. Foster-Faith

Fieldwork at Bishop Dunn Memorial School has officially come to a close. For the final day of fieldwork, my peers and I headed over to Mrs. Foster-Faith's classroom to hear her closing commentaries on our time in her classroom. While in her classroom, Mrs. F made us some ice cream using liquid nitrogen which was one of the coolest things I have seen. 

The gas from the liquid nitrogen was going all over the floor and the cream was bubbling over onto the floor as well. Though it was quite the messy way to make ice cream, it came out more tasty than I expected. After the concluding of making the ice cream, we then had a mini Science Fair with the science fair projects of our class. I thought that this was a good idea as it allowed for me to see the different topics that my peers chose to test out. Also, we were responsible for grading their science projects as well. I thought that this was helpful as it allowed for us to now be on the other die. First, we were the students, creating the science fair projects along with the students of Bishop Dunn Memorial School but now we were the teachers, grading the projects based on a set list of criteria. This was an overall great way to emphasize the importance of the Science Fair by not only having us practice being a part of it but by also having us grade it as well. 

Trade Book Project

For my Trade Book Project I chose a book that went along with my Unit Plan about rocks. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as I thought it was very informational about rocks. The book went above and beyond simply having information about rocks but it had illustrations with labels of several different kinds. 

The book also went into depth about rocks in everyday life which is important for students to learn in order for them to realize that science goes beyond the classroom. The book brought in historical information about rocks as well, including the fact that ancient peoples used to carve their language onto rocks in the form of petroglyphs. It also went on to include pictures of some of the oldest rocks in the world (some 1 billion years old!) One of my favorite parts of the book is where it mentions different monuments made out of rock that we may not think about, such as Mount Rushmore or Stonehenge, or Michelangelo's "David." Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think it will be a great asset to any lesson on rocks.

In order to include a book trailer for this project I made an Animoto where I highlighted many important features that the book has in order to draw the reader in to checking the book out. I had a lot of fun using Animoto in order to make this trailer. If only it was completely free. 

Tagul

In order to view the Tagul my classmates and I made, you can click on the the picture above. Before using Tagul I had only used Wordle to make word clouds. I found the website of Tagul to be much more fun and interactive. It allowed the creator to make the words into any shape, and so we chose a space ship since the words in the word cloud are related to space. Tagul also allows for the words to get bigger and spin when the cursor is dragged over them. 

In this particular word cloud my peers and I were supposed to choose common words that came up in our research articles about Astronomy. Some of the words we found were reoccurring were NASA, Earth, Galaxy, and Scientist. We decided to put Planet 9 front and center of the word cloud since more than one person found an article on this topic and we all found it very intriguing.  

Overall, I believe Tagul is a great resource not only for teachers to use but students as well. Teachers can use Tagul to introduce the vocabulary of a lesson in an engaging way. Students can also be assigned to create their own Tagul based on vocabulary they acquired at the end of a unit, or words that they too found in various research articles. All in all it is a very helpful tool to use in the classroom!