Being an Educator

 Last week was the final week of our spring semester and it was bittersweet. I learned a lot of valuable teaching lessons and I feel that I grew as a person as well. 

     The course outcomes were, in a summarization, to be able to teach different aspects of Science through different types of teaching skills. I feel that these skills, inquiry and the scientific method, were definitely developed and mastered throughout the course of the semester. Also, I enjoyed learning about the different aspects of Science. Before this class I was not very confident in teaching Science, now I feel I could just teach Science. I also feel that Social Studies is such a fun topic now. I really loved all of the topics that we covered in class and the different aspects of Science. Another course outcome that I am extremely excited about is the edTPA course outcome. I felt that this was unnecessary originally; however, I am excited to have had an advantage among other students who not done this practice edTPA. Overall, I feel I learning a lot from this course.

     My unit plan was very tedious but, again, I feel this was very helpful in teaching me more about education itself. My unit plan design starts with my two main lessons on the Solar System and Climate Change. These topics then moved into my last lesson, the artifact bag. I completed my artifact bag on the Great Barrier Reef. The fourth lesson plan was a little different, and focused on Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. This can tie into the rest of my unit plan because it has to do with the Earth and our surroundings. I enjoyed putting together this lesson plan because all of my topics were interesting. I loved the “Great Barrier Reef”  lesson the most. 

     Fieldwork was a huge part of this Science methods class. I feel that I grew from working with a whole class versus small groups. I actually preferred to work with the whole class because I feel it is more realistic to what teaching is going to be. Also, by working with students on so many different academic and social levels I was able to gain experience with all of them. I really enjoyed fieldwork this semester and I am excited to see where the students go. 

      Overall, I den say that I am coming out of this class more informed. I am also better prepared to teach students of the future. I would like to say thank you to Dr. Smirnova because without her, I wouldn’t have made it through this semester. She was always understanding and was very helpful when I asked questions. I wish the best to everyone from Social Studies Methods Spring 2016.

Work Time

      This week in Science, we were presenting our timeline projects that I had previously mentioned in the blogs. This project was interesting and provided some great insight on the different things and accomplishments throughout the Science program, NASA. This week my group was absent when it was time to present, so I went solo and presented my timeline to the class. The presentation went smooth and I was able to answer any questions the class. 

      For the rest of class, we were tasked with working on our folios. During this class, I was able to get a decent amount of work completed. I worked on my edTPA for most of class. The edTPA assignments tend to be very tedious and a waste of time. I don’t feel that we learn anything beneficial for edTPA. It is frustrating to be working on something that we are not going to get graded for or even feedback. Overall, I got a lot of work on the edTPA completed and I was able to focus in class.

      At the end of the class, we broke into the same groups and completed an activity on life science/biology. We got into groups and for the next class, planned what we were going to research. 

Space Science and more

      This week we worked on Space Science and we presented our projects from the Earth Science unit. This week was filled with many different topics and we covered a lot of material this week.

      To begin, our presentation on the Earth’s surface went well. Many other groups also presented on the same topic and it seemed to be a little repetitive, but my group was able to effectively present our ThingLink to the class and we were able to get the point of using ThingLink across to the class. After the presentations finished, we began to work on our space science projects. To begin the class, we had to read a few science articles. After reading the articles we were asked to create a word cloud of the most common words we found. This was a great introduction into what would become a timeline we were going to create based on the word cloud. All of the projects intertwined with each other and I felt that they all contributed to the overall learning of the space science unit. I enjoyed learning more about the topic and science overall.

      Next week, we are going to be presenting our Space Science projects and working on our eFolios. This is going to be a productive week.

Unit Plan and No Class!!

     This week in Science, we were not in class because Dr. Smirnova was in Canada for an educational experience. We were tasked to work on our unit plan. This semester, my unit plan focused on the solar system, so I kept the theme going for the rest of my unit plan. 

      For these lessons, I tried to keep the theme going, but also keep the lessons entertaining for the students. I worked on the first two lessons with my partners for fieldwork and we decided to have the students complete an experiment on the polar ice caps. That was a great way to get the beginning of the lesson plan started. For the last three lessons, I worked solo and tried to be as creative as possible. I worked on the third lesson plan being a current events project. I used something similar for my Social Studies class, and I really enjoyed the fun that the students had. Therefore, I recycled the idea of the current events and had the students research the current events happening in the Science world. I think it is important for the students to keep an up-to-date opinion on the science world. The fourth lesson focused on JIGSAW collaboration. The students would be working on the Climate Change and it’s current state with the Great Barrier Reef. The final lesson was an artifact bag to try and figure out what different things correlate to Climate change and which do not. All of these activities truly focused on the students and their discovery through the topic. Most of the lessons are going to focus on the leadership of the students. 

     Overall, this week was very productive in terms of the unit plan. I am excited to present my unit plan to the class because I worked very hard on the lessons. 

Creating fun in Science

     This week in Science we focused on Earth Science in class. We were able to discover and discuss many of the topics in Earth Science. We began the class by getting into groups and being lectured on the different topics of Earth Science. I thought that this was nice to have a relaxed discussion with other classmates, because sometimes you can learn more from your peers than you can through lecture. I believe that the different topics of Earth Science are interesting and they provide an understanding of the Earth's surface.

     As discussed in class there were some things that I didn't understand when it came to Earth Science, and thankfully we split into groups to begin working on the topics that we didn't necessarily understand. In my group was Kim and Sean, now Sean and I have previous experience of working together. Kim and I have worked together with many different varies of projects, so it was exciting to be working with her again. This project was very helpful to my understanding on the topic as a whole. I enjoyed learning about Earth’s surfaces’s because my theme for the semester and fieldwork was The Solar System and Climate Change, so this fit right in with the rest of my projects. We decided to use a multimedia tool, ThingLink. This tool was super creative and was nice to use for our project. 

      Next week we will present on this topic, but I feel completely confident to present on this topic. I also feel like my group is going to be able to answer any questions on this topic because we thoroughly researched it. Next week, we are also going to be focusing on space and the different topics within space science. 

KDP and Class FUN

     This was our first class without having fieldwork! We covered a lot of topics in this class that were helpful to the class as a whole. We talked about how to create and write in a blog and how to create our e-folios. This was more helpful to some of the other students because I have done this for many classes. However, I did not know that a website can be copied, so I created my website from hand and created each web page.

     After we completed these two tutorials, we went to a KDP Event: Knowing what to say. This event talked about talking to children about difficult things. Knowing what to say to a student who has been through a tragic situation. Unfortunately, nowadays students experience very dramatic things at very young ages. These students go through more than the teachers do and knowing what to say is half the battle. We had many different speakers ranging from professionals to students who had gone through a dramatic experience. The most moving speaker for me was Veronica Malloy, president of KDP. Veronica spoke on domestic/sexual abuse in a  household and what to say to the children. I found this topic to fall close to home and I appreciated that she was able to speak on it. Overall I think the workshop was a success and I enjoyed attending with the class.

Fieldwork everywhere!

Fieldwork is an experience that all future teachers must endeavor. For fieldwork in Science Methods we completed fieldwork at Bishop Dunn Memorial School. I had the joys of working with the Science club after school. The unit that we focused on in fourth-sixth grade is “Everyday is Earth Day."

Overall, fieldwork contributed to the master skills of teaching because we are focusing on writing different types of lessons, and implementing the lesson designs into the classroom. Our master skills, as a class, are being developed through the creations of different lesson plans. I feel that developing these different lesson plans we are widening our abilities as a teacher. It is important to keep an open mind when teaching, and these lessons plans allow that. By creating a direct, inquiry, and cooperative learning lesson we are opening a gateway to creativity. By implementing these lessons into the classroom we are opening a window for all children to learn differently. We are making it easier for students, who do not learn just one way, to learn the same material that their peers are learning. Also, we are making the material easier for the teachers to know how to teach to all students. We are also widening the horizon in which we teach. My observations of the lessons created has also allowed my, not only the teacher, but also the student to think outside the box. So many of my peers have thought of so many different, creative ideas that I personally was not able to think of. Personally, I think this shows the power of teamwork and teams versus individually. However, I think watching my peers implement the lessons was another roller coaster. It was interesting to see a lesson on paper and then to see them execute it. I feel that seeing my peers execute their lessons just made us, the class, realize that it is imperative to executing a lesson plan properly to stay on time.

Overall, fieldwork as a whole was extremely rewarding. I loved working with the science club at Bishop Dunn. I feel that it was a great learning experience as well. I hope that all of the teacher candidates made as much as an impact on the students as they did for us.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

     The final group taught their lessons today, and this has been by far the most exciting experience for fieldwork. The students really grasped onto the program and thoroughly enjoyed the topics that we taught them. Group four consisted of Jake, Kim, Allison C., Chad, and Barbara. This group seemed to click and transition very well. 

     Group four focused on how to save the Earth, and they started off with having recyclable products on the students desks and having them separate it into bins before they began their lesson. This was great for getting the students interested in the lesson. I thought the they should have explained things to the students before they told them to get up and recycle. The students seemed a tad confused from the activity, but the group did a great way of pulling them back into the lesson. The symbols that they showed the students to remind them what they needed to do during the lesson was helpful because there was no miscommunication. I also enjoyed that they used the Kahoot for the closure and assessment; however, there were some technical difficulties that weren't taken care of right away. As for the inquiry lesson, having Fred the Fish was a great idea. Showing the effects of pollution on the fish was a great visual for the students because they were able to see many different variables on the fish. 

     Overall the entire lesson seemed well-though out; however, the presentation provided too much cognitive overload and I felt overwhelmed. The teachers didn't seem like they rehearsed much, but it didn't show during their lesson. I felt that the teachers showed a great representation of their topic and taught useful things.

Weather and Climate Change: Precipitation

     The third group began and ended their lessons yesterday. The third group taught their presentation based on weather and climate change, with a focus in precipitation. They looked at the different effects of the weather on the earth and climate change. Leanna, Justine, Rachel, Kaitlyn, and Kathleen were the members of group three.  

     The teachers presented nicely and I felt that I learned a lot about their topic. The activities that they presented, during the lesson were engaging and encouraged the students to follow along. It was informing to learn about the different types of clouds and what they look like. I had never before learned on those topics. Also, the teachers seemed to really enjoy their topic. I thought that the teachers could have better prepared for any mishaps during their lessons. Such as, during the activity, the teachers didn't know how to exit one of the features of the SMARTBoard. I felt this was a little distracting for the students because they felt like they had a moment of free time. Unfortunately, the third group didn't get to present either of their independent practices because they went over their teaching times for both lessons. As for the inquiry, the teachers presented a fun filled activities. I am not sure what each student did exactly because each group did a different project. 

     Overall, the third group did present a fun activity and the students seemed to really enjoy what they were doing. I thought that they were confident and showed promise for their ability to control large groups of students. 

Different Types of Energy

     Today was the second day of educators teaching for science. Group two was up and they were going to educate us on some of the best ways to save energy. They began by discussing hydro-power, solar and wind energy. All of these topics seemed to interest the students and they were excited to begin learning them. 

     Unfortunately I was not there to witnesses group two's direct lesson due to an IT seminar. However, I was there to witness the inquiry lesson. The inquiry lesson was created using iPad's and a web-quest created by one of the group members. This activity had them going through the web-quest and watching different informational videos, as well as, reading different things related to their specific topic. Each group had a different project which they were working with. The students seemed to really enjoy this. I wish that there would have been more of an experiment for the students to complete because I felt like they were sitting to long and not staying engaged the entire time. Overall, group two did a great job and the other teacher candidates could see the amount of effort in which they exerted into the lesson and their plans. 

     After group two finished speaking, Dr. Smirnova and her guest began to discuss the science fair and the expectations of the science fair. the science fair is this upcoming Friday and we must bring our projects, as well as, grade the school's science fair projects. I think that this is going to be an interesting experience because I have never been to a science fair. I am excited to see what everyone creates their projects on. As for my project, I am doing an experiment on Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. I choose this topic from the beginning, because I didn't realize that we needed to complete an actual experiment. When it came time to complete the experiment I tested whether recycling two pieces of material a week could decrease the amount of garbage one inputs into the world. The answer was yes, it does decrease the amount of garbage input to the wastelands. 

   

First Day of Fieldwork

      Today was the first official day of fieldwork was today and I felt that it went well. We used our planets to create a fun game for the students. Our getting to know you activity was also unique compared to the other groups, because most of the other groups used worksheets. I felt that our game was a bit more interesting for students because we got to know them in small groups. We were able to focus on specific students, and we were able to take notes of different students that couldn't sit next to each other. I also felt like when the students came over to the group they were able to develop a sense of what our group was like as well. It was personal and I felt that the students enjoyed the activity. Afterwards, we were able to discuss with the class of teacher candidates about how the activities went. Overall, the entire class did well and the students seemed eager to come back next week. 
     As for lesson planning, my group met again today to finish preparing for our lessons for next week. When we spoke to Dr. Smirnova, we learned that we had gained a week to prepare for our lessons due to the snow days. My group at this point is developing well. I find it hard to teach comfortably when one has not taught before. Besides myself, my other group members have no experience in teaching students in any way. Their is a type of confidence that goes in to teaching, but I feel as though it is developed not known. My group seems to also be putting forth little effort in reference to trying to meet up and preparing the material. There is only one group member that has consistently put forth the effort in this group. It has been rather difficult to prepare for this lesson as well because of my group's lack of experience. I am eager to see how we do next week and I think that my peers feel the same. As for the lesson plan and materials, we are ready to go and have been for a few weeks!

The Teaching Experience

     For our fourth week in classes, Group 1 is ready to teach. Jill, Sean, Jade, and myself were preparing to teach the topic of The Solar System and Climate Change. When preparing for this process, I had have some experience to refer to from Social Studies methods. In terms of the rest of my group, they had no experience. We met up on Wednesdays for about three to four weeks and worked on our lesson. I felt in terms of our lesson that it was planned out; however, I think personally it was overwhelming that I had to depend on one group member so much. 

      When looking back to our direct lesson plan, we created a Prezi for the students to follow along with. The Prezi was focused more on visuals, rather than words. I felt that if there was too much to focus on the students wouldn't have been as successful. We started off by going over the solar system and giving the students an acronym to follow for the planets. The students seemed to like this the most because it was a resource they could go back to and use for future references. The only wish I have for the direct lesson plan was that we maybe utilized more of the technology that was provided. I also felt that the guided practices for the lesson weren't as engaging as I wish they could have been.

     On to the Inquiry lesson, I felt that this lesson was fun and maybe not as thought out as it should have been. The experiment itself seemed to get the students up and engaged in the lesson. Even though the lesson could have been more thought out, I feel like the students really enjoyed the activity. Trying to preserve ice was their activity and I personally felt it was impossible but the students accepted the challenge with a grain of salt and completed that activity in a timely fashion.

  

      Overall, the lessons together provided the students with Vidal knowledge that they are going to use when being taught for the rest of our fieldwork experience. The students learned about the solar system, the planets, and climate change. They also learned why it is important to try and preserve the Earth as a whole. These lessons were great at proving that everyday is Earth Day and the students can make a difference. 

Science Research and Fieldwork

      We are in our second week and the snow has cancelled another class. This week we met online, as we did last week. This week we discussed the Inquiry lesson and group's progression. This week we were ready for the first day of fieldwork as well. We also began reading our textbook. 

     To begin discussing the inquiry and the 5E's. The five E's are: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. We discussed the meaning of each of these and their importance in the Inquiry lesson. To begin the engage section is the introduction of the lesson, and the beginning to the teacher's story. This is where the teacher candidates should create an intriguing story for the students to get them interested in the lesson. The second part, explore, is the experiment of the lesson. This is the soul, the body of your Inquiry lesson. This is the part of the lesson where the students discuss the Inquiry method. The inquiry method is: to identify the problem, develop a question, then a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, and finally creating a conclusion. The nest section of the inquiry lesson is the explain section. The part is where the students must explain their findings and elaborate on their conclusion. Explain directly relates to the elaborate and evaluate sections. The students will elaborate their findings and then they will be evaluated through their elaborations. 

     Group 1, my group, have prepared both of our lessons at this point because we expected to have to be teaching in a week. For our getting to know you activity we prepared a game in which the students would roll a pair of dice and answer the question which correlated with the number they rolled. On the same paper as the questions were pictures of all the planets in the Solar System for the students to understand what our topic was about. My group also met today to further discuss, and begin preparing for our lesson next week. We met and went over the lesson two to five times, editing it a bit more each time. My group feels nervous and we may need some more preparation time for next week. 

     Last week I also worked on my About Me project. For my About Me project I used a word generator and used the shape of an apple. I used word such as teach, caring, love, children, elementary and such. I emphasized my want and need to be an educator. 

Introduction Week

      It was the first week of classes and we were not able to meet. The first week of classes was delayed by the schools being closed for an early dismissal. Instead of meeting in person, we met online for the first week. We discussed many topics, got into our fieldwork groups, and discussed the expectations for the course. Being that I have taken Social Studies methods, I feel I am much more prepared for this course. I am excited to see the topics we will cover throughout fieldwork. I am also excited to have multiple age groups in one setting. For Social Studies methods we only had one age group, so I feel this is going to be a great experience. I am also excited to see who I am in a group with.

      To begin we discussed many course outcomes for the semester, and I personally feel as though these are achievable. Then we picked our fieldwork groups: I am in a group with Jade, Jill, and Sean. We quickly open a document and begin discussing the content in which we are being given. We quickly got to work, and met the day after class to begin brainstorming for our lessons. Within the week, we had worked on and nearly completed our lessons. The theme of fieldwork is "Everyday is Earth Day." My group decided on introducing the Earth through the Solar System to give the students some background knowledge. 

      In class we also discussed the science fair. As apart of the Science Methods class, we must participate and judge the science fair. This provided a sort of joy for me because I have never participated in a science fair. As a child, I did not enjoy science much. I always found science quite difficult and boring. Even as I developed my mind through Biology in college, I did not find much interest in the topic. My disinterest in science may come from my childhood or high school years, where science was more of lecture than hands-on experiments. In my classroom, I will try to make it a point to have an engaging science activity at least once a week.