Nov. 25 Class

Today in class we traveled to Elk Point Jefferson to judge the middle school science fair. My group judged the 6th grade physical science presentations. There were many good projects, but there were only a couple stand out projects. There were also some students who didn't put very much effort into their project, and it was very evident. As I was judging, it made me think of all the questions that I could ask the students to make sure they knew what they were doing their project on. Also, I learned a lot about working with a group of people in deciding what is a good project and what is not. The main thing I think I will take away from this experience is what I thought about as I looked at the projects from a teachers perspective. I thought about what I would tell those students who didn't have the motivation to push themselves to do a great project, or what I would tell those students who did a good project to make it a great project. After reflecting back on the day, I think it was a very good experience and I think it will help me in my own classroom as well as in the future if I every have to judge a science fair again.

Nov. 20 Class

Today in class we discussed our final project. We got into our groups and decided our topics. After that we met with the groups that were the grade level below and above our chosen grade level. We found ways to make our lessons and their lessons hook together so that our presentation would flow from one to another. We found all the standards and much of the information needed for our presentation and final lesson plan. The main part we have left is putting it all together. I'm glad we had a work day to put together everything and work with the other groups so that we could correlate our lessons to help them flow.

Nov. 18 Class

We did not have class today, but reading through the syllabus, I noticed we are supposed to blog about 5 different assessment types we would use and how we would use them. Formative assessment happens during the instruction. This can be used in my future classroom by asking students questions during the lecture or presentation. Also, this can be seen through the students doing worksheets during the lessons and the teacher walking around and checking to see the student’s progress.
Summative assessment provides documentation of the students learning at particular points in time. This usually happens at the end of a unit study. This could be used in my future classroom by giving the students a test at the end of a unit to see what knowledge they have gained about the subject matter that we have been learning, like a science unit.
Informal assessment is often embedded in instruction and sometimes are not scored or graded. I would use this in my classroom when we are going over a new subject and I have the students complete a worksheet during class time, but with my help. I wouldn't grade the worksheet, but I would want them to complete it so I could see if they understand the material we are covering.
Formal assessment is typically announced to students as such, is scored, and is graded. Again, this would be used to assess the students at the end of a unit or a point in time in which I would want to grade the students work I would use this with a mid-exam halfway through the unit to make sure the students are understanding the material before the final exam, or it could be their final exam that I will be graded. But, the students will be given a warning so they know to study if they need to. Lastly, an embedded assessment is something I would use. This occurs within and is often indistinguishable from instruction. I would use this during my day to day class lectures because as I go through the lesson I can be asking my students questions about what we are learning to assess whether or not they are understanding the content. The students don't realize they are being assessed, but they are being asked questions that help me as the teacher find out what I need to recover and what they understand. These are the five assessment types that I would use and how I would use them within my classroom.

Source: Abell, S.K & Volkmann, M.J. (2006). Seamless assessment in Science. A guide for elementary and middle school teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Nov. 13 Class

Today in class we had a work day. We were asked to work on our second lesson plan that we will be presenting this coming week during class. By working on these during class is allowed us to ask specific questions about what was required within our lesson plan. Also, but working on the lesson in class, it made it very easy to work with our partners because they were already there and we didn't have to try and find a different time to get together and work on the project. Even though some of the students may not have gotten completely done with their lesson, we all got a good start on our lessons and got some feedback from Dr. E about what we should do differently and what looks good within our lesson plan. I was very grateful for the work day we were allowed in class and think that it was very beneficial to the projects start.

Nov. 4 Class

Today in class we continued to talk about the 5 E's. We talked about how to apply these to help our science teaching. One of the goals of the class period was that we would be aware of the resources in the book and elsewhere. I think that if as a teacher you apply the 5 E's to your teaching, you have to be aware of all the resources around you. To effectively teach, I don't think it can all come out of the textbook. You have to find sources from elsewhere so the students can gain a broader knowledge about the subject information and how to apply it to their lives. So, through the lecture I learned how to apply the 5 E model in my classroom in designing a lab during the class period. But, also I learned that you have to look else where for information on subject material to help enhance your students learning.

Nov. 4 Class and the 5 E's

Today in class we discussed some different types of assessment methods. Also, we discussed about how the assessment should be designed and how it should be varied. I think that the 5 E's that have been discussed fit into the assessment discussion very well. The five E's are the following: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. These should all be included in instruction because they all help make connections with prior knowledge. During the engaging stage, students are accessing their background knowledge and making connections with what is going on in the classroom. Exploring is when the students work directly with the materials based upon the topic. The explain stage the students will turn their findings in the abstract thought and begin talk about what they are learning. In the elaborate stage should be elaborating on their thoughts and be able to change their views. Evaluating is the last stage in which the teacher decides if the students have learned anything and understand the material. A teacher should use these five strategies because it helps the students learning and addresses different levels of learning. These five strategies can held the teacher with instruction as well as assessment.

Oct. 30 Class

Today in class we listened to more presentations. We learned about force, tornadoes, and mixtures. Each presentation was very informative and very well presented. The labs also demonstrated very well what the group was trying to talk about throughout their presentation. I learned about what makes up a tornado and also about the senses that we have on our tongue. This presentation was very interesting to me, because I didn't know that we had the different senses on our tongue. Otherwise we didn't do much else today in class besides listen to the presentations and figure out ways in which we would want to use them within our own classrooms. Which I think that I would use some of these activities in my own classroom because they demonstrate the content in which they were trying to cover very well.

Oct. 28 Class

Today in class we continued on with the presentations. At the start of class we had some technical difficulties but we did get some of the presentations done. We learned about rockets, mixtures, and chemical reactions. Most of the presentations all related to one another because they involved some type of mixture or resulted in a reaction. I thought the presentation that involved the yeast was very interesting, I never would have thought that that would have happened. Otherwise, we didn't discuss much else in class, just listened to the different presentations and gained some good ideas that I can use in my own classroom someday.

Oct. 23 Class

Today in class we had group presentations. Throughout all the presentations I feel that I have gained alot of knowledge about various subjects and also how I would go about teaching them. There were many different ideas that were expressed throughout the presentations that I would like to use in my own classroom someday. The videos that went along with each of the presentations also were very beneficial to the lessons and provided good safety tips and also good additions to the project. Overall, I learned alot through the presentations that were given today and I think that I will use some of these ideas within my own classroom.

Oct. 21 Class

Today in class we discussed the information that would be on the quiz. We went over the reading guide that we were given. The main topic that we discussed through class was the first question, which dealt with talk moves in a classroom. I think that this information about this type of instruction is very important because I think it allows the students to be more comfortable around the teacher and also know what to expect. These talk-moves also keep the flow of the conversation going and also help the students to learn more from one another and not just the teacher lecturing. After we talked about the quiz, we went on to do a lab that dealth with air. We had to blow a ping pong ball from one beaker to another. I was successful and got it on the second try, others weren't as successful. From this lab we learned how air can make things move and the circling air causes a path for the ball to travel into the other beaker to. I think that this would be a good lab for students to do to learn about air and how it can push things.

Oct. 18 Class

Today in class we met in the computer lab so we could search through a safety website. Throughout the website it had many different tools that taught children how to be safe in different settings. One safety tip in particular that my partner and I chose was strangers. There were tips of what to do when you see a stranger or when they talk to you. Also, we discussed briefly about judging the science projects in the upcoming month. We talked about how to look professional and ask the right questions. The rest of the time was ours to keep searching for safety tips and also find safety tips for our Midterm projects that are due in the upcoming week. I believe that safety is a very important issue in the science classroom and every teacher should make sure that they have these websites that they can take their students to so they can all gain the knowledge needed for safety in the classroom.

Oct 14 Class

Today in class we talked about all the project items that need to be included within our Midterm project. For this, we read a story that a teacher had wrote about an activity in her class. This helped visualize what we should be thinking as we are preparing our activities and also what we should expect from our students. After we were done reading this story, we got into our groups and worked on some of the details of our own project. By reading the story it really helped focus what we should be covering within our project and so we weren't thinking so hard about what needed to be done anymore. Otherwise there wasn't a lecture for the day, it was mainly a work day for out projects and to ask any questions that we had about what was expected of us in the project.

Oct. 9 Class

Today in class we were asked to look online for our assignment. Of all the links we were asked to look at, the one common element that they all have is that they all deal with science fair projects or some type of project we could use in the classroom. The majority of the links talked about coming to a good topic for the student no matter what their age or grade level is. Also, there was a link showing how they should set up their board and how it should look. Another link had games for the students to play or other activities that would engage them in learning about other topics. There was also a link that asked different questions that would get the students to think outside the box and look at things differently. The link about airplanes was interesting because it gave links to how to make all different types of paper airplanes and also how you could start a contest in your school. All of these links would be very beneficial to any teacher because they provide lots of good material that could greatly help come up with ideas for projects for the various students in the classroom.

Oct 7 Class

Today in class we discussed the effects of mirrors. The activity we did involved a notecard, pencil, sheet of paper and a mirror. We punched a hole through the notecard and placed the pencil through the hole. The we used the mirror to help us write backwards. This was a very hard skill to master and it was very hard to make the letters in the right directions. The shapes that we were asked to make were also very difficult. The purpose of this lab was to show us how to introduce something new to students and showing them how we go about doing something new. We also talked about judging a science fair at the end of the class period since we will be going to a school to judege their science fair. Leaving class today I felt that I had learned a new skill of learning to write with a mirror. This was a new skill and it was hard to learn, but it showed me how when starting something new how we must study it.

Oct 2 Class

Today I was absent for class due to a school trip to Rosebud. In class they did an activity that deals with Plato's Allegory of the Cave. This is a common challenge in science, it relates to Plato's view of living in a cave and can't get into certain things, so we use models. The different model boxes can be viewed as four different observations or the four strands of science. The building concepts portion of this is seen with the marbles in each of the boxes and a piece of cardboard in each box in a different location. This is what I understood from the day that I missed.

Sept 30 Class

Today was an online class only. We were asked to read chapters three and four. The reading guide that I filled out followed these two chapters. These chapters ask a teacher to focus on the four domains of knowledge that can help harness the children’s shared base of understanding. The four domains are simple mechanics of solid bounded objects, behaviors of psychological agents, actions and organization of living things, and makeup and substance of materials. The chapters also give case studies that look into actual classrooms and what they are doing. The major components that are used to make good units and help the students progress require a lot of time on the teacher's part. Also, the right material must be used so the student's can tie everything together. By having good lessons and guiding the students, they will be able to take this knowledge into their other classes. These chapters discussed ways in which teachers can try to improve their teaching to meet short-term and long-term goals in the classroom and find ways to help a child's progression throughout their years in school.

Sept 25 Class

Today in class we performed an online assignment. We joined in to a Webseminar. The seminar was about stars and astronomy. The biggest element of the stars is hydrogen, then helium and metals. The stars are hot, glowing balls of gas. An interesting fact that I found was that stars are born in the Orion Nebula. Also, the most important factor in how a star evolves and eventaully dies is it's initial mass. There are two different types of stars, high mass and low mass. High mass stars are very bright, burn "fuel" rapidly and have short lives. Low mass stars are less bright, "burn" for billions of years and have very long lives. There were also many other facts about stars that I think would be very beneficial in the classroom. I think that it is important for students to learn about the stars and how they are formed.

Sept 23 Class

Today we did a lab that tested acidity. We had baking soda and vinegar and we mixed the two together which created a reaction. This showed us that this is what happens with acid. So, we used baking soda and tested the acidity of different fruits. We tested, white grapefruit, pink grapefruit, orange and lemon all in the juice form. After we tested these we then tested each of this in a chunk form. We placed the chunk into a cup and then poured baking soda over top of them. The reaction wasn't as large on the chunk as it was in the liquid form. I think this is because with the chunk, there was more surface area for the reaction to occur, so it was more spread out than in the liquid form. The liquid was also more concentrated than the chunk. I feel that this would be a great activity to do with younger students in a classroom, because it deals with food that they may encounter everyday in their lives. When something is closely related to them, they are more likely to be able to draw the connection and the activity will have more meaning to the student.

Sept 18 Class

Today in class we talked about the Science Standards and the goals of each. We discussed how important it is that throughout every day in our classroom, these goals are met. If these goals are not met, in a sense, the teacher hasn't given the students all the tools they need. For each grade they are different, but there is a common goal throughout all the standards.
After discussing the standards we did an activity on the web. We had to create our own meals, but had to follow a certain standard. I found it hard to match the calories to the foods that we had. I obviously don't eat right myself! It was very interesting to see how many calories are in the different foods we eat and we don't think about what we are consuming. I think that this would be a great activity for kid's to do in a classroom so they can visually see what they are eating and the effect that it could have on our bodies. Overall, today's lesson was very educational, not only as a future teacher but also as a student learning about the different foods that we take into our bodies.

Sept 16 class

Today in class we discussed what it means to be proficient in science and the four strands. The four strands are Understanding Scientific Explanations, Generating Scientific Evidence, Reflecting on Scientific Knowledge, and Participating Productively in Science. All these topics go into depth about different aspect of science and how teachers can use them to their advantage.
At the end of class we created a board game. This board game is very educational and can help the students realize all the safety features in the science classroom. The game is very easily played and easy to set up. This type of game can be used for any grade level and the students will still understand it. Everything tied together today and relates back to different ways in which we can engage our students in the classroom and find better ways to teach them.

Sept 11 Class

There are many reasons why we should teach science well in the classroom. First off, we need to make sure that we know the subject because it helps us become the experts to our students, makes us a participant rather than an observer and it also helps us become an engaged citizen. There is new research out that talks about a different way to teach science that will hopefully engage the students more and make them think differently about science. An important topic to cover in science is the language. There are many terms that we use in everyday language that has different meanings in science, like theories. In science theory is an explanation that has undergone significant testing. Where in everyday life, someone might say they have a theory of why something happens. So, as a teacher it is important to be knowledgeable in science but also teach the terminology to the students. This is what I got out of class today.

Sept 9 Class

The lab we did today in class didn't work correctly the first couple times we attempted, but once we got it figured out it was interesting. We came to the conclusions that the temp dropped dramatically when placed in the cold water and rose immediately when placed in the warm water. This follows my hypothesis of what would happen during this lab. We also placed the temperature probe in our hands and measured each persons temperature. It was cool to see how different everyones body temperature ranged.