Elk Point Science Fair

The Elk Point Science Fair was an amazing experience. I never judged a science fair before but it was loads of fun. The students there really put a great deal of effort. Bridget and I had to judge 6th grade physical science. Lucky for us, we four out of the six were on buoyancy, one of them was a catapult to throw marshmallows, and one about cooking food without using conventional methods. One girl that did her project on buoyancy, almost replicated the lab we did in class. The student that did his project on cooking food without a fire was pretty interesting. The method that he described was the same as the one for military rations. Overall, the six we judged were fair. There were a couple of good projects and the others were obviously just in the science fair for the benefits. After the judging we wandered around a looked at all of the other projects. Looking around we found one about hamsters and energy drinks. This was my favorite one! This student tested energy drinks on her hamster and measure the distance the hamster ran with a pedometer on the hamster wheel. She concluded that drinking full throttle the hamster could run 15 miles! There were lots of clever and interesting projects but the hamster on full throttle sticks out in my mind the most.

Travel Brochure of the Body Systems

Travel brochure of the human body systems sounds like a fun trip! I would have to say this is really great activity. It gives the students a sense of adventure and promotes creativity. I, personally, would like to have done this in my anatomy class in high school. The lesson plan lets student chose the way they want to present it but also giving them required information to include. Providing the required information to include will help students realize what is important and what to pay attention to. The self and peer assessment is a good idea letting students reflect on their amount of effort. It gives a feel of how well students work amongst one another. Overall, this lesson is very creativity and lets student choose what to do to represent organ systems.

Standards for this lesson correlate to human physiology or life sciences. The first standard that this lesson satisfies is: 9-12.L.1.1. Students are able to relate cellular functions and
processes to specialized structures within cells. Students will be require to include functions of various specialized cells in each system. The second South Dakota Standard is: 9-12.L.1.3. Students are able to identify structures and function relationships within major taxa. 9-12.L.1.3 is satisfied by having student finding information of the the structures and functions of different organs in each system. These are the only two life science standards that I found to complete with this lesson.

Teaching Science to Diverse Learners

Effectively teaching science to students is one thing to tackle, but diversifying instruction for others to learn is the step beyond. Teaching for learners that don't excel in traditional methods can be a tough issue to handle. The article talks about this method known as STS (science, technology, and society investigations) to help students succeed in school and ultimately in their own lives. STS helps learners become active in their own learning. There are multiple points that STS makes in helping diverse learners: good decision making, applications of science, cooperative work, career goals, and more. The method was used in California and Texas with a promient hispanic population. Results of the STS method were surpising. Teachers the implemented the method found student achievement increase and also student interest. Students are not the only ones to benefit from the instruction, but teachers have now gained a new way of reaching out to students.

The STS method is an interesting way for teachers to help diverse students. Looking into new methods of instruction is part of personal development which I will need to get myself acquitaned with it. The results for this method only have postive remarks so it might be worth looking into. The population as a whole is diversifying, and getting a new perspective of teaching will be a great benefit for me in the future. As I intern in Sioux Falls, I notice that even in South Dakota the population is changing. With the up and coming change, students will require more needs and altertive methods of instruction to maximize their learning experiences. By reviewing this article, I am reminded of the importance of personal development to better shape my thoughts of my imenent instruction in the future.

In Class Experiment with Red Cabbage Indicator

Today's in class lab was very fun. I knew you could use red cabbage as an acid-base indicator but never have actual used it. First, my group shredded some cabbage, added water, and microwaved it. When we had a vibrant purple colored indicator that we used to test various chemical products for pH. This was done by splitting up some indicator in beakers and by soaking paper in the indicator and drying them to produce pH paper. The procedure for making indicator is fairly simple and great for lessons.

After this experiment, I feel the need to incorporate this activity into my instruction. I would be taught to 9th and 10th graders. Again with the simplicity of the procedures and experiment would make it ideal for observing different pH of different chemicals. This experiment is fairly safe in that the only concern is getting purple on your shirt and the types of chemicals that I wish for my students to test. I had fun doing this lab for being as simple as it is. I want my students to experience what I experienced which accomplishing this lab. Fun, cheap, and educational this lab has it all, why not do it?

Virtual Chemistry Lab Acid-Base Titration

Acid base titration is great fun! I remember the first time I got to do a titration. It was back in high school AP chemistry; I can remember it like yesterday. This virtual titration is a great educational tool for students. One application that comes mind is having students go through the virtual titration and understanding it before a real titration. The point is to get them acquitted with all of the aspects of a real titration. Seeing what would happen with different amounts of acid and base, students get a sense of the outcome to expect. Also if teachers didn't have access to equipment, student would have this resource for visual learning. As great as it may seem to have this learning tool, I would prefer to carry out an actual titration. Learning how to control the stop is a great skill to possess. To conclude, the virtual titration is great for demonstrating to students but there are limitations that only a real titration can present.

MIinds of Our Own

This video really stirred my thoughts why students don't grasp concepts taught to them immediately. Students coming in with their own view of how things work. In science, students that have incorrect notions of a specific concept will have a more difficult time understanding. I have never thought about this. Its a real eye opener due to the fact that in my educational career, I can't recall an example. Again, I enjoy watching these videos for the phenomenal examples. It was a real shocker to see that students that just graduated from MIT had difficulties lighting up a light bulb. Another experiment that got me was the image in the mirror. I have always thought that when you back away from a mirror you will be able to see your whole body. Again stirring my thoughts on instruction, I really need to know what existing knowledge students have and brainstorm on labs to disprove them. Students in the video didn't immediate believe what they were experiencing, but I feel that through experiment students will question their beliefs. The goal is to correct incorrect concepts within students minds. This video put another factor on to consider in teaching students.

Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry based learning is learning in the form of asking questions and answering your own questions. I have touched on this topic before so I will briefly discuss this topic again. Again I liked the videos presented. It really helps to see a visual example of inquiry based learning in different perspectives. The class that had an unit on wetlands had a great first hand experience. One interesting detail that the teacher used was that having the students visit the wetlands multiple times. The purpose of doing so was to help students to narrow their initial questions. With a more refined question, students focused on the topic of they're interested. Another video that showed great inquiry based learning was the paper and weights lab. Students had to hold up an one pound weight using the lightest possible piece of paper. The experiment was done mainly through trial and error. The students mainly worked amongst themselves within the group. This shows that working in cooperative groups is a great educational tool. The interactions between one another fuel the experiment towards the goal: lightest piece of paper to hold up an one pound weight. Again, the example illustrated a great authentic experience.