Astronomy

Over the last couple weeks, our class has had to gather together 7-10 different articles about astronomy.  I've always liked astronomy, and found space to be incredibly interesting.  The fact that we can look up into the sky and think that it could essentially go on forever, really makes you think.

Ever since I was a kid I've always been fascinated with what happens above us.  Each year in school I'd pretty much bomb every science test with the exception on two: astronomy, and weather.  Weather always interested me, simply because of where we live.  In the northeast, we experience every season, and very rarely is the weather the same, even two days in a row.  Also as a child you tend to watch the weather channel more cause you just have to know when the snow is coming for an all important snow day.

Astronomy on the other hand was something that wasn't as accessible in the realm of facts.  As a child, all I could do was lay out on the grass and night and simply look up.  All you could see was stars and the moon, so it was up to your imagination to figure out what else was there.  As I got older, my questions began to be answered, however those answers usually just led to more questions.  The unique thing about astronomy is that it is the only scientific field that will never be complete.  Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science all have questions remaining, however those questions will be answered.  With Astronomy, and space, it never ends, and so questions will always remain.  

A never ending list of technology

Our class continued this week to explore the realms of the internet by continuing to use different websites and apps to further ours, and our future students educational experience.  As someone who is technologically behind the eight ball, these classes invoke a range of emotion from pure joy, to honest frustration.

The joy of this, is that we are learning new methods and interesting ways to teach our students, that perhaps myself wasn't offered in school because of a lack of technology.  The frustration comes from there simply being so much of it to try and test out.

However when you really break it down, most of these websites are the same thing just packaged differently.  A long list of websites may look intimidating at first, but when you start to examine them more closely, you'll realize they all do the same thing, and learning to master a new one takes no time at all because you've already been there in the first place.

A week 10 jigsaw

This past week saw the coming and going of the 10th week of class.  It's hard to believe we're just 5 weeks from the end of the semester.  It seems like just yesterday I was up all night trying to figure out a lesson plan for 3rd graders back in the 2nd week of class.

Anyway, this past week had us return to our classroom that we haven't seen since week one when we were introduced to the class with strange animal toys.  This time, the toys were left home and a jigsaw puzzle was brought out in its place.

What I mean by jigsaw puzzle is different type of teaching method.  The activity calls for the class to be broke up into two groups.  Each group then assigns roles to each person, and then finally you are to work with the other person in the other group who was assigned the same role as yourself.  You then do all the research and become an expert of the topic, then go back to your respective groups to teach your other teammates all about it.  After each group member has talked about their respective topic, you present your findings to the class.

While it may sound slightly confusing at first, believe me I was in the same boat, once you try it out it actually is a great idea, and one that I will probably use in my classroom at some point.

A fun activity since we all have some down time....

This week is spring break and we are all privy to some time off, which I believe no one will argue with, we could all use.  So instead of posting something about science, I decided to go slightly off the rails with a fun activity you can do either by yourself or, preferably, with a couple of friends.  

If you have the time, everyone should check out and learn how to do geocaching.  You can type that into google and your questions will be answered, but I will explain it anyway.  

Geocaching is a worldwide scavenger hunt done out in the woods, on nature trails, or even on the sides of country roads.  What you do is you download the app from the app store or google store and it will automatically find your location.  Then little dots will come up on your phone that will show you where to go.  You simply follow the trail and when you get close you need to open your eyes and look for something that you think isn't suppose to be their, most of the times its a hidden piece of tupperware that ranges in size.  Once you find it, you open it up, sign your name to the logbook and then discreetly put it back.  You then take out your phone, and log it as found and then move on to the next one. 

There's hundreds of finds to be had in the Hudson valley alone, and millions set out all over the world, I probably didn't do to good of a job explaining this so simply if you like the outdoors and you have the time, download the app and get out there.  Happy hunting.

Week Eight, last but not least

After eight weeks, four groups, two snow delays and boat loads of stress, our fieldwork experience has finally come to a close.  It's refreshing as we will not have to be rushing around making lesson plans and fixing last minute adjustments at 4 in the morning, but its also upsetting in a way.

Over the last four classes we've gotten bond a group of students who I think we, as a class, have a close connection to.  This sense of familiarity is what makes teaching become less stressful and more enjoyable.

When reflecting about this experience, the first thing I tend to jump to are the groups themselves.  I feel like every group did a great job in not only preparing fun activities for the kids but executing them as well.  Being on both sides of the coin really gives you that understanding of the stress and thought that goes into each one of these lessons, and I'm sure every group, including my own, had a sleepless night or two leading up to their lesson.

The next thing that jumped out to me was the patience and understanding that these kids have when it comes to inexperienced teachers giving them direct instruction.  Let's be honest, nobody's presentation was perfect but to me the kids didn't see the flaws, and overall they had a good time.

Finally, the parents jumped out to me as well.  Every week they would come in right at the end and, even though we would run long each time they didn't complain.  In fact, speaking for when my group went, some of the parents even decided to join in as the kids made it look like so much fun.

It's amazing to think that the fieldwork experience has come and gone, but it was a great experience and gave everyone in the class an opportunity to plan a lesson, dump that lesson, find a new lesson, execute that lesson, and watch the kids love what you prepared.  It was an amazing experience, very sad to see it go, but now we get to go back to class and do all the fun stuff that would normally entail and college class.

The Science Fair

This past Tuesday our class had to take part in the Bishop Dunn Science Fair with all of the other 7th graders in the school.  While I was unable to attend due to my work schedule I was still able to drop off my project ahead of time to avoid a grading penalty.  I was feeling rather cocky about my project; I am after all 15 years older and wiser than these children, so upon placing my project down I had no doubt in my mind that I would have quite the impressive project.

This is to say until I saw pictures.....

I was shown pictures of the science fair and all of the students whose projects were brought in to be graded and I couldn't be more impressed.  I will confess that science is not my strong suit, and when I was in school we never had a science fair, why I don't know exactly, but even if I had majored in science while in college I still think these kids would have knocked me down, academically of course.  This speaks to the level of teaching over at Bishop Dunn and just goes to show they take their science seriously.

Meanwhile at my old stopping grounds, they are still without science fairs and I believe the children suffer for it.  While a great deal of time and planning go into a science fair project, when finished it not only looks cool but it fulfills you with a great sense of accomplishment, and pride.  This pride translates over when you bring in your project and are overjoyed to share it with all of your classmates who are also proud and overjoyed of their respective projects.  I won't mention the school I went to that lacks a science fair, because they're probably not the only ones, any school that lacks a science fair is doing its students a disservice, by not allowing them to partake in one of the grand, coming-of-age. academic experiences. that will enlighten you down the path of being a scientist, or something completely different.

After Two Weeks Off...

It seemed like months since I had last seen my classmates, however after two very relaxing weeks away we were back in the educational fold with our second group finally getting their turn at the proverbial plate.

Group two's topic was life science which I'm thankful that my group didn't get because I personally find life science to be a bit boring.  This however was not the case when group two presented their lesson.

Despite having a tough topic to keeps kids focused, the two of them presented a very engaging lesson and the kids, overall, were very well behaved.  The thing that impressed me the most about their presentation was how well the two members of the group worked together, and how fluid their lesson seemed to go.  Each group member had their power-point slides memorized and knew who was doing what and when.

The final part of their presentation was their lab that was a total hit with the kids.  In their lab,using a dichotomous key they made up, the 5 groups of two students had to sort flavored jelly beans based on size, shape, color, etc.  There was a catch though that made the groups really pay attention, and that was that one of the jelly beans was vomit flavored.  While I myself did not try it, I was given some sturdy testimonies that it did indeed taste like vomit.  At the end of the lesson this warning didn't seem to stop the kids, as a few of them went for the vomit bean anyway.