Sunday, January 23, 2011

Melting Icebergs Experience

The Melting Icebergs inquiry activity was an interesting experiment that showed what scientists believe will happen in another 30-60 years, and that is the polar ice caps, glaciers, and sheets of ice around the world will melt cause some lands to be entirely covered by water.  I learned that if the polar ice caps melt then a number photosynthetic phytoplankton could die off affecting a whole ecosystem in that particular area, also the water level in certain parts of the world will rise.  While the entire earth will not be covered by water some landmasses will become covered, therefore causing habitats and possibly a certain species of organisms to be lost.  The idea that scientists has to prevent this from happening is to have humans use more natural sources of energy and fuel in the future.  Many scientists believe the decrease in the release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide will slow down the melting of ice caps around the world.  However, other scientists believe that this melting of ice caps is a natural occurrence in earths life cycle and that there isn't much humans can do about this. 

The only lingering question about this science experience is how do I help my students differentiate from articles on global warming that are biased and not based on scientitific fact.  I want to make sure their research is their own. Therefore, is there a form or lesson that I can teach my students to help them identify articles and pieces of information as trustworthy? 

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Reflection on Planning a Lesson

I found creating my lesson for class this week was pretty challenging; that is kind of an understatement.   What made this lesson so difficult was making sure I had STEM properties in this lesson. I researched STEM lessons and found a great deal, but not a great deal targeted to the indicator I was addressing for my class. Therefore, I made sure to find an activity that incorporated calculation, another activity that incorporated measurement, one that utilized my students and my creativity, and finally a computer interactive inquiry based activity.  Hence, just about every learning style is addressed and the lessons can be challenging enough to keep the students attention. I am very familiar with the 5 E’s method of lesson planning. The district I used to work for was adamant in the teachers applying this model of lesson planning. I found this method of planning to be helpful when it came to keeping the focus of the lesson in mind and then really thinking and gathering materials in advance to execute a lesson well.  However, the district I work for now utilizes the mastery teaching model which is a variation of the 5 E’s model, but incorporates what the teacher does each lesson (I do), what the teacher and he or her students do together (We do), and then what the students do independently (You do). Included is closure (checking for understanding assessments), essential questions, hooks to get student engaged in lesson, objectives of the lesson, and practice (independent and homework) for the students. It also has the teacher list materials they use for the lesson.
If I were to implement the lesson I planned the main issues I could see myself having is booking a scientists from the College of Charleston to come out to the school. I have tried once in the past to work with the college and they are so busy or have other engagements that it can be difficult to get a professional to Lincoln. However, as I thought further I would ask the college if they could ask one of their master or doctorate students in astronomy to come to the school. I know that speaking to young people about their field and what they’ve learned would be a good experience for a graduate student, as well as my students.  Furthermore, another issue I can foresee having is running out of time. The lesson I planned is very extensive and considering that we are not going to cover our astronomy lesson until mid-March will prove a problem.  I need time to review for the PASS test and have a field trip planned for April 26th already; meaning another field trip to the college’s observatory will more than likely be out of the question so close to testing. 
Overall, though a challenge, planning this last lesson was a good experience and got me thinking in advance of great activities that I really want my students to experience, as well as, has brought some issues to my attention that I must take into consideration when doing this lesson in the future.  

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Blog #1

For over a year I have been wanting to start a blog and have my students create blogs. Now I am so excited that I have experience with creating one and can pass this knowledge on to my students in the future.  I look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone, as well as learning from professionals like yourselves.  Happy blogging!