week13 November 25 (Post 1)

Today was the day we completed our embedded experience at Elk Point Jefferson Middle School. Wow let me just say I would love to do this again it has been awesome bonding with my fellow classmates, getting a feel of being in the school, and learn about middle school Science curriculum. When we got there we received the name tags, and ate lunch (very nice to share for free), and received a briefing of the project, expectations, and overview of the process. The teachers then assigned us to a specific group to judge. Me and my partner asked the specific questions such as why did you choose this project. what did you learn, and did you enjoy doing the project? These basic questions really helped us to see the learning and thought that went into the projects. Then we graded them accordingly it was difficult judge between the close projects for instance a robotics one was outstanding yet, so was the ear corn rot projects. We had to choose the best within that grade level, and we did not get a chance to see all the projects so, I felt in a way I was not being very fair to the students. There were some really high level and complex projects and we outstanding. You can tell the teachers really care about the end product, the teacher have provided great guidance! Thanks for allowing us to do this embedded experience it was a ton of fun!!

Week 12 November 20th (Post 2)

This was a work day for us as we talked about the embedded experience, and arrangements for transportation. I took the online quiz and reading guide for seamless assessment this week it was a huge assignment I had to read alot and write for hours, but the assignment was not that complicated because the reading was a easy and quick. I thought the assignment was not that bad because the information I was reading was interesting and applicable to the classroom situation for instance in chapter 1 the book talked about the 5 E model which I thought was very detailed and useful to a teacher, I enjoyed learning about the steps to apply to the classroom.

Week 12 November 18 (Post 1)

This week we have been working on our lesson plans as groups. We got into our groups of three and four and picked our grade and did some cooperative learning with other groups as we picked to do 6th grade so we worked with 7th grade and 5th grade to pick a topic that fits with appropriately with the other grades. This was a little challenging at times because we would pick a topic that we like then consulted with 6th grade and they would agree that the topics fit together also then, the 5th grade would make it hard for us as they already picked a topic an we had to reconsider or fix ours slightly to fit theirs. It has been a learning experience for me yet, it has helped us get a great start on the project. Dr. E Thanks for clarifying upon the assignment now I understand what to do exactly with this last assignment.

Week 11 November 13 (Post 2)

This Thursday was a work catch up day on our lesson plans, but it was helpful in gaining clarity and understanding upon some of the questions we had on the lesson plan. Me and my partner were able to look up some of the national and state standards for our lesson and we were both surprised to see that the Second grade was directly learning about the topic we had chosen for our lesson in their Life Science Standards for that grade level. This was a great way to learn and incorporate how students learn and have it reinforced by the state and national standards. Amazing how we could just pick a topic and have both a book and the standards follow directly to a tee the same idea that we were planning for we are excited to show the class our ideas and read our favorite book. Kelli

week 11 November 11th (Post 2)

Tuesday this was our day off of school from this class, but there was an online assignment that I would love to discuss from on educational point of view. As I completed the five E model of Constructivism, Engage, Explore, Examine, Elaborate, and Evaluate I was able to see just how indepth each lesson can be and that even if you are not able to obtain and reach eah of these goals all in one lesson its imporatnt to know that they are all equally important in subject matter They are most benficial when incorparated into the lesson for an extended comprehension of subject matter. I never thought of using such a model when teaching science or any other content area nor did I see the benefits of how it will ensure you are meeting all the needs of the students through the model in a indepth and broad manner. Kelli

Week 10 November 6th (post 2)

Thursday we were given the opportunity to get some of the house keeping done and organize what is due in class and the dates they are due this was most helpful to my datebook. Second activity we were given some materials in a lab to place a potato in a glass beaker of NaCl some of high concentrate some of low concentrate and some with medium concentrate. Dr. E gave us the opportunity to create our own lab and our own assessment through predictions and construction of the lab. We decided to place a Teaspoon in beaker with low concentrate, a Table spoon in the beaker of medium concentrate, and Two Tablespoons in the beaker with high concentrate. We had to reconsider the options once we found that too much salt would mess up the demonstration, so we reconsider the denominations and changed them all by cutting them in 1/2. After constructing our hypothesis we discovered that the beakers with high amounts of salt made the potato float and others just made the potato sink. This was a great idea because it allows us to create our own lab as will be doing once in the real world of teaching. This lab has provided me with the confidence to excel as a decision maker in the classroom, and given me the ability to see that you can think for yourself without always seeking ideas on the Internet. Great learning experience for me! Kelli

Week 10 November 4th (Post 1)

Today was very productive I thought it was interesting and I was glad our class was able to get to do the rocketship lanching lab. I at first I was thinking we already got to see the experiement we probably dont need to see it again, but I am glad we were able to see it again outside because it went higher and the reaction was far more reactant. I was able to see the chemicals as they started to fizz and I was able to see how powerful the force was behind the cork as they let it launch. I also like the notes you presented upon assessment, you made some great points about how to see that learning is occuring. I thought you made a great point when you said not all children are test takers therefore it is unfair to grade strictly upon this as your only evaluation of learning. Some children will be lost you will not be able to measusure the learning by only using paper based testing. We have many options as teachers to see that learning is occuring and the best way to measure learning is through multiple methods of assessment Good change in pace today Dr. E! Kelli

Week 9 October 30th (Post 2)

This week we completed our midterm projects and finished up our loose ends of the presentations. I personally really enjoyed doing these projects and have learned alot from the hands on experiences. It seems weird that you can learn from some of these simple elementry concepts but some of the groups have laid out the powerpoint presentations to focus upon the subject and develop a diverse sense of understanding through different manipulatives. For instance the one of the groups that went incorparated Halloween as the fun aspect of the lesson; they showed how light can be source for energy. This was neat to see it be taught this way because it showed me a prime example of how to incorparate this lesson into the classroom as well as taught me something new about light. It was neat to see the Safety element of it too great way to get kids excited about a special event cooming up and still keep teaching them. P.s. Thank you for the Halloween light stick Dr. E that was a nice touch to my newfews holiday he was so excited ! Kelli

Week 9 October 28,2008 (Post 1)

Today, we did more Science midterm projects and I just wanted to make my comments upon some of the projects. I personally thought that the video the Brittney G did on the Rocket lab was so cute and funny. I think that the video and project will go over very well with the kids if I ever decided to incorporate this in my classroom say 4th or 5th grade it will also spark their interest based upon the entertainment factors I thought that it was great because it had me guessing what will happen before they even explained what was going to happen this is an exciting lab for kids too! I also like the lab using cornstarch and water who thought this combination would occur in this manner? I think the consistency was funky and fun to play with because it was like a liquid and a solid put together in the same project and students are going to wonder how this occurs it will stimulate farther discussions and thinking Great Job Elly and Loree. Kelli

Week 8 October 23, 2008 (Post 2)

On Thursday's class we started our midterm projects which were informational and fun to do. This was a great opportunity to get the class thinking as a whole and building upon experiences for actually speaking and playing the educator role. As seen in class there is alot of information and work that it is put into planning for a lab experiment and some groups really organized the information and lab well so we could all learn as a community of learners. My opinion of something that I could have changed about my lab experiment was that I would have been more explanatory about how to get students to drop each item in the water one at a time instead of dropping all the material in at one time. Overall ,these Science experiments really helped me to learn something new about Science and they are fun. n There are many more to come in the next few weeks and I am excited to learn more ways to apply new things to my own classroom. Kelli

Week 8 October 21, 2008 (Post 1)

Today we conducted the lab using the Ping Pong Ball, Glasses, Straws. The experiment's objective was to make the ball jump or hop from one cup to another with out touching the ball. (could also be done with an empty egg) As we conducted the experiment we used the straw to exert a force of wind in the direction of the cup to move the ball from cup one to cup two. We quickly learned that the force had to be a strong quick current to get the ball out of the cup and moving. We had many failed event before we actually decided that there was a certain way to push the air through the cup and keep it moving. The shape of the glass had a big impact upon how the ball got out because otherwise in a regular drinking glass the air would not get underneath the ball. I thought for sure there was no way we could move the cups more than a couple inches apart and still land the ball in the opposite cup but we proved ourselves wrong. The key to the lab is persistence and exact materials for reproduction of the experiment.
Kelli Leander

Week 7 Post 2 October 16

This Thursday we went into some interactive websites and did some hands on fun with a worksheet. I thought this was a great idea. As we followed the safety site we were take to many different links that offered a learning experience as you followed. For example, my partner and I followed the bike safety link and learned about using a helmet, crossing rods and looking both ways before crossing. I was also able to follow the link about pool safety, which suggested to the children how to enter and exit a pool, rules and precautions to look out for while playing, and reinforced the suggestion to have an adult present at all times. I thought this was a very helpful web quest for students because it gives them the opportunity to see that what their parents say to the about keeping safe really is truthful and valid. Good thing to use before starting a lab. Fun I will suggest to my field based supervisor! Kelli

Week 7 Post 1 Oct. 13th

I am going to reflect upon the reading from the Ready, Set, Science Chapter 6. I would like to comment up the author's opinions on middle school students using statistical data to find means, and ranges of information. AS discussed in the book there are many different types of graphs used for demonstrating mathematical data and students providing a more descriptive and detailed record of the information they have obtained. Yet, teachers need to make the connection to the students that these mathematical models are just a simpler version of a more complex model. I also agree with the information as the author states that "Students are better able to understand data if as much attention is devoted to how they are generated as to their analysis". When they develop the information from their own experiments and activities they will understand the chart, and use it in the future better than if, the student just records information they see in a book or from the board. The experiences derived from actual experiences are going to be of more value to the students understanding. Kelli Leander

Thursday October 9th (post 2)

After visiting the "Apples for Teachers" website I began planning my lesson for Internship, I felt like it had many great ideas. I went in and played the wildlife word find, I thought this was a great idea, but did not pertain to the content areas. I did find the kindergarten lesson file helpful, as it suggested teaching methods, skill building activites, imagination tasks ect. I thought that the lessons were age approprite and had an appeal to differnt learning styles. I also liked that the site gave permission to print, or copy information as needed; this helps cut the costs. I thought it was interesting that the site organized the subjects accoring to the differnt content areas, as well as Language Arts. The interactve teachnology seemedweak and like it could use some improvements. Overall, Good site! Kelli

Week 6 (post 1)

this Tuesday was good for playing catch up. I enjoyed playing with the mirrors and writing my name, the task got easier as I kept playing with it, although I still can not make the star or the zig zag lines. I think the perfect age to use this with would be 3rd-5th because it offers a challenge to those students. I ll keep practicing

week 6 (post 1)

Amazing Food Detective

This is a great site, it makes me want to develop my own scientific interactive site for my students. I thought this was interesting when I played the shape guessing game and did some shape finding ( this seemed like it would apply to the younger grades) Then, I went in and went to an investigation with Katherine and we went to see what she was eating and got the facts upon peanut butter bread and more. Then I went under some other investigations and found how the boys eating habits and girls habits differ. It was a neat site is this almost the same as Foss Kids. I may do a lesson using this site for a integrated Nutritional unit for Preschoolers.
Kelli

Week 5 (post 2)

This weeks commentary is coming from the the reading module in the Ready, Set, Science book Chapter three. I wanted to comment upon how students interrupt and connect information from grade to grade. As we examine children's four domains of scientific knowledge it is important to see that according to the RSS text these domains are integrative to most scientific concepts and understood in the same manner among children:
Simple mechanics of solid bounded objects
Behaviors of psychological agents
Actions and organization of living things
Makeup and substance of materials
While all children comprehend these different domains in the same manner the reasoning will change according to their own variation of the domain. As a teacher this is so important to take into consideration because, every student will incorporate according to their prior knowledge, and connect upon the new knowledge presented. Kelli

week 5 (Post 1)

Since we are not in class this week i thoughti would comment upon the webquest I followed from the link Dr. E gave us as a link to the site. One of the scientific sites guided me along, to a place where you could test the astrological make up of a star. There were quizzes, interactive lessons, and tons of good lessonplans to do as a science teacher. I personally enjoyed the assignment and never thought it would be that interesting digging through a k-8 interactive lesson. I will jot this down and use it while teaching science myself. Great site!! Kelli

Web Seminar

After watching the web seminar, I was overwhelmed with questions and higher thinking of the concepts presented. There were many facts that I had absolutly no clue about I was really surprised by the fact that stars, contain approxminately, 1-2% metal which makes sense to me now that I look at the difference between how high mass stars are composed and how low mass stars are composed. There was a ton of information that also surprised me about the birth and expolsions of stars. When looking at the power point upon how a star dies through an energetic expolsion of a suprtnove which produces blackholes. The author also states that the formation and explosions are far more violent and complex than anyone had ever imagined. I thought Dr. E made a great comment whaen she stated the differences between the different terms of Astronmy. When speaking upon a topic that not many people are familuar with it is easy to become confused with different terms, ( thos ethat are close in spelling) epecially when teaching kids these misconceptions and confusions are easily made. Very intriguing presentation I was left with thinking more deeply about the topic, so for me it was a great learning experience.

Week 4 (post 2)

On Thursday the web presentation was a great exploration upon Astronomy, How stars are born. I took some notes from the PowerPoint presentation I was interacting with and there were some facts that I in reality had no clue about. For instance, I did not know that there is metal inside the composition of a star, guess this would make sense since they are illuminated. I learned that stars are categorized according to Temperature, Composition, Brightness, and occasionally distance. When you think about the birth and death of a star it is truly an amazing process, we mentally could never put our minds around considering it far more complex and violent then anyone had ever considered, as the author put it. I agree completely to this theory. I also watched the videos and thought it was cool to see the stars as they were exploding in the sky, we always hear about it but never actually experience it with the eye.

Week 4 (posting 1)
We did a lab this week on Acid Fruit Test. Here are my observations with in the lab! Vinegar will react with baking soda resulting with the emission of carbon dioxide pushing more air into the surenge and the pressure of the reaction causing the surenge to rise also seen with lime juice. Yet, this same procedure done with water and orange juice there is no reaction. In the end, I draw the conclusion that the more concentrated the acid is the more gas it will give off. When doing the same procedure with a real piece of fruit there was not as much of a chemical reaction either due to the surface area and the limitations of the contianer it was placed inside! Very Fun activty Dr. E I would love a copy of this lab for myself! Kelli

Week 3 (post 2)

Week 3 Thursday we went into the computer lab to log on to the website to calculate the food content and play the games of nutritional values of the foods we pick. I thought this was informational, and a great idea to use in my classroom I thought the site could easily be applied to any aged child and rather easy to navigate from the site different interactive games, powerpoints, readings, and other sites. I also think this activity was great for cooperative leanring within our science class because I was able to hear the opinions of the other people in my eled 320 class which was nice as many ed classes tend to be very individualistic Thanks for sharing Dr. E !! I will definetly use this program when I teach.

Week 3

This week on Tuesday we were given the Monoply Game to cut, glue,laminated, saved and used in our classrooms as an introductory game to Safety and Rules. I really thought this was a cool idea espically for younger kids anytime you can make it a game they will become more interested in the topic. Once, they become interested they will retain the information more effectively. I could not imagine going over and reading aloud the different rules of the lab. I know it would bore me to use a monotone and explain how they will hurt themselves if they use carelessness. It is super cool idea to get the whole class interacting, and interested the foundations of Science.
I think this could also be applied to middle school classrooms in the same sense; middle school boys are going to make fun and disreguard the Rules thinking they are silly, but in reality they need to take the rules serious and use caution in the Science lab. Therefore, the game serves as a useful method to interest adolesent teens in a non-lecture format rather then loosing them in some notes. Also Dr. E thanks for the fun formats for science Awards in both English and Spanish way to adapt to the multicultural planning.

Week 2 (2nd posting)

Thursday Week 2 We went over the notes from Ready, Set, Science we discussed about how students learn science. According to the reading Science is based up on two concepts one the scientific content and two the scientific processing. I agree with the author of Ready Set Science when they said students learn science based upon the framework science being a body of knowledge and an evidence-based, model-building enterprise that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge. This framework moves beyond to explore more contexual factors as we see with the labs of the classroom and paper based tests commonly seen in the middle school classroom. It is the job of the teacher to foster and aquire the means of bridging these learning concpets with in the Science content area.

Week 2 (2nd posting)

Week 2

Week 2 This week we were working with temperature and the exchange of heat and cold as it is transferred through water. We did a lab on Tuesday and we worked with the high-tech Lab Quests. I had some problems with mine but, I really like it once I got the hang of graphing and charting all the different data points. As we put the temperature thermometer into the hot water our lab quest read consistently at 60-80 degrees and to my surprise once we place that same thermometer into the cold water it leveled off into a strait line reading that the temperature was consistently staying at 80 degrees. This was really shocking because I thought the spike in Temp difference would be detected on the Lab Quest! Over all very great lab I think students would enjoy. Kelli Leander

week 1

I have added this class late therefore, I am playing catch up big time! I missed the first week's lab but, I have read it over and would like to share some of my thoughts about the lab. First off I thought that the Materials were supplemental and very easy to get even with a limited budget. They are also items you could just find easily so you would not have to order any crazy parts from a science supply store or have to go out and buy some parts from the store it is all classroom obtainable parts. Secondly, I thought the directions were very descriptive and that given the right guidance the students could do this project very easily. I also thought it was cool that the math was incorparated into the lab becuse then you are hitting on more then one standard and cross referencing their learning between two subjects. I can't wait to see this actually done in a classroom Kelli