What knowledge is of most worth?

I learned that Herbert Spencer believed that those activities that led to self-preservation and preservation of the human race. I learned that Spencer believed that science was the most important subject of knowledge because science leads to the advancement of the human race, such as advancement in health and medicine. However, he did not foresee that science could be used to make weapons or other means of war. Finally, Spencer made the radical suggestion that learning should be based on discovery, not direct instruction type activities (Ellis, slide 14-15). I wondered why he is only thinking about the human race. What about the Earth? Sustaining the Earth is a necessity if the human race is to continue existing. I thought it was a short sight that Spencer did not include this idea.

Horace Mann came up with the idea that the public need and deserve an education, so that the republic will not remain ignorant. He also thought education must be paid for, controlled and sustained by an interested public (Ellis, slide 19-20). I think it is interesting that he thinks everyone should have an education but everyone should also have to pay for it. What about people who cannot afford an education? Do they not need or deserve it?

I love the idea that my subject is of the most worth, according to Spencer. However, I think it is important to remember ethics when it comes to science. Spencer did not foresee the consequences of all scientific technology, and therefore possibly did not foresee the need for teaching ethics of using scientific breakthroughs. When I teach students about different scientific breakthroughs, such as cloning or using stem cells, we always talk about the ethical issues connected with the breakthroughs. For example, we talked about the difference between using stem cells from a fetus versus using stem cells from an umbilical cord. We talked about how the cells can be used in different ways, and how the technologies could be advanced in the future. I think in the future I can have debates, or discussions to help students see all sides of each technological breakthrough.

Philosophy of Teaching

1. What education is

I believe that education is teaches children about the world around them. Parents can teach their children the basics, but eventually children need to be taught by those who are experts in those subjects to be learned. Not everyone is an expert in the subjects we have deemed important for students to understand, which is why we have teachers for specific subjects in secondary school. Our goal in education is to give the next generation enough knowledge so that they can be competent citizens, who understand how the world works and why we live the way we do. Especially right now, with the debate about climate change in the government, students must be able to understand the science behind the theories so that they can make an informed decision about what they believe.

I believe that education can excite students about the world around them. Engaging student curiosity is important because students will be more willing to learn, and may learn more completely. The more young people we can engage with the world around them, the more involved those students will be in the world as the mature and move in to their later careers. The more involved people are, the more they participate in important events, such as elections. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2009), in 2008, of the total population 18 and over, only 71.0 percent registered to vote and 58.2 percent actually voted. It is important that all citizens have a say in how our government is run, as it is our right to do so. 63.6 percent is a far cry from all citizens, and I think the more we engage students in the classroom, the higher this number will go. The number of people who actually voted is five percent higher than the number of people who voted in the 2004 election (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). Educating students about the election and the bills to be passed helps these numbers to keep rising.

I believe that education fosters skills in group work and collaboration in students. In their later skills, students will most likely need to be able to work with other people, whether in a single partnership or in a large group. Education is one way to help the students gain the ability to successfully work with their peers, whether at the same achievement level or not.  When working in a group or pair with a peer (or peers) at the same achievement level, a student can learn how to effectively bounce ideas off someone else, or look at a problem from a different perspective. When working in a group or pair with a peer (or peers) with different strengths and weaknesses, a student could learn how to improve their weaknesses by seeing another student’s example, or help another student with their weaknesses. In some cases, this strategy helps both (all) students with their weaknesses, and they learn much more than they would have on their own (Toward Inclusive Classrooms, 1994, p. 47).

I believe that education teaches students how to be leaders. Leadership skills are important for most careers, and the classroom is a safe place that students can use to gain these essential skills. Education can provide a model for leadership skills as well, giving many examples of leaders both in history and in present day. Leadership skills include those necessary to manage group tasks, to take initiative and plan out an agenda, to collaborate with others on a single project, and many others. All of these tasks are inherently tasks that require one to solve a problem, and students will need to have many strategies at hand when asked to solve any problem in their later careers (Sue Law, 2000, p. 175).

I believe that education teaches students about diversity. In our society, we tend to focus on how people are alike, and we cling to those things that make us the same, or that help us fit in with the crowd. Education can help students realize that differences should be celebrated, and can help our society grow. Education can show students that everyone can reach their goals when motivated enough, even if the student is reaching for the sky. Especially for marginalized and “at-risk” youth, it is important to show that everyone can be successful, no matter what their background is (Sheri C. Hardee, 2009, p. 38).

I believe education can teach students about morality and ethics, to help them see right and wrong. Morality is something that affects students daily lives on a constant basis, and education should teach them how to deal with the issues. Students are faced with issues as small as copying homework, to as big as stealing and education should give them the tools to make good decisions. I think education provides an environment in which moral issues can be discussed, and moral issues can be experienced and viewed. Although it is difficult to tell students what is right and what is wrong in all cases, there are issues that can be discussed, and examples given, but students have to gain their own sense of right and wrong for their own beliefs (Standish, 1997, p. 96-97).

1. How teaching supports

I believe that teaching supports student learning about the world because teacher can use his or her own enthusiasm for the subject material to excite the students. Teachers can be the key to student engagement. If a teacher is excited about the subject material, it is more likely to be interesting to the student (Medina, 2008, p. 76).

I believe that teachers can support collaborative learning by modeling collaboration with other teachers. Teachers can do collaborative projects with other classes, or talk about other teachers in their classes. In addition, teachers can encourage group collaboration on certain assignments or projects, even encourage the higher achieving students to help the lower achieving students understand the concepts. As students work with others more often, they will improve their collaborative skills very quickly.

I believe that teachers can model good leadership skills in the classroom, showing students a good example of a wide variety of skills. Teachers can encourage development of leadership skills by putting students in the position to use those skills often, giving them a chance to try, fail and try again. Practice will help students hone these skills, and if each student is given an equal opportunity to plan a project, or mediate discussion in a group, or give a presentation on a particular concept or idea, they will be able to fully develop problem solving and communication skills needed by leaders.

I believe that teachers can show students how differences can enhance our society rather than devastate it. Teachers can provide a model by making a point to notice students’ strengths, individually or in front of the class, whether by complimenting their work, or going to an event. Small reminders to students in class, such as, “nice job in the game on Saturday, Suzanne!” will help the students see that a teacher cares about each student enough to notice each students’ strengths and celebrate the different activities that each student excels in. Students will see this, and begin to celebrate their own differences from their peers, and maybe start to celebrate the differences in others (Noddings, 2005, 18).

 I believe that teachers can show students the difference between right and wrong through example and discussion. Using real examples will give students real situations to think about, and will force them to think about situations they could be in. Teachers can give their students good class discussions, and complex situations to think about so that students can develop their own sense of morality. Teachers should not tell students what to think, but give them time and issues to think about. Teachers can get students to develop a great sense of right and wrong if they simply give the students time to think and reflect.

I believe that teaching adds the personal connection between educational content and student learning. The teacher can be the spark that gets the students excited about the material and engaged in the school community. When teachers take in to account the situations their students are in, the environment they grew up in, and the state their brains are in, as teenagers, they can alter the way they teach to accommodate for the issues most teenagers have. We can use research on the brain and knowledge of our students to coordinate our lesson plans to help them learn the best they can. We can help the students by previewing material, priming the students for the material, and repeating the material with the students, because this is the way their brains learn best (Jensen, 2005, p. 39). As teachers, we are trying to educate our students, and help them succeed in school. The more we can do to help them succeed, the better teacher each of us will be.

References

Dalheim, M. (1994). Toward inclusive classrooms. National Education Association of the United States.

Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules. Seattle: Pear Press.

Noddings, N. (2005). The challenge to care in schools: an alternative approach to education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Sheri C. Hardee, A. R. (2009). Women’s well-being initiative: creating, practicing, and sharing a border pedagogy for youth. Perspectives on Urban Education , 6 (2), 29-40.

Standish, R. S. (1997). Teaching right and wrong: moral education in the balance. Staffordshire: Trentham Books Limited.

Sue Law, D. G. (2000). Educational leadership and learning: practice, policy and research. Buckingham: Open University Press.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2009, October 20). Voting and Registration. Retrieved February 21, 2010, from U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2004/tables.html

Meta-Reflection: Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

I feel that I have continued to learn and gather evidence to fulfill this standard this quarter. In taking over both chemistry and both biology classes, I have learned so much about my students and how I can help them succeed in my classes. Coming into student teaching, I knew dealing with high school students was going to be a completely new experience. From fall quarter, I saw the huge difference in maturity between sophomores and juniors and seniors. I also saw a difference in maturity between my two sophomore biology classes, probably because of the difference in the other classes the students are taking (those in IB math or block and those who are not). I have learned that different techniques are needed to handle the different classes, and I must keep in mind how much I can expect each class to be able to do without guided instruction.

My biology classes, for example, have a hard time with a lecture when it lasts all period, no matter how many attention grabbers, or stories I insert into the lecture. Therefore, I try not to lecture all period, rather lecture for half the period, and then do an activity or worksheet for the second half. Even if this means splitting up a lecture, I think the students will learn more if they are focused throughout the lecture, rather than spacing out or getting bored. When I do need to lecture for an entire period, I try to give the students a break in the middle of class. The break is usually to do yoga with the students, or to talk about an upcoming event (such as HSPE testing, or a track meet). I find this helps keep them on task while giving their brain a break. If I give them a chat break, I find that it is really hard to bring them back in to the material.

In my chemistry classes, the students can handle a little more lecture during the period. Of course I still use practice problems, stories, demonstrations and video clips to break up the lecture, to hold the students’ attention. I try to begin a unit with a lecture that begins with a somewhat relevant video clip (see power point links below) from a TV show that the students recognize and possibly watch. I feel that this helps relate the material to their lives outside of school. In addition, I try to present a chemistry cartoon that relates to the material I am presenting that week, every Friday. I also put pictures, animations and cool backgrounds into my power points (1, 2), with not so much text, so that the students can focus without getting bored with tons of text.

This quarter, both my chemistry and biology classes had a design lab project (biology experiment). This means that they were given a research question, and they needed to work with a partner to develop a procedure to answer the research question. All periods were given in-class time and needed to get checked off before they could start the experiment. During the experiment, the students needed to work together in order to come up with a procedure and then work together to complete the experiment. This project required the students to collaborate with their peers and work well with their assigned partner. At the end of the chemistry experiment, the students had to individually write a letter to a ceramic company, recommending the glaze that the students found during the experiment. It was meant to show students how to appropriately communicate with members of the community in a business setting, and from a peer’s perspective, rather than from a student’s perspective. In addition, the letter helped the students explain in their own words why they designed their experiment the way they did. The students could explain how they came to the conclusion that they did, as these students did (1, 2, 3).

I have had many parent conferences this quarter, in e-mail, on the phone and in person. I have learned a lot about how to talk to parents. It is always good to show them that you care about their student’s success by giving ways to help their student succeed in your class. It is also good to start off with something positive about their student, so that they can feel that their student is doing something right in your class, and that you have not written them off as a bad egg. I like to encourage parents to help their child with homework, especially with labs and studying for exams (flash cards are very helpful to students and parents can quiz their child with them!)

In my biology class, my mentor has a set of activities to help the students learn the structure of DNA, and how the molecule replicates. The students work in pairs to first make a model of one DNA molecule out of string, two different types of pasta, and four different colored pipe cleaners. They have to answer given questions, study the different parts of the molecule and how it is put together. After they feel they are ready (they know the molecule backwards and forwards), they come up to me and must pass an oral quiz. The students must get every question correct, or they must go study and come back up again. Each time they are sent back to their seat, they lose one out of five points. This encourages the students to learn and master the material quickly, so that they only have to get quizzed once. I try to change up the questions each time because nothing prevents the students from telling their friends all the questions I asked them. I also do not want the students memorizing the questions I asked them in their first try so that I know that they are actually learning the material, rather than memorizing the minimum material. We go through the same routine for replication of DNA, with another oral quiz.

For my Standards-based Assessment class, we had to complete a project that involved assessing what the students have learned up to a point, re-teaching, and then giving another assessment. I gave the students a formative assessment (pop quiz) on new material right after I lectured and gave examples on the material. Then, I helped them practice the material over the course of the week, with homework problems, warm up problems, having students answer orally in class, and partner work. At the end of the week we had another quiz. In my project, I attached the work of five students, showing their improvement over the week. I had students answer reflection questions, including any strategies they used to solve the problems, or learn the material. It was interesting to compare student performance to whether or not they had a strategy for solving the problems. The students who had strategies for learning the material, and actually understood how they learned were the most successful.

Students all learn differently, and it is important for a teacher to understand that when he or she is planning lessons. It is also important for students to understand their own learning, both what they have learned and how they have learned. It is really important to put learning in context for the students in terms of the community, get them involved in the classroom, and get their parents involve in their learning. Students have individual needs when it comes to learning a good teacher knows how to meet those needs.

Meta-Reflection: Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

I feel I have learned a lot about what this standard means in the past quarter. This standard calls for the teacher to personalize her teaching to individual learning strategies, and to help students succeed even with large obstacles in their way. I have many students that are dealing a variety of obstacles, and I have learned a lot this quarter about how to help them in my classroom and tailor my teaching to their needs without feeling like I am giving them an easy pass. In order to find out more about my students, I gave a student questionnaire during the first week of school, in order to give them a chance to tell me how they learn best, and if they have any issues they would like me to know about. I get 504 and IEP information directly from the school, but I wanted to know about all the issues students might have, not only the legal, documented students.

I have several 504, IEP and ELL students who all require some modification to their learning in the classroom. Nearly all of these students are placed up front in the seating chart, though not next to each other. I want to help them succeed by putting them near me, so I can help them be separated from distractions. I have also separated these students so that they are working with a student that will help them keep up with their classmates, whether that means someone who speaks their native language, or focused student that will help them be more focused, or away from other students who distract them even more.

For ELL students specifically, I allow them to continue working on their exams in their ELL classes. I feel that they need this extra time because of the English barrier. Even though their ELL teacher does not know much about science, she can help the students understand the English questions being asked. Sometimes I allow this extra time on assignments as well. I had one student complete an assignment, but received a low grade on it because he misinterpreted what most of the questions were asking him to do. I gave the assignment back to him and asked him to go over it with his ELL teacher. He turned it in the next day and received an A because of the help he received with the English. I also saw great improvement on his last couple exams, I think because of how much better his understanding of English is becoming. I made sure that, in both seating arrangements we have had so far, he is seated next to another student who speaks Chinese (I happen to have two other students who also speak Chinese in his class) so that he can translate with them, and get help when he does not understand things. On the first few exams, it was apparent that his English was preventing him from showing his understanding of the material. On the last two exams, he got As, which shows that he is improving greatly.

I tend to have a lot of group work in my classroom, because I feel that it helps connect the students to each other, and help each other learn. We have labs approximately every other week, which calls for students to work in their partners (they sit together). When we do other partner work, I try to mix it up so students can work with other students more often. I also switch up the seating chart once a quarter, to differentiate which students work together in labs. I feel that putting students into groups, and then mixing up those groups help the students develop a learning community with their classmates, and feel like the class is learning together, rather than everyone learning for themselves. Group work in the classroom also will help students develop the skills they need to work with others, because they will have to work with others in some way for the rest of their lives.

Already this quarter, I have had many conversations with several different parents, over e-mail, on the phone and in person. I have come to understand that a lot of teaching is responding to parent concerns about their students, even in high school! Many parents just want to know how to help their students do better, and my mentor has been great about helping me respond to these queries. Most e-mails and phone calls can be answered quickly, noting what areas the student needs to put more effort in, giving examples of how they can improve (i.e. making flash cards, attending after-school tutoring or coming in after school to see me). Some meetings can be this simple as well. Some other e-mails and meetings, however, need a little bit more. Some parents need specific lists of what their students are missing, although Skyward (an online grade book) helps greatly with that, and some parents even need e-mail attachments of assignments, especially in cases of IEP students. I try to keep these parents informed; I even do weekly e-mails for one student with his Learning Strategies Teacher and his mom. I have attended a few conferences, with parents and the student, with the parents and other teachers, even with parents, teachers and administrators. I have learned that it is much easier for the parents if you have something positive to start out with, even if it is as simple as “your student does not disrupt class” or “your student seems to be engaged when we do hands-on activities.” There are a lot of issues to keep track of, but I think keeping track of everything is important to help all students do their best.

My biology mentor is very much an environmental biologist. Our most recent unit was ecology and we will begin human impact when we return from break. She always makes a point to discuss the environment and our effect on it many times during this unit. This idea is built into the power points, Populations and Ecological Pyramids, for this unit. During the Populations lecture, we discussed how different countries have contributed to our advances to extend Earth’s carrying capacity. We also discussed how these actions affect other organisms, including other humans. In the Ecological Pyramids lecture, we discussed how we could stretch our resources even more, and how differences in eating habits between countries can affect our use of resources differently. We are trying to help students become aware of their impact on the environment, and I think the next topic (Human Impact) will open their eyes to the idea that they have an effect on the world they live in.

Although I mostly have reflective evidence for this standard, I think my knowledge has still greatly increased in fulfillment of this standard. I hope to collect more hard evidence, especially student-based, over the next two quarters.

Welcome to the Future… In Educational Technology

When making my digital narrative, I felt that what I was discussing was a good summary of everything I had learned over the quarter in this class. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of my students actually using technology in the classroom, but I noticed some interesting things. I saw that students were very familiar with using some aspects of technology in the classroom, while other technologies are not so wide spread. For example, most high school students are fluent in most Microsoft office programs, including Word, Power Point and Excel. Students can surf the internet with ease, though have trouble with determining whether a site is reliable or not. I also did not see a wide use of blogging in the classroom. Although students are familiar with social networking with facebook, myspace and twitter, they do not really use blogging. Blogging can be used for student collaboration; students can teach each other by explaining a concept in their own words. As blogs are public, the students’ work is being published. Students will work much harder if they know their work is being read and scrutinized by their peers, and the rest of the online community (November, 2006). If I were to have students begin a blog for the creative stories we write about science concepts, they may work harder to make sure it is their best work, and we could even talk about other ways of publishing their stories. Incorporating these kind of projects for students fulfills EALR 1 component 1.1 and EALR 2, component 2.4 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

I feel that are doing a pretty good job of preparing our students for their future careers, but we can do more. I think introducing them to technologies such as wikispaces, videoconferencing, or even website building would benefit their preparation immensely. Technology classes in schools may do this, but I think all students should be given sufficient practice with these programs. I think if we keep working to incorporate problem solving and creativity, such as incorporating computer games (http://medmyst.rice.edu/) or real life simulations (http://www.youdagames.com/online-simulation-games/) into our teaching, we will have prepared our students very well for their future careers. This incorporation will fulfill EALR 1, component 1.3 and EALR 2, component 2.4 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

I think we do a good job of talking about multiculturalism in the classroom, but the only way our students learn first-hand is if a student in our class has traveled, or if a student has moved to the US from another country. Using services like global-leap.org, we could connect our classrooms across the globe. Students could work with students from another country to compare ecosystems surrounding their schools. For example, my mentor just did a lab with her IB Environmental Systems and Societies class where they studied the numbers of three types of trees in the environment surrounding Skyline High School, as well as looking at what other organisms and biotic factors are present. We could connect with a classroom in other country (for example, somewhere in England or Australia) and run the same experiment, comparing the ecosystems and making conclusions about why the ecosystems are similar or different. This project could be used to fulfill all components of EALR 1 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

Students are excited about using all the modern technologies available today, but they do not necessarily know the safest practices for using them. Our students need to know how to protect themselves and their identities against predators, especially those online because it may not be apparent that they are present. We can use interactive means, such as the PBS Official Web License. We can also help counteract cyber bullying by reminding students to report any name calling or mean commenting they encounter. These interactive means fulfill EALR 2, components 2.1 and 2.2 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

Often times, students respond more strongly to their peers than they do to authority figures, even if both are relaying the same message. If students can discuss legal, ethical and moral issues associated with modern technologies with each other, their thoughts may have a greater impact on each other than my own thoughts. This is probably one of the reasons the commercials countering pirated music now star children and teens. If we can have a serious class discussion about what students consider appropriate actions when it comes to using modern technology, such as creative content posted online, the students may consider looking at creative content differently than they have in the past. We want to see a change in their behavior and perceptions towards content posted online (Microsoft, 2008). These discussions would fulfill EALR 2, components 2.1 and 2.2 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

References:

Freedman, Terry. (2006). Coming of age: An introduction to the new world wide web. Great Britain: Terry Freedman Ltd.

Global Leap. (2006). Videoconferencing in the Classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.global-leap.org/about/.

Microsoft. (2008). Digital citizenship and creative content curriculum. Retrieved from: http://www.digitalcitizenshiped.com/Curriculum.aspx.

Public Broadcasting Company. (2007). Get your official web license. Retrieved from: http://pbskids.org/license/result.html?a1=n&a2=n&a3=n&a4=n&a5=n&a6=n&a7=n&a8=n&a9=n&a0=n&name=Kirstin&x=125&y=36.

Educational Technology Creed

For this narrative, I had a lot of fun taking pictures of my students actually using technology in the classroom. They got extremely excited when I was taking pictures of them working, and they kept trying to pose. This made it difficult not to get too much of their faces in the pictures. What I thought was interesting, was that as I was taking pictures, I saw that students were very familiar with using some aspects of technology in the classroom, while other technologies are not so wide spread. For example, most high school students are fluent in most Microsoft office programs, including Word, Power Point and Excel. Students can surf the internet with ease, though have trouble with determining whether a site is reliable or not.

I also noticed that students can be very excited by technology use in the classroom. even though we are doing the same demonstrations in class, students are much more excited when we watch the same demonstration on youtube.com. This is a neat technique to be aware of because there are many videos and simulations online that can be used to engage student interest.

I really enjoyed using Audacity and Windows Movie Maker to create this narrative. I was not familiar with either program, but both were very easy to use. I was even able to add in some music, something I was not sure was going to be possible because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to figure out how to use the programs. I love the animations for transitioning between pictures. It makes the movie much more interesting. I am glad that I needed to use programs I wasn’t familiar with because it reminded me how easy it can be to learn how to use really neat programs. I will remember this experience when I am looking for new things to do in the classroom, or need my students to make a cool documentary.

My script!

Marzano Strategies: summarizing and note-taking, cues, questions and graphic organizers, and formative assessment

Lesson Plan: Ecology

a. Instructional Strategy-Referenced Reflection

In this lesson, three different strategies were implemented in different sections in of the lesson. First, students were asked to recall how to summarize something by summarizing what they learned when they took notes on the definition of ecology, the biosphere, ecosystems and abiotic/biotic things, the day before (summarizing and note-taking). The students then took notes on a power point presentation and lecture using a graphic organizer. Examples were given, stories were told and students were asked questions to help them think of examples in their own loves (cues, questions and graphic organizers). Finally, the students filled out a worksheet that asked them to determine whether something was biotic or abiotic, which shows if they learned what the words meant the day before (formative assessment).

I thought the lesson went fairly well. The students seemed to benefit from the teaching strategies used, and would not have made as many connections if the strategies used were less diverse.

b. Standard S Criterion-References Reflection

In this lesson, students needed to summarize their notes from the day before. To do this, they needed to read over their notes, understand what a summary was, and write out two to three sentences. They needed to know how to effectively complete each of these tasks in order to be successful in this lesson. I presented these outcomes to the students and gave them a time limit in which to finish the assignment.

During the lecture, the students can read the power point lecture and fill out the graphic organizer. In addition, they needed to listen to my examples and stories, and come up with their own to show that they could recognize and apply the concepts. I related the concepts to geography, by showing a map of different ecosystems throughout the world. I think technology helped out the lecture a great deal. We could show pictures, and put up the information in an interesting, colorful way. Simply talking about the material would inhibit the visual learners, and there would not be any visual stimulation to catch the students’ attention.

After the lecture, the students were given a worksheet to fill out to discover how much they had actually learned about biotic and abiotic things the day before. They were asked to determine different things as abiotic or biotic. The students had issues with the idea that “dead” things are considered biotic when this was first taught, but today they seemed to understand the difference between dead and non-living. They still had trouble with the idea that fossils and molecules were abiotic, because fossils were “once alive,” but talking about how fossils are made seemed to help their understanding. Talking about the different kinds of molecules that are possible helped them as well, because they could see how molecules could be abiotic.

c. Standard T Criterion-Referenced Reflection

After reading the students summaries, I found that my students are either lazy, or do not know how to write summaries. Many of the students simply restated a few different sentences from their notes, rather than actually writing two or three sentences about the big ideas. A few students got the idea, but most did not. The problem was that I assumed that all students would know how to write a summary, which my mentor said that they do, they were just being lazy. We will still be going over this another day, probably using an example, such as summarizing a current movie or book.

The lecture was definitely more interesting to the students with the power point than it would have been if I had just talked. We were able to show large color pictures of organisms, maps of the world with biomes labeled. During the lecture, I told stories about Cokany Salmon, the biome that Sammamish is in and about my mentor’s previous research. These examples gave the students a way to relate to the material in an interesting way that was easier for them to understand. Students were also able to fill out a graphic organizer to help them remember what we talked about. The organizer makes it much easier for students to take notes, and get down the main ideas of the lecture.

The worksheet at the end of the period was a self-assessment (see student work below) to see if the students understood what abiotic and biotic meant, and to see if they could classify examples of biotic and abiotic things. On the worksheet I gave them a range of things, including things I thought they would know to things I knew would be difficult. I wanted to challenge them, but not force them to fail. I think it worked well. Almost all of the students understood the ones I thought they would get, and some got the ones that I thought would be difficult. When we reviewed the examples in class, it was apparent that the students understood what biotic and abiotic meant and could identify things as either biotic or abiotic. They got things wrong when they were unsure of the composition, such as a fossil. Many students did not know how fossils were formed, so they did not understand how they could be abiotic. We had a great discussion about how fossils are formed, which helped them understand exactly why fossils are abiotic.

Student work: 1, 2, 3, 4

Changing times

Technological advances have changed our society a lot in the last few years. Especially since the creation of social networking sites, such as facebook.com, myspace.com, and twitter.com, interaction on the internet has increased. Many teachers, including those at Skyline now have websites that allow students to keep up with their homework, print off class notes, or reference the power point for the current unit. Some keep up an additional social networking site (usually facebook.com) to interact with their students outside of class, such as answering questions about material and/or homework.

These sites can also be used to allow students to work on and complete group homework assignments or projects when they cannot get together outside school. Many times, the students’ schedules prevent them from getting together outside of school. This new technology will allow students to work from wherever they can, and even allow for students needing to work at separate times (Johnson et al. 2009). I think this gives students much more freedom to collaborate on assignments with other students.

Asking students to work with technology to complete school work may help empower them to complete their assignments. They are surrounded by these technologies every day, and often times, students see these technologies as part of the real world, but school work is disconnected. If we can use technology to show that school and the real world are connected, maybe we can give them long term goals for connecting what they learn to what they want to do when they grow up.

Some advances we have seen may not help as much as we would like them to. The sixth sense technology described in the video, The Thrilling Potential of Sixth Sense Technology, shows how cool technology can be. We could give this technology to students to complete outside projects and assignments, and they could get very creative with what they record and describe. I could imagine students having much more freedom to create videos and spreadsheets that answer a scientific question. Students could be given an assignment to look for chemical bonding in their everyday lives. They could take pictures, then insert pictures of molecular models of those bonds they found and finally overlay shapes to show geometry of the bonds. I think projects like this are very beneficial because it connects students’ lives to the material they are learning in school.

However, I foresee many issues with this technology if it is widespread enough that students are using it consistently outside the classrooms. If students have access to this technology and can bring it in to the classroom, they would have access to their cell phone, the internet, and a camera extremely easily. With only their fingers as the interface, a student could take a picture of the first page of a test, send it to their friend, have their friend look up the answers and send the picture back. The picture could even be sent to the entire class. I think cheating in this fashion, or in similar fashions, could become rampant if this technology is allowed to spread. I think we would have an even larger issue with cell phones than we do now, because there is no way to separate the technologies, so students would always be able to access their phone. Technology can greatly benefit education, but there are always drawbacks to the best of intentions. I hope we can find ways to limit the inappropriate use of technology in the classroom so that we can use the upcoming technology to its fullest extent.

References:

1. Johnson, L., Levine, A., Smith, R., and Smythe, T. (2009). The 2009 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

New technologies, new issues to worry about…

This week’s readings revolved around new ideas that we must consider in light of new technologies that are now used in today’s world. Most teenagers today (this includes most junior high and all high school students) surf the web on a daily basis. Many of these teenagers are participating in social networking sites, such as facebook.com, twitter.com and myspace.com, and various chat rooms. The internet opens up a whole new way for teenagers to communicate, aside from their constant text messaging. The fear is that if they do not know how to be safe on the internet, they could put themselves into very dangerous situations. Most teenagers do not see the real consequences of giving out personal information on the internet, nor do they see a problem with meeting someone on a social networking site or in a chat room and then proceed to meet them in person. We need to make sure that our students understand that information is not safe on the internet, and the potential dangers of not knowing who one is interacting with online.

One thing I have learned from previous experience was reiterated in one of the article assigned for reading this week. Parents (and teachers) should help students stay safe online, but not overreact when a teen has been exposed to inappropriate content or has not been following the rules (Internet Education Foundation 2008). Teens do not usually respond well to authority figures trying to control what they believe to be something completely safe. I know I got really upset when my dad took away my e-mail in junior high because my friend was sending me inappropriate chain letters. I had already tried asking my friend to stop sending the messages and deleting them as they came into my inbox. My dad blamed me for the e-mails, even though I had tried to get out of the uncomfortable situation. I should have asked for help in preventing the e-mails, but the sender was my friend, so I was not sure what to do. I think I would have responded much more positively to my parents (or teachers) trying to help me deal with the problem rather than get mad at me for something I felt that I could not control.

I think teens have heard many internet safety talks over the course of their childhood, so another information session would probably not do very much. Students could review the FEMA Online Safety Rules, discuss why certain safety precautions might be important on the internet and then give a few examples of what might happen if students are not careful (real-life examples, not fabricated examples). Students could also go through the PBS Web License site, which is formatted much like an online quiz through ten categories of web access. Another activity could be showing students how easy it is to create a fake profile on a social networking site. It would be easy to incorporate lessons about technological safety into the classroom, especially if the class will be using the internet frequently in the class. By requiring students to use the technologies listed above, including academic research on the internet, it is also a teacher’s responsibility to teach students how to safely and effectively use these technologies. It would be silly to allow a child to play with fire before teaching him, or her, the dangers and safety precautions to use around fire. This is essentially what we would be doing if we asked students to use the technologies provided through the internet without first teaching the students how to use the technologies safely.

References:

Federal Emergency Management Association. (2009). Online Safety Rules for Kids. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/kids/on_safety.htm.

Internet Education Foundation. (2008). Online Safety Guide. Retrieved from http://kids.getnetwise.org/safetyguide/.

Public Broadcasting Services. (2007). Get your web license. Retrieved from http://pbskids.org/license/result.html?a1=n&a2=n&a3=n&a4=n&a5=n&a6=n&a7=n&a8=n&a9=n&a0=n&name=Steven&x=0&y=0.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in Today’s Society

The ability to think critically and solve problems is extremely important for any person who wishes to be successful in the world today. Every job involves the employee somehow thinking critically. The world today is not perfect, and there are problems of every kind present in everyday life. For example, a building manager may be working on a large project, and one of his employees has a fever and must stay home. That employee’s part in the work today is not going to get completed and the deadline may need to be pushed off. The manager cannot just say, “oh well, I guess things are just going to be delayed”. He must figure out a way to either get the work done, or to keep on track for his deadline without the work being done. This situation asks him the think critically to solve a problem.

Managers are not the only ones with problems. Problems happen at many levels, even when work isn’t an issue. Let’s say a woman is driving to pick up some groceries to make that night’s dinner and her car breaks down in the middle of the road. First, she must figure out how to get off the road so she can exit her car safely and not cause an accident by her car being stopped in the road. Then, she must figure out how she is going to get her car fixed (let’s say she has no cell phone). Finally, she must figure out how she will get home and then what she is going to do for dinner. In each of these pieces, she must think critically to solve her current problem. If students are not taught how to solve problems, they will have a hard time getting through life.

In the reading, I really liked Meg Griffin’s Scenario D. It showed a very applicable way (for a science teacher) to incorporate problem solving into a relevant lesson. I especially liked the real-world application she incorporated into the end of the lesson. (NETS Implementation 2008) My goal is to have several of these types of lessons built into my curriculum, where students are given a problem and must design a procedure to explore and fix the problem. When a teacher relates relevant lessons to phenomena students see outside of school every day, I think they are much more interested and much more willing to complete the assignment. They may even have fun doing it.

There are many ways to integrate technology into problem solving and critical thinking, and I think that students have a lot of fun using these technologies. I don’t think they feel like they are learning anything, which makes it more like fun and less like school work. On my delicious tag this week, I mentioned several computer games that I feel incorporate critical thinking and problem solving into the fun of the game. Some of these games are Super Solvers © Gizmos and Gadgets, Cyan World’s Myst, The Learning Company’s The Oregon Trail and Moby Games Mixed-up Mother Goose. These are only a few of all the games out there that incorporate critical thinking and problem solving. One other website that one of my classmates found discussed interactive simulations that give students a scenario which they can interact with, see an issue, and then try to figure out why it is happening. This website had several simulations with science topics, and they are varied from physics to biology to chemistry to earth science. There are also a few simulations about graphing. I think these simulations could be used very effectively to help students explore new concepts and figure the concepts out on their own. Allowing students practical experience with critical thinking and problem solving is, I think, the most effective way to teach them how to think critically and how to hone their skills in this area.

References:

1. NETS Implementation. (2008). Retrieved from NETS Implementation Wikispace: http://nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/Critical+Thinking%2C+Problem+Solving%2C+and+Decision+Making.
2. University of Colorado at Boulder. (2009). PhEt: Interactive Simulations. Retrieved from http://phet.colorado.edu/index.php.