I am glad that someone with respected ideas and a good voice to express what he sees has expressed what I have felt for years. America is falling behind, and no one seems to be really doing anything about it. I beleive that the advances in promoting STEM education for preparation in STEM careers is great, but I am afraid that it is not enough. Even worse, I fear that STEM is an idea that is not fully supported by US entities. I have noticed that when there is a gap in education, experts will come up with a solution, slap and acronym on it, and think that makes it official enough to bandaid the problems. The problem is that bandaids to do not last, and neither do the solutions that America frequently creates. Unfortunately, educators frequently latch on to these ideas and run with them which basically "enables" our government to continue avoiding the problem and coming up with bogus solutions (Friedman, 2010).
Friedman had it right when he accused America of having its interests in oil and other lands (Friedmand, 2010). Why will America send troops overseas with guns-a-blazin' to protect our oil interests, risking lives and billions of dollars, yet won't fight just as hard a war to promote the kind of education that our children need to compete in a global market just a few short years down the road? It does not make sense now, and it certainly won't make sense when other countries who ARE targeting their funds to such ideas are strong enough to make sure the USA is no longer the big dog on the block.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Science Modeling
I presented a clay fault lines lesson to a 9-year-old and a six-year-old. The lesson was simple. They layered up clay to create a few different models. I explained that the layers were representing the different layers of the Earth. We then reviewed what an earthquake was and used total physical response to act it out as well as did practice drills of standing in the doorway for safety.
Once we established what and earthquake was, we turned to our models to explore the different kind of fault lines and how different geological features were formed. They made cuts and moved the clay to simulate the faults and movements. I found that through repetition the children were able to remember what the different kind of fault lines were.
When I did a short assessment at the end and asked them to recreate the faults as I called them out, the children were able to do so. I could tell that they met the learning objectives.
I did nto have any difficulty implementing the lesson. I only struggled with differentiating the lesson for the students. I found it to be too simple for the older child and a bit too challenging for the younger child. As a middle school teacher, I am also unfamiliar with the depth that the related learning targets are usually taught. I was not sure if I had made an age-appropriate lesson. The only insight i got in that area was for a friend who teaches elementary to review and give pointers on my lesson before it was implemented.
The only other challenge is that I could see my advanced students quickly becoming bored of the lesson. I would welcome any input you might have on how to differentiate for my advanced students.
Once we established what and earthquake was, we turned to our models to explore the different kind of fault lines and how different geological features were formed. They made cuts and moved the clay to simulate the faults and movements. I found that through repetition the children were able to remember what the different kind of fault lines were.
When I did a short assessment at the end and asked them to recreate the faults as I called them out, the children were able to do so. I could tell that they met the learning objectives.
I did nto have any difficulty implementing the lesson. I only struggled with differentiating the lesson for the students. I found it to be too simple for the older child and a bit too challenging for the younger child. As a middle school teacher, I am also unfamiliar with the depth that the related learning targets are usually taught. I was not sure if I had made an age-appropriate lesson. The only insight i got in that area was for a friend who teaches elementary to review and give pointers on my lesson before it was implemented.
The only other challenge is that I could see my advanced students quickly becoming bored of the lesson. I would welcome any input you might have on how to differentiate for my advanced students.
Natural Disasters
One of the most powerful ways that students can connect science to real life is by studying the impact of natural disasters on a community. Unfortunately, there is always some kind of natural disaster that has happened in fairly recent history somewhere in the world. Whenever there is a natural disaster, there are always relief groups organized to help the victims survive and the area to rebuild.
A natural disaster that is currently happening in Texas is an exceptional drought. There are many concepts about the drought that students may not have connected with. They understand that the heat is so extreme that they can't even look to their neighborhood pool for relief because it, too, is warm. The students know that they can't get outside to play much because it is not only uncomfortable, but even dangerous for them to do so.
I see a greater opportunity for science learning with the drought. Students can study the weather pattern, including La Nina, that has caused this weather pattern for drought. In past years, I have brought in meteorologists from local news stations to help the students understand the science behind recent disasters. Such a community figure not only captures their attention, but helps the students see a STEM career in real action.
Additionally, I would like students to research past and/or current droughts to see how it impacted the lives of others in other areas. Students could then take that information and begin to research how the current drought is effecting the health of local living organisms (people, animals, and plants). They could also interview people from farmers, economists, electric companies, water treament facilities and lake managment professionals, and even managers at the local grocery store to get a clear view of how the situation is impacting their community.
After all the information has been gathered, I would get a group of parent volunteers to help coordinate a relief effort on behalf of our students. Relief could include care baskets being given to families of farming communities whose income has been reduced do to lessened crops, fans for the elderly who cannot afford to air condition their house, and the list goes on. Because I teach a large unit on anatomy, I would love for students to spearhead an effort to educate others about the dangers of being out in the heat.
Their are many ways that students can become involved in their communites. The key to learning through the process is for them to search out the past and current information and then involve as much of the community as possible to give them a real glimpse into real science.
A natural disaster that is currently happening in Texas is an exceptional drought. There are many concepts about the drought that students may not have connected with. They understand that the heat is so extreme that they can't even look to their neighborhood pool for relief because it, too, is warm. The students know that they can't get outside to play much because it is not only uncomfortable, but even dangerous for them to do so.
I see a greater opportunity for science learning with the drought. Students can study the weather pattern, including La Nina, that has caused this weather pattern for drought. In past years, I have brought in meteorologists from local news stations to help the students understand the science behind recent disasters. Such a community figure not only captures their attention, but helps the students see a STEM career in real action.
Additionally, I would like students to research past and/or current droughts to see how it impacted the lives of others in other areas. Students could then take that information and begin to research how the current drought is effecting the health of local living organisms (people, animals, and plants). They could also interview people from farmers, economists, electric companies, water treament facilities and lake managment professionals, and even managers at the local grocery store to get a clear view of how the situation is impacting their community.
After all the information has been gathered, I would get a group of parent volunteers to help coordinate a relief effort on behalf of our students. Relief could include care baskets being given to families of farming communities whose income has been reduced do to lessened crops, fans for the elderly who cannot afford to air condition their house, and the list goes on. Because I teach a large unit on anatomy, I would love for students to spearhead an effort to educate others about the dangers of being out in the heat.
Their are many ways that students can become involved in their communites. The key to learning through the process is for them to search out the past and current information and then involve as much of the community as possible to give them a real glimpse into real science.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Webtools
While quite excited to begin our course project, I have been unsure of how to use the plethora of technology available to me. I am well aware that my students know so much mroe about webtools than I do, but I still know that many would be overwhelmed by having too many or too complicated web toolos available.
After previewing this week's resources, I have found some strengths and weaknesses with the presentation tools shown to me. Prezi was an entirely new resource. As an adult, I enjoyed the freedom to have a limitless space with which to maneuver objects of my thought process. I lied to see how the ideas would flow and then be able to simply mix up the ideas as I saw fit. The two main problems that I forsee witht eh program is that 1) While it is nice that there is limitless space in every direction, havign to constantly scroll back is a big inconvenience. 2) As a teacher, I know some of my students would feel overwhelmed by the abstract and limiltess capabilities.
Webtools 4u2use was a great resourse, but I was reluctant to try out any of the links because they did nto look itneresting. I could see from that site that many kids will have trouble. The site does not having items listed clearly. It would have helped to see a bulleted list that was not embedded in text. The tools I explored were good and fairly easy to use, but I did nto spend as much time at that site as the others.
I completyly enjoyed cool tools for school. The sites were listed were the first thing on the site and were lsited separate from text, so I could easily find what I needed. Pezentit was my favorite tool because it will allow groups ofs tudents to work collaboratively even when they are not together. I think this tools represents what future communication will entail for our yong minds.
After previewing this week's resources, I have found some strengths and weaknesses with the presentation tools shown to me. Prezi was an entirely new resource. As an adult, I enjoyed the freedom to have a limitless space with which to maneuver objects of my thought process. I lied to see how the ideas would flow and then be able to simply mix up the ideas as I saw fit. The two main problems that I forsee witht eh program is that 1) While it is nice that there is limitless space in every direction, havign to constantly scroll back is a big inconvenience. 2) As a teacher, I know some of my students would feel overwhelmed by the abstract and limiltess capabilities.
Webtools 4u2use was a great resourse, but I was reluctant to try out any of the links because they did nto look itneresting. I could see from that site that many kids will have trouble. The site does not having items listed clearly. It would have helped to see a bulleted list that was not embedded in text. The tools I explored were good and fairly easy to use, but I did nto spend as much time at that site as the others.
I completyly enjoyed cool tools for school. The sites were listed were the first thing on the site and were lsited separate from text, so I could easily find what I needed. Pezentit was my favorite tool because it will allow groups ofs tudents to work collaboratively even when they are not together. I think this tools represents what future communication will entail for our yong minds.
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