Well, here it goes. I'm a future junior high/ high school science teacher working towards my masters with a licensure. In class, we always learn about all these important "education topics and buzzwords". Reflection is mega important in the learning process. We've learned it time and time again. So we talk about how we want our students to reflect. I suppose it's only fair to do the same for my own learning.
I'm going to start with my instructional techniques class, even though it wasn't my first class of the week. It sort of ties in to the reason why I decided to write this blog. We started class with an inquiry based question. The basic outline can be found here:
http://www.pimaregionalsupport.org/Resources/Documents/Theory_Cube.p
We had a cube in front of us, and had to observe the cube. All sides were visible except one. We tried to find patterns in order to predict what was on the side of the cube that we couldn't see. We have a small class of only 5 students, so we broke up into two groups. Each group made a prediction of what may be on the other side. We wrote our predictions on the board and explained why we chose what we chose.
Instead of just telling us what was on the other side of the cube, Dr. Makkii let us continue to think about it. By doing so, she generated interest in this cube. By beginning class this way, she allowed us to see what we can do with our students in the classroom. This is what we continued to discuss on both Tuesday and Thursday of this week. It really is important to get students interested in learning. Instead of just giving them the answer, we should make them find it.
So you may wonder, why teach science in the first place? Well for me, it's easy. I LOVE science. I love learning new facts, experimenting, and even just observing phenomena. But when the answer relates to my students, it isn't so cut and dry. Students should learn science for economic productivity, career prep, to help make personal decisions, to help make social decisions, and also for personal fulfillment.
Now that we've figured out why we should teach science, it's important to look at how students learn. We used the book: How Students Learn created by the National Research Council, in order to look at this topic further. Side note: this is an AWESOME source and is free to download by clicking on the link.
There were three main concepts that were discussed about the learning process. First, we need to engage prior understandings. We need to see what type of preconceived notions that students have regarding the topic we are teaching and address those in order to move forward with the learning process. Second, it is important to keep in mind that both factual knowledge and conceptual frameworks are important for understanding. Making sure to tie the two together is essential in the classroom. Lastly, we need students to self-monitor their learning. They need to be aware of how they best learn and also whether or not they are understanding material. Students should be engaged in their own learning process.
There are four different types of learning. There is learner based learning (which keeps in mind what the students think and know), knowledge based learning (which focuses on the material itself), assessment based learning (which looks at visible learning), and community based learning (which discusses the importance of a positive classroom culture that promotes discussion).
We can compare learning to chess. We can watch someone play chess and learn quite a bit about it. If someone explains why they are making the moves that they are making, we can learn even more. By practicing, we become even better. When we practice with an expert nearby to help explain our mistakes, we can become a really fantastic chess player.
Seriously, READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE A FUTURE EDUCATOR! There are sections for younger grades as well as the different subjects for the older grades.
I'm in two other education classes. The first was cancelled for the week, but the second class seems like it will be pretty helpful. We had a pretty short introduction, starting with the syllabus and getting to know our peers. My prof for this class has lots of different experience, so I'll be curious to see what she can add to my classroom knowledge.
I'm also in a few more science focused classes..
I'm trying to stop thinking of organic chemistry as a horrible class I NEED for my major. I really do think it will be a good refresher and I will also gain quite a bit of knowledge. I'm realizing that I actually do remember quite a bit and that my prof is fantastic when it comes to explaining what we need to know. Thank goodness.
Reviewing what I've learned for the week. Protons=positive, neutrons= neutral, electrons=negative. Protons and neutrons are massive while electrons are non-massive in an electron cloud. The atomic mass =A which is = #p+#n. Confused yet? If you have no chemistry knowledge you probably are. Basically, atoms are made up of three different types of structures, protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and neutrons hang out together and the electrons float around them.
Structures want to be balanced, and this is why chemical reactions take place. Elements like to be noble so they gain and lose electrons. If you're looking at a periodic table, the noble electrons are on the far right.
So why study organic chemistry? Well polymers are made of monomers, which the main element is Carbon!! AKA carbon is super important to our world. Silicon is similar to carbon.
Crap... we're writing chemical formulas? IT'S BEEN 6 YEARS SINCE CHEMISTRY!!!
That was my immediate thought. After about a two minute panic in my head, I realized I could do this and honestly had to do this.
So lets look at a website to hopefully help. http://users.stlcc.edu/gkrishnan/periodictable.html
Electron configuration. Not hard. There are different shells in each electron. It starts with 1s, which can hold 2 electrons. 2s can hold 2 electrons, 2p can hold 6 electrons... so on so forth. Kind of memorization, kind of past knowledge.
Here is radium.. element 88. This is a good example of how to complete an electron configuration for an element with a lot of (88) electrons.
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s2
Okay. So now we're looking at bonds. There are 2 types, covalent and ionic. Ionic occur when metals and non-metals transfer electrons. Covalent occur when two non-metals share electrons. There are two types of covalent bonds: polar (not even sharing) and non-polar (even sharing).
There are 7 diatomic molecules and they are all non-polar, meaning they equally share electrons. I Bring Clay For Our New Home aka I, Br, Cl, F, O, N, H are the diatomic molecules.
Anion=negative charge, Cation=positive charge.
H2O2 is the molecular formula
HO is empirical
H-O-H-O is the structural formula.
So is it weird I find Lewis structures fun? Probably. Basically Lewis structures show us how elements connect together to form molecules.
Welp, there is my chemistry for the week. Overwhelming? Yes. Doable? Absolutely.
Environmental geology really focused on hurricanes this week. We learned that hurricanes get their power from warm oceans. Cumulonimbus clouds are made by rings formed from the warm water. If you see lightning or hear thunder, you know you are under a cumulonimbus cloud.
So why are hurricanes particularly dangerous? Storm surges can be up to 20 feet and can move far inland. In the case of Katrina, these went inland 1/2 mile! Projectiles can be dangerous as well. Sewer water leads to disease and poison water snakes tend to find people because they want warmth.. Yuck.
Houston really wasn't ready for a hurricane like Harvey. It's already sinking into a sand/clay base which water sits on top of clay. There is an over-pumping of water, oil, and gas. The average elevation is only 6 feet above seawater.
My professor seems to think New York would be devastated as well if they were hit with a hurricane. Something to keep in mind.
We also discussed the pressure system involving hurricanes. Low pressure in the center of the hurricane leads to a dome of water forming. The direction the wind is moving and hitting the land is the most deadly. This side has the storms, the high winds, and the highest surge. Yikes! Mother nature can be nasty, unfortunately. Sending thoughts the way of the victims in Houston during this tragedy right now! They could be seeing negative effects from this for years.
Lastly, I had Earth's Atmosphere and Weather. This was a super short class (50 minutes feels short).
We learned about climate vs. weather (climate is long-term, weather is short-term), talked about the atmosphere, and reviewed the syllabus. We also talked about hurricanes for a while, mostly because of what's going on in Texas right now.
Phew! Lots going on last week. I've got to remember to order my books and to get all of my homework done for next week. Thank goodness for a 4 day weekend!
-K
