“This is boring, I want to go home!”, screamed Ian, a young third grader, as he walked into the classroom.
“Oh, how I hope I can help him love science,” I prayed.
Last summer, I worked at Project Think, a summer academic program for kids ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade. As an assistant teacher, I was to create an environment that would inspire a passion for science. Having a parent as a teacher, I knew how difficult it could be, but I was ready for the challenge. As a science enthusiast, I was determined to make the kids enjoy learning science, even during summer break!
To have the students enjoy science, I had to immerse myself in learning as well. Often, when discussing complicated topics, the students would look to me for
an explanation, providing me the perfect opportunity to showcase my passion, while giving the students a chance to understand the material. I would show intriguing videos or pictures to stimulate a conversation among them. In an academic dialogue, students would ask questions furthering discussion and fueling enthusiasm for learning. Despite those efforts, some students were still apathetic. I told jokes and fun facts to garner some interest, but they did not budge. As I was losing patience, my dad explained the importance of connecting science to reality, thereby making the topics relevant. I taught them about famous scientific discoveries, such as the iPhone, and all their heads turned. All they needed were interesting facts proving how awesome science really is. By the end, all the students showed a newfound excitement for science. Hearing them talk fondly about what they did in science class made the whole experience worth it. Finally, Ian did not want to go home. At Project Think, I developed the valuable skills of passion, patience, and leadership. My enthusiasm permeated the classroom and everyone felt the excitement. Although my patience was frequently tested by students’ outbursts of frustration, I succeeded through determination and empathy. Creating an everlasting bond with these young students helped me discover and embrace my leadership qualities.
As I was helping oversee the young students competing in various science-based events, I was enthralled
Throughout kindergarten to fifth grade I really do not have many memories of science in class. This may be from me simply not remembering, but I believe it is due to the incredible integration of my elementary school. There were no certain blocks of time dedicated to certain subject, all the subjects fed off each other and were more a cohesive gaining of knowledge of all subjects rather than focusing on one. In my current schooling I have learned how hard it can be to integrate all the subjects together, but my elementary school did it seamlessly which is a goal I will constantly be striving for.
Kidwatching shows many different things when it comes to collecting data on how a student or student’s learn over a period of time. When doing kidwatching observations, it is important to monitor everything that could have an influence on a student’s performance. Different things such as resources, environments, interactions, etc. are a few things that can affect a student when it comes to learning. Being able to kidwatch at Killian Elementary, I’ve been able to collect a great deal of data when it comes to seeing a student as a scientist. This opportunity has allowed me to look at teaching science many different ways that can show how much students are interested and how much he/she understands.
Michael, S.et al. (2008). Prospects for improving K-12 science education from the federal level. Journal of Education 69(9): 677-683.
John Taylor Gatto explains in his essay, “Against School”, how the state of boredom and childishness can occur too often in classrooms. Gatto's description is true for a majority of public school classrooms because most teachers lecture too much in a monotone and unenergetic way. While this description represents the current American educational norm, teachers, students, and communities can change these low expectations by each playing a role in help making learning in classrooms a more engaging environment. For example teachers can change their style of teaching and become more entertaining, students can come to school with more motivation to learn, and communities can help make a safer environment for a student to learn and attend school.
Through this program I had first-hand access to some of the brightest young minds in both the United States and the world. The sharing among students of ideas and experiences in science, and in other areas as well, was enlightening. I felt like I had the chance to absorb knowledge from those around me. This environment spread beyond the students and also included the faculty and speakers. We had access to incredible faculty who were able to give much to the experience and share their own science insights. The program also brought in speakers and other science professionals from around the world who were at the top of their respective fields. This festival gave me real access to the movers and shakers of the science world, an experience beyond any available to me anywhere else.
Each year, as a new group of students enter my classroom, I will encourage them to be expressive of their imaginations in their favorite subjects, whether it will be art, literature, math or music. We all have rules and regulations to follow, and each student will know that there is no exception in the school or the classroom. Another goal in my classroom will be to keep the students excited about learning, not to treat school as a game or a social event, but to encourage a unique and fun atmosphere to learn.
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) was a valuable component of my high school curriculum. Project Lead the Way brought academic rigor and a practical hands-on approach that gave me a solid foundation for my Civil Engineering major at Rowan University.
Indeed, involving the students in the learning process can only enhance learning and self-development. Infusing the love of learning within the students may encourage them to become lifelong learners, always striving to become better knowledgeable citizens, long after compulsory schooling. I find teaching to be an ongoing, continuous yet challenging process that is rewarding in return. I see no end for improvement. I want to be a teacher who even after years of teaching, still strives to make each lesson better than the previous one, with my mind set on engaging my students to love Physics and Science as much as I do.
I have ensured that I meet my students’ science needs by assuring that the material needed to be cover in the class was covered. Furthermost, the students are able to learn from exploring, which is different from teaching the students how to and giving them the information needed. The students were still able to learn the material needed to be covered by discovering the content.
Project based learning, also known as PBL, is a teaching method that encourages students to take their education into their own hands. The definition I found for project based learning is, “ A teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for a n extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge” (What is project based learning (pbl)?, n.d.). It helps students communicate with each other and think critically about the world around them. Many schools has already tried to incorporate project based learning into their curriculum. This form of education is students based and the teachers responsibility is to guide the students. While researching, I learned many
...o listen carefully to ensure that kids are discussing scientific ideas, not socializing. The teacher's role is to ensure that students achieve their primary goal: meaningful understanding of scientific concepts. The practices described in this article help bring this about in several ways. When instruction centers on students and focuses on hands-on experience with scientific phenomena, science class becomes an exciting place. When instruction concentrates on the investigation of current problems and issues through scientific inquiry, science class becomes a relevant and meaningful place. When instruction emphasizes the development of communication skills, science class becomes an invaluable place for preparing children to tackle the challenges of adulthood. And the education community owes it to its students to assess their academic progress fairly and accurately.
This class has opened my mind to the incredible impact that STEM Education can have on our society. I do not work in an institution that has a STEM program. I work at a preschool; this makes my practice of any type of STEM program extremely limited. However, it is a private school. All my students come from households where one or both of their parents are professionals. These professionals want their children to be academically prepared for school. This means we must academically, mentally, and emotionally prepare them for their future schooling. I teach my students how to be a functioning participant in a classroom while exploring mathematics, science, art, history, literature and pre-writing. Puzzles, counting, shapes, measuring, etc. are on the daily agenda. Science is a huge part of our curriculum. Science in the
My time observing was not only educational for me on how to become the teacher I desire to be, but as well as how to better myself as a student and improve my own learning. I observed some wonderful learning tools that I have since implemented into my own education to develop my own learning.
However, one of the most interesting principle of teaching Science is ‘Children live for the present moment.’ Children live for the activities occurring in this present generation. Considering, technology being used by children in this generation in comparison to children of the past generations. Children enjoy using technology which make the teaching of Science