Katelyn's journey of teaching Science to digital learners

Blog 14:  Constructing knowledge and discovering meaning: How children learn science               After reading chapter two of the textbook   Teaching children science: A discovery approach ,  I realize that every single child may learn differently. The term “constructivism” is defined as “a theory of human learning that is rooted in cognitive psychology and to a lesser extent behavioral psychology.” With this definition in mind, teachers can have a better understanding of what topics they should teach and how they can teach those topics effectively. There are three principles of constructivism that teachers use in classroom. The first one being “native” constructivism, where a child will construct beliefs about what is real. The second principle is assimilation, where a child creates more space in their brain to process new information. The third principle, accommodation, is where a child will adapt or change their beliefs ...

Blog 13: Inquiry: the path; the discover; the destination After reading chapter one of the textbook   Teaching children science: A discovery approach ,  I now understand how important science is in a classroom. I also realize that there can be different approaches, such as using technology, to teach science. The textbook defines science as “a natural human desire to explore the world that is directly reachable as well as worlds that are hard to reach.” Sciences range from biology and astronomy to earth science. When I think of the term “science,” the first thing that comes to mind are topics that challenge our concepts of reality and of what is possible. As a future teacher, I understand that I will need to find ways to challenge my students. I will try and do that to the best of my ability.

My fieldwork experience!: Fieldwork this semester was interesting but very overwhelming. I have gained many ideas from teaching plant classification to Ms. Hoag's fourth-grade class. One idea is that we need to keep lessons entertaining and interesting in order to maintain control in the classroom.  This experience allowed me to see what student teaching will really be like and it also gave me insight on how fourth graders learn. This experience also gave me insight into the best way to teach science and how to keep my students excited about it at the same time. the textbook T eaching children science: A scientific approach written by Donald DeRosa  states "Discovery happens when a child uncovers new information, makes new connections and glens new insight that deepens his or her understanding." With this idea in mind, I will make activities fun but also informative activities that will help my students ...

P lant reproduction  I really liked how group three taught their lesson on plant reproduction. I felt that every single member of the group was very prepared when teaching their part of the lesson. They also seemed very calm and collected in front of Ms. Hoag's classroom.  I liked the attention grabber they used: a version of “Simon Says.” The game made the kids enthusiastic about the lesson. It also made the kids behave. When the teachers used “Simon Says,” the students had to stop what they were doing and give their full attention to their teachers when they were told: “Simon says….” During Ms. Brown’s part of the lesson, she used a lot of repetition, which allowed her students to process what they were learning. Group three's guided practice also was very easy to follow. I felt that the guided practice summed up the whole lesson and allowed the kids to truly understand what they were learning. I also felt that the students really enj...

Plant organs   I was really surprised at how well group two did, even though it was their first time teaching. All the members of the group seemed extremely calm and collected when teaching. I liked how much they used the teacher vs. student game to motivate their students to pay attention to the lesson. I liked how they used thumbs up and thumbs down to check for understanding. I also liked how they got the students’ attention by getting them to cheer with the line, “When we say, ‘ready to rock,’ you say, ‘ready to roll.’” I felt that by telling the kids that they would get a prize at the end of the lesson if they behaved really motivated the students. Group two’s exit ticket was also extremely creative. It allowed the teachers to assess what their students learned from the lesson by using a traffic light. I like how the teachers used green for “I understand this,” yellow for “I am confused,” and red fo...