KLEIN's
GUIDE TO
SCIENCE EDUCATION
PHOTO CREDIT: Nadene Klein at Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite National Park
So I got distracted from this blog as you can see. I haven't posted since January. I had a wonderful lesson/project to share that concluded the day before spring break. I was already to write about in March when our whole teaching world changed in the blink of an eye.
No in-person teaching for now. How were we teachers to manage that? How were we science teachers, who thrive on hands-on learning and experiments, going to manage that? Like many of you, I took a pause...breathe. I've had online teaching experience and frequently infuse online technology in my classes. I regrouped the tools I already have and came up with the following plan. Each week I would put together a video for each of my 4 preps. Within the video I would keep some of the routines I always had in my classroom to give a little sense of normalcy. The video itself would give a little sense of personal connection for my students as I explained via screen sharing their weekly assignment(s). My tools of choice for making the videos are Photobooth, Screencastify, and iMovie. I became a movie director, actor, producer, and editor churning out 4 videos per week. Next, I planned a meaningful lesson for each of my classes. I intended for them to be engaging and interactive. I want to mix it up each week without repeating the same tools. Here's what that looked like for week 1: Astronomy--space exploration unit--I made a Google Slide presentation with each slide preformatted so that each student would research a different astronomer to complete one slide of their choice. At the end of the week, all students have access to information on 17 different astronomers. Earth and Environmental--PBL begun before spring break--Students are engaged in learning about the ballot initiative to reintroduce wolves to Colorado. Using the Wolf Quest website, students explored the next set of information and then completed a reflection using a N.E.W.S. organizer to synthesize information from 3rd quarter with the new information. Physics--Theoretical Physics Unit--Based on an interest survey I had done at the beginning of the semester, students indicated a high interest in theoretical physics. This includes topics like quantum physics and string theory. Perfect for now since the topic already does not lend itself to experiments or hands on activities. I presented an introduction to the topic using Nearpod. Nearpod is an interactive slide presentation. The one I made had information slides, embedded short videos, a poll question, an open-ended question, 5 questions to check for understanding, and a comment slide. Psychology--social interactions--students read an article about the types and categories of social interactions and then completed an organizer making connections to self for each of these types and categories. Next week this will lead to Astronomy students preparing to watch The Martian by learning about Mars from Nasa's website, a slide show, and 2 short videos made interactive using EdPuzzle. Earth and Environmental students will clearly explain with evidence their personal stance on the issue of reintroducing wolves to Colorado and choose a medium for educating the voters prior to the November election. Physics students will be reading two short chapters in CK12 that I edited for them that include short videos and completing a check for understanding. The psychology students will proceed with an investigation looking at how social interactions have changed in the last month due to Covid-19. They have a choice of doing one of three different investigations of their design: a personal journal and reflection, a survey of others with a summary of findings, or research from social and news media with a synthesis of information. Perhaps one of my ideas will immediately work for you or inspire your own lesson. Either way, I have linked all of my resources within the text above for your use. Scientifically yours, Nadene
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AuthorNadene Klein, M.Ed. has been an educator for over 25 years. She brings a passion and love for science to the classroom and through this blog to you. Archives
March 2024
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