KLEIN's
GUIDE TO
SCIENCE EDUCATION
PHOTO CREDIT: Nadene Klein at Tuolumne Meadows Yosemite National Park
The 2017-2018 school year has just ended and I'm already make plans for my classes in the next school year. Of course I want to improve things...bigger and better...more engagement...high level science activities...etc.
But where to begin? I begin with my team of experts--my students. I had students complete an end of year survey like many teachers do. The key is to ask the right questions and most importantly to follow through on using the data to make positive changes. I implore my students to be honest because I'm not fishing for compliments and their grades are already set. I asked them to rate the way I graded them; I asked which was their favorite activity and least favorite; I asked them what they would change to make our content more interesting and engaging. The results were that their least favorite thing was reading articles or text even though they knew it was building background knowledge. However, research was o.k. The largest response was to include MORE HANDS-ON activities. The summer months afford me the time to seek out hands-on activities that are age appropriate, purposeful, and accessible. There are millions of online and print resources that I need to search through. This means that there won't be another blog entry until July. Happy Summer! Scientifically yours, Nadene
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So it's nearing the end of the school year and students have a tendency to check out with the attitude that they're already done. Teachers annual struggle with the internal debate to throw their hands up and give in to the inertia of their students or challenge themselves to find the THING that will hook students back in. I choose to find ways to keep students engaged.
At the beginning of the quarter, I surveyed my students to find out what topics they are interested in. I saved the one that got the most votes for our last unit. This year the winner was archaeology. Technically it is not part of my curriculum. However there are strong enough connections, that I have students identify, that make it work for our class. Hands-on is always the way to go in science. Instead of lectures and videos (more passive learning), I brought two labs to the students that we did back to back. Talk about high levels of engagement! The first lab required some prep on my part, but it was fun. I dug in the clay dirt at home and filled 5 aluminum pans. I buried, with intention, a variety of artifacts. Each pan was different. In class, students played the role of archaeologist. Not only did they have to dig out the artifacts unknown to them, they had to take measurements and observations using this data that they acquired to write a summary of the history of their archaeological site. The second hands-on experience required the students to make artifacts. They were given a clay flower pot to paint in a way that represented their given ancient culture. They were provided with a brief synopsis that they embellished to further the identity of their culture without sharing that with any other groups. What they didn't know is that after school, I busted up their art project and gave it to another group to reconstruct the next day. After reconstructing the broken pots, they had to reconstruct the story of the civilization it represented. Hooking students with what they identified as a high interest topic and using hands-on activities engages students through the end of the school year. Bonus: students who are engaged are much less of a discipline issue!!! Scientifically yours, Nadene Science teachers often lament about loss of progress when they need to be away from the classroom/lab. We jump to the notion that the vast majority of substitute teachers cannot teach science, especially upper level sciences. They most certainly should not be doing labs with students. So the question presents itself: how do you keep students learning and moving forward instead of merely completing a filler lesson.
If an absence is preplanned, prep students on your last day with them to do a longer term assignment. Be sure to provide a rubric in advance so students clearly know your expectations since you won't be there to answer their questions. This could include research, a project, writing a lab report for a lab you did with them, or even an independent study. Watching a movie with purpose and with a written assignment works well too. If an absence is unplanned, the best old stand by is providing a current science news article for students to read and analyze. This can come from online or a favorite grade appropriate science magazine. Science World and Science News are amongst my favorites. I keep these handy and organized as emergency sub plans. When I return to class, I have students share what they learned. Any chance to connect classroom learning to the real world is never time lost. Don't panic the next time you need to leave your students in the hands of a substitute teacher. Be thoughtful in your plans and your students will continue to progress through your curriculum. Scientifically yours, Nadene |
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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