Hi Everyone,
This week we are talking about teaching models and strategies, relating core concepts and fundamental principles of science to activities and science concepts. Mystery boxes and online simulations are part of our explorations as well as reading chapters 3 and 4 in Ready, Set, Science. Please begin to complete your reading guides, take good notes about our inclass activities and complete your Lesson Plan 1 presentaions to get ready for Feb 18, 23rd. You will have next Tuesday (Feb 16th) class ONLINE ONLY. There is an online lab and also this assignment from your syllabus: ONLINE Assignments: Discrepant events in science teaching here: http://go.hrw.com/resources/go_sc/gen/HSTPR060.PDF Pick one and write a paragraph to post to Blog.
More about models and examples on Thursday. Complete your online assignment in lieu of face-to-face class. Follow your blogging template for effective blogging.
Have a great week.
Dr. E
Comic
ReplyDeleteI think students would love to use these types of comics in order to implement activities into the classroom. Student would enjoy 'reading' about the various scientific processes because they would be able to look at pictures within the comic. In addition, the teacher could have the students complete the activity or project to learn more about the scientific concept. I think I would use this specific science concept in my future classroom in order to teach students about insulators, melting points, liquids, solids, gases, etc.
I believe the statement that children are less sophisticated than adults proves to be true. When a person has many scientific experiences, they are going to increase their knowledge and understanding of the specific content. If a teacher provides ample opportunities for students to use scientific reasoning, the students will become more sophisticated in learning science methods and materials. I think that this statement is true only because as a person grows, each individual observes and works through many problems that relate to scientific materials.
On Tuesday, we reviewed notes on cooperative and collaborative learning. By looking over these notes, I understood that cooperative learning is a method in which students learn by supporting and learning from others in the classroom through group work. On the other hand, collaborative learning is when students work together to create or form a common goal. I found the notes to be very helpful because I never understood the differences between cooperative and collaborative learning. Now, I understand that both of these group learning styles are tied to each other and necessary for group work to be successful. In the future, I will use both cooperative and collaborative learning when having my students complete group work and activities in order to increase student’s understanding of specific content. In addition, we completed the mystery boxes activity. This activity allowed me to use my tactile senses and deductive reasoning in order to make a hypothesis about an image. I think this activity would be useful in my future classroom to help students understand how tactile experiences can help aid their understanding.
On Thursday, we reviewed the article on collaborative learning in groups work and study teams. The article helped me to understand the importance of using group work and how to effectively implement group work into a classroom. When discussing this article with my group, we found that groups should be at about 3-4 people in size and teacher should organize groups in order to benefit student learning. In order to have successful groups, a teacher should check in with groups and help each group plan for success. In addition, we completed the online/virtual mystery boxes activity. I think this activity could be used to show students how light travels (reflections, refractions, etc) and how to interpret visual data. Students could make charts and graphs of the information or create their own mystery boxes to assess other students.
In general, children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning. However, experience plays a critical role in facilitating the development of many aspects of reasoning, often trumping age.
ReplyDeleteI agree children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning because children do not have the experiences the adults do. Both children and adults use their experiences to help shape their scientific experiences. Adults tend to have more experiences and are able to use more mature reasoning than students do. They have more experiences to use to make decisions and to reason. I do believe the more experiences children have help them to become more sophisticated and will make it easier for them to reason.
I think comics are a great way to get students interested in the lesson. Comics are a great way to get older students interested because it will bring humor to the table. Younger students will also like it because it is humorous too. One thing with comics is you have to make sure the comic is correct in the information it is giving to the students. It is important to pick good comics with correct information.
Tuesday:
On Tuesday we talked about cooperative learning in a classroom. I learned cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups after receiving instruction from the teacher. I learned there are five components of cooperation and they are: positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing. We also learned collaborative learning is where students work to a common goal. We also did a mystery box activity. We worked with our tables to see where in the box the objects did not go. It was fun to see how my partner and me differed but when we would explain it to each other we would understand the others thought.
Thursday:
Today we discussed collaborative learning again. We talked about strategies. There are four main goals in collaborative learning: plan for each stage of group work, carefully explain to your class how the groups will operate and how students will be graded, give students the skills they need to succeed in groups and consider written contracts. We also did a mystery box activity online. It was a fun activity to do in class. It would be a fun activity to do in my own classroom. The students would like to do the simulation online and it would be a cost effective way or quick way to do the simulation. Students can work together to figure out the mystery. Students can share their strategies with the class. The game also allows students to move up in levels and try harder levels. This would be great for more advanced students.
Jessica Wilson
ReplyDeleteIn general, children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning. However, experience plays a critical role in facilitating the development of many aspects of reasoning, often trumping age.
Adults have more sophisticated scientific reasoning than children not only because of their age, but because of their experiences. As humans, we base what we know about the nature of science from our experiences with nature. Adults have had more of these experiences than children; therefore they have more sophisticated scientific reasoning.
Comics are a way of engaging students in the lab experiment. The comic shown could be used before or after the students complete the lab experiment. It can be used before to explain the process to the students, or after to confirm the student’s observations and theories. Comics can be implemented into other content areas as well.
Tuesday class- In class today we discussed effective journal writing and cooperative learning. We covered what effective journaling looks like to give us a guide for our blogs. “Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning”. We use cooperative learning because the results show higher achievement and greater productivity, more caring, supportive, and committed relationships, and greater psychological health, social competence, and self-esteem. We also discussed the five elements necessary to make cooperative learning work. The elements include: positive interdependence, promotive interaction, individual and group accountability, teaching students the required interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing.
Thursday class- I was in attendance for class today, but read the link on D2L about collaborative learning. The information on collaborative learning expresses the importance of establishing the classroom environment for group work, and providing the students with the jobs and guidelines so that everybody participates. When organized properly, collaborative learning is beneficial for all students. The article also provides information on how to assess group work, suggesting having the students evaluate each other on their participation. The other thing that I missed in class was the online activity for the black box. By moving the laser to different positions, students can formulate what they believe to be the shape inside the box. The activity is an interactive way for students to practice their scientific reasoning skills and test out their theories.
On Tuesday of this week we talked about cooperative and collaborative learning. We talked about the difference between the two and also what children learn from cooperative learning. Cooperative learning states that students learn by supporting and learning from others in the classroom through group work. Collaborative learning is when students work together to create a common goal or solve a common problem. After Tuesdays class I have a much better understanding of the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning and I feel that I will now be able to use both in my classroom properly. I think both ways will be very useful in my classroom and help my students learn teamwork and different ways of learning how to solve a common problem.
ReplyDeleteOn Thursday we reviewed an article about collaborative and cooperative learning and we answered questions in a group. This not only helped us to understand cooperative and collaborative learning but it put it into practice for us. Dr. E not only had us reading and learning about cooperative and collaborative learning but also had us doing it. I found this to be very helpful. This week we also did mystery boxes. The mystery boxes had a different shape inside of them and a marble, we were supposed to guess the shape inside the box based on where the marble did or did not roll. We also did a mystery box game online. I found this activity to be much more difficult than the actual boxes. Both activities were very helpful and could teach the students the many different things.
The statement saying that children are less sophisticated than adults is somewhat true I believe. I believe that you need life experiences to expand your knowledge and the understanding of science experiments better. The teacher needs to provide numerous different opportunities for the students so they can develop a sophisticated understanding of scientific reasoning.
I think chapters 3 and 4 brought up some really great points. Chapter three specifically for me stood out. I think that activating and knowing about the knowledge that children bring with them to school is extremely important. I thought it was interesting that, “elements of all four standards of science learning can be seen in the capabilities and knowledge that children bring with them to school.” I guess I didn’t really think that children brought so much background knowledge about science to school. It’s important that when children do start school that we as teachers learn find out what they already know so we can expand on it.
ReplyDeleteTuesday:
On Tuesday we talked about group cooperation and how important it is. We reviewed the two websites posted on D2L and discussed the importance of the different aspects of cooperation and how to make it work in group situations. Cooperation is an important thing to teach children. We all need to know how to work together successfully. Cooperation is a life skill that children need to be taught in school.
The black box activity we did today was really interesting. I think an activity like this would be great for the classroom. Not only is a fun exercise it also teaches cooperation. I really enjoyed it and I think everyone else in my group did too. We had several guesses that were all really different but there were several that we all had guess really close to the same thing. I only wish we would have had a little more time to play with them and see the results.
Thursday:
Yesterday we talked about collaboration and the group. We discussed our handout and what we each felt as individuals and as a group. I think there was some really good information in the handout and that as a group we had a really great discussion.
Our online activity for today was interesting. After Brittany and I figured out how it worked it was fun. I think if I was ever to use this activity in the classroom I would take time to explain how it worked and tell me students what it was they needed to do. It was a good collaboration exercise but not something I think I would use.
Tuesday
ReplyDeleteTuesdays class we discussed the idea of working in groups. It is important to alow time for group work in the classroom because it is important for students to hear from other individuals so they can expand on what they already know. I think it is very important for students to learn how to work in groups so they can cooperate and participate effectively in society, if you are not able to work with others it will be hard to make it in this world. The activity that we did with the mystery boxes was a great way to work in groups because you had to come up with your own ideas then collaborate and come up with one answer to each box that your whole group thought was true.
Thursday
Thursdays class we talked more about collaboration. The activity that we did today that was online was very interesting, it was really difficult at first but after we figured out how to work the internet it became much easier. It was helpful to have other group members to help with this process because you had to remember where the beams were shining because you did not have an unlimited number of beams to use. Overall i think this activity would have been much more difficult individually, this is just one example of how working in groups is beneficial.
Comics
Comics are a great way to get and keep students engaged. Comics can be used before or after instruction to expand students' knowledge. I also think comics are very useful because you can use them in all content areas.
Statement
I think the statement that children are less sophisticated than adults is somewhat true. I also believe that adults have many more life experiences to help them become more sophisticated. Becoming sophisticated is all about the experiences that you have had and how you have reacted to those experiences. I think children in their own way are sophisticated, but sophistication is more of an ongoing process. To me, if all people were or are "sophisticated" then there would not be as many people making bad decisions. Overall sophistication is a topic that varies with all individuals.
February 9, 2010
ReplyDelete-Today during class we discussed cooperative learning groups. It is important for students to work in groups to reach a common goal. Group work can give students the opportunity to share their ideas with others, work with classmates as a member of a team, and feel their effort is valued. There are five major elements of cooperative grouping that helps them to succeed. The first element is positive interdependence which focuses on what each student has to offer the group and showing that each member is valued as a part of the team. The second element is promoting interaction, especially face-to-face. By having students interact together, they are given the opportunity to encourage, support, and help members of the team. The third element focuses on students being held accountable for their work and effort as a member of the group. The fourth element includes teaching students the interpersonal and small group skills that are needed when working with group member. Lastly, groups need to process together meaning that they reflect on how well they are working together, what works well, and what could be changed to make the group more effective. Overall, I found this article to be important because it taught me a lot when designing and setting up groups in the classroom. I found this article to be a great resource regarding group work and what it is important to focus on when designing groups and having students work cooperatively. I have worked in many groups before and often times the group is not effective because of the size, amount of work done, or group members not participating. I felt the third element is important to help make students accountable and responsible members of the group. Also, I felt the fifth element was a positive one in which students evaluated their groups and reflected on what was effective and could be changed to make the group better. After reading this article, we used our senses to try to figure out what shapes were inside of mystery boxes. I enjoyed the activity and believe it would help students with deductive reasoning skills. However, what grade levels would be appropriate to use mystery boxes with?
February 11, 2010
-While in class today we discussed collaborative learning groups. The article that we read was really effective to me as a future teacher. It gave general strategies to use, how to design group work, how to organize learning groups, how to evaluate group work, and how to deal with student and faculty concerns regarding group work. We also used an online source to work with some more mystery boxes. I found these mystery boxes to be interesting but not as challenging as the ones we did in class because the ones online showed lasers which made it easier. As a result, I would use the online models first to get students started and then have them work up to the harder mystery boxes. I found this activity important to future teachers to show online resources for science and ways to use technology in the classroom. This activity really showed us how there are many resources online, especially since many rural schools do not have a great deal of funding. It is helpful to know websites that we can turn to in order for our students to get significant science experiences. Overall, I felt this class period showed the importance of using resources in order to maximize student learning.
Blog Continued
ReplyDeleteIn general, children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning. However, experience plays a critical role in facilitating the development of many aspects of reasoning, often trumping age.
-All in all, I feel this statement is accurate because students do not always have the logical reasoning of adults. However, I do feel that experience is a critical element of scientific reasoning. This is why it is critical for teachers to involve students in scientific reasoning and hands-on experiments in our classrooms. It helps provide them with experiences to further their reasoning skills. Furthermore, since adults are older, they have had more experiences and time to develop scientific reasoning skills. This experience is critical to developing a deep understanding of science and adequate scientific reasoning skills.
Comic Strip
-I personally thought the comic was rather unique. I feel that comics are a great way to motivate and engage students and are something they can relate to. These comics would be fun to use in the classroom to get students involved in scientific activities and experiments. Additionally, comics provide students with pictures and a bit of comedy. Overall, I think these comics are really neat and a great resource for us teachers.
Grade levels for the mystery box might be upper elementary and lower middle school - 4th through 6th grade.
ReplyDeleteDiscussion Question:
ReplyDeleteIn general, children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning. However, experience plays a critical role in facilitating the development of many aspects of reasoning, often trumping age.
I think that a child’s scientific reasoning is less sophisticated than a adults because their set of experiences are not the same as those of adults. Children and adults alike use their experiences to increase their knowledge and reasoning of the world around themselves and how it works. As children grow, so does their life experience, and thus, their reasoning skills.
Comics are becoming a new and creative way to introduce content to children in all areas of school curriculum with good outcomes related to student learning. The comic on how to make ice cream would be a great way to introduce an experiment with the directions and ingredients needed. It presents the subject and information to the students in a form they enjoy.
Class:
Tuesday:
To start class today, we went over the most effective ways to journal for our blogs. We covered that we could ask questions and compare readings here. We also went over cooperative learning, and at our tables we talked about why it is a good approach to group learning. According to the article we read in class, cooperative learning is “the instructional use of small groups so that student’s work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning”. Cooperative learning groups are found to work best when there are three people in order to allow for mediation. We also discussed the five elements of cooperative learning, which include: positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual and group accountability, teaching students the required interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing. For our class lab we did the Mystery Box activity where we were instructed to use scientific thinking processes to conduct investigations. We had to roll a marble around in an opaque box and try to guess what the inside shape of the box was based on our senses other than sight. It was more difficult than I had imagined and made me frustrated how much my other sensed didn’t make up the difference.
Thursday:
Today we went over a different group lesson strategy called collaboration. The article on collaborative learning states that, “students working in small groups tend to learn more of what is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional formats.” The five strategies for collaborative learning are: Plan for each stage of group work, carefully explain how the groups will operate and be graded, give students the skills they need to succeed in groups, and consider written contracts. We also covered the importance of creating group tasks that require interdependence, making the group work relevant, creating assignments that fit the students’ skills and abilities, assigning group tasks that allow for fair division of labor, generate a little competition among the groups and the potential for group test taking. It is also of significance to be conscious of group size, keep the group together, help the groups plan how to proceed, and regularly check in with the groups when you are organizing them. When organized well, collaborative learning will help students be actively involved with the learning process. For the class lab today we went online to www.fossweb.com and worked on an online lab that was similar to the black box experiment we did on Tuesday. Using a laser we found what shape was hidden inside the box. This activity would give students a chance to create theories and use problem solving skills as well as technology in their science classroom.
Weekly Discussion
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that "in general, children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning. However, experience plays a critical role in facilitating the development of many aspects of reasoning, often trumping age." Children view there experiences differently than adults because of the background knowledge they have. Children have not had the same experiences as adults, especially their science experiences. Therefore, because of this, they explain things differently than adults do. However, as children grow, their have many more experiences, and thus, build on their reasoning skills.
Comic
Comics are a great way to teach students. They engage the students interest and make learning more entertaining. Rather than having students read off a list of tasks they have to do, the comic strip will demonstrate what is happening. This will also help students who are visual learners have a further understanding of what they are doing. Comics have become a high demand for students, therefore, when used appropriately, they can be very beneficial for the students and the teacher.
Class Activities
This week we discussed cooperation and collaboration in groups and how important they are to the success of a group. Group learning can be very beneficial for students because they have the opportunity to work with other who may have a different perspective to contribute. However, though learning can be maximized in groups, they must know how to work well with each other. Students must be respectful to each other, especially in their communciation, in order for success to be achieved. As well, in our classes, we did a project with Mystery boxes. We used our senses to figure out the shape of the barriers in a box. Then, later we did another version of a mystery box online where we had to figure out the shape with the help of a laser. These activities gave us the opportunity to see firsthand how important group work and discussion is to an activity.
I believe that this statement is definitely true with regards to the reasoning and perception development that we all go through before we are adults. I don’t think that children are less sophisticated than adults; to become experienced you must to be exposed to mind boggling scenarios that require proactive decisions! In a constructivist view, trial and error situations are the best ways to acquire experience as you are changing your schema based on an acceptable or unacceptable outcome. There are no doubt adults out in the real world that never had the given opportunity to experience situations that promoted scientific reasoning but their environment promoted the development of street smarts. (Shout out to Dr. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences!)
ReplyDeleteIt is our environment that determines the development of who we are and children must be seen as blank slates. With respect to the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, our role as teachers is to provide the students with engaging activities that will help develop their intellectual abilities in the fields of scientific reasoning and reflections. The ideal goal as teachers is to help develop a “well-rounded” personality of the student but that is a tedious task as time and environment comes into play! How much time should we put aside in identifying our students skills and preferences? Perhaps creating a Science based inventory could help find ways to discover their skills? Each child is unique and has their own experiences from home that helped or hindered their cognitive development; we have to determine what their good at while paying attention to their flaws. We provide differentiated instruction in our classroom to help our students’ abilities grow and maintain their self-confidence through positive motivation.
A long time ago near a convenience store far, far away I was once a young lad that spent many a weekend night playing video games with friends… Imagine life as one giant role playing game for the Super Nintendo; we enter into this world as a level zero character; we must struggle and battle with various entities while leveling up. Pretty soon certain abilities develop out of our struggles that help make us unique. I wasn’t really into RPGs just the Donkey Kong Series! To venture even more in depth with character development, I remember doing an activity in my high school senior English class that complimented Charles Dickens’s book Great Expectations; we were required to write a four paged bildungsroman based on the experiences a character receives while on their vibrant adventure towards maturity. We are nothing more than products of our environment; yet there is always the opportunity to go out and experience what our environment has to offer. This is what we must have our students come to realize.
Comics and graphic novels are great ways to capture the attention of children of all ages! I believe that this is a great way to help motivate students with reading difficulties and visual learners to read and comprehend scientific concepts a little better than they would with a boring old worksheet or textbook. I would love to incorporate comic strips into my classroom as I believe that it will help spice up an activity that the students are about to start.
ReplyDeleteClass Activities for Tuesday and Thursday:
We investigated the differences between using collaborative and cooperative learning techniques in the classroom. We talked about the various benefits of having the students engage learning through group work as students need to develop positive social skills than can apply to many situations outside of the classroom. Promoting collaborative learning through the classroom may sound easy enough, but we realized that in order to provide effective cooperative learning the teacher must consider many important factors. The first important thing I learned from our discussions is that each member in an assigned group is bringing their individualized skills and background knowledge to the table; they’re going to have many unique abilities and it is up to us to create group activities honoring differentiated instruction. This allows for each student in a group to productively contribute to their group’s final product. The most important thing I learned in the discussions we had is the science of effective communication. The survival of a group depends upon the many proactive attempts to maintain a field of communication between group members; but what about student who are feeling defiant or greedy towards contributing? Establishing accountability in the form of group grading rubrics and individual scores is a great way to motivate the students with a “do or die” style of learning. However it is up to the teacher to take the time and consideration to develop a meaningful activity that will motivate all students to be engaged in the work. I realized that there are so many factors that may promote or hinder collaborative and cooperative learning. After the discussions, we worked on the mystery boxes activities to demonstrate effective group work based off of multisensory predictions! I believe that the purpose of this activity was to have us realize that we have different approaches to solving problems through scientific reasoning.
Comic - I think that comics are a great way to spark interest in students. If you have to read the information either way, students would much rather read it on a comic.
ReplyDeleteDiscussion - The statement "in general, children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning. However, experience plays a critical role in facilitating the development of many aspects of reasoning, often trumping age." is true for the most part. You cannot really know or understand anything until you experience it in some way. The older you get the more meaningful the experiences become. I think adults have the capacity to see deeper meaning and make connections that children might not be able to make. Either way, I still think exposing children to as many scientific experiences as possible is for their best interest in order to spark their curiousity at a young age.
Tuesday: In class on Tuesday we discussed cooperative learning and the ways to make it work. We went over the five ways to making cooperative learning work positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual and group accountability, teaching students the required interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing. Cooperative learning is a great benefit in a classroom setting. I believe that everyone has their own specialty and knowledge and when you combine that with your peers you have more knowledge together than you did on your own. For our activity we did the mystery box. So far I think it was my favorite activity. It was very interesting and really captured my attention. I also liked how we did it in a cooperative setting, comparing your drawings to your group members really helped clarify what was really in the box.
Thursday: On Thursday we talked about Collaborative learning and its major components. The main thing I got out of it was how in a group setting it is crucial to make sure that each member is responsible for their own work and progress. The success of the group not only depends on the work as a whole but also on each individual members contributions. After our discussion we did the online box activity. This was really fun too. I think students would enjoy it because it is a mystery and it would spark a lot of curiousity.
Comic
ReplyDeleteThe comic is a great way to show children how to do a certain task with a little more fun and exciting atmosphere. I like how it show them how to do the experiment but it also gives fun and exciting pictures of how to make and do the lab. I think the students really like seeing how to do a lab instead of just reading instructions how to do a certain lab. I think making ice cream teaches children a lot about solids, liquids and melting points which would be highly informational in chemistry.
I also believe the statements about children are less sophisticated adults remains true but only to a certain extent. I feel that children are less sophisticated just because they have experienced enough life lessons to learn and shape their minds. As I think about the article and pertaining to children I think we some times forget that as a child we don’t have prejudices and strong emotions about one another and I think that is one thing that makes us a less sophisticated then our students and children. I do believe that blinders come on as adults and we shut off a lot of our emotions to believe people so we may be smarter then children in IQ or other testing agents. But I think the fact children’s minds that are cleared of clutter of preconceived notions about people and fact are actually more sophisticated then adults.
On Tuesday we talked about cooperative learning and I learned the 5 factors that promote cooperative learning and they are as followed: positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing. I think these are equally important in the classroom and show children a lot about how a small group show work and develop so they can have an effective group. I think this was beneficial to me because I can now link students together in the classroom so they can have these components to make better groups.
On Tuesday we also did a lab that involved mystery boxes and we had to guess what shape was made on the inside of the box. This lab showed how group team work is essential to come up with a common shape for the mystery box. I thought the lab was very fun and exciting because of all the different shapes we had in the group. I had to wiggle the box several times to figure out the shape.
On Thursday we once again talked about cooperative learning and I found out more about the four main goals in collaborative learning which are plan for each stage of group work, carefully explain to your class how the groups will operate and how students will be graded, give students the skills they need to succeed in groups and consider written contracts. I found these helpful to shape a productive classroom. We did a mystery box online on Thursday to which was really fun and hard to. I liked the idea of the mystery box online but I really struggled without having the box there to hold it and feel how it moved in my hand. So if I was going to do the mystery box online I would do it in a lab setting instead of online.
I agree that children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning because children do not have the experiences the adults do. Adults and children use their experiences to help shape their scientific experiences. Adults will have had more experiences and be able to use more mature reasoning. They have more experiences to use to make decisions and to reason. I think comics are a great way to get students excited about learning and interested in a lesson. I feel that students of all ages like comics because they are humorous and fun. Although as the teacher it is important to pick good comics with correct information.
ReplyDeleteTuesday
In class on Tuesday we talked about how to write an effective blog journal. We also did an activity that involved scientific thinking and processes to build explanations by observing, communicating, comparing, organizing and relating. We worked in groups and did the “placemat” activity where we made our own predictions and then put them to a consensus and made a single prediction as group. Within our group each member made at least one correct prediction, and together we had all the correct answers. However, the answers that we compiled for our group response were not all correct. I would enjoy using an activity such as this one in my own classroom because students are able to work together and share their reasoning and thinking skills while forming a group decision. Overall, it was great way to bring in muli-sensory model building, collaborative group work and group cooperation into play.
Thursday
Today in class we talked about the importance of group work and how we might persuade a teacher to use group work in the classroom. Our class discussion consisted of an article from tools for teaching, Collaborative Learning: group work and study teams.
As a group we talked about the general strategies, which include: planning, precise instruction, having expectations and required skills. We also talked about how a group should be organized and contain interdependent and relevant tasks, along with containing developmentally appropriate content. We talked about how to organize learning groups and how they should be formed. Next, we discussed evaluating group work and how to deal with student and faculty concerns about group work and how to share and make aspects of group work positive. We brought up a good point in saying that in life you will be working with others and learning from others. Also in class on Thursday we did an activity online called mystery boxes. I found this activity to be much more difficult than the actual boxes. Both activities were very helpful and could teach the students valuable skills and information.
Discussion- Week 5
ReplyDelete“In general, children are less sophisticated than adults in their scientific reasoning.” There are two words in this statement that stood out to me in this statement: less sophisticated. Sophistication does refer to one’s education and experience but I feel that this statement is an unfair comparison between a child and an adult because a child has not had the same opportunities for new experiences as an adult has had. In my personal opinion, children have not had opportunities for new experiences which help develop their scientific reasoning whereas adults have become sophisticated in scientific reasoning due to their previous education and experiences. Students and children will have years to develop scientific reasoning through experience but experience does not trump age; age and experience go hand in hand. Students have various experiences at certain ages, so through aging, children are able to acquire experiences.
Comic-
Comics are effective for students of all ages because at a young age, the graphics are very appealing to young students; which enhances a student’s interest in learning. However, I do believe that comics are appropriate for older students because it provides variety. When students get farther into their education, literature tends to be pretty repetitive and boring. By adding comics and other interesting forms of reading, it will motivate students to become engaged. Another interesting form of comics is graphic novels, which could also be incorporated in the classroom
Tuesday-
In Tuesday’s class, we began by discussing blogging. We went through the template and learned how we should be blogging. I thought this was a good idea because I never know if what I am writing is what is expected. We then did a group activity where we discussed Cooperative Learning. I felt that I learned a lot from this activity because of the five different topics that were presented. I thought that all five brought up five very good ideas; especially the area of positive interdependence. I had not always remembered the importance of the teacher’s responsibility when planning group work. The last activity we did in class as a mystery box activity. I really liked this activity and it was a great group work activity. We only had troubles deciding on two boxes between the group, but our results that we chose were pretty much all right from what I remember. I could see this being an activity I would use in the future because it is not only interesting but it promotes group work.
Thursday-
On Thursday, we made the transition from learning about cooperation to collaboration. As a group we discussed the following topics: General strategies for collaboration, lesson design differentiation in group work, evaluating student groups, and the benefits of group work. The topic that our group discussed the most was probably the best way to persuade someone of the benefits of group work because it was the summation of everything we had discussed this week. As a group, we were aware that group work is absolutely necessary and can help build students skills in many different areas; which will be needed later on in life. The last activity we did this class was to do an online activity that was similar to the mystery box activity that we did Tuesday. It made me realize that even though technology makes students very motivated and excited to do an activity where you get to use a computer and lasers, it makes you realize that you are not actually doing a “hands on” project. You are not holding the mystery box and trying to figure out what is on the inside. You are using an game simulation which you can only observe through a screen.
Comic:
ReplyDeleteThis comic strip is a fun way for students to perform an activity without actual step by step directions. Teachers can use this as a form to teach the important scientific processes of making ice cream in this case. Another cool thing I thought of after reading this comic is to have students perform this activity and that make their own comic strips about the important steps and processes they took when making the ice cream and why the steps they chose were so important.
Statement:
"In general, children are less sophisticated then adults in their scientific reasoning. However, experience plays a critical role in facilitating the development of many aspects of reasoning, often trumping age."
I agree with this statement. The more hands-on activities and experiences a child encounters the more they learn and develop their sense of reasoning. I think that the connections or synapses in the brain increase with experiences (and age); therefore, children develop their ability to reason. Without these experiences, I do not believe children can develop in their scientific reasoning and process making.
Tuesday's Class:
Today we talked about cooperative learning. I learned that three students is the ideal number for a group because the third person can act as a mediator. Cooperative learning means working together to accomplish shared goals. A few things our group listed that make groups work well together were: positive interdependance, face to face interactions, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing.
Thursday's Class:
Today we talked about the collaboration model, multi-sensory learning, and conceptual to physical learning. Our group discussed evaluating student groups, organizing groups, and designing group work. We also discussed how to persuade someone that group work is worthy. We also performed an online mystery box activity this week. At first our group couldn't quite figure out how to complete the shape the lasers were trying to get us to make. After a while we caught on and actually enjoyed the activity although it was slightly time consuming to get the shape exactly right.
What a neat website! It’s really colorful and interactive which is really great for kids of any age. The cartoon images where detailed and very attractive, they kept your attention which is important for children. The audio part of the website was really great as well. Having that audio aspect is great for younger children who can’t yet read or are struggling with reading. It was also a multicultural sensitive website. The children who needed our help where of different ethnicities, which I thought was really great.
ReplyDeleteI played around on the website for awhile and went on several different investigations. My biggest complaint was that there wasn’t much to the investigations. To close the case you basically just had to click on one thing. I think there needed to be a little more to the investigations. However, the content was great. The lessons they were teaching where relevant and meaningful. All of the health issues they addressed are things that children should know about. They provided really good information that was age appropriate for elementary aged students. I would defiantly use this in a first or second grade classroom.
I had played for twenty minutes or so and they website said “you’ve been doing this for a long time you should take a break and do something else” and it actually kicked me off of the website and wouldn’t let me play again for an hour. It’s really great to see a website for kids about healthy habits that promotes time away from the computer. The site also provided activities for children to do away from the computer on each topic which I thought was really great as well.
This is defiantly a website I could see myself using in my classroom. It would be a great free time activity for students to play with.
The comic is a fun way for the students to get involved, and it's also a different way for students to interact and learn something new. Instead of the traditional directions or readings I think it would be fun to switch it up with the comic.
ReplyDeleteTuesday: On Tuesday we discussed cooperative learning and how it is important to incoperate it into classrooms. Three is the ideal number because there is a third person to be the mediator of the group.
Thursday: Sick