Final Bonus Blog

S3E1. Students will investigate the physical attributes of rocks and soil.

                  b. Recognize the physical attributes of rocks and minerals using observation (shape, color, texture) measurement, and simple tests (hardness).

Essential Question: How can the physical attributes of rocks and minerals reveal the type of rock it is? 

Bonus Blog #3

How are constructivist teaching and traditional science teaching alike? Give some specifics and examples.

Ultimately these are two different styles of teaching and I struggled to find similarities between the two. Constructivist and traditional teaching have a common goal of ensuring the student's success and gaining knowledge from the material that is being presented, but the way the material is presented to the students is completely different. Both methods of teaching also have some form of assessing the students, whether it be through a project or paper with a provided rubric or a test. Both methods work for getting the content to the students, but in my opinion, constructivism teaching has more of an impact with the students that will resonate for years to come.

Module 8 Blog

Reflect on the value (or lack thereof) of science education at the Pre-Kindergarten level

In my preschool field experience I never saw the teachers utilizing books to introduce new concepts with them. Truthfully I never saw the students do anything other than play. There are so many ways to involve the students in science at this age, especially through discovery and play, and I think introducing them to these concepts through literature is a great "hook."

Using Children's Literature to Teach Standard-Based Science Concepts in Early Years

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.kennesaw.edu/docview/228484782/fulltextPDF/13F4A7101B56D953407/1?accountid=11824 

Summary: Using different pieces of literature is one of the ways most teachers effectively introduce new concepts to their students. Offering children's literature to them at a young age allows students the opportunity to become engage and interested in a topic because of the how relatable children's literature is to our students. In a student's early years, science based literature supports the development of science concepts and can provide inquiry. There are several limitations the article mentions including: misconceptions in texts, inaccurate illustrations, and anthropomorphism. The study the researchers conducted used 73 children's literature books to demonstrate concepts about life, physical, and earth science.  16 of the 73 reviewed books were not recommended for use in preschool classrooms. Three books had misconceptions, ten books included content and vocabulary that was too advanced for preschool children, three books had inaccurate text, and four books had inaccurate illustrations.

Reflection: Using literature as a hook for my students is one of my favorite ways to capture their attention. It allows for great discussion and new opportunities to explore the content and vocabulary. I was surprised to hear of the misconception this article chose because I think they're great discussion topics. As for the illustrations, I know many students use the pictures to develop ideas and draw conclusions, so this was a great misconception that I had not previously thought about. I'm surprised at the amount of children's literature pieces that could be used to introduce new concepts to preschool children. 

AMERICAʼS CHILDREN: PROVIDING EARLY EXPOSURE TO STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH) INITIATIVES

http://search.proquest.com.proxy.kennesaw.edu/docview/1062442552/fulltextPDF/13F4A95C69724AC22B0/15?accountid=11824

Summary: The professional fields that require a degree in one of the areas of STEM is growing rapidly. To spark our students' interests in one of these fields introduction to these concepts at a young age is key to their future success. STEM introduces important skills such as critical thinking and problem solving skills, communication, collaboration, and creativity for all students. Introducing STEM to our students as early as Pre-K allows for more inquiry and can let the students discover which subject area they excel at. The number of students enrolling in advanced math and science courses in high schools can increase if introduced to STEM at an early age.

Reflection: I'm so grateful for being able to learn so much more about STEM education through this course. It's something I wasn't too familiar with it previously but it is so beneficial for our students. There are many ways to introduce this to our students at a young age (particularly Pre-K) through play and discover, which ultimately allows for inquiry. At this young age students are like a sponge and are constantly absorbing the information that is around them and are learning all the time. In my experience students love to learn when they are actively engage and STEM allows for inquiry based learning.

Module 7 Blog

Backwards Design

Thinking back to my elementary school days, I don't remember spending much time doing hands-on activities and experiments. I remember reading aloud from the textbook, completing the review questions at the end of each section, and then taking the test on Friday. Other than the optional bonus science project (which was to be completed at home) I don't remember ever doing any science experiments. It was primarily textbooks and worksheets and traditional teaching methods, nothing about it sparked my interest.

In high school I remember my chemistry teacher constantly doing science experiments with our class in the lab, but I never understood why I was doing them other than to complete the lab requirement in the class. None of my teachers throughout my K-12 experience posted essential questions, objectives, or  gave a reason of why we were doing certain things other than, it will be on the test. I remember my primary goal, largely thanks to my teachers, was to pass the high school graduation test and get an A in the class.

I don't believe any of my teachers ever used backwards designed largely because we would participate in review sessions and would ask, do we need to know this for the test, and would receive the response, "I don't know. I haven't made the test yet." It was frustrating because I knew I was just memorizing the material to get an A, not actually learning and comprehending what was being presented. That's not how I want my students to remember my class.

Module 6 Blog

Since I do not currently have my own classroom, I chose to use 10 students from my student teaching experience. These students were in the third grade at the time.

Student	Characteristic	Instruction
1	Female Tier 4 EIP for math and reading Intrapersonal Behavior disorder	Individual activities
2	Male Interpersonal Gifted Logical	Participate in experiments
3	Male Tactile learner ESOL	Provide manipulatives
4	Female Gifted Visual learner	Graphic organizers Visual presentations
5	Female Linguistic Gifted	Provide more writing opportunities
6	Female Interpersonal Kinesthetic learner	Process drama activities
7	Female ESOL EIP for math and reading Tactile learner	Have manipulative and hands on activities
8	Male EIP for math Tier 2 Abstract thinker Creative	Provide art and drawing opportunities
9	Male ESOL Tier 3 Logical	Provide rubrics
10	Male ESOL EIP for reading Musical	Provide written directions for activities Create songs

In my experiences I've learned how different each student learns in the classroom. I like to provide my students with different activities so each student can work individually or within a group. In my student teaching experience, I would constantly use informal assessments throughout the lessons to see where my students were at and how they were thinking. If a large majority of the students were not comprehending the material, I would try teaching it a different way. Since each child learns and processes knowledge differently, I would like to implement choice boards into my classroom. It provides the students with the chance to choose which assignment fits their needs and interests the most. I think if students have choose the assignment that interests them the most they are more likely to be able to remember the information and recall it more easily than using traditional methods.

Bonus Blog #2

Discuss how Science, Math, and Technology relate in the real world and in the classroom.

Science, math, and technology are constantly around us in the real world. Engineers need math and science to ensure that buildings and homes are able to stand. Meteorologist use science, math, and technology to predict the weather and determine how, when, and why certain weather events happen. An article I recently read said more than 8 million jobs will require a degree in science, math, engineering, or technology by 2018. Not only do many jobs use science, math, and technology daily, but we use them in our homes without realizing it. Technology makes our lives so much easier. We're able to boil water and monitor the temperature of it to make spaghetti, we count change every time we use money, and make can phone calls from anywhere through a cell phone or computer! The relationship between the three outside of the classroom is very obvious to see and can help us answer a question we often hear in the classroom, "When am I ever going to use this outside of school?"

In the classroom, it can be a challenge to show the relationship between the three, but it is up to the teacher to be confident and willing to integrate the three areas. Integration is a way of fixing this problem. Math often times is just strictly memorizing an algorithm and about finding the correct answer as opposed to how you determined the answer, which I believe helps students learn better. Science often requires math to solve equations and determine answers to problems. Students also need to learn how important and beneficial technology can be to their learning process. Teachers should allow students to conduct research in all content areas, not just math and science, and develop questions and answers through multiple kinds of technology to spark their interests. Many times I see these three subject areas taught separately in the classroom, but they really go hand-in-hand and if we continue to integrate our lessons it will benefit our students the most and help them out in the real world.

Module 5 Blog

Standard: S3L1. Students will investigate the habitats of different organisms and the dependence of organisms on their habitat.
a. Differentiate between habitats of Georgia (mountains, marsh/swamp, coast, Piedmont, Atlantic Ocean) and the organisms that live there.
b. Identify features of green plants that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia.
c. Identify features of animals that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia.
d. Explain what will happen to an organism if the habitat is changed. 
Problem: You are a travel agent that specializes in nature expeditions. You want to sell your clients on an exciting new package in one of the regions of Georgia. Your task is to create a travel brochure that would make someone want to visit that region. Be sure to include any plants and organisms that live in that region and include a detailed description of them. 

Authentic Assessment: Choose a region of Georgia. Research to find out more about its features, plants and animals in the region and what each needs to survive in that particular region. Create a travel brochure that includes a information about the plants and organisms in that region that may interest an outdoor explorer.  Include reasons why certain plants and organisms cannot survive in other regions in a separate paper.

Rubric: 
  Category                          3                                 2                              1                                   0

Habitat description	A brief description of habitat is given.	-------------	---------------	No description of the habitat is given.
Pictures of animals that live in the habitat	Has 3 pictures of animals that live in the habitat.	Has 2 pictures of animals that live in the habitat.	Has 1 picture of an animal that lives in the habitat.	No pictures of animals that live in that habitat.
Adaptations of animals that live in the habitat	Has adaptations for 3 animals that live in the habitat.	Has adaptations for 2 animals that live in the habitat.	Has adaptations for 1 animal that lives in the habitat.	No adaptations of animals that live in that habitat.
Pictures of plants that grow in the habitat	Has 3 pictures of plants that grow in the habitat.	Has 2 pictures of plants that grow in the habitat.	Has 1 picture of plant that grows in the habitat.	No pictures of plants that live in that habitat.
Adaptations of plants that grow in the habitat	Has adaptations for 3 plants that grow in the habitat.	Has adaptations for 2 plants that grow in the habitat.	Has adaptations for 1 plant that grow in the habitat.	No adaptations of plants that live in that habitat.
Mechanics and Appearance	The project is neat with no spelling and punctuation errors.	The project is somewhat neat with a few spelling and punctuation errors.	The project is messy or has many spelling and punctuation errors that interfere with the understanding.	-------------

Article #3:
STEM Education -- It's Elementary
By: Tony Murphy
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/08/29/stem-education--its-elementary

Summary: STEM is a vital and key issue in education. It's important in our current education system for the US to remain an economic power. A study conducted by Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce shows that nearly 8 million jobs will require a degree in STEM by the year 2018. In order to achieve this kind of success, we must begin by teaching our students early. Children are natural scientists. They begin learning and developing through observations at a very early age. Teachers and parents play a key role in helping students achieve success in these areas. STEM teachers in high school and middle school typically have a degree in their subject areas, but elementary teachers major in education and don't specialize in STEM areas and often lack a passion of teaching these content areas. We must ask ourselves, if we lack passion and confidence in teaching these subject areas, how can we instill this same passion in our students? St. Catherine's University has developed a program to help teachers overcome this issue. Working with elementary teachers to develop confidence is a necessary tool to ensure the success of our students at an early age.

Reflection: I loved this article. It showed just how important STEM is to students and made me consider why I hadn't already been implementing more integration in my own classroom. During student teaching I often times found myself rushing to get to science and social studies at the end of the day becasue of the strong focus on math, reading, and writing. By the time I was able to get to science my students were exhausted, ready to go home for the day, and usually uninterested in the content. STEM allows for the opportunity to eliminate this problem. Through integration I can have my students be excited about math and science. I couldn't believe the study that was conducted by Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce that stated nearly 8 million jobs would require a degree in STEM by 2018. It's crucial to ensure our students long-term success that we start teaching and instilling the passion for math and science at a young age. I know personally I will be working on integrating more content areas in my future classroom.

Article #4:
STEM is the future: Top programs unlock kids’ exponential potential

By: Ben Chapman
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/stem/stem-future-article-1.1255407

Summary: STEM is the basis of a nationwide push to transform education. Elementary students are where the transformation begins It provides the students with the opportunity to become comfortable with science and math at an early age to become successful in the future. In order for students to be successful, it begins with their teachers. Recently, many elementary schools in New York City have been providing math and science training to teachers’ professional development programs. In New York City, many students have been given laptops as a mean to improve their confidence with technology. At one school in Manhattan, students receive weekly computer lessons and fourth-graders use digital notebooks on loan from Sony to take notes during class time. Not all students are as fortunate to use such technology in the classroom or at home, despite this STEM has made it to less-advantaged schools. At PS 15 in the Bronx, half of students don’t have access to computers or smartphones in their homes. PS 15 has intensive classes in both subjects for all students, a computer lab, math coaches and other resources that helped it outperform the city average on math and science tests. 

Several teachers use hands-on classroom experiments to teach science whenever possible and also use real-life examples to show scientific concepts.

Reflection: The students in Manhattan are so fortunate! I love how the students are able to receive a laptop to improve their confidence with technology. So many students don't receive that chance and can struggle later in life. Elementary education in where we provide the foundation for what they will build their knowledge upon as the continue their education and development. In order for us to ensure that they are confident, successful learners we need to provide the students with the chance to become comfortable with science and math at an early age. Even the students at PS 15 that had little to no technology access at home and sounded similar to the Title I school I student taught at, had made advances by using STEM and integration to help their students achieve better results on tests. Another thing I was so grateful to hear is that the schools are providing teachers with professional development in these programs to gain more confidence with teaching these subject areas. Learning begins with us and the expectations that we deliver to our students. If we are not comfortable or confident teaching the material, the students won't be either.