Chapter 3 Reflection

Constructivist learning is based on the prior knowledge of the learner. I would have to say that as a future teacher I agree with the constructivist view. The traditional view of learning is based on the information transferred from the teacher or a book to the student. In science it is necessary to focus on constructing the students knowledge, by questioning and allowing the students to utilize inquiry learning.
I must agree with the book that most of our curriculum is based on memory and recall. I would have to say that the reason why the teachers push the students to memorize is because of the testing the students have to go through. Our teachers are under more pressure than ever. It seems that the curriculum wants our students to memorize information in order to pass a test, if the students do not pass the tests; the school is put on probation, “talk about pressure”.
This is not the first time I read about Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. In certain aspects I agree with the four stages of Jean Piaget. The only thing I do think about the theory is that it may need to be modified depending on the cognitive level of the student. What happens to the theory if the child is 11 years old, but their cognitive level is at the preoperational stage?

CHapter 3

Karen Saa

9/23/2009

Weekly Reflection

Week 3

 

This chapter focused on the fact that in order to learn science you must do so with understanding.  In the beginning of the chapter the chapter mentions that in order to really understand something an individual should be capable of interpreting the specific topic in their own words, they should be able to relate concept s to real life experiences, and they should be able to interpret questions for investigations and express them in their own words. When an individual understands science they are able to do much more than just recall specific facts or terms. The chapter also discusses the importance of rehearsing prior knowledge. This gives students the ability to recall prior knowledge and build on that knowledge. Rehearsal consists of applying prior knowledge to a similar task but rather than practicing the same exact concept, the teacher will continue to add new knowledge to the students prior knowledge. It’s all a building process.  Another technique that is important when learning science, and various other subjects, is the implementing of concept maps. I found this really interesting. I never used these until I entered college and they are a great way to create study guides and to pin point the key information that should be addressed. Concept maps are a great way for students to understand exactly how one topic relates to another.  Scaffolding was also discussed in his chapter. I really do think that this method of teaching is wonderful. Students need to be challenged and the teacher should be a guide. Teachers should be helping students find the answers they are looking for, not dimply spoon-feeding them information. It’s important to challenge them with new information and with activities and assignments that really get their minds working. It surprised me how to read how challenging it can be to rewire students who have erroneous information about a certain area in science. I never thought it would be a difficult task to have them understand and accept that the information they may have been taught in the past is incorrect. I was glad that the chapter gives suggestions and methods that should be used to help elevate this challenging process. I think it is great that they suggest that we should teach in a way that will dissatisfy students with their own explanations. I am confused on how to properly conduct rehearsal vs. practice in the classroom? Some more examples would be helpful. 

Chapter 3

This chapter of the text concentrates on giving us ideas and giving examples of how to produce science learning with understanding. I love that the author makes a distinction between what it means when u say that you 'know' a concept or idea versus what it means to 'understand' a concept or idea. The author also stated that rehearsal of a concept is a contrast to practice . We rehearsed the concept of electricity in our class because we did something in similar but not identical ways to reinforce what we had learned about electricity.
I found the section on children's alternate conceptions to be very enlightening and important. As a teacher, one has to be aware of common misconceptions one's students may have so that we can try to reteach or make clear to the students what theories are correct. The author went in depth into the common misconceptions students have when explaining the phases of the moon.
The piaget section of the chapter was particularly important to me as well because if I plan to teach younger children I have to be aware of their cognitive development.

Nye - Reflection 3

There were a couple of key concepts that I found important in this chapter. I must admit that much of my previous and current learning was activated while reading today. The first key concept was the use of graphic organizers. I am currently taxing ELED 304. In that class we just read and discussed the use of graphic organizers. I found that manner in which the information was presented in the section titled “Enhance Knowledge Organization” brought the subject home for me. The simple manner in which the topic was explained was easy to understand. I felt as if the light bulb had switched on and I found myself having an Ah-ha moment. It is interesting that I have had the same material in the same week in two different classes. I reflected upon this for a moment and I asked myself what implications might this have for me as a future teacher. Integrated lessons and units may provide a chance for students to have their own Ah-ha moments. Science can and should be connected to other topics; in the same way I am learning that social studies should be connected. Treating learning as journey instead of a task might provide opportunities for my future students to connect science to other subjects.
The second subject discussed that triggered a flood of learning for me was the information regarding Vygotsky. In the spring 2009 semester I took ELED 307. In that class the professor was adamant about Vygotsky and student centered learning being the future of teaching. Every exercise we completed had this theme. I feel that what I learned in that class ties perfectly with inquiry based learning that is being promoted in this class.
Overall, I found the information to be useful. One last reflection; I completed my presentation or activity to be taught prior to finishing this chapter. I found myself questioning if my activity was appropriate based on this week’s reading. In my amateur opinion I feel I did okay. It will be interesting to see if my “students” feel the same way. So far I feel that all the chapters have been presented in a manner that is easy to understand and apply. I wish this were true of all the textbooks I have been required to use.

Chapter 3

Chapter three discussed a variety of topics that were interesting to me, including scaffolding, the importance of group learning, and the difference between knowing something and truly understanding it. Knowing that knowledge is not something that is simply verbally passed on from teacher to learner, but rather students must construct new knowledge for themselves. Constructivism is an important theory that I feel is necessary to incorporate into the classroom. I feel that students have more of a grasp on the new information they are trying to learn when they can connect it to their own prior knowledge and experiences. I really liked how they specifically pointed out the differences of knowing something and truly understanding it. The chapter does a nice job in demonstrating the different levels of understanding a child can have.

I feel that organization is a very helpful and necessary part of learning that children sometimes struggle with. It was good to emphasis the use of graphic organizers and concept maps for students. It allows them to have a visual aide to the new or existing knowledge they are trying to make connections about. I am a visual learner, so when I was a student I loved when a teacher used graphic organizers. It really helped me see and analyze the information in a way that I could not do by just discussing it.

According to Vygotsky, children learn at higher levels in cooperation with others than when they work alone. I have learned about this is previous classes, and intend to use it in my own classroom, especially in science. When experimenting and learning, I feel it is important for students to have feedback and discussion amongst each other, to see others opinions and viewpoints. It allows them to be self-reflecting, which is also important for students while learning.

In another part of the chapter, they discuss children's misconceptions when it comes to science, and they made a really good and important point that stood out to me: simply telling or threatening a child that they should change their viewpoint is not how you get past their misconceptions. Students need many opportunities to struggle and see the inconsistencies between their own ideas and scientific explanations, to make their own links between their ideas and scientific concepts.

Chapter 3 - Leana

In reading chapter three i felt the most important point was making the connection between prior knowledge and new knowledge. I like how the author suggests that students need repeated opportunities to struggle with inconsistencies between their own ideas and scientific explanations, to reorganize their ways of thinking and to make appropriate links between their own ideas and scientific concepts. As a teacher i was wondering how to teach this in a way that my students would be able to make the connection and learn from what they previously thought. I'm glad that this chapter went into detail on how conceptual change can occur.

I also like the ideas about concept maps. I am a visual learner and these types of maps help me to organize my information in a way that i can learn and understand.

I feel that it is very important to build successful learning communities. As a teacher i want my learning to be enhanced by organizing my learning environment to encourage a cooperative culture that centers on thinking.

Chapter 3 Reflection

I loved the idea of using graphic organizers to assist students in organizing new knowledge. It seems more effective to break up important information in an organized chart, rather than writing a paragraph about it. I liked the example of a graphic organizer explaining condensation. It was not overwhelming, easy to follow and definitely keeps the information organized and accessible. I loved how this chapter applied Vygotsky's findings to current classrooms. This was such a relief because in the past books have listed out theories and research without showing examples of how it can be applied. I think it is very important to see many examples of how research applies to the classroom because many teachers use research to back up their teaching methods and classroom structure. This chapter helped me understand Vygotsky's scaffolding theory. I learned that a student can be challenged to learn beyond what is expected, if a teacher provides scaffolding support. This brought me back to my own experiences working with children with special needs. How does scaffolding apply to students that have special needs? What do we do when there is a wide gap between those that need more assistance and those that are ready to move on? The book made me realize how important it is to have assessments. Fortunately, the book listed many ways to assess understanding. It is a relief to know that assessments do not always have to be scantron only tests and pop quizzes, which seem to test memorization and not understanding. Also, I learned why students' desks are put into groups. I thought it was odd when I first saw this because I thought children would talk to each other instead of listening, but my beliefs are shadowed by my own experiences as a student in a traditional classroom, with desks aligned in perfect rows, and students seated in alphabetical order. I now realize that cooperative learning is beneficial and enhances learning. The research provided in this chapter is very useful for future teachers.

Reflection #3

In terms of teaching science one theme I found interesting was the difference between knowing something and truly understanding it. When a student comprehends an idea, they are able to interpret, relate and apply their knowledge to various settings. I also found the theory of constructivism interesting, which entails drawing upon prior knowledge to make connections to the newly presented topics or ideas which us to ultimately result in constructing meaning for themselves. That being the case, I believe it is imperative to introduce all children to a wide variety of information to ensure a solid and complex foundation for their pre-existing knowledge.
What continues to surprise me about this textbook (and class) in general is the radical shift in teaching ideology. I so desperately wish I had this when I was a student and I am absolutely shocked by my increasing love of science! Over the past several years, I have watched my dread of science evolve into this burning curiosity. Each year I assist with science fair experiments with my sons and I am so intrigued. We have some pretty cool ones in the works already! I look forward to our class and think the ideas the text gives for teachers to use for physical explanations or as a means to create exploratory learning environments is so engaging! I might want to teach science or start a science club one day, which came as a huge shock to me! I really would love to see students, girls especially, enjoy science more.
One concept that made sense to me after reading the chapter was the phases of the moon. Each chapter I read makes me realize how much I never really understood. I am almost embarrassed by the number of concepts I had only superficial knowledge of! Nothing confused me about this chapter. I suppose the only question I have would be how to go about incorporating teaching special education and science. I would like to look into becoming highly qualified in science someday.

Chapter 3

This chapter begins by introducing the new view of learning known as constructivism. This view of learning says that individuals always use the knowledge they already have to base new knowledge off of. Therefore, constructivism is very different from the traditional view of learning that says learners acquire new knowledge by listening to others or by manipulating objects. I feel that the constructivist view of learning is like the traditional view, accept it takes into consideration what learners already know. The chapter says that prior knowledge and experiences are the things we bring with us to learning situations, which affect what and how we learn.

I like how this chapter clearly explains the difference between knowledge and understanding. Knowing something means that one can access and use that information, idea, or skill when they need it. From what the books says, Understanding seems to encompass knowledge, but also allows an individual who understands something to do something with what they know such as relate it to the real world, express it in their own words, and/or apply it to different contexts and environments. I feel that teachers can facilitate understanding by developing activities and lessons that encourage these things.

The first way to enhance science understanding described in this chapter is through providing for access to prior knowledge. One thing the chapter mentions in doing this is by asking students to recall what they already know. This is similar to the lead-in/warm-up I have seen in most lesson plans and even is a strategy used by some of my college professors when introducing a new topic or building off of a previous one. In this same section, rehearsal and practice are described. Both strategies are definitely essential in the classroom. I think I would use practice before using rehearsal. It would make sense to practice something until it is mastered, then rehearse it, “while adding something new.”

Rehearsal seems like it would be a good strategy not only in accessing prior knowledge, but for transfer as well. For some students with special needs, generalizing information and skills in different environments and situations is something to work towards. Therefore, rehearsing the same skill or knowledge in slightly different ways or in different environments would be a good way to help students generalize or transfer knowledge or skills they acquire into new contexts.

Chapter 3 Reflection

At first, it almost seemed like the authors had misplaced this chapter when writing about “true understanding” and the way children develop and learn. Shouldn’t the discussion in Chapter 3 be at the very beginning of the text? No. The topic is wisely covered here using the methods that the authors mention. Building upon our prior knowledge learned in the preceding chapters, the information in Chapter 3 more fully fleshes out what constructivism really means and how important scaffolding is. I think the authors drive home the point that to effectively teach science, you have to use rehearsal, transfer, and “knowledge structures.” All of this wouldn’t have been as clear if we had read it two weeks ago without the advantage of the examples of the activities in the book or prior to our experience in class with electricity.

It is important to remember that children and adults often bring misconceptions to the table. As we saw in the video, even Harvard grads firmly believed that the moon’s phases are caused by the earth’s shadow. Some of these notions can be so ingrained that even though the bright high school girl in the video was correctly demonstrating the moon’s phases, she still couldn’t get the incorrect idea out of her head. It is worth noting that some people may never let go of their belief systems even if science proves otherwise.

Even though I have read and studied Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, I can more deeply understand how important it is in teaching science. In a foundations class, I saw a video of “preoperational thinkers” watching as a researcher poured liquid from one glass into another taller glass. Time after time, the children without hesitation said there was more liquid in the taller glass. It would be hard for me hard to believe if I hadn’t seen it. It is helpful that the authors reiterate the point that children’s cognitive development must be taken into account when teaching science.

Chapter 3 has definitely given me an understanding of constructivism is. New knowledge is based on prior knowledge that the learner brings to the classrooms. Also after reading this chapter, it made me realize that I KNOW a lot of information but I do not always UNDERSTAND it. This always brings me back to elementary and high school. I always memorized everything for tests and then once I took the test I never thought about it again. It comes back to haunt me now especially since I am learning to be a teacher. I can never remember simple science or social studies questions because these were the main subjects that I memorized and forgot about later on. For me as a student, I find it helpful when activities are hands on and not right from the text. I definitely understand subjects better with hands on activities. It is fun for students to actually participate and have to figure out for themselves the answer through experimenting and observing.
I think graphic organizers are the best. I feel that they really help students to organize the information they have. I feel that concept maps are challenging yet helpful because every box is connected to something which all connects to the main idea or theme.
This chapter also discusses Piaget and goes into some detail about his four age-related stages which are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. According to the book, Piaget's findings are important for science education, but they should not place a limit on what is appropriate for children to learn at each grade level. With prior knowledge and appropriate scaffolding assistance from their teachers, they can do more than previously expected.

Chapter 3

After reading chapter three I have acquired a better understanding of constructivism. Teachers address questions to students so that they can recall previous knowledge. Then students add the new information and organize it to construct new knowledge.
I agree with the text book that in a traditional classroom teachers base their lessons on memory and recall. My experience in elementary school was that of a traditional classroom. I was expected to memorize the terminology and recall information from the book. I would study for the test but a week after the test the information was forgotten because it was just memorization. This new way of understanding science by hand-on activities makes it easier for student to understand the concept of the activities they do in a cooperative learning environment.
I agree with Vygotsky that students can learn at higher levels in cooperation with others than working alone. I think it is more work for the teacher at the beginning when she first implements a community of learners. Once the entire class understands the process of community of learners it will run smoothly. I believe the most difficult part is getting everything in place. Once students are familiar with the process they will benefit from this learning environment.

Chapter 3

This is really my chapter 2. I posted chapter 3 last week by mistake.
This chapter surprised me at the amount of processing and investigating that goes on and the amount of strategies that students do without actually knowing they did it. I love all of the experiments. I did the "How to construct a seed germination bag" on September 5 and finished it on the 19th. My son thought it was very cool to see how the seeds were growing. We still have the bag, and the roots are getting very long. This activity encouraged my son to wonder what would happen after the cut off date and if he could grow the germinated seeds into flowers now. Pretty good, the experiment got him to start thinking and wondering. I also liked the "I noticed" and "I wonder" chart.
I was quite worried about knowing when and how to guide students in learning and to encourage exploration, scaffolding, hints and so on, but the other day, at my school, I was helping in a 7th and 8th grade class and it just came naturally. I realized afterward, just like the students when they are gathering, organizing, using, and interpreting information and not knowing it, so was I. I also think it is important to have students writing down their predictions or recording data, it allows them to see and understand the "after" of the experiments. I will definitely use this chapter again.

chapeter 3 Reflections

CHAPTER 3: LEARNING SCIENCE WITH UNDERSTANDING


Chapter three has some very interesting points. It’s main topic and theme is understanding and building science knowledge. The theory of this chapter is scaffolding. Taking prior-based knowledge; and building on a new concept that was just taught will help student’s growth in science. Piaget’s cognitive development stages all play a role in the learning and scaffolding of science concepts. Providing teachings to disprove certain concepts and teach the right ones are a practical approach of this chapter. Some thoughts will be disproven and replaced with new thoughts and new concepts that will have to be organized for future references.
This chapter left me with a lot of knowledge on how to build off of previous concepts learned by students. I was surprised that knowledge organization can help learn a new concept. As a future teacher, this is a good strategy to practice with my students. This whole chapter was pretty direct and clear. It shows how previous knowledge will help review the beginning of a new concept which, once learned, will provide scaffolding to advance knowledge in science. My question for this chapter is how do you know, what and if, previous knowledge was even learned for a certain concept and how can you review it so that the scaffolding process can run smoothly for a student? All-in-all, this chapter gives me knowledge on how to go about playing on a student’s previous knowledge and building on more of what was just learned.

Chapter 3 Reflection

This chapter described a lot of useful techniques and information I can use for when I start teaching. Using all the stages in this process will really help children in learning science. Teachers who use this as a teaching technique will help their students consider multiple parts of a situation and form complete combinations. I want to reflect on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. First of all, I want to say I agree with his theory and think that children do learn through a process. This process is an excellent way to teach children science. It helps them recall previous knowledge they have learned and organize it as well. In the first stage, which is the preoperational stage, Piaget states that children tend to focus on one main view of a situation. One example of Piaget’s theory, a child of this age may value a nickel worth 5 cents over a dime worth 10 cents because the nickel is bigger, even if an adult lets the child know that the dime is more valuable. Another example is, a child who sees two identical size cups filled with water will say that the cups have the same amount of water in them. But, when one cup gets switch with a taller cup, but still has the same amount of water, the child will say the taller cup has more water only because it seems like that to the child. Since one cup is taller, it may look like it has more when it really has the same amount. The appearance of the objects gives the wrong impression about them. Children’s decisions are dominated by their perceptions. With this process we can help children use this for the future learning. It is important that children be given all kinds of hands-on activities with a variety of materials in order for them to develop the foundational skills they will need for future abstract thinking. The use of worksheets and memorization may give the illusion that children are making great academic strides, but they must experience the process of discovery first hand in order for real learning to take place. It will help prepare them for the world they will learn in.

Chapter 3 Journal

I thought that this chapter made a lot of sense. Most of the information was a review of what we have learned in previous classes. I think that reviewing the cognitive processes is important because they affect all aspects of teaching. It is extremely important to make sure that topics chosen to cover in class are age appropriate. Knowing what cognitive level the students are at will help teachers to be more aware of what the students can grasp a hold of.

I also thought that the section on “Enhancing the learning of science with understanding” was interesting. It allowed me to understand the importance of different teaching techniques in the classroom. Each technique discussed also had support for how it could be utilized in the classroom. An easy example provided in the textbook was a “knowledge structure”. These are used all of the time in many different classes, and are helpful to students because they organize the information for them.

The mini lessons in this chapter were also informative. I really enjoyed the one on the phases of the moon. It is a simple way for the students to do a hands-on activity with something that is known to be somewhat confusing.

Chapter 3 Reflection

I found this chapter very encouraging to see that what we have learned in previous classes is being applied in how children learn. I agree that it was somewhat repeticous, however, I feel that these theories should be emphasised. As a student from the 60's, most science and math classes were learning skills that were rote and there was no opportunity for discovery. This "new" approach that we are studying is so much different and allows children to come up with hypothesis, test them and then go back to the beginning if they have to. One thing that I like in this chapter was the mention of "rehearsal" as opposed to practice. I believe this is a better way to have a student learn a concept for it allows them to generalize and bring that knowledge to a new situation. Once a concept is rehearsed, it can be applied to other situations. Another point that I really liked was that of learning communities. Not only do the children learnn amongst themselves, they have a chance to "challenge" each other in a small group about the conclusion(s) that they have made and need to justify the conclusions that they have. This approach fosters the childrens critical thinking skills, an important part of any problem solving situation. They are allowed to discover, test, retest and conclude within a small group. This encourages cooperation and social skills while they are learning. The last thing that I feel was an important message and has been throughout the book so far, is the idea that children learn best when using"hands-on, minds-on inquiry activities and teacher guidance"(p 77) for organizing their investigations in the science classroom. This was supported by the idea of graphic organizers, not a new idea but very effective when beginning to teach science to younger children. Yes there was repetition of Piaget and Vygotsky's theories but I found the references to the theories and experiments to be very helpful.

Chapter 3 - Reflection

Chapter 3 had a reoccurring topic of being able to provide developmentally appropriate activities based on science. The authors were able to say it in different ways, but all the information presented was from the same theme or topic.
In a sense the idea of thinking about providing developmentally appropriate activities surprised me. I never spent a lot of time thinking about this. When planning lesson plans, those thoughts just happened naturally. I never spent a lot of time thinking about planning activities using those specific words. I just thought about if I felt a child at a specific age group could handle whatever I was going to present or have them do.
I was also surprised at the fact that Piaget’s four cognitive stages were included in this chapter. It has been a while since I have seen much on the theorists. It surprised me that the authors included this information in this chapter, but in a sense it also made sense to include this information. If you really think about it, all of Piaget’s stages really apply to having a child do a science activity. Although, I feel that it would apply to more than just science activities. I never thought of applying it to science activities before.
I think that the new view of learning in chapter 3 really made sense. Even though it hasn’t been that long since I was in school, I don’t remember teachers taking the new view into consideration or applying it at all. If I remember correctly, they were still going by the traditional ways. “The traditional view of learning is that knowledge is discovered through the manipulation of objects or acquired from others when learners listen to what they say. However, we now accept that learning is more complex than that. Knowledge cannot be passed intact from a teacher or a book to a learner, nor is it simply discovered in the real world. Students must construct new knowledge for themselves. This view of learning is called constructivism. In the constructivist perspective, new knowledge is always based on the prior or existing knowledge that learners bring to learning situations" (Bass, 63). This approach actually makes more sense than the traditional way. Children actually do use prior knowledge and build on it to create new knowledge, it just does not happen. Knowledge is created by the taking old information and adding new information to create more information on the already existing knowledge. Even though students read textbooks and listen to teacher lead instruction, this information they are hearing is also added to the already existing information in their brains. In some form or another it is all connected.
Would teachers that already are teaching that went to school before this approach was found or even considered, are they accepting this approach? Do these teachers completely support this approach? Would these teachers be able to convert their thinking to forget the traditional approach and only think about the constructivism approach?

Chapter 3 Reflection

If we were to look at the idea of school as a business, learning would be the business. In order to have the company (the school) do well, you'd have to figure out all the different ways to sell (teach) your product (the material) to your customers (the students). In addition, you'll want to make it very profitable (students gain understanding and knowledge) and meet all their needs. Nowadays, these "customers" know a little about what they need and they come in with prior knowledge to get in and out faster. And to get out faster means that they understand quicker. Constructivism is just that. It is new knowledge that is based on prior knowledge that learners bring to learning situations. And although there is a difference between knowledge and understanding, recalling the information is what is most important. I kept reading the following sentence out of the book over and over again because I kept thinking I was reading it wrong. "Students often have limited opportunity to develop understanding because the curriculum, textbooks, and tests emphasize memory and recall." I was shocked. Some remedies to this are practice, rehearsal, and transfer. The different support systems and tools that are mentioned were quite interesting to me because each one could be flip-flopped with both learning and teaching. I do think that the idea of conceptual change is one that I'm going to take away with me the most. It is, essentially and in my opinon, the foundation of what this "business" is built on. Others might be more apt to say that the development piece of this chapter is the groundwork for education. I wouldn't completely disagree with that. I would say that it is the nuts and bolts that keep the foundation together. And you definitely can't have one without the other.

chapter 2 reflections

CHAPTER 2: PROCESSES AND STRATEGIES FOR INQUIRING

WRITTEN REFLECTION

In chapter two I am introduced to the more evolved steps into the inquiry process. This chapter’s theme is basically learning steps through the scientific process. The steps to emphasize are the observation of science, the classification of groups or objects, inferring what will happen, measuring your experiment, communicating your observations, predicting what will happen from data patterns, hypothesizing the investigation, and finally experimenting. These are just the basic concepts to play on an inquiring thought. This chapter eventually goes into detail about every one of the processes. The theory of this chapter is that all scientific processes will follow these emphasized steps. Further more, a practical approach of this chapter is to classify different levels of investigations for certain grade level students. This will develop skills for doing science.

This chapter was very interesting to me. I was surprised at all the different activities presented for the students. I liked how they had different levels of classifying investigations. This chapter is basically a continuation of the first chapter but going into more details about how to build concepts from inquiry. This chapter made great sense into describing the processes and questions that will probably be asked. This will help me categorize what I will teach my future students and what works best. My only question is what classifies as an approachable inquiry, and how you can find activities for certain questions that are asked by students.

chapter 1 reflection

CHAPTER 1: CHILDREN, SCIENCE, AND INQUIRY: SOME PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS

WRITTEN REFLECTION

In chapter one I am introduced to the beginning of the science inquiry. This chapter’s theme demonstrates what young children inquire about and how to enhance this process. The different subtitles of conceptual knowledge, carrying out activities, and understanding science and inquiries all play a role in the outcome of science education. The theme that can be proposed in this chapter is inquiry. This is a major part of education among elementary and middle school children. Children’s questions about any worldly thing should be observed and recognized. To further the science concept students should create questions and form decisions to what will happen, concluding students should draw certain conclusions. This chapter shows how observing, explaining, and gaining scientific knowledge are all connected. A practical approach is to understand science and accept that it is always tentative.

This chapter was very interesting. I was surprised that science covers a variety of curriculum subjects such as: literacy and math. This chapter showed no confusion to me. It demonstrated that science begins with inquiry and observing. I believe that this chapter made great sense as to how science begins and how to approach it. It also gave me helpful tools to play on my future student’s inquiries and questions, because that can lead to some interesting activities to do.

chapter 1 reflection

Chapter 2

This chapter was about the process approach to science emphasized by the National Science Education Standards. These standards depict 8 processed of science used to investigate. These processes are observing, classifying, inferring, measuring, communicating, predicting, hypothesizing, and experimenting. Although these processes are not new ideas to me, i found it interesting when the chapter describes how they should be taught in schools. The book says that all processes of science should be used within investigations. When I was in school, we learned about the 'scientific method', which is pretty much another term for the processes of science defined in this chapter. Instead of learning the processes of science within scientific investigations, we had to learn each step of the scientific method on it's own. So, instead of doing an activity like in the book for observing where the teacher presents an object and asks questions about it, we were told things like the definition of observing and eventually for the rest of the other processes.

I liked this chapters explanations of binary and multistage classification systems. I think for younger grades or for the beginning of a lesson it would be beneficial to start by asking students to classify items according to one particular property, and them move to a multistage classification by forming subsets and classifications within classifications. I also liked the chapters description of inferring, and how they showed how it is different than observing. I feel that knowing the different between the two might be a challenging concept to grasp for students with special needs. Therefore, I really like the books examples of asking students to state the senses the use to validate observations and then state the evidence they use to validate their inferences. I had never heard of or seen a histogram before reading this chapter. At first it took me a while to figure out how it would be used, but once I read how to use it i feel that it would be a good thing to use in a classroom. One thing i might change about the particular histogram shown in the book would be to show actual peanuts in different sizes that students could compare their own peanuts to.

Chapter 2

Karen Saa

9/16/2009

Weekly Reflection

 

            This chapter was very interesting and helpful. The chapter discusses the skills used in investigating. Those skills are called the processes of science. The chapter goes through the specific processes that elementary and middle school students should go through in science. Some of the steps involved in that investigating process include observation, hypothesis, conducting, controlled investigations, predicting, explaining, and communicating. All of these skills contribute to a successful thought process with students. Students also can be expected to participate in descriptive, classificatory, and experimental inquiries. The type of investigation that a student conducts is based on the student’s age and grade level. The higher the grade level of the student the more detailed and deeper an investigation and experiments are. These skills should be emphasized in elementary school and middle school. The chapter discusses these skills in detail and provides various examples on how to successfully implement these processes in the classroom. Students also can be expected to participate in descriptive, classificatory, and experimental inquiries. The type of investigation that a student conducts is based on the student’s age and grade level. The higher the grade level the more detailed and complex the investigation and analysis will be.  Having students participate in investigations that incorporate the science processes is necessary to have students understand science. 

 The one thing that surprised me was the emphasis that was placed on how the processes of science help student to develop their critical thinking, analysis, and investigating skills. In the past when I thought of the various processes of science I never thought they would help with any other area of a student’s academic life. The chapter really emphasizes that understanding these processes help students effectively analyze and investigate scientific topics, as well as, real world scenarios. The book gives a great example at the beginning of the chapter that mentions that investigative skills will help students to try to figure out why their automobile won’t start or decide what presidential candidate to vote for. These skills will become a part of their everyday lives. All of these skills contribute to a successful thought process with students. Students also can be expected to participate in descriptive, classificatory, and experimental inquiries. The type of investigation that a student conducts is based on the student’s age and grade level. Higher-grade levels need more detailed and specific investigations. Having students participate in investigations that incorporate the science processes is necessary to have students understand science. 

After reading the chapter I would like to know more about how to successfully teach students these processes? 

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 describes the processes and strategies for inquiring in science. The text states the processes of science such as: observing,classifying, inferring, measuring, communicating, predicting, hypothesizing, and experiments. I was a bit confused when reading about the different terms used in the classification paragraph. I was not clear and the distinction between binary and multistage classification. What confuses me may be the fact that we used different kinds of classifications in my archaeology class. I enjoyed reading the page on organizing data. I was surprised that the chapter included music and art as forms of communicating understanding in science. I really enjoyed and I think I would use the "I Notice/I Wonder" record format with my students. I plan to work with younger children and I believe this really helps clarify between facts that they know and thing that a student may be unsure of.

Chapter 2 Reflection

After reading chapter two, I gained a greater understanding of the processes of science. I
was surprised at how many skills are needed and used in investigating and how many processes
and strategies are used to collect, report, record, observe and measure data. I really liked the
chart on page 30 because it clearly breaks down all the processes and also gives examples on
how they might be utilized. This chapter is one that I am sure I will refer back to time and time
again, as it gives many different hands on activities that can be used in future science classes. I
really liked the observing candy experiment. In fact, this experiment can be done with anything, not just candy. I observed a fun activity that was done by an eighth grade teacher who used this
concept. He passed out a mini mars bar to each student in order to illustrate the different layers
of the earth and plate tectonics. The students seemed to love it, especially because they were
able to eat the candy afterwards. I also enjoyed reading about the inference activity. The eighth grade teacher I worked with used this activity to illustrate matter. The students used all their senses to predict the contents of the box. The students were baffled and came up with many different ideas as to what might be inside. Activities like these definitely build on observation skills. Thus, the book mentioned that learning to be an observer is a lifelong task. This made sense to me and I realize now why this method is so important in the science classroom.
I was somewhat disappointed that the end of the chapter contained a small paragraph mentioning that teachers need to encourage more exploration and need to match their actions to the needs of students. How does a teacher do that? How can experiments be crafted so that they fulfill each child’s needs? After reading this chapter, I had a few other questions. What are the best experiments to do with your students in order to develop these processes? Where can a teacher find these experiments? The book mentions outside resources, but what other resources are out there?

Chapter 2- Processes and Strategies for Inquiring

I believe we all at some point question our reasons for thinking certain ways or for establishing our logic and our opinions and wonder how it is that we have come up with our reasoning. We scientifically inquire about science everyday but never know why the steps are taken or used in thought as to how we have reached our conclusion or reasoning. Chapter two stated that Children observe living things on a global scale missing important details. The necessity for scientific processes is imperative in order to keep student’s attention and their ability to determine what is important. We want students to expand on their thoughts and therefore they need guidelines. The components of scientific processes are observation, measurement, Recording Data, inferences and predictions. The components are broken down in the chapter to better understand each process. When I think about all of these components, they are all very important when observing and recording data about science. After learning about the processes I feel it is very important for students to fully understand and analyze their thoughts and their perceptions and be able to back up those ideas and thoughts with scientific evidence, through their own research and observation.

Angela Pine

Chp. 2 Reflection

After reading this chapter, I realized how children can use the processes and strategies for inquiring. I wanted to reflect on the way science is taught at the different grade levels. I especially agree with the author on how when children are taught one thing, they can without difficulty learn something new with what they have learned on their own. For example, in this chapter the author explains how when children learn to observe, they also start to pay attention to detail and for similarities and differences.
In the classroom, as students are working on the assignments, I feel when students work together as a group they may learn and understand the material much better. Working together gets everyone involved in the lesson and helps motivate other students as well, since they may not want to feel left out. In doing so, this can change a student’s mind about science. When students start to connect the process of inquiry, they also have gained knowledge they can use in their everyday lives already. I found it very interesting to read about how to use music, art, and role playing can be used to communicate their understanding. Students can use dance for learning science. They can interpret science vocabulary words into a dance, use current technology to manipulate sound look at and explore, if possible artifacts borrowed from a museum and talk about their visual characteristics and their purpose. Museums are an excellent way to engage students into learning and it is also enjoyable and enlightening for the students in learning about science.

Chapter 2 Reflection of processes and strategies for inquiry

There is a lot to take away from this chapter. Most importantly, a teacher must aquire skills and techniques that create effective inquiry lessons. Teachers should use scaffolding and allow for students to spend time exploring. In contrast, the teacher needs to know when to step in or give the class a hint. It is of great importants to try to tend to the indiviual needs of each student during this process.
I like how the book contiues to remind us that the students are like scientists in their studying. The students must begin to form habits and learn the process of science. These are, in fact, the skills students will also use in real life in the future.Teaching students observe. Clasifying materials are also part of the process of science. There are so many example the book gives that would be great to use in the classroom and clearly explain how the process of science is involved in the lesson. Inferring is also a skill students should aquire in elementary school. It includes looking at data and interpresting what they see.
I learned today that there are 3 types of investingations. This explains why there is no one way that scientists or students can experience in science. Inference is incorporated witht he process of science in the lessons given int he chapter. Teaching investigations that incoporate teh process of science will positivley influnce the student.

Ch. 2

Chapter two was a more interesting read for me than chapter one. Here more specific processes and strategies for inquiring in science were discussed. I was familiar with some of the processes, such as observing, classifying, measuring, communicating, predicting, hypothesizing, and experimenting. It was a very good review since I do not remember everything incorporated with these processes. Although all processes are important when teaching science, I feel observation is a key point. This chapter goes in depth about how children observe and what educators can do to help them improve their observation skills. 'Young children tend to observe globally and, thus ,to miss potentially relevant details' (31). We as educators are to ask questions and provoke ideas that will get our students to see such details and raise further questions in their mind for them to begin to observe effectively. I also liked that the chapter reviewed different ways in which the students can record and organize their findings. Bar graphs, histograms, line graphs, and other charts are all helpful ways for children to organize and analyze the information they discover. Investigation strategies was also a section i enjoyed reading, because I was unfamiliar with the different types of investigations. Descriptive, classificatory, and experimental investigations are all approaches to investigating that involve the five tasks of inquiry which were described in chapter one.

Another part of this book I find interesting is the activities they list to do with students. Activity 2-5, which helps children identify the parts of a seed, is an activity that I have seen used in the classroom of the school I am employed at, and the students love it. They enjoy learning the parts of the seed, and then actually watching the seed grow is a very interesting experience for them. Participating in investigations that incorporate science processes and strategies is very engaging and rewarding to the science learning of students.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 gives us great ideas to show children the process of investigation and how we can have the student’s thing about various matters in our daily life. I like how the book tells us to challenge the students and have them wonder more about what they have noticed in an investigation. I like the three types of investigation: descriptive, classificatory, and experimental. This gives students different ways to think about an experiment and not repeat an activity again. I also like how the book gives ideas to record the information and keep it organized. I like the journal keep communication technique. This will help the students write down what is in their mind on paper instead of trying to remember it all in the head. Students can follow the question, investigation, obersvation, and conclusion plan to help remember the experiment.

Chapter 2 Reflections

I thought it was pretty interesting that this chapter pretty much started out by saying that we use the thinking skills that we use in everyday life. I guess I never thought of it like that before. Younger children tend to observe globally and tend to miss potentially relevant details. They often see what they expect to see, and they may focus more on difference than similarities. (pg 31) I am so used to watching older people observe that I would have never thought that younger children do not observe the way we do. Half of this chapter was pretty much review because it describes the processes of science which are observing, classifying, inferring, measuring, communicating, predicting, hypothesizing, and experimenting. Something I found very useful, that I would use in the classroom is the "I notice/I wonder" chart on page 38. I think it is a great way for children to observe then ask questions about the observations that they can further investigate. I never realized that there are three different kinds of investigations, which are descriptive, classificatory, and experimental. This chapter also says that different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations. It also says that effective teachers must be skilled observers of children and effective guides of the inquiry process, meaning that they need to decide when and how to guide, when to encourage more exploration, how to scaffold learning through prompts, hints, questions and other means, when to provide information, and when to connect students to other sources. (pg 57) The last sentence of this chapter pretty much sums up everything: teaching and learning science through an inquiry approach is challenging but well worth the effort!

Chapter 2

Some things I found interesting and usable are getting to know how each child learns and develops so I can adjust instructions for each child. Students must construct knowledge themselves. Without prior knowledge, students can not build new knowledge with a competent understanding. Knowing and understanding are 2 different things. Providing access to prior knowledge by rehearsal and transfer of knowledge to help enhance understanding.
Concept maps are great visuals for learners who need to see in order to understand. To highlight ideas and for students to organize ideas also gives teachers a way to give feedback on what students understand and misunderstand.
Community classrooms of learners learn better than traditional classrooms. At the school my son attends, all of the classrooms are set up like small communities. Breaking children's incorrect theories can be a struggle. We need to provide many opportunities for them to realize or struggle with the inconsistencies of their beliefs and the scientific explanations.
Something that I was not clear on, after reading the chapter now makes sense is the Identifying alternative conceptions and promoting dissatisfaction with alternative conceptions- let students with more info test their results, come to their own concepts that are incorrect. After the misconceptions are cleared up - then introduce scientific conceptions. It's like when Professor Clishem lets us play and give our explanations about the light bulbs; after we exerted all our theories, then we were ready for you to teach us. Great concept!

Chapter 2 Reflection

Mentioned in the prior reading, inquiry methods parallel what real scientists do when they do science. This chapter explains what steps students of science specifically use to mimic this process of learning, i.e., observing, classifying, inferring, etc. These specific operations are easy to follow and anyone can engage in the procedures. They are systematic and clinical but at the same time your own input and observations are needed to complete the process.

You can take this methodical approach and apply it to all aspects of life. If you need to work out a problem in another facet of school, often it helps to look at it from a “scientific” point of view, or in other words, to be objective. Throughout childhood and adulthood, sometimes compartmentalizing or classifying complicated issues helps you to understand them more deeply. Systematically looking at a complex problem can assist in flushing out the “grey” areas and finding what is at the heart of a matter.

Additionally, collecting, organizing, recording, and reporting data is a great way to incorporate technology and the use of the computers in the classroom. Creating bar charts and graphs in an Excel program is an easy and fun activity for students (if you have the computers available.) The abundance of activities in elementary science is overwhelming and make it hard to choose just one to present. They seem not only enjoyable and entertaining but that also are a means to an end, a path to the “big idea” and a way to meet the prescribed standards and goals.

Chapter 2 Reflection

I discovered something as I started to read this chapter. I discovered that no matter when and how I use the word "process," I am actually dealing with some kind of Science...no matter when! As the book mentions, certain skills we teach kids will be of benefit to them in the future. Things suck as measuring a wall, or wondering why the remote control doesn't work. The processes that book covers is what helps kids and adults resolve any matter at hand. However, kids need to be guided in how to "come to age" with processes so that develop the inate sense of incorporating science. Harlen and Jelly say "young children tend to obeserve globally and miss relevant details and focus more on differences than similarities." The complete Process of Science is covered. The process that intrigued me the most was Experimenting and Investigating. The authors give me hope that if there is room outside the box, go there! There is much encouragement to students thinking for themselves and to find as many ways as they can to achieve results. Also, the book mentions something else I discovered that I never wished to actually see. And that is how much kids love to study living things. They are always in awe of life outside of what they know to be life. Watching things grow, move, and transform are what kids love to do. Why not embrace that and let them learn Science through what they love (which they don't even know is science yet)!

Chapter 1 Reflection

Well, for starters, I realized that this book wasn't going to be some "unrealistic" account of three authors who never spent an hour in a classroom, which I sadly have read in the past. As for the content of Chapter 1, there were several key points that struck me as I was reading. The section on Constructive Learning talked about what teachers REALLY do (or should do in some cases). The phrase I read that I will adopt as part of my creed is "Encourage Wonder." Helping students form questions is crucial in Science because that is essentially what we're trying to do... answer questions. I believe the basis of the leaves lesson is an excellent foundation for lessons for many different grade levels. What surprised me in this chapter the most is how Science has a bearing on the future of the nation's economy. Although I knew Science was, in fact, technology, until reading it I was never really looking to see that. Ultimately, the Science we teach these kids today can form our technology and the way we live tomorrow. "Science is a product of the activity of knowing" and as the book explains, the best way to helping students know, is to invoke wonder and to actually listen to them because with regards to Science Education, the chapter mentions how teachers rely on just telling and reading about Science. This is not enough. And the beauty of Science is that there can never be enough.

Leana -2

Chapter 2 Reflection

The processes of science was one of the main topics in chapter 2. After reading on the processes I am reminded of my elementary school days. I remember learning the Scientific Method, where it is very similar to the processes of science. The one component in the scientific method I can recall is the hypothesis. When I think back, the one thing the teacher always encouraged was creating a hypothesis. The students were always reminded that the main point was to create a proper hypothesis, so the experiment may be exciting. There are many steps to the processes of science, and it is easy to get lost or caught up in one process. It is necessary that the teacher stays on point and incorporates the processes, by utilizing inquiry science.
There are three types of investigations students are to learn to conduct; descriptive, classificatory, and experimental. I really liked that the author of the book, presented different experiments to further explain the three types of investigations. In my teaching career, I would propably use the approach the author of this book used to define the three investigations. I would not only verbally define each investigation, but allow them to put to practice what information is collected through each investigation.

In reading chapter two, I learned about the processes of science and how it is used by teachers in the classrooms. I always thought of sciences as reading and working on experiments. It makes sense for teacher to challenge students by asking questions which leads to student’s critical thinking. In classrooms today students work to answer the questions they came up with instead of just doing an experiment to get it done. Students are working with a purpose.
What surprised me was that science could be fun if you know how to teach it. For example, the students working on investigating white powders seem to be enjoying the activity. They were so engaged in the activity that they were asking for a more challenging one. I think this is the reaction I would like from my student when teaching in any subject. I think math and science periods could be combined because they are closely related. Mathematics can be combined with science when making a graph. Also when caring out an experiment using the different measuring systems. I agree with the textbook that the steps we use in science help us in solving everyday problems.

Kathy-Reflection 2

In terms of teaching science, the theme that I found reiterated throughout the chapter was that good scientists possess skills in collecting, organizing and interpreting data to draw informed conclusions about the world. This is important to teach children in science class, as these skills are applicable throughout their lives.
I was quite surprised to discover that I forgot that the y axis is the dependent variable and the x axis is the independent variable. I was just explaining this concept to my 13 year old and realized I told him the reverse, so I needed to correct myself!
Several ideas made more sense to me after reading this chapter. For example, I finally understood the terminology for independent variable, dependent variable and controlled variables and then could apply them to various graphs. Prior to reading this, I understood each concept as isolated facts, however I now comprehend the relationships between the definitions and how they are represented on a graph. I did not find anything confusing in Chapter two.
I do question how I was taught science as a child and teenager. I know I have previously learned many of the concepts outlined in the text and yet, somehow, they never made sense until college. I see now the importance of teaching science as inquiry and ensuring students connect the materials they learn to other ideas in science and to other subjects. That being said, I also question how I would teach the scientific process to my students with special needs and am investigating lesson plans to accomplish that.

Journal 2-Sarah

The processes of science were the main topics of this chapter. The author went through each process and described what each process was, and also gave examples for them. I found it very helpful to view a variety of activities for each of the processes. The activities included a mixture of the processes. It is extremely important to fully understand each of the scientific processes. This chapter helped to build on my personal understanding of these processes.

It made a lot of sense to offer up the activities for future use. The activities were simple, but they accomplished what they were meant to do. I really enjoyed reading the chapter, and knowing that the activities can be adapted to my classroom in the future.

Krista - Reflection 2

In chapter 2, I was surprised at the fact that some of the experiments and concepts had grade levels attached to them, while others did not. This could either be interpreted as acceptable for all ages. After reviewing these sections, I do not feel that it would be acceptable for all ages. Although, students now are learning material at a much earlier age, than when I was in school.
I was surprised at the grade levels that you could teach some of the material explained. For example the book thought that from grades 3 – 6 science and mathematics classes, students should be able to do understand certain concepts. Estimating measurements and determining when estimation is appropriate, and expressing measurements in terms of decimals when appropriate. I would not have guessed that a third grade student would be able to do this. If I remember correctly, I was not doing this in third grade. It is amazing that the school curriculum is that advanced now that students are able to do these types of things much earlier than years ago. Doing these types of lessons towards the later grades suggested I feel is more likely that the students would gain a deeper understanding.
Teaching students that there is more than one way to display results made sense to me. Whether students can really understand and comprehend all the ways to display results may not be important at an early age, but they will learn in more detail as they go through the grade levels. Exposing the students to bar graphs, histograms and line graphs would be important for them to see. All these graphs show the same results, but just in a different way. Some types of graphs the students in the lower grades may not understand completely.
It appears that a lot of the work involved in doing experiments with students, especially in the younger elementary grades would need more teacher guidance than student centered work. Grasping the concepts involved in doing some of these experiments completely from start to finish would seem too advanced for students in the younger grades to complete themselves. It seems to take a lot of work on the teachers’ part to do experiments that students can understand. Teachers must have to know how to make the most advanced steps into baby steps that any student can comprehend.

Nye - Reflection 2

The key takeaway for Chapter 2 for me was the specific science processes. All of these are important to the learning or investigation process. I found it valuable that there was great detail given to the difference between observing and inferring. This can an area of confusion for elementary students; to be honest I was a little cloudy on the differences.
I feel that an activity at the beginning of a unit to emphasize the difference between the two would be helpful. Perhaps activities in the early grades to teach students how to be good investigators would be a key. Students would actually engage in an activity on observing and inferring. As stated in the book, students decide if they were making an observation or an inference and would give their rationale. The activities would need to be age and ability appropriate, but I feel based on the suggestions in this chapter, important to complete.
On page 34 there were suggestions for questions a teacher may use to prompt students to explain the rationale for stating something is an observation or inference. For example, “What sense did you use when making that observation?” would tie into the definition of an observation requiring the direct use of the five senses. I think keeping it simple with science is crucial especially at the early elementary stages. The information I read here will be useful to me in developing my lesson plans for my unit.

In chapter one I noticed that Science has changed significantly since I was in school. I remember reading my science text book to memorize facts in order to pass the multiple choice test. Science has changed from teacher centered to student centered. The new approach to teaching science is Inquiry instruction. I believe this new approach to teaching science is a great way to get students interested in science.
I believe it is important to start teaching science as early as kindergarten. Hands-on activities like the one in the book about observations of water phenomena help students understand what they are reading. Students are able to learn as they observe and are more likely to ask question when they are actually observing than just reading about it. Another teaching approach that I find very helpful in science is the cooperative learning groups. In cooperative learning groups student who have difficulty with an experiment learn with their peers and don’t fall behind.
In my classroom I would like to implement scientific inquiry and hands-on activities so that students have the opportunity to experience science not just reading about it. I personally think that I would have enjoyed science when I was in school if it would have been taught the way it is taught today. The greatest focus of Science today is more on understanding the concept.

Reflections on Teaching and Learning

This was a very interesting chapter. I really like that this textbook follows its teachings with examples of experiments. Something that surprised me was that we aren't teaching students from the beginning of their educational career. It seems to be so important and a no brainer. I would think that there would be no other way but to start at the beginning. Laying the foundation and building on their knowledge as they continue through school. Young kids are full of curiosity, teachers should take that and explore with them. It makes sense to use hands on approaches to engage students. Getting students involved in an experiment or a process is a great way for them to understand and retain information. It is also a good way of teaching without them even realizing it. And using everyday surroundings such as leaves, fruit, bugs, ice, water, and heat shows students how science affects their lives daily. It shows how science is everywhere. I have learned from the video that I should check the students’ accuracy of prior knowledge before I begin building on it. But, how will I bring students who are behind up to date while moving forward with the others?

Science and technology go hand and hand nowadays it seems. Science helps us understand the natural world and technology helps us modify that world to meet our needs.

Chapter 1 Reflection

I must agree with several readers that this chapter was an easy read. Not only did I find the chapter to be easy, but it stated several topics I have found to be quite interesting.
I personally, am a hands-on learner, especially when it pertains to Science. The book states the following, “Hands-on investigations like these arouse our curiosity, raise our interest level, and increase our motivation to learn”pg15. If science is strictly taught through reading, the student’s will never gain an interest in science. It is vital that the teacher encourages interaction, and utilizes visual learning. Honestly, teaching a bland lesson can cause a negative effect on the student. Who wouldn’t like to blow something up in class? :)
I truly believe many students lose interest in Science because of Traditional teaching. Traditional teaching is defined as teacher-centered. The encouragement of Inquiry learning can be very beneficial for both the educator and primarily the learner. By promoting Inquiry learning the educator may successfully transmit a concept to a learner. As future educators it is necessary to gear our teaching to become student-centered vs. teacher centered. Creativity is key in Science.
The book states, “Science can provide rich context for children to apply and further develop their language and mathematic skill.” I never considered the benefits of Science, and positive effects it may cause in other subjects.
In my previous classes I have concluded that my teaching will be student-centered. After reading this chapter, and reading the broad introduction to the importance of Science, I will definitely gear my teaching toward hands-on and student-centered lessons.

Chapter One Reflection

After reading chapter one I gained a greater understanding of inquiry instruction. I agree that this type of instruction is more effective than just teaching the facts through lecture and note taking. The example of the teacher letting the children touch the leaves seems much more effective than the teacher just telling them about leaves. Students must definitely be actively involved in order to gain better understanding of their experiences. I liked how the steps in this teaching process do not make the student feel like information is being shoved at them. The book gave an example of a lesson on magnets. I loved how the teacher had the students work in groups and play with the magnets, as they generated questions about the magnets. She later wrote the rules of magnets on the board. This makes science fun. I was relieved that when at the end of page 21, the book mentioned that the pursuit of science, for most scientists, is sheer fun. Looking back, I did well in the classes that followed inquiry based instruction because they were fun and engaging. Few classes, that just showed overheads of notes upon notes, were not as exciting and felt like a chore. If I learned anything, it was facts that I applied to the test. These facts were soon forgotten.
I was stumped when the book said that educators need to encourage wonder. How do you encourage wonder? What do you do when there is a student that does not have that curiosity or rage to learn? How do you construct your lesson plan so that all students are actively participating? I agree with the statement that successful inquiry teaching depends on a group of additional teaching variables. I have witnessed this firsthand in an eighth grade classroom that I worked in last year. The teacher tried to implement inquiry based learning, but was faced with many other variables like classroom management issues and different learning levels. I also felt like he was rushing to get all the text book material covered. This leads me to some other questions. How does inquiry instruction relate to the text book? Does it only introduce the subject? Do textbooks offer an inquiry based activity to go along with the topic? Is it easier to implement this instruction in earlier grades, rather than in a middle school that is more content driven?

Reflection 1

Chapter one give a basic introduction about what science education is and how science has played a part in the elementary school experience. The chapter also explains where science education is going in the United States in addition to what exactly should be taught in science. The most fundamental theme of the chapter relates to why science should be taught to elementary school students. The subject always seems like it should be an importnant part of the elementary curriculum, yet many future educators are mot sure why. The author uses the example of a child natually being curious and how it can extend into a passion or career. The is possible from the early years of training and learning how to use inquiry to learn science.

Using an inquiry approach includes using observation, investigation, and analysis. According the NSCES, using an inquiry approach in the science classroom parallels the basic procedures many scientists use. For example, teaching the students to ask questions about what they observe, collecting data, and communicating the results to others in a simple manner are all part of using inquiry in science.

Science education is importnant in elementary schools becasue it gives the students a chance to begin to learn the language and manners of the scientific world. As we surley know, the science theories and understanding the many concepts can take a very long time. As students are expected to know many parts of basic science in both high school and college, science education is of high importance to elementary teachers.

Chapter 1 Reflections

I believe chapter one has set a foundation for the next chapters to follow in the text. Science was defined in the chapter and the standards of teaching or what topics should be addressed when teaching science were also introduced. My favorite sentence of the definition was when science was describe as "a way of knowing the natural world." The chapter emphasizes the importance of inquiry in science and it also touches on the themes of why science should be taught in all elementary levels. The chapter goes through a brief history of national science organizations and also states that a student-centered approach is the best method of teaching science. I was most surprised that the chapter emphasized the importance of letting the students explore a concept on their own and act as 'little scientists'. I never really thought of beginning first with the exploration of a concept and then giving further explanation. I was also surprise by the statement made by Mr.Dushl's panel of experts that teaching science content should be reduced. I believe science is a subject area where it is easier for children to learn an abstract concept first and then support that with content information. It makes sense that the chapter would introduce the notion of the students thinking first of how scientiss think and the mental processes that scientist go through. It makes sense that the chapter would state that first children need to identify what the problem is and then think of how to come up with a solution.

Chapter 1- Science Inquiry

When I think back on a few science classes, I only remember those that required me to apply what I already knew through development of my own Science projects and scientific inquiry. I remember my teachers reading out of text books a lot, which is something I could do at home on my own. The science classroom atmosphere/experience was definitely teacher centered and at times very dry. And we all know Science is not a dry subject as it’s responsible for life and living. Anyone can read out loud from a book. If a good foundation is built in elementary school and the encouragement is there for students to inquire about what is unknown and how to find a possible answer, this will help students throughout their every day life. In a science class the teacher has the opportunity to engage students in different ways in order for the students to learn material and better understand it; often this is not the way the material is taught. There are many opportunities to assist students to learn to apply knowledge to their every day lives to help them retain the information. We all know that students learn differently so the opportunity to present the material in different ways in order to maximize learning for every student is great in science. Discovery learning can be expensive for the teacher but there are plenty of ways to keep costs down through teaching concepts in more creative and inventive ways.

It wasn’t until High School and college where I began to really understand the importance of what I had learned and how I would apply the knowledge. I think what this chapter is trying to address is the importance of having a constructive student, a student that can formulate their own thoughts and come up with their own ideas, and how we as teachers can encourage the thoughts of our students by stressing the importance of scientific inquiry. Often time’s educators will give the answer or disregard a question because of time constraints and I think this disregard for a question or wonderment, teaches students to not ask the questions in which help them develop thoughts. In this situation, it would be better to have the student ask the question and try and find an answer on their own and then somehow rewards the extra effort in locating the answer.

Through inquiry the students often incorporate other disciplines as well. When the students attempt to find answers to their questions they have to develop a plan of action, steps, in order to do so. This concept is known as problem solving. In order to develop a course of action to form and test a hypothesis, you need to be able to think constructively, logically, and gather data and information which will help solve the problem. Writing is developed by constructing a well written explanation or research conducted. When we create models of a concept and incorporate drawing or define items by color, it incorporates the arts. If Science is taught in a way that inquiry is a key component it would be easier to see that Science is a critical part of our curriculum.

Science is an important aspect of our lives; it’s responsible for why we are able to exist. Keeping students interested in science is important. And teaching science in ways that students make a connection or continue to learn or want to learn is imperative.

Angela Pine

Chapter 1 Reflection

The authors make an excellent case for using “inquiry” methods to teach elementary students science. Certainly the more engaged a student is, the richer the experience. Inquiry teaching draws children in, challenges them and then propels them to greater heights. One key aspect is how deeply the student can be touched in the process and how ingrained these effects can be. Witnessing and performing an activity always leaves a more lasting impression than listening to a lecture or reading a book.

Learning science or math is not about memorizing the periodic table or the powers of 2, it is about understanding concepts and learning how to think about and figure out problems. It is essential that our schools keep producing young people who can lead the United States in scientific discovery and progress. Students must have a grasp of “scientific literacy,” defined by the National Science Education Standards as “the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision-making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity.” All the more reason that science should begin to be taught at an early age. Is there really an argument against this?

The most fascinating point I (re)discovered and reflected upon is how stimulating science can be, how to do it accurately and properly, you have to use both sides of your brain. You need to be methodical and creative. As the authors said, “Logical reasoning, scientific knowledge, and imagination must be used…” This idea makes science a rather appealing line of work, not unlike teaching.

Ultimately, studying both science and math using inquiry methods makes sense in practical terms. Students need to be able to apply what they learn and discover solutions that are important to them.

I as well thought Chapter 1 was a very easy read. I felt that this chapter had a lot of good ideas and suggestions for teachers.
It goes on to explain that "inquiry instruction is an approach to science teaching focusing on understanding the world by questioning, investigating, observing, and explaining the order of the world around us." (Bass 25)
Chapter 1 goes on to talk major outcomes of science instruction that should include the following 3 goals or proficiencies which are: 1.) conceptual knowledge and understanding in science. 2.) Abilities to carry out scientific inquiries. 3.) Understandings about the nature of science and scientific inquiry. Proficiency 1 is all about getting facts, concepts, principles, theories, models, and building conceptual understandings. Proficiency 2 is about asking questions about events in the environment, planning and conducting a simple investigation, using appropriate tools to gather data, using evidence and scientific knowledge to develop explanations, and communicating all of that to others. Proficiency 3 is all about understanding science. Science is something people do and create, it is a way of answering questions, it is generated through questions and investigations, it is tentative, it is presented to the community for critical evaluation, and scientists displays certain attitudes and habits of mind in doing science.
I feel that after reading this chapter, that science should be stressed more in schools. I remember when I was in grammar school; I didn't remember doing any kind of experiments or observations until middle school. Middle school is where things became more hands on and finding things out on my own without reading from the book. I remember doing 3 dissections in middle school: owl pellet, a perch, and a frog. I always learned a lot from hands on experiences and so should every other child. I feel that teachers need to experiment more instead of doing everything right from the book. I thought the little experiments in the book looked fun for younger children. I think trying to predict how many drops of water can fill the cup is a good way to get them to think and use their math skills.
I also feel that stressing science at a young age helps them in the long run when going into the real world. According to Bass, science at an early age helps to “ensure that students can successfully engage in scientific, technological, and medical careers and participate in a scientific society.”

Reflection 1

Chapter 1 was a very easy read. The chapter had a lot of good thoughts, opinions, and suggestions. There were also good ideas to get you started on some science projects that would be fun for kids. The ideas presented would allow you to flow in any direction that your lecture wanted to take. It also allowed for brainstorming of other ideas that would be fun experiments.
The idea that conceptual knowledge and understanding in science is able to be broken down into six categories made sense to me. The categories of facts, concepts, principles or laws, models, theories, and explanations are categories that are essential for students to start to learn at an early age. If they start learning these at an early age, they will have a deeper understanding of them and be able to expand their knowledge later in their school careers. This expansion will allow the students to use their critical thinking skills to deepen their understanding and problem solve. All of these categories all go together to produce a deeper understanding of the material.
I was surprised that this chapter did not entail the use of the scientific method. Everything used to be about using the scientific method to solve problems. According to chapter one, the three proficiencies that were listed were very similar to what the scientific method entails. Formulating theories, gathering data, observations, and conclusions. The scientific method is used in scientific inquiry as well. Is this the new and updated version of the scientific method? It appears that the steps are very similar. Obviously if they are updated they are not going to be word for word the same.
The part on using science in earlier years was not stressed enough. The section was cut short I felt. I also felt that this section could have been developed more because it is an important first step in developing their minds and allowing young children to start thinking this way. Using science in the early years could provide deeper critical thinking skills earlier. The book stated that "children are naturally curious", but if this curiosity was developed earlier by using the three proficiencies this could allow students to understand the basics and grow their curiosity into being more beneficial in the earlier years of elementary school. By having the students use their curiosities, this could produce deeper scientific thinking and the concepts of using science would be better understood.

Chapter 1 Journal

I found this chapter to be a great introduction for teachers to learn that teaching science as inquiry can be very successful. It can also be a guide to some teachers who may take a different approach on how they teach science. Teaching science as inquiry gives students a better opportunity to understand science more. In my elementary classes of science, we didn’t do many hands on projects or experiments. We did do lots of worksheets and sometimes would we pair up and do a small experiment, which I still had some confusion about. When I teach science I want to take a very different approach then the way I was taught. It is very essential that students get plenty of hands on experiments and projects. Doing proactive assessments where students can get a better look and feel for the lesson plan is a great way to teach science as an inquiry. I found ideas in this chapter, which reminded me of when I was in high school how science was so fun to do and learn about. In high school, we did many more projects and experiments. Maybe the reason why in elementary school, teachers did not want to do intense experiments was so the children wouldn’t get hurt. But I did find that in this chapter there are some experiments that involve merely water, wax and foil paper. I am a bit nervous about teaching science, but I know with time and experience I can make it very fun for my students and keep them interested in learning more and more about science beyond the classroom.

As I was graduating high school, at that point I was excited to take science courses in college. I really think it is very important to teach a student science in a student-centered classroom, where the students are doing most the discussion, asking questions, etc. This would be done after the teacher has taught his/her lesson and the students are ready to take what they have learned and demonstrate through their assessments. Being able to demonstrate what the student has done through their work, not only does it show progress to the teacher, but also to the student. And this can bring feelings of achievement in reaching their goal, and excitement. Knowing that the student can understand the lesson and prove it, is how I want my students to feel.

In Proficiency 2, there are motivating inquiry tasks that students can use in their daily lives, even after their courses. I agree with the National Science Education Standards where they consist of tasks that are important to some ways students will learn the material. Students will be able to develop planning skills, understand how to conduct an investigation. Students will learn to use appropriate tools to gather their information and use evidence to develop their conclusions. Students have a lot of interesting questions and this is where I want to be able to teach my lesson plans to help my students expand their scientific knowledge and learning tasks. Science can relate to math skills and this will give students an opportunity to practice their math proficiency. When the standardized tests are given out, most students will be ready. With much practice and the right projects in the lesson plans, students will gain plenty of techniques that will help them in the tests they will need to take.