Category: A Moment of Science

Will This Become the Reform Education has been looking for in: Effecting Change at School and District Levels and Beyond

Leave a comment

The profession of an educator has been one of isolation for too long. Teachers have worked mostly independently, in both their classroom and lesson planning. Over the past few decades, the tides have been slowly turning though with the role of educators and PLCs, collaboration, and teacher communities and associations are becoming more of the norm. The internet has brought educator creativity to Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. Yet, despite all the efforts, there have still been more calls for working together.

Then over the past couple of weeks, the world changed with the outbreak of COVID-19. Isolation and social distancing became the norm. Teachers may have been one of the best-prepared professions for this. Working alone, at home and providing for students with educational and emotional support. Teachers are not doing this alone though. Resources have been shared all over the places. You can not scroll far on social mediane virtual meetings being held, and online-based resources being shared by the hundreds. Students are home learning with four weeks of printed off packets made in a matter of just hours. E-learning school is being hosted by teachers while taking care of their own families at home,  all at the same time.

One day soon this pandemic will be over with. How will this moment change education? Will the network of sharing resources, ideas, and practices continue? This may be the beginning of how education is done in the United State or change the way teachers work together. Whatever happens in the days, weeks and months after, be ready for a revolution in education, one of which is well overdue. The time is ripe for reform. May this not be the end or return to the same, but yet the beginning of something new.

KEEPING UP WITH GLOBAL COMPETITION

Leave a comment

On October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, the first-ever human-built object into space.  This event was a defining moment for the United States, in correlation with both the Cold War and the space race and has been referred to as a Sputnik Moment. Two months later, on December 6th, 1957 the United States attempted to launch their first satellite into space but the fuel tanks on the rocket that was to send it in off the earth exploded. This became a moment of “science awakening” in the US, changing the course of science education.

 

Today, we look for the next Sputnik Moment, to change the direction of science education with policy, support and funding. There have been many moments that looked like they could be the next opportunity for us to change the course of science education. From the war on terror to climate change, to the most recent outbreak of Covid-19, which time could still tell if this is that moment. As large of an issue that climate change is across the world and the possibility that this could be that moment, it has not seemed to be the case, at least in the United States. While some believe we will not be able to engineer or science our way out this, there are ways that the field of STEM can slow down and perhaps reverse the effects of climate change. Investments in STEM fields and education can work to find alternatives to the damage that is being done. The response to Sputnik started with the work of the military but then progressed into the formation of NASA and involved over 400,000 people and 20,000 companies involved in the race to the moon. Every dollar spent on the program was spent right here on earth, as was every investment into STEM education. The same would be true with the issue of climate change. Any money spent to invest in renewable resources and protect life on our planet would be done so here on earth, benefiting the people of earth With the US withdraw from the Paris Climate accord we are getting left before in the issue of climate change, both financially and in aspects of infrastructure. Fighting climate change as the next Sputnik Moment would involve everyone, on every level and could change the direction of life on earth.

 

 

Resources:

Friedman, T.L. (2010, January 17). What’s our sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)].

 

Saadia, M. (2017, October 4). Is America facing another sputnik moment? The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/is-america-facing-another-sputnik-moment

 

Melina, R. (2010, December 7). What exactly is a ‘Sputnik Moment?’. Space.com. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/10437-sputnik-moment.html

 

Burke, S. & Squassoni, S. (2014, December 22). Why climate change isn’t a sputnik moment: military technology can’t innovate us out of this one. Slate.com Retrieved from https://slate.com/technology/2014/12/climate-change-isnt-a-sputnik-moment-why.html

 

Riley, C. (2009, July 1). The 400,000 strong backup team. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/02/apollo-11-back-up-team

Human Impacts on the Environment: Overpopulation

Leave a comment 
Please note: This may be a sensitive topic for some.  I do understand and respect that this could be a sensitive issue for families and people without children.

Overpopulation is one way that humans are impacting the natural the environment. The cause of population growth throughout the world is because of advancements in science but this has also caused other unintended issues. In the year 1900, the world’s population was around 1.65 billion people, but by the year 2000 the world had surpassed 6 billion people on earth and it is predicted to pass 10 billion by the 2100. The growth in population and quality of life at birth through death has been contributed by advancements in medicine, access to food, water, education and health care. At the same time though people take up a lot of resources and space. With booming growths in population there is the need for more  food production, more use land and more use of natural resources. It is great that we have found ways to better the lives of people but its coming at a cost to the earth. However, some studies have found the rate of population maybe slowing down thanks to advancements in the quality of life. One example is with more women working today in professional careers than were 100 years ago, families are having less children than they were before. One study out of Finland recently found that having just one less kid reduced a families average by 58.6 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions per year. Who ever thought having less kids could make you more environmentally friendly?

 

 

References:

Mortimer, Cathrine (2017, July 12). Having children is one of the most destructive things you can to do the environment, say researchers. The Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/children-carbon-footprint-climate-change-damage-having-kids-research-a7837961.html

Current World Population (n.d.) Retrieved  from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

Follet, Chelsea. (2018, July 30). How Big Of A Problem Is Overpopulation? Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/07/30/how-big-of-a-problem-is-overpopulation/#3886ec18216a

Engaging in Guided Inquiry

Leave a comment

For this experience I was to engage in a guided inquiry experiment. I was presented with a question and from the their had to work to answer the question with the tools that I had. In this insistence I did have to find some additional tools to use as well. In this type of inquiry learning students, and myself, have to brain storm ways to solve and answer the question. (Banchi and Bell, 2008)
In this guide inquiry experience related to momentum, I focused on the question, “How does the steepness of a slope and mass affect a collision outcome?” From my science kit tool box I chose the two marbles, one small and one large. I decided to use these tools because the larger marble has more mass than the smaller. I was curious to see what would happen when they colluded in different position, one the at top of the slope and the other at the bottom and vice verses, at different slopes of steepness.
The Experience
I conducted this experience at home where we have mostly wood floors with the exception of the living room where we have carpet. Being that I did this at home, I did not have all the material I would have had if I had conducted it at school in my classroom. There I had a lot of tools to use to create different sized slopes. What I did have though my third grade daughter who worked right along side of me through it all. We found a rolled up yoga mat to use as a slope for the marbles to travel down.
Once we had a our material needed we began working on answering our question. We decided to first try the marbles on slope of zero degrees on the kitchen counter. I decided we would take turns releasing the marble so that the same energy and force was applied to the marble, no matter its mass. On the flat surface with little resistance, the large marble when it was already moving and made impact with the smaller marble which was at rest would send small marble rolling and the large marble tended to slow a little bit. When the opposite marble was set into motion first and colluded with the larger marble the large marble would move but at slower velocity than the smaller marble.
When we moved this experience to a slope we saw much of the same reactions but a much great increase to velocity and distance with larger marble when it was rolled down the slope. It seemed to have very little impact when it came into contact with the small marble at rest. Just for fun we did try the slope portion of the experience on the carpet in the living room to see what would happen, there was definitely a decrease in the distance and velocity of the marbles after impact.
It was a little challenging for us to find the right material to use to create the slope and still do not know if the yoga mat was the best option but it was what we had to work with. Doing this at home showed me that had I been conducting this activity in my classroom I would need material that students would be able to use for a slope better than. I wouldn’t have to give them the slope but could point them to a group resources they could use. I have found this in teaching to be something that has helped me in my classroom. As my daughters have been getting older I am able to practice more of my lessons with their help. I can get a students perspective, whether its my kindergarten or third grade daughter. Using this idea in lesson planning helps to find weakness in the activity and whether or not the students will actually enjoy it. (Woods, 2019)
Taking Guided Inquiry to the Classroom
When it comes to taking this type of inquiry to the classroom it could possibly look different depending on the grade level. I am just a few weeks into the new school year where for the first time I am teaching grade K-8 and this very much different than just teaching one or two grade at the most, at a time. This would be a possible challenge. But I think adapting it the guided inquiry lesson and questions to the different grade levels would not be difficult. It would be a matter of changing of the questions around slightly. An example with my own question I might have to add a little more understanding or guided instruction to the question.
However, I think this is a lot of great value in brining this type of teaching and inquiry learning to the classroom. Students learn through play. (Buxton and Provenzo, 2011). Having a hands on experience with the objects, students would be able to play and learn at the same time. While working this experience myself, my daughter and I had a lot of fun with it. We both learned from the experience. This type of experience would also benefit my kinesthetic learns. Those that are fidgety and need to do hands on experiences in their learning process would greatly benefit from this type of inquiry. (Buxton and Provenzo).
Conclusion
My classroom being a specials class for students is very hands on already and I am excited to take what I have learned in this experience with a better understanding of what my students would be doing. As a teacher, practicing something like this at home helps be to have my own understanding of the guided inquiry experience and know any obstacles my students may face and to better help guide them to success.

References:
Banchi, H., & Bell, R. (2008). The Many Levels of Inquiry. Science & Children, 46(2), 26–29. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=508002133&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Woods, Chris. (Producer) (2019, September 10) The STEM Everyday Podcast [Audio Podcast] Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=1111792057

Buxton, Cory A. & Provenzo Jr., Eugene F (2011) Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Page 68.

Structured Inquiry Lesson- Science in Everyday Objects

2 comments

School doesn’t start for a couple weeks but I was able to work in a science lesson with my daughter and a few of her soon to be third grade friends. In this lesson we focused on a structured inquiry lesson where I gave the kids some everyday objects; water bottle, magnets, cylinder tube. The lesson began with me sharing about my tablet. My tablet is something important to me. I use for my job, for taking classes online, reading books and playing games and paying bills. I shared how the tablet was designed and built by engineerings, using technology and can be used for the same areas too. I than began reading the book, “June 29, 1999.” From there, the students had to think and then discuss how the objects I gave them are for used for science and how is science important to the object. I encouraged them to share out, they were a little shy and reserved at first so I changed my questions to guide them a little.

From there the students were to come up with an experiment using the everyday objects based on questions they had come up with. My daughter using a magnet asked, “how many object can one magnet pick up?” While trying out her questions she said, “its like the magnet isn’t following gravity any more” as she picked it with other metal objects off the table.

It was really interesting watching their minds work and and then to vocalize out their thoughts and findings. When my daughter used the word gravity I was happy to hear her use a scientific world and principle like that to describe what was happening here. Taking the steps through the structure inquiry lesson allowed the students to think deeply about the objects presented before them and how they are used for science. Giving students time to think and then the safe space to talk openly about their science thinking allows them to experience discovery and use words like “gravity.”

 

What Happens When Icebergs Melt

Leave a comment

(Excerpt from a Writing Assignment)

What Happens When Polar Ice Caps Melt?

When polar ice caps melt we experience what happened to my glass of water when the ice cubes melted. Ice bergs, like the ice cubes, do not have an effect on the water level because the floating icebergs displace the same amount of water as that was from the melting icebergs becoming water. There will be little to no change with melting icebergs when it comes to sea levels. 

The issue though will be melting ice and snow in polar regions, that are currently on land in places like Greenland and Antartica. This water and ice will be added to the oceans on earth causing sea level rises. Much of this is frozen water is fresh water, which would mix with the salt water in the seas. (ASAPsciecne, 2016). Mixing of the salt water would disrupt ocean life messing with the balance of salt water and could dramatically change ocean jet streams changing climates over the planet. (ASAPScience).  Also, melting in the polar regions would increase the sea levels for coastal lands. A rise of less than one meter is estimated to cause one trillion dollars in damage and at 10 meters it could permanently displace 10% of the worlds population. (ASAPScience).

STEM Lesson Focuses on Diverse Learners

2 comments

One of my favorite television shows is the Big Bang Theory. In my favorite episode, titled, The Contractual Obligation Implementation, Sheldon (played by Jim Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (played by Johnny Galecki) (IMDB, 2013) are tasked by the university they work for “to find a way to encourage more women to pursue a career in the sciences”.(Big Bang Theory, 2013.) In the early stages of how to plan for the initiative to reach more women to science they talk about different equitable approaches, many of which were addressing women at the college level. Sheldon then chimes in and says, “all their approaches are too. (They) need to design an outreach program to target girls at the middle school level and set them on an academic track towards the hard sciences.” (Big Bang Theory, 2013)

For the next generation of STEM and science professions to succeed students need early intervention and science programing. In the science academic teaching, reaching students in the early grades of elementary and middle school are then more likely to be interested and pressure a career in science later. (Berwick, 2019). By the time students are in entering college it is typically too late to interest one in the field of science.

In my lesson to address diverse learners, I wanted to introduce 6th grade students to careers in science. This lesson was targeted at all students, of all gender identities and diverse backgrounds. The lesson was broken down into five parts: engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate. In my lesson, students were engaged by reviewing pictures they had previously drew imagining what a scientist look like. Through explore, students would look at the careers of many scientists, famous or not, who came from many different diverse backgrounds. In explain, we would meet with a scientist where students would interview them to learn more about the work they do and the path they took to get there. In the elaboration section students would create question and time with the scientist to learn more. The lesson would conclude with the evaluate portion where students evaluate themselves and what different areas they could find an interest in science through a career evaluation.

I have used 5E lesson templates before, early in my teaching career and in my masters program in education. I think this type of lesson plan is great for someone just beginning their career in education. This format helps an educator include all five areas in their lessons, standard, any modifications needed for students. This template helps teachers know the material needed for students and the teacher, technology and classroom materials and goals for students. This style is also very useful in science education. To be realistic though, this lesson plan template is too extensive for a teacher to use on a daily basis. As I have grown in my craft many of the steps included in this template are incorporated into my planning but I do not have the time as an educator regularly to complete this time of template. I use the web based lesson planning software, Planbook. My lessons incorporate many of the sections included in template. In my lessons I am able to click on the standards I am teaching in the lesson and it keeps track of my standards and number of times taught throughout the year through a pre-genrated database. I also include objectives, “student will” and “teacher will” statements, technology and materials needs, overview of the lesson and any additional material need to be included in the lesson.

 

-IMDB. (2013.) Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2708314/

-Lorre, Chuck & Prady, Bill. Cendrowski, Mark. (2013.) The Contractual Obligation Implementation [The Big Bang Theory]

-Berwick, Carly. (2019, March 12) Keeping Girls in STEM: 3 Barriers, 3 Solutions. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/keeping-girls-stem-3-barriers-3-solutions