Learning in Science

This past month in Science Methods has been full of learning experiences. Some of my favorites were the science fair project and the science through my lens project. These were two experiences that I really enjoyed doing and I feel that I learned a lot from them. We had a few struggles during our science fair project, but for the most part everything went well. We had a few hiccups in transferring the plants, but they did well. I felt that these learning experiences would be great to do in my own classroom. The group that we had for our science fair project worked well together. We all had important parts in completing it and we worked together to make sure everything was done well.
Over the next month, I plan to have my science lesson taught in my clinical and have the majority of my unit completed. I am interested to see how the rest of my unit planning goes. I have enjoyed completing this unit about the solar system. I think it will be fun for my 3rd graders. We will be measuring shadows at different times of the day and collecting data.
My outside learning and research took place on Twitter. I found that virtual field trips are becoming more and more popular. I found two great virtual ones from Discovery Education. One took you on a trip to visit the polar bears and one takes students to the set of the newest Spider-Man movie and what they did to create it. Both of these are great resources!
Twitter:

This is one of the virtual field trips that takes you to the set of the new Spider-Man movie. This would be great for teaching students are comparing and contrasting. They could compare their knowledge of spiders to what happens in the movie. 

This is another virtual field trip that I think would be awesome! This gives you an in depth look at polar bears without ever leaving your classroom. Who needs to travel to the zoo? 

This is a great resource on teaching students how stem skills are used to solve real-world problems, which teaches them 21st century skills, problem solving, and critical thinking. The great thing is that this resource is also available in Spanish now! A great way to accommodate for our ELLs! 

A current event I learned about this past month was the outbreak of measles across the country. This is a great way to incorporate the human body system into your classroom and how we are supposed to take care of our body and keep it healthy. 

This past month, I learned some more about NCTCS Standard 4. An important part of this standard is to keep students engaged and involved in the learning process. Students should be a part of what they are learning and they should always be engaged. Learning should not just be the teacher standing in front of the room talking to the students. Students should take part in learning experiences and self-assess to see where they are in their learning. This is so much more beneficial in the end.