By MsMentorAdmin
Posted on 2009-08-19
With all of the curricular demands and a focus on preparing for state exams, I am concerned that we do not create situations for students to persevere if they don’t succeed in their first attempts at experiments in science. How do we communicate the value of curiosity and perseverance to high school science students and the notion that repeated “failure” is common on the road to major breakthroughs?
—Noelle, New York, New York
When watching children play video games or teenagers texting at the speed of light, I marvel at how they learned these skills on their own–through trial and error, practice, watching each other, and self-evaluation. You raise a good question: Are students encouraged to use these learning strategies in school?
Students hear failure and mistakes are not an option, with airline pilots and brain surgeons as examples. While I hope pilots and surgeons would not make errors in the cockpit and operating room, I suspect they did make some errors during simulations and supervised training—under controlled circumstances where they see the results of their decisions in a variety of situations. This training provides opportunities to learn how to recognize when things go wrong and to experience many problem-solving and decision-making situations, so they’ll remain calm and collected when things go haywire in real life, as they inevitably do. .
What happens when students make mistakes or when something does not go well the first time? I suspect some teachers use the red pencil to focus on the mistakes and take points off, even when students are learning and practicing new concepts and skills. Do students learn that mistakes are bad in school, perfection is required at all times, and there are no second chances? Perhaps some students are so afraid of being labeled a “failure” they’ve learned it’s less painful to do nothing. It could be helpful if we model how to recognize a mistake or error and what to do about it. Even if we have to make a deliberate error, we can demonstrate how it could be corrected and prevented and what can be learned from it. We could even describe our own attempts at learning something new. (I told my students that if they ever felt frustrated to visualize me in my first aerobics class—what a disaster!)
We should not condone sloppy or careless work, but I wonder if sometimes it would be helpful to allow students to make mistakes. Shouldn’t we encourage them to reflect, ponder, and problem-solve before asking for help? Just as “helicopter parents” hover over their children to prevent mistakes or failure, I think well-intentioned “helicopter teachers” hover over their students and intervene even if students do not ask for (and may not really need) immediate assistance, just a little time to think things through. Of course, teachers must intervene if there are safety issues or when students are genuinely frustrated.
Can we help students learn perseverance if science activities are neatly packaged in one-period chunks rather than opportunities for ongoing investigations? What do students learn about the nature of science if all activities have a single, correct answer or conclusion? It would be helpful for students and teachers to meet scientists (either in person or online) and learn about their day-to-day work. A museum scientist described to my students how his longitudinal research on amphibian populations was taking several years (it was interspersed with other projects). He noted how he revised the project several times and how some data did not seem to “fit,” which led to other research questions.
It’s not necessary to wait until high school to encourage perseverance and curiosity. In a fourth grade class I visited, students were investigating the relationship between volume and temperature. They had made predictions/hypotheses, but as the teacher put their data on the board, it was apparent that they were too varied to see any trends and come to any conclusion. As the teacher tried to think of an explanation, a student remarked, “Maybe we didn’t all do the experiment in the same way.” Other students chimed in with suggestions: they may have read the thermometers incorrectly, perhaps they did not all measure the balloons accurately, or maybe the balloons had tiny holes in them that allowed air to escape. The teacher then joined the discussion about the importance of controls in an experiment and the value of consistency and accuracy in measurement. When the students asked if they could repeat the experiment, she helped them annotate the procedure with their suggestions and promised they could try again. After class, she reflected on the lesson. She said that at first she was disappointed the activity did not work out as planned, but she was excited about the way the students responded. She concluded that learning from a “failed” experiment was a valuable experience. (And later in the year, her class scored well above average on the state science exam!)
A recent blog entry Student Success: Genius or Perseverance? on the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) web site also addresses this topic. Readers, feel free to share your own experiences or other resources, too.
With all of the curricular demands and a focus on preparing for state exams, I am concerned that we do not create situations for students to persevere if they don’t succeed in their first attempts at experiments in science. How do we communicate the value of curiosity and perseverance to high school science students and the notion that repeated “failure” is common on the road to major breakthroughs?
—Noelle, New York, New York
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2009-08-14
I received a “tweet” from NSTA yesterday – the new version of SciLinks is operational! If you’ve been a longtime user of SciLinks, you’ll notice the new look right away. It’s more visually appealing but the basic functions are there.
After logging in, you still have the option of searching by a textbook code or keyword. You can save the search for future reference, and you can also start a list of favorite websites for your lesson planning or to share with students. When you try some of the functions, you’ll get a note that more features (such as the class roster) are in the works. But I’m glad that the basic functions are available as we get ready for the new school year. If you’re a novice to SciLinks, there are several ways you can use the results of your search.
Recommending sites to students. As a teacher, you can provide logins for students to look at particular sites, or you can give them a printed list of suggestions. For interested students, you might go to the next grade level or you could go down a level for students who may struggle with the text. Share a login with the librarian so that he/she can remind students of this resource. In my town, many students use the technology at the local public library. Perhaps the staff there could be alerted to how and why students would access this.
In large group settings. Why just talk about science topics when there are many sites that lend themselves to illustrating the concepts? Building bridges, watching volcanoes erupt, seeing animals congregate around a water hole at night, or accessing photographs and video of various topics bring these topics to life. If you’re fortunate enough to have a smart board or projection unit, using a simulation or video clip with the class or a small group of students could be an engaging experience for them – and the resources are free and ready when you are. Print out or save some of the pages of a site to supplement or update the textbook information.
Teacher learning. One thing I’ve enjoyed over the years is using SciLinks to keep current on topics such as the human genome and climate change. I especially love the earth science topics (I taught life and physical science, so I’m continuing to learn). If you’re unfamiliar with a topic, searching for sites geared to middle or high school students would be a quick and painless way to learn more about it.
I received a “tweet” from NSTA yesterday – the new version of SciLinks is operational! If you’ve been a longtime user of SciLinks, you’ll notice the new look right away. It’s more visually appealing but the basic functions are there.
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2009-08-10
Digital photography changed the way I do science with my students. I reflect more on what has happened and what is being left out as I look over the photos, in moments after school, at home on the computer. I have this luxury as a parent of older children who are themselves busy on the computer, and because I do some of my work at home.
Click on the photograph to go to the photograph folder and see more examples of students' documentation.
Digital photography changed the way I do science with my students. I reflect more on what has happened and what is being left out as I look over the photos, in moments after school, at home on the computer. I have this luxury as a parent of older children who are themselves busy on the computer, and because I do some of my work at home.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2009-08-09
It’s hard to believe that in a short time, the students will be back in school, ready to start a new year. In the August 2009 edition of NSTA’s Science Class electronic newsletter, there were lots of suggestions for new (and not-so-new) teachers, including web-based resources such as 100 Helpful Websites for New Teachers. There are many good websites here on topics such as technology applications, ideas for classroom activities, and downloadable documents. I suspect that a new teacher might be overwhelmed at first by all of these resources, so I would also suggest “One Essential Website for New Teachers” — the NSTA website with a treasure chest of resources specifically for science:
Many of the resources on the NSTA site require an NSTA membership. New teachers can join at a reduced rate (see the NSTA website for the guidelines). Membership would also give the teacher access to SciLinks to find related websites to supplement or enhance their instruction (and keep your eyes open for the updates to the site this month!).
So perhaps a membership would make a great welcome gift for a new science teacher in your school!
It’s hard to believe that in a short time, the students will be back in school, ready to start a new year.
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2009-08-07
I was excited to see a Monarch butterfly land on the Butterfly Bush in the yard (I hesitate to call it a garden).
I was excited to see a Monarch butterfly land on the Butterfly Bush in the yard (I hesitate to call it a garden).
By MsMentorAdmin
Posted on 2009-08-07
I’ve read a lot about the value of making connections with students. But it seems impossible to connect with individual students when I meet with 150 per day in my classes. Any suggestions or advice?
—Bethany, Rochester, Minnesota
When I was student teaching, I had to shadow a student for an entire day and reflect on what I observed. Going over my notes, I realized not once during the school day did my student (a 10th grader) have a conversation with an adult. No teacher called on him in class; no adult said hello in the hallway. The cashier in the cafeteria didn’t even say ‘thank you’ when he paid for his lunch! Perhaps this was not a typical day, but if it was, I wondered how lonely this student must have felt, as one of the many “invisible” students passing unnoticed from class to class. As a teacher, I made it my goal that no student should ever be invisible.
It’s easy to connect with the students who demand our attention: the hand-raisers, the outgoing personalities, those who are genuinely interested in science, and those who use negative behaviors as attention-grabbers. Getting to know every student is simpler in a self-contained classroom where a teacher and students are together for most of the day. In a secondary classroom, however, trying to connect with 150 students seems like an impossible task. But there are strategies to make this doable.
Ask each student to record data on an index card: name, birthday, nickname, interests/hobbies, school activities, out-of-school activities (e.g., jobs, community organizations, volunteer work), and other conversation-starters. (Use a different color card for each class.) Then for each class each day, the student on top of the deck would be your “target.” This is not a formal student-of-the-day designation or event, but just a subtle way of ensuring that you’re interacting with each student. During the class period, greet him/her at the door, call on her for an answer or to share a thought, ask him to be the assistant to write on the board or overhead, or interact with him/her during seatwork or groupwork. In a little more than a month, you will have interacted with each student in this focused manner. The cards can also be used to randomly select a student for an answer or a job, ensuring that it’s not just the hand-raisers or those in the front of the classroom who participate.
Some other ways to connect include
There is also the option to connect with students online, but there are a number of pros and cons to this approach. If you’re intrigued with using social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), the August 2009 issue of Learning and Leading with Technology has an interesting point/counterpoint discussion Should You “Friend” Your Students?
Of course, your connections with students should always be on a professional level. Most of the students already have friends to hang out with. But many of them need caring adults in their lives who take an interest in them and make them feel valued and “visible.”
Please feel free to add your suggestions for getting to know your students.
I’ve read a lot about the value of making connections with students. But it seems impossible to connect with individual students when I meet with 150 per day in my classes. Any suggestions or advice?
—Bethany, Rochester, Minnesota
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2009-08-01
Some elementary schools on a “year-round” or “modified calendar” are about to begin a new school year on Monday, and many others begin in September. Children from my “fours” classes are among the new kindergarten students and I feel so protective of them even though I believe they are ready for the the work, the larger school building, and sometimes a larger class size. After his first week in elementary school my son told us, “They have so many rules there.” New rules in the new school with a larger class size and a larger student body—he soon acclimated to that school’s culture but it was a process.
Learning and teaching are easier when children feel comfortable. Read what children say as they tell what new children need to know about starting school in the International Journal of Transitions in Childhood website links to full text papers from the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) Annual Conferences.
I remember my first day as a parent at a preschool, wondering how all the other parents seemingly knew what to do—where to put the cubby bag and tuition check, and where to find extra paints, the mop, and the key to restock the paper towels. There was institutional knowledge that was unwritten. Once we become part of a community we may no longer see the need for posting such information. As teachers we can take the lead to increase the comfort level of new students and new families by sharing the unwritten “rules” and culture of our classrooms.
Here are my suggestions for families participating in science activities at one co-op preschool:
Do you have special practices to welcome new students and families to your school? Tell me about them by clicking on the word “Comments” below.
Peggy
Some elementary schools on a “year-round” or “modified calendar” are about to begin a new school year on Monday, and many others begin in September.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2009-07-29
One of the folks I follow on Twitter recommended the Sixty Symbols website. It is a collection of videos about the symbols of physics and astronomy in which experts from the University of Nottingham share their knowledge and passion for their subjects as they explain what the symbols mean. The videos are just a few minutes long. These are the same folks that created the Periodic Table of Videos. Wouldn’t it be neat to have students create something like this rather than the traditional element reports?
I was also poking around the Vocabulary Sushi website. The vocabulary on the site is not limited to science vocabulary, but if any of your students are preparing for the SATs, ACTs, or other standardized tests that include vocabulary, this may be of interest. The words are presented in the context of actual news stories from around the world, rather than simply matching words and definitions.
I admit that I was not familiar with the NSTA Recommends website until it was mentioned in one of the journals. We know that NSTA publications will be relevant and worth reading, but what about materials from other publishers? This part of the NSTA site has educator-written reviews of publications on many topics. There is a search feature so that you can get to titles of interest. You can export the search results to Excel to create your personalized reading list.
One of the folks I follow on Twitter recommended the Sixty Symbols website. It is a collection of videos about the symbols of physics and astronomy in which experts from the University of Nottingham share their knowledge and passion for their subjects as they explain what the symbols mean. The videos are just a few minutes long. These are the same folks that created the Periodic Table of Videos.
By Peggy Ashbrook
Posted on 2009-07-28
Math and Science in Preschool: Policies and Practice, a National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) Preschool Policy Brief, says that teachers usually do not plan and support science and math learning in pre-K. How does that happen when young children are so curious about the world and so interested in who has more, is taller, or older?
Some preschool teachers bring their own curiosity into play, in school and out, such as early childhood teacher Sue Hewitt who went out of her way to see a novel (for her—and me!) sight—a big field of sunflowers. Because science activities are full of possibilities for math and language development, they can be the basis for across-the-curriculum learning. Sue talked about how investigating a milkweed seed pod with her class of two-year-olds included sharing a history of children collecting the pods during World War II to use in making life vests for service personnel, and, upon opening the pod, the discovery of how the successfully the seed is dispersed—in the classroom! I’m sure that gave the children a lot to talk about!
Does anyone have a story to share about a science activity that became the vehicle for language development or math operations?
Or about a moment when you realized that teaching science in your classroom is essential?
Peggy
Math and Science in Preschool: Policies and Practice, a National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) Preschool Policy Brief, says that teachers usually do not plan and support science and math learning in pre-K.
By MsMentorAdmin
Posted on 2009-07-25
I picked up an almost intact dog skeleton from the side of the road. One of my students spotted it from her bus window! I need help with preservation and wiring it together. Any suggestions? I did put the skeleton in a laundry bleach bath for approximately six hours and left it outside to dry. My husband varnished the bones, but now it has a mildew problem. It may be too late for the proper preservation of this skeleton, but you never know what I might find this school year. Thanks for your help.
—Susan, Myrtle Beach, SC
I must admit I haven’t had any experience in preserving and mounting skeletons, but it was a fascinating topic to investigate. I found two websites on the topic of cleaning and bleaching bones, both of which recommend hydrogen peroxide as a bleaching agent: The Boneman and Cleaning and Preserving Animal Skulls.
Mounting the skeleton appears to be a challenge. How to Mount a Small Skeleton has some step-by-step directions. I’m wondering if a museum curator or naturalist at a nature center would have any suggestions for you on how to mount the skeleton for display.
You mentioned the possibility of finding other specimens. I’d suggest you contact your state Game Commission or local animal control agency to learn about any permits or licenses you would need to collect or possess roadkill or other remains of wild animals.
My middle school students were fascinated by skeletons, too. These specimens can provide excellent learning opportunities for observations, comparisons, and classifications. Our school had purchased some smaller ones preserved in blocks of Lucite. The bat and turtle were the most popular ones, and our collection also included a mouse skeleton because many students (as well as some adults) have a misconception that mice have no bones. I usually had a few skeletons and bones on the “museum table” in my classroom, along with other interesting objects for the students to explore. The students would look at them with magnifiers or under a stereomicroscope and were surprised at how vertebrate skeletons are so similar in structure. The high school biology teacher had a nice collection of specimens (legally acquired) he would share with us, too. I also know teachers who tap into the resources and collections of local colleges and wildlife centers. You can expand your collection electronically with sites such as the Skull Site and the eSkeletons Project.
Students like to share what they find themselves, but I’d set some parameters as to what kinds of things can be brought into the classroom. I learned this the hard way when a student brought back a baby shark she found on the beach several hours away from the school. When she opened the cooler—before I knew what was in it—the stench was overpowering! My students were also very eager to bring in baby animals they thought had been abandoned or orphaned, especially rabbits and birds. I would commend them for their concern and then urge them not to remove them from their surroundings. I included these parameters in the syllabus at the beginning of the year so parents would also be aware.
Did you see the article Roadkill Data Analysis: Using Spreadsheets to Integrate Math and Science in the March 2009 issue of Science Scope? It describes a project in which students gather data about roadkill (without removing it) and upload the data to a regional database. They can then pose questions and explore the data.
I picked up an almost intact dog skeleton from the side of the road. One of my students spotted it from her bus window! I need help with preservation and wiring it together. Any suggestions? I did put the skeleton in a laundry bleach bath for approximately six hours and left it outside to dry. My husband varnished the bones, but now it has a mildew problem. It may be too late for the proper preservation of this skeleton, but you never know what I might find this school year. Thanks for your help.
—Susan, Myrtle Beach, SC