Typically in the classroom students may engage in hands on
activities, but they seldom connect to a bigger picture or understanding. The
goal with each activity is that it connects to the how and why, bridge ideas,
and allows students to use the science language. In order for an activity to
allow these components, instructors need to be purposeful in allowing students
to explore the big idea, come up with representations, understand and use
different measurement tools like scientist. With my students I plan to use
multiple activities to reinforce a deeper understanding of the content. Through
practice students can see the relevance, have stronger explanations, and
increase the opportunity for them to have conversation and share ideas with
their peers (which will help with establishing classroom environment). Students
will be able to use observations with data, push themselves to critically think
and support their reasoning. Students will have opportunities to build and
revise their models and explanations and consider how their thinking has
changed and what additional information they may need. Students will be able to use this in my
classroom through small group work and make added changes through post its or
we can use a whole class consensus (where we agree on a model and refine it
over time). If limited on the amount of Post Its I have, I can tape the
original paper and have students draw new “notes” with markers on the white
board. Another tool that I will use is a checklist where students have to
include certain ideas or relationships. This will ensure that students are
using certain explanations and considering more specific ideas within their
final product. By utilizing all these methods in my unit, students can model
how “real” science is conceptualized and how ongoing changes in scientific
practices allow refinement of theories and scientific laws. As a teacher moving
forward, I need to be strategic on how I introduce activities to ensure that
they are woven together and allow scaffolding, refinement, student voice and
participation, and use of prior knowledge.
One thing that I consider is how long the unit should be
when using these activities. At times I feel like I spend too much time and
fall behind, and other times I think I move too quickly and students may not be
able to connect the big ideas.
I like how you emphasize the importance of students using ideas to act as "scientists". We share the concern of pacing. As a new teacher, it is very difficult to set the appropriate pace in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of teaching students that revision is important and necessary in the classroom and as scientists. I also think this helps them learn to engage with each other in respectful and productive ways and to benefit their own work. Have you tried these methods in your classroom already? How did it go?
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