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Course Description: To
become a passionate learner and teacher of science through integration within a constructivist approach.
This
course offered a hands-on approach to teaching science, offering ideas and resources for successful applications. During this
time, I was able to review professional articles that pertained to current scientific issues. The course also included classroom
observations at three levels, including: primary/elementary, middle school, and high school. This allowed for a better understanding
of the similarities and differences among age groups.
Another
assignment was the planning and implementing of learning centers into a homeroom classroom that addressed state standards
and benchmarks. (See example below)
It
was also expected to complete a two week thematic unit that revolved around the 5 “E” approach (Listed below)
and reflected state standards and benchmarks.
Many
students at some point during their education are required to participate in a school science fair, so in this course we investigated
our own ideas to mimic the steps/processes of a school science fair. Projects had to follow handbook guidelines and ended
with a presentation to our peers. (example below)
5 “E” Approach
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
5 "E" Approach: Sample Lesson
How Color Protects Animals
INQ-254
Grade 3
Standards/Benchmarks:
Strand II
Standard II
Benchmark I
Performance Standard I
-Know that an adaptation in physical structure or behavior can improve an organism’s chance for survival (e.g.
horned toads, chameleons, cacti, mushrooms, etc)
Engage:
-If you were an insect that lived in the grass, what enemies might you have?
-How could you increase your chance of survival while staying physically weaker
than your enemy?
-Is changing color a way of survival and why?
-How can you test this?
Explore:
- Cut out 100 same sized pieces
of green paper and 100 brown paper. Make each paper about the size of your thumbnail.
- Have someone scatter 50 pieces
of each color on a lawn area.
- Pretend the paper pieces are
insects and that you are a bird. Try to find as many pieces as you can in one minute.
- Each person in the group goes
once and records the number of pieces picked out of a specific color.
- At the end gather group average
and then class average.
Explain:
- How many pieces of each color
did you find? Which color would be better if you were a lawn insect?
- What is you were an insect
that lived in a dirt area? What color would be better? What could you do to find out?
- How could colored seeds be
tested with real birds? Mix a few drops of food coloring with water in a jar. Drop in the seeds to color them.
- Look at insects on a variety
of plants. How are the colors of the plant like the insect color? How are their colors different from those of the plant?
Evaluate:
Survival chances increase when an animal’s color matches its surroundings. How are other animals protected by
their skin colors? Find pictures of different animals in their natural habits and describe how their color relates to their
environment. Paste pictures into a journal and write your answers. Report your findings to the class.
Science Fair Project: Conclusion
After an hour of playing music and observing the earthworms,
there was no result. The earthworms did not come to the surface of the soil. I did not observe any movement from the worms
up against the glass either. The music did not seem to disturb the earthworms in any way.
Many of the resources that I read all agreed that vibrations
make the earthworms crawl to the surface. What went wrong? I think maybe the vibrations from the music where not strong enough
to affect the earthworms or maybe the music needed to be louder. Another way to test the theory of vibrations would be to
use the stick and mallet method. I have also heard of people using an electric current after if rains to make the earthworms
come to the surface.
Although I didn’t receive my desired result, it was
neat to observe and study the way earthworms live. Who knows, this experiment may lead me to other hypothesis worth testing
about the affect of vibrations on earthworms.
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