On the first day of class we were instructed to think about and draw what a scientist looks like in our own opinion. My picture on the right shows a young female girl in about fourth grade working on a volcano experiment. She seems to be in a 'science classroom' and no one (peers or teachers) are around her. She is working alone and seems to be doing a step-by-step experiment. Thinking about my meaning behind my drawing, I viewed scientist as being in a lab or classroom doing the scientific method (step-by-step procedures). I now think of what it means to be a scientist much differently.
Throughout this science eduction course I have learned what it means to be a scientist:
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If I were instructed to draw another picture of what a scientist is, I would include these key components:
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I recently got to home and visit my one year old nephew and his friend. While I was there I got to see them splash and play with water. I quickly related their actions to our science class. They were investigating the water!!
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Download the file below to view this cuteness!!
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How a Circuit WorksThroughout this course, I learned what being a scientist consists of. Engineering is a large part of being a scientist and this happens at all ages. At first I didn't understand what it meant to be an engineer. Through my readings and course work, I now understand engineering means to determine a problem, create an idea that will solve that problem, and constantly improve your idea/model until you are satisfied with the end result. I read Mellissa Parks and Mary Ellen Oslick's article, "Goldilocks and the Engineers", and they talked about how to create a plan with your students during the design process.
This activity of learning about circuits and creating your own working invention was extremely educational for me as a future teacher. Through this activity I learned that one aspect of engineering lessons are to keep all students actively engaged and make the lesson meaningful. Identifying and solving a problem takes creativity, which all young kids have. I thought this activity was going to be too difficult to do and I honestly just didn't want to do it. However, once my team started coming up with ideas and ways we could actually make it work, I was hooked! This activity was challenging but achievable, which is what made it most memorable and most educational for me. Using your students prior knowledge about a lesson (circuits) and having them use it to create and solve a problem is a way to make science meaningful and engaging.
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"The intention is to facilitate the transfer of concepts and abilities to related, but new situations... use activities that are a challenge but achievable by the students"
-Rodger W. Bybee |