Bill Henske, my middle school science teacher, has left one of the most profound and lasting impacts on my life, and for that I will forever be indebted to him. The day I discovered that my father signed me up for Field Study—what I referred to as “science camp”—I was furious. It was the summer before I entered the seventh grade, and I would much rather have spent my time lounging by the Maplewood Pool. Looking back on how naive and close minded to this experience at the beginning makes me cringe. Field Study was instructed by both Bill Henske and Scott McClintok, each of them helped instill an interest in science that I never held before. When I was 12 I wanted to be a novelist, but now I know that I want to go into conservation biology
Part Eight will cover ways to acquire knowledge outside of the “classroom” setting. Travelling, field trips, or simply performing experiments in the backyard are a pleasant way to learn. Recognize and explore every opportunity to teach children how fortunate they are. The majority of children have a “skewed view of reality”. A unique trip, which altered my children’s life and made them appreciate everything they have will be discussed.
Science and Society by Richard W. Grinnell is a reader created for students to explore
Growing up around animals, when I had the opportunity to join the Future Farmers of America (FFA) in high school, I took it and began developing my passion for agriculture at a young age. I am also a longtime member of a 4-H club as well, where I had even more opportunities to explore the agriculture industry. Through this and other things such as exhibiting livestock in fairs and shows around the state, I not only developed my passion for agriculture, but also discovered my college major and the career that I want to pursue after college.
As I was helping oversee the young students competing in various science-based events, I was enthralled
In high school I was offered a variety of classes, and I soon fell in love with English and History as well. Although I was able to quickly grasp on the lessons taught in History class, I realized I needed a lot of time to understand the material in my science classes. However, this did not discourage me; it only increased my love for the class. I would quickly try to finish all my homework so I could begin reading my science textbooks. Last summer, I decided to give both fields (history and science) a try. I worked as an intern in Reshma Saujani’s campaign. She was the former candidate for New York City Public Advocate. During the internship I learned a lot about our country’s political history as well as the details of workin...
As a child in middle school, I started thrusting myself in my academic career. I joined Science Olympiad, in which students compete in different sciences. I competed in events such as astronomy or anatomy and from this point on the passion for science grew. When I entered high school, I continued my career with Science Olympiad, but decided I needed to broaden my perspective. There had to be more than science olympiad, a whole new field that would let me practice and see science working at one of it's best.
Through this program I had first-hand access to some of the brightest young minds in both the United States and the world. The sharing among students of ideas and experiences in science, and in other areas as well, was enlightening. I felt like I had the chance to absorb knowledge from those around me. This environment spread beyond the students and also included the faculty and speakers. We had access to incredible faculty who were able to give much to the experience and share their own science insights. The program also brought in speakers and other science professionals from around the world who were at the top of their respective fields. This festival gave me real access to the movers and shakers of the science world, an experience beyond any available to me anywhere else.
On February 6, 2017 I observed and interview a couple of students in Mrs.Goshay classroom. Highlands Elementary school is located in Hazel Crest, Illinois. Highlands elementary school is from Kindergarten to fifth grade. My host teacher name is Mrs. Nina Goshay. I have been observing and working with Mrs. Goshay classroom for about three weeks. There are twenty-one students in the classroom there are fifteen boys and six girls. Mrs.Goshay has been teaching for twelve years and she teaches all subjects. Mrs. Goshay science time is about thirty to forty-five minutes Monday through Friday. They are just now catching up on Science because Mrs. Goshay just came back a couple of weeks ago from maternity leave. The teacher and students has been working on a Predictions-will it float or will it sink for the past two weeks for Science.
tremendous growth. Early on in my college career, I took science courses as a part of my
Lewis, Thomas. "The Hazards of Science." The Presence of Others. Eds. Andrea A. Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. 236-242.
In the article, the author reveals his passion for science began at an early age becoming curious to learning how things work, and as an adult qualified the gratification you receive from its understanding when he states “Doing science is still among my chief pleasures” (Sagan 2). Throughout the article, Sagan reiterates his passion for science while he explains the disconnect in today’s democratic American society due to the movement away from science and into an information and service economy. The author argues from the point of view of how children and adults who do not understand science could be detrimental to society because people are less knowledgeable about the world and have the inability to find new ideas. In a plea, the author explains “…how gratifying it is when we get it…” Sagan’s article in the Washington Post directly aligns with the interest and passion with our protagonist, Victor Frankenstein who says “I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasure know too few besides myself” (Shelley 22). Frankenstein describes his passion to learn the secrets to which nature holds for the purpose of rewards of discovery. And Sagan just like Frankenstein indicates “When you’re in love, you want to tell the world ” and”when we understand and put this knowledge to use, many feel, if not a wild exhilaration, a least a deep satisfaction” (Sagan 3). Although science is not absolute with a definitive answer it is important to collaborate with others thus roping them into thinking about how science integrates into their lives instead of maintain isolation giving no room for
Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980), a Swiss psychologist, portrayed the child as a ‘lone scientist’, creating their own sense of the world. Their knowledge of relationships among ideas, objects and events is constructed by the active processes of internal assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. (Hughes, 2001). He also believed that we must understand the child’s understandings of the world, and this should guide the teaching practises and evaluation. The fundamental basis of learning was discovery. To understand is reconstruct by discovery, and such conditions must be compiled...
Informal education has for a long time been considered very controversial in the education world and looked upon as just for entertainment. Informal education is commonly defined as learning that takes outside of formal school settings. Informal education can be things such as field trips to science centers, aquariums, museums, zoos, or planetariums. All of the following places are considered to be "informal settings" because they are all outside the classroom area. An educational curator at a small museum in Jackson Hole, Wyoming is as much an informal educator as a director of educational programs for the Smithsonian Institution. Often informal educators are retired K-12 teachers that have received additional training and have therefore been thrust into a more prominent role to teaching the nation’s students about mathematics and science. Many people look at field trips as pointless and unbeneficial to students at any age. But many will argue that informal education is only helpful when students have prior knowledge of the subject from formal education before going out of the classroom to learn. The role of prior knowledge in learning is considered of utmost importance in designing effective educational programs. Informal education is very common with science subjects. Most students cannot understand scientific principles by reading out of a book because textbooks and paper handouts can be very dry and boring. Going on field trips to informal settings reinforces what students learn from their teachers and help them understand the topics better.
I grew up the only son on a dairy farm outside a small village; I had many chores-ranging from feeding buffalo to door delivery of milk in the village, I was either exploring the meadows with my grandmother or reading many books from the local community library. According to my mother,I was always interested in science and made my uncle take me to the science fiction movies.He is the one who helped me qualitatively in order to find my future path.
When integrating Nature of Science into curriculum, assumptions are made about students and instructors. These assumptions include that students are all at the same level in terms of science understanding and concepts as the rest of their classmates, and also assumes that the students learn at the same rates (NGSS: Appendix A). These assumptions are detrimental to science education when focus needs to be on the content being taught rather than teaching background of science as a standalone. Teaching NOS explicitly becomes increasingly difficult when students aren’t given access to proper science learning environments. As mentioned in the High Hopes – Few Opportunities reading, it is stated that, “California students do no typically experience high-quality science learning opportunities[.]” (Dorph et al., 2011). When students don’t have a basis for scientific concepts, it becomes increasingly difficult to teach NOS. America’s Lab Report further expands on the idea that this style of learning is not likely achievable, as “[N]o single […] experience is likely to achieve all of these learning goals.” (Schweingruber et al., 2005) where learning goals is referencing the goals of laboratory experiences that include understanding Nature of Science. Again, when a lack of understanding for general science exists, its arguably much more difficult to teach