Scd/324 Portfolio

During the course of the year, we learned about the Investigation-Colloquium Method (I-CM) of the teaching science which emphasizes that children learn more by interacting with their peers, sharing their thoughts and collaborate information among themselves. As the word colloquium suggests, it is an informal gathering of peers during a discussion, it is during this discussion children expand on their learning experiences. This method is similar to what Vygotsky would have considered as the “Zone of Proximal Development.” His theory suggested that during a colloquium children tend to sharpen their perception which will, in turn, promote mental growth. As a future teacher of science, my goal is to base my lesson plans on the I-CM method by using it as a benchmark for my instructional practices. Some of these approaches would include concepts, materials, investigations, use of data charts, creative dramatics, and closure to name a few. Each of these subcategories of I-CM further enhances the concept of this method which will be discussed later in further detail. However, in my opinion, the role of a teacher is the pinnacle entity for a successful colloquium among children and an even more successful pedagogy of science.

Throughout this fall semester, as a Preservice Middle Level Educator, I have been observing and engaging in Ms. Mahdi’s 7th grade Science class. It is at this placement that I have collected artifacts for a portfolio to illustrate a competency and achievement related to the Association for Middle Level Education standards. In this portfolio summary you will find various artifacts that help demonstrate these AMLE standards. The AMLE standards as a whole, cover academic growth and set an expectation for middle school teachers to be mindful that their middle school students are continuously experiencing social and cognitive changes that should be addressed thoughtfully, just as much as their academic needs.

These lab equipments and books reflect the scientific knowledge and skills program, which is part of our learning learning framework. “Science learning during the early childhood years encourages children to discover the world around them and refine their understanding of it” (Fuentes, 2010).

Founded in the year 1958, The Edgerton Memorial Planetarium is dedicated in the memory of Malcolm and Edna Edgerton, who played a major role since its inception. Over the years various telescopes and astronomy equipments have been donated by various individuals and lovers of astronomy to the planetarium. Today, it also serves as a research facility and welcomes people of all ages to enjoy viewing the moon, the stars, the galaxies and deep space objects through the 22-inch research telescope. The program starts with a short interesting lecture and is followed up by viewing the sky by night. Visitors can check out the calendar for weekly events on their website. It is ideal

When entering the planetarium to experience this presentation the attendee was seated in a very comfortable, reclining chair that made viewing the domed ceiling of the planetarium very easy. When the presentation began the professor introduced himself and explained what the audience would be seeing and learning about. The lights were dimmed and the room became dark. The presenter then began the program by explaining and projecting what one sees when observing the sky at various times during the day. As the program progressed, stars began to appear on the ceiling of the planetarium. The professor then pointed out and spoke about the various constellations (groups of stars) in the night sky. Once this portion of the presentation was complete, the professor explained that the audience would be seeing a film about the history of the telescope and how two small pieces of glass changed the way scientists and the general public view the stars and the solar system. Following the film, attendees were asked if they had any

When teaching a sequence of lessons, it is important to regularly assess the students and measure their understanding of the material. Taking lessons forward without any form of assessment can result in students being left behind and unable to access the new material because they did not get a grasp of the prior lesson. To ensure this did not happen I used previous exam questions whenever possible as tasks for the students to complete. A competence with these questions suggests that students are confident with the material and the lesson can be moved forward. Examples of this can be seen in REFERENCE FILES. When planning these tasks, it is important to understand the abilities within the class, this view was supported by Atkinson in a CA session (SA, CA, TS6). Despite being a triple science class, projected grades range from 5 to 9. I included questions that ranged in demand, from fact recall (REFERNCE EXAMPLE) to extended written prose (REFERNCE EXAMPLE).

When starting Methods of Science this semester, I was lacking knowledge of the NGSS standards. Throughout this class I feel like I have been exposed to the standards, and how to interpret them. As a college student studying to become an Elementary Education teacher, I have observed in classrooms that the subjects of Science and Social Studies often get pushed to the side. As a future teacher, I want my classroom to be different. I want to make sure all subjects are as equally as important as the other ones. I believe the NGSS standards help expand Science curriculum for teachers. There are countless reasons for why NGSS standards are way the way to go in all classrooms.

This unit provided students the opportunity to explore and research a particular aspect of the ocean that interests them. This kind of ownership of what they research empowers students to investigate a topic in-depth. In the above mentioned activities students use specific reading strategies for comprehension, classifying and analysis skills, and synthesize research to create a guide book using Power Point. Students consistently

For as long as I can remember I have been drawn to the stars. At night I would look up and stare at the bright objects in the sky and wonder how they got there. I remember going to upstate New York when I was 10 years old and laying on a dock in the dead of night with no light pollution. I watched as the satellites blinked by and all the scattered tiny lights in the sky filled in all the black. I could even see these amazing green and purples in the sky. I layed there awestruck at these amazing anomalies I didn't know much about. But this was the event that really pushed me into pursuing more knowledge of these incredible sights.

“Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are…” The common lullaby that is known by many, but what do these words really mean? After visiting the observatory, one could learned more about the words and the concepts found in the common nursery rhythm. During my visit to the observatory, I was able to learn more about stars, constellations, and asterisms in different parts of the sky, the second largest telescope at the University of Northern Iowa, and Saturn, the 2nd largest planet in our Solar System.

On Monday, June 26, I had the opportunity to observe some planets and stars with the help of professor Lowry and his amazing telescope. What I saw and learned that night about Saturn, Jupiter and the constellations was remarkable and complemented what I have being learning in my astronomy course.

One of the weaknesses of the plan is the lack of different types of assessment and the lack of assessment of higher orders of learning in Bloom’s taxonomy. This is a weakness in relation to the learning goals because it merely tests on textbook material. In addition, the teacher is overlooking some of the state standards specifically: 1. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content of the other four strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. AND Students will: a.) Select and use appropriate tools and technology to perform tests, collect data, analyze relationships, and display data.

“Mary” is a fourth grade student who receives special education support in reading. She is at a 1.8 reading level and struggles not only in reading, but also in other core subjects when reading is required. Mary likes science, but often does not participate due to her reading difficulties. Because of her reading difficulties, it is hard for Mary’s science teacher to assess her scientific inquiry skills, a large component of the science subject area.

Science is, by its nature, inquiry based and science knowledge is built through processes in which discoveries of the natural world are made (Abruscato, 2000). It utilizes discovery and scientific thinking process to explore and learn knowledge and skills. Learning by doing is the new efficient method in teaching science. For kindergarten, this method leads to better understanding of science concepts and builds skills that children will use in future life .What a child can do with assistance now, they can later do on their own (Vygotsky, 1978). John Dewey (1916) stated that children must be engaged in an active quest for learning and new ideas. Inquiry is important in educating kindergarteners because it not only keeps them interested in lessons but also helps them retain more information when performing exploration and investigation. Children are naturally motivated to learn and actively seek out information to help their understanding (Piaget, 1950).The success of students who participate in hands- on inquiry activities suggests that if students have first hands experience with science, concepts are easier to understand and apply and students are generally more favorable to science and have better understanding of the nature of science .Within a conceptual framework, inquiry learning and active learner involvement can lead to important outcomes in the classroom. In kindergarten, students who are actively making observations, collecting results and drawing

In the 4th quarter of 7th Grade Science the class finished the IMYC unit of curiosity which focused on different forms of energy and moved on to a unit called respect where the topics were electricity and magnetism. Formative assessments continued to consist of practice questions related to the content we were studying and evaluation questions about experiments we did. The summative assessments for the quarter were a lab report about a heat insulators experiment designed by the students, a test about different forms of energy, and an electromagnetic technology poster project. Next year students in 8th grade at HIS will continue to study an integrated series of science topics.