My Vision for Science Education

For this blog entry, describe the actions that you are taking beyond your immediate classroom to ensure that all students at your school or district are experiencing high-quality science instruction. When working with colleagues or other school/district staff, what challenges have you faced in your efforts to improve the science program at your school and district?  How have you overcome these obstacles?

It pains me to read a statement like, "We face a real crisis in science education in America" (McGinnis & Roberts-Harris, 2009).  As a science educator, I want to be proud of the direction that our science education is going in this country.  That said, I have been working hard over the past seven years to deliver quality science instruction to all of my sixth grade students.  However, one year of experiencing science the way it should be experienced, is simply not enough.  Therefore, over the past few years, I have begun working with other members of my science education team within the Amanda-Clearcreek District in an attempt to bring high quality science to students at every level.

As a secondary staff (Grades 6-12), we have been meeting for  monthly science meetings to discuss STEM and inquiry based education.  Learning where my students are going is a great help to me in terms of planning inquiry based lessons.  Furthermore, it helps to learn new strategies from my peers for delivering and scaffolding high quality inquiry lessons.  This year, I have started attending the elementary science meetings in an effort to learn where my sixth grade students have been.  This is helping me understand my role in their science journey.  Furthermore, I have been able to share with elementary teachers so that they know where their students will be going in the future and can plan accordingly.

The most daunting challenge facing me right now is the fact that many teachers choose to "teach to the test" is lieu of teaching for STEM education and the students' future in science.  These teachers earn high scores on the state standardized tests and do not see a need to teach inquiry-based lessons.  I honestly say that I can not blame them, especially in the age of merit pay and other issues facing us regarding our test scores.  However, I believe it is doing a huge disservice to our students.

McGinnis, J. R., & Robert-Harris, D. (2009, September/October). A new vision for teaching science. Scientific American Mind, 62–67. 

What's Our Sputnik?

Thomas Friedman's article, What's Our Sputnik?, includes some very harsh statements.  However, I can't say that I disagree with most of his points about the future of our country.  The tone of his article makes the United States seem like a nosy big brother who can not let his younger brother stand on his own.  We are spending too much time, money and resources worrying about other countries.  Meanwhile, our own country is falling behind in critical areas.

Friedman points out that we need a spark similar to Sputnik in the 1950s to get our country motivated.  He states, "Nevertheless, I hope Americans see China's rise as the 21st century equivalent of Russia launching the Sputnik satellite--a challenge to which we responded with a huge national effort that revived our education, infrastructure and science and propelled use for 50 years" (Friedman, 2010).  As a society, we need some sort of Sputnik-like spark to light a fire under this country.  We have more technology in our cellular phones, than the entire space ship carrying Neil Armstrong to the moon contained.  Yet, we remain complacent when it comes to STEM education.  However, waiting on this event to come could be disastrous as we fall farther behind each day.  It is our responsibility as citizens of this country to bring the passion and honor back to the field of science.  We have to find a way to get our young people interested by science.  Actions must be taken at all levels; national, state and local; to bring science education back to the forefront of importance in this country. 

Other countries, such as Taiwan, are emerging on the forefront of science through hard work.  Taiwan, despite having no natural resources, has "amasses the fourth-largest foreign currency reserves in the world" (Friedman, 2010).  We need to bring this work ethic and passion back to the United States.  We have the intelligence and opportunity in this country to once again be the scientific world powerhouse.  However, we have to be willing to put forth the effort to achieve this goal.

Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our Sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.

Modeling Earth Science- A "Moonth" of Phases

     Currently in sixth grade science at Amanda-Clearcreek Middle School, we are studying Astronomy.  In sixth grade, the focus of our Astronomy Unit focuses on the relative positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun.  We focus on learning the reason for seasons, phases of the moon, eclipses and tides.  I chose to use a student-created model on the phases of the moon in which students followed a structured inquiry plan and modeled each phase of the moon with a foam ball and a lamp.  This model was an excellent tool in teaching students the phases of the moon.  They really began to understand the reason for each phase and what each looks like.  I was surprised at how easy the students understood the complex concepts once they created their models.  Additionally, pairs of students have been tracking the moon each evening for one month so almost all students could relate their experience with spotting the moon in the sky to the activity.   I also challenged them to create a model of an eclipse, which we are learning about next, and many students were able to succeed and grasp the concepts before even learning them. 
     I found that this activity would have been best in pairs of students, but did not have enough materials (lamps) for all the students.  I think that students would have had an even better understanding of the concepts if they were working in pairs and forced to be a part of the model the entire time.  Furthermore, the activity requires space for each group, which was difficult in my classroom.  The use of the gym or auditorium would be a possible solution to the space issue. 

Natural Disasters

Natural disasters often strike in far away places relative to my students in Ohio.  Some of them have never been out of our county making even the Carolinas seem like remote locations.  The power of the technology has had a major effect on the ways in which I can bring natural disaster information to my students.  When the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, we were able to watch video clips in class the next day.  Students feel much more connected when they can see what is going on for themselves.  We followed the earthquake in Haiti a few years ago in the same way, and many of my students became involved with disaster relief through our middle school student council.  They felt much more empowered and connected having seen and discussed what was happening in the scientific sense.  I was proud that my students wanted to raise money for a cause that we had discussed in class.

In class, however, we have not focused much on the disaster relief side of these events.  It would be interesting to find local relief organizations, such as  The Red Cross, that would be willing to work with my students.  We could possibly create a sixth grade thematic unit out of future natural disasters.  Combining the science behind natural disasters with the social aspect and relief efforts in the after-math of such things would have a lasting effect on my students.

Ask A Scientist

     My experience with the Ask a Scientist web site was very positive.  I did not know of this site, so I was very intrigued by the idea of asking a question and getting an answer from an expert scientist. 
The question that I asked was:  What controls enzymes in cells and how are they controlled?

I have not gotten a specific response from a scientist regarding this question.  However, I got several other previously submitted questions and answers to peruse.  I was surprised that I found what I was looking for from this list and technically did not need to submit my question to a scientist, even though I did. A question that matched well with mine is:  What is a feedback mechanism?  Feedback mechanisms control enzymes in cells.  "Feedback regulation is important to control the flux, or the rate of production and breakdown, of biological molecules and to maintain homeostasis (a dynamic equilibrium) in the cell. It can be either negative or positive"  (Veraksa, 2011).  Reading through the answer to this question, I not only learned the answer to my question but gained more curiosity on the subject matter.  Now that I understand the regulation of enzymes in cells, I wonder how diseases affect the control of said enzymes.



Veraksa, Alexey. (2011).  Ask a Scientist.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  Retrieved January 17, 2012 from http://www.askascientist.org/askascientist/answers/20071115-61.html.

Evaluating Web Presentation Tools- Google Docs and Prezi

Google Docs
Google Docs is a great tool for anyone who has ever used Microsoft PowerPoint.  While test driving Google Docs, I found it very easy to use because the editing tools are so similar to PowerPoint's editing tools.  Additionally, there are tutorials and help available.  Furthermore, this would be asscessible from anywhere that one could access a Google account and it is totally free.  Collaboration and file sharing could be achieved through a joint account.  However, I did not feel that Google Docs had many special features or multi-media capabilities.  There are much fewer slide designs available than with Microsoft PowerPoint and no slide transitions.  Additionally, you can add pictures or short videos, but no other multimedia.  I would recommend Google Docs for someone already familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint and not really interested in learning something new or short on time.

Prezi
Prezi is a great way to make a creative and "artsy" presentation.  It is a free and easy-to-use way to make eye-catching presentations.  I found Prezi a bit confusing to use at first.  However, they offer very helpful tutorials and "cheat sheets".  Additionally, editing can be done together making it easy to use collaboratively.  A great feature is the availability of several different graphic organizers.  Using these templates is a huge time saver when adding them to a presentation.  You Tube Videos can be uploaded.  However, I tried to upload a different video as a file and could not get it to work.  Also, I personally like the presentation style that Prezi uses but it could be seen as a negative that you cannot change the presentation style or effects.  I would recommend Prezi for someone who is looking for "something new".  It is a totally different and interesting way to present information.  It may be time consuming at first, but could be a great way to create professional looking presentations in the future.