Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
A Fishy Inquiry Lesson
Something Fishy is going on Around Here
For this week’s assignment, I revamped an old lesson from the past. My students have always enjoyed doing this activity. This year however, I do have to “beef up” all my lessons because the students I have are really smart, do their work, and love learning. I have to challenge this group more than any group I have ever taught. Turning this activity into a structured inquiry lesson did the trick.The activity basically uses colored craft sticks to represent alleles for fish scale color. We are able to tie predation, camouflage, population numbers, natural selection, genotypes, phenotypes, dominant and recessive traits, as well as harmful effects on an ecosystem all together. The students create a first generation of fish by blindly drawing two craft sticks, they record the genotype and phenotype of each pair pulled. They analyze the data and pull all fish that are not hidden by the green alga in the stream. The other pairs of craft sticks are put back into the “gene pool” and the students draw again to create a second generation. Eventually a catastrophe takes place that destroys the alga and all the fish with the dominant green gene die. The groups must analyze and draw conclusions throughout the activity and predict what will become of the stream due to the disaster.
My students love a challenge and do very well working in groups. When I allow them to choose their own groups they always migrate to the students who operate on their same level intellectually. They do so because they want to work with students that do not waste their time and will carry their own weight. I do not have to partner my “smarter” students with the “slower” ones. This year’s crop LOVES that. They are free to fly as high as they are capable without being slowed down by others. Group work allows me the freedom to differentiate by talking to individuals students as well as teams to use guided questions to move them along. The students struggling can get more guidance from me while those they understand quickly; can be given higher level questions to stretch their thinking.
As I worked with my students this week, I found most of the groups were able to follow the instructions and carry out the activity with ease. I witnessed many “light bulb” moments as certain concepts became clear because they could actually see what was happening to the gene pool.
The example I have linked are from gifted students, two of the most intelligent 7th graders in the school.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Other Questions about this Science Inquiry Experience?
Melting glaciers continued......
What questions do I have about this inquiry experience?
#1 Did anyone else have a hard time copying and pasting the Melting Iceberg activity into a word document? I tried several times and it was all squirrely with lots of extra question marks.
#2 How much background knowledge would the students have or be given before they began? The "exhibits curiosity" section seems to require a hefty amount of prior knowledge.
#3 I enjoyed the experiment and tried several times to prove my hunch wrong, but the melting ice would never run over the edges. I was pleased that with my limited knowledge my hypothesis was correct; however, I am afraid, based on the results of the experiment, the students may come to a wrong assumption about the melting issues at hand. From what I read, the floating icebergs are not the problem. The glaciers covering land masses are what would cause the rise in the sea level. The experiment does not touch on that at all. Is that something we hope the students gain from their inquiry?
#4 I read all of the references we were given and did not find enough information to support a position on global warming. I even googled a little and did not find as much as I needed. I will try again, but how would we assure that our students found legitimate sources to support their stance?
What questions do I have about this inquiry experience?
#1 Did anyone else have a hard time copying and pasting the Melting Iceberg activity into a word document? I tried several times and it was all squirrely with lots of extra question marks.
#2 How much background knowledge would the students have or be given before they began? The "exhibits curiosity" section seems to require a hefty amount of prior knowledge.
#3 I enjoyed the experiment and tried several times to prove my hunch wrong, but the melting ice would never run over the edges. I was pleased that with my limited knowledge my hypothesis was correct; however, I am afraid, based on the results of the experiment, the students may come to a wrong assumption about the melting issues at hand. From what I read, the floating icebergs are not the problem. The glaciers covering land masses are what would cause the rise in the sea level. The experiment does not touch on that at all. Is that something we hope the students gain from their inquiry?
#4 I read all of the references we were given and did not find enough information to support a position on global warming. I even googled a little and did not find as much as I needed. I will try again, but how would we assure that our students found legitimate sources to support their stance?
What will happen if our poles turn to slushies?
The question:What happens if the polar ice caps melt?
According to the multiple sources I looked into, I learned that many scientists believe the following to be consequences of the melting of the polar ice caps due to global warming:
First, in terms of flooding and rising sea levels, Kluger states that icebergs are not a concern (2006). I assumed and hypothesized as much before the ice cube experiment. The floating ice as it melts, simply replaces the water it displaced while it was a frozen hunk. On the other hand Kluger, points out that glaciers covering land masses like Greenland, have the potential of raising the sea level by 23 feet if they melt, "swallowing up large parts of coastal Florida and Bangladesh" (2006). He continued to say that the Arctic holds enough water that it could possibly raise sea levels as much as 215 feet.
In addition to the threat of rising sea levels, I found scientists concerned with the dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide that would be released into the air if the soil under the glaciers melted and the frozen, organic matter began to thaw and decompose (Kluger, 2009).
Another concern scientists share is the fear that people who rely on mountain glaciers for summer water will run out resulting in drought affecting global economies, "triggering a world-wide food crisis" (Brancaccio, 2009).
A third issue I read about confused me but essentially said the warm water that circulates in the Atlantic will take on more of the atmosphere's heat once the ice disappears. This phenomenon will cause the continents to become much cooler. Kluger is quoted as saying "This is a bad thing" (2009).
Lastly with the change in water temperature that has resulted from the greenhouse effect, the number of storms like hurricanes and typhoons have increased.
References
Brancaccio, D. (Host). (2009). On thin ice [Television series episode]. In NOW. New York, NY: JumpStart Productions/Thirteen/WNET New York/PBS. Retrieved fromhttp://www.pbs.org/now/shows/516/index.html.
Kluger, J. (2006, March 26). Global warming heats up. Time. Retrieved fromhttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1176980-6,00.html.
According to the multiple sources I looked into, I learned that many scientists believe the following to be consequences of the melting of the polar ice caps due to global warming:
First, in terms of flooding and rising sea levels, Kluger states that icebergs are not a concern (2006). I assumed and hypothesized as much before the ice cube experiment. The floating ice as it melts, simply replaces the water it displaced while it was a frozen hunk. On the other hand Kluger, points out that glaciers covering land masses like Greenland, have the potential of raising the sea level by 23 feet if they melt, "swallowing up large parts of coastal Florida and Bangladesh" (2006). He continued to say that the Arctic holds enough water that it could possibly raise sea levels as much as 215 feet.
In addition to the threat of rising sea levels, I found scientists concerned with the dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide that would be released into the air if the soil under the glaciers melted and the frozen, organic matter began to thaw and decompose (Kluger, 2009).
Another concern scientists share is the fear that people who rely on mountain glaciers for summer water will run out resulting in drought affecting global economies, "triggering a world-wide food crisis" (Brancaccio, 2009).
A third issue I read about confused me but essentially said the warm water that circulates in the Atlantic will take on more of the atmosphere's heat once the ice disappears. This phenomenon will cause the continents to become much cooler. Kluger is quoted as saying "This is a bad thing" (2009).
Lastly with the change in water temperature that has resulted from the greenhouse effect, the number of storms like hurricanes and typhoons have increased.
References
Brancaccio, D. (Host). (2009). On thin ice [Television series episode]. In NOW. New York, NY: JumpStart Productions/Thirteen/WNET New York/PBS. Retrieved fromhttp://www.pbs.org/now/shows/516/index.html.
Kluger, J. (2006, March 26). Global warming heats up. Time. Retrieved fromhttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1176980-6,00.html.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Blog 2 for wk 2 ( now that I have settled down) STEM
Now that I have had a good night's sleep, I can address the things I gained from this week.
At my school we have STEM program connections class. Students are recommended to participate in the class. My students are the gifted and honors students in 7th grade. The majority of them take the class; those that don't are committed to year long connections classes like band, orchestra, or guitar. After deciding on the activity for my lesson (extracting DNA from strawberries), I went to the STEM instructor for advise.
I asked how I could make my lesson more "STEM" worthy. She said "measuring" is a math component. Building something like a model would be considered engineering, and technology could be anything from doing a virtual lab to using Word to complete a lab write up. I was reminded that lessons of this nature rarely take only one day to complete.
She also told me that STEM can be taught from any of the disciplines. It does not have to be science supported by technology, engineering, and math. She said it could be engineering supported by technology, math, and science or math supported by the other three. I had not thought of that.
Additionally, she concurred that there is no "official" certification for STEM. She had been trained through the Fernbank Science Center here in Atlanta while she worked for them.
I enjoyed that chance to get clarity from someone who teaches the STEM model.
At my school we have STEM program connections class. Students are recommended to participate in the class. My students are the gifted and honors students in 7th grade. The majority of them take the class; those that don't are committed to year long connections classes like band, orchestra, or guitar. After deciding on the activity for my lesson (extracting DNA from strawberries), I went to the STEM instructor for advise.
I asked how I could make my lesson more "STEM" worthy. She said "measuring" is a math component. Building something like a model would be considered engineering, and technology could be anything from doing a virtual lab to using Word to complete a lab write up. I was reminded that lessons of this nature rarely take only one day to complete.
She also told me that STEM can be taught from any of the disciplines. It does not have to be science supported by technology, engineering, and math. She said it could be engineering supported by technology, math, and science or math supported by the other three. I had not thought of that.
Additionally, she concurred that there is no "official" certification for STEM. She had been trained through the Fernbank Science Center here in Atlanta while she worked for them.
I enjoyed that chance to get clarity from someone who teaches the STEM model.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Lesson Plan exhaustion
I am taking a break from completing the required lesson plan. I am unhappy and feel that this exercise is a waste of my time. I believe it to be a waste because I am learning nothing new and could be using this time more constructively. Shouldn't we be working smarter not harder?
No teacher in his or her right mind would ever write a lesson plan in this fashion. The template itself leaves little if any room for the actual lesson. The focus is on ridiculous pointless details that help neither me nor my students. I hate the template.
My lesson is a good one on extracting DNA from strawberries. The lab itself came from The Science Behind Our Food program found at http://discover.uga.edu/sbof/
The entire activity opens itself up to critical thinking and discussion. I like many good teachers bring those conversations along during the lesson. To sit here at my computer and pose those questions is difficult and to me, unnecessary.
My apologies for griping, but it is what it is...... exasperating!
No teacher in his or her right mind would ever write a lesson plan in this fashion. The template itself leaves little if any room for the actual lesson. The focus is on ridiculous pointless details that help neither me nor my students. I hate the template.
My lesson is a good one on extracting DNA from strawberries. The lab itself came from The Science Behind Our Food program found at http://discover.uga.edu/sbof/
The entire activity opens itself up to critical thinking and discussion. I like many good teachers bring those conversations along during the lesson. To sit here at my computer and pose those questions is difficult and to me, unnecessary.
My apologies for griping, but it is what it is...... exasperating!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
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