In my environmental science class we are getting ready to talk in depth about human populations. Later this week we are going to watch a video that Population Connection created. It shows a map with dots to represent 1 million people. Then it shows how the population has changed over the last 2000 years. It also talks about the different events taking place during those times. The students will be answering some questions about the video and I hope it sparks some good conversation. This is a great way to tie in history. I will blog my results.
In my zoology class we dissected a dogfish shark last week. This was great. I gave the students a packet to provide them with some additional info and some diagrams. Each student had their own shark and it was really about discovery. The students looked for and located different organs and structures. I was there to help them, but they were encouraged to explore, while being humane. I could tell how much the students enjoyed this activity. We hope to dissect a frog in a few weeks.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Feb 20, 2013
Last week in Biology we began discussing energy and how that relates to Photosynthesis. There were many questions across the board about how we harness the energy for electricity. I assigned the students to investigate the major forms of energy and create mini-projects to share with their classmates. They had to pick a form of energy; hydroelectric, solar, wind, fossil fuels, or biofuels. After selecting a topic they had to say how it works, benefits and drawbacks. They shared their findings and discussed how we can help our current situation. It was a chance to open the class for discussion about current issues.
Steve Di Obilda: 20 February 2013.
Students were requested to use computers to investigate WW1 technology, 1912-1920 and report on how the technology compares to today. Students were fascinated by airplane tech and how rapidly the airplane was modified in the 20th century from a pleasure craft, to a war machine, to transporting people around the world. Friday, 22 February a field trip to the WW1 Museum in KCMO is scheduled for those students in American History classes.
Students were requested to use computers to investigate WW1 technology, 1912-1920 and report on how the technology compares to today. Students were fascinated by airplane tech and how rapidly the airplane was modified in the 20th century from a pleasure craft, to a war machine, to transporting people around the world. Friday, 22 February a field trip to the WW1 Museum in KCMO is scheduled for those students in American History classes.
Ross 2/20
In the past few weeks, I've continued to refine my student-led inquiry activities. With my physical science class, my goal was increase the amount of reflection students did during the experiment. To help this along, each group took a break at the beginning of the second day to reflect upon their data so far. The groups then split up and reorganized, so that students got a chance to get input from others on how to address any difficulties that came up. This seemed to help somewhat. There were some difficulties getting students to be open to conversation with people with whom they were not used to working, but there was some reflection shown, and the second day of experimenting went well. Similarly, for my year-long class, we're splitting the current experiment into two sections with an intermediate stage for additional research and narrowing of question. I'm hoping the second stage of the experiment will relate a little more closely to class content than the first stage did, and thereby show the students' learning.
I've also been incorporating some writing for thinking into the flow of the experiment. Our recent district PLC work gave some ideas on structuring writing, so I've been scaffolding the work for my students- having them start by answering simple questions, then working those answers together into a longer passage with more depth. My main difficulties come in convincing the students to think deeply about their work, though it seems that the ability of students to choose their own experiments is helping somewhat.
My next goals: continue to work on experiments that involve repeating and modifying technique, and continue developing thinking skills through writing. I'll address mixed-group uncomfortableness through other classroom activities. One technique I've used before that I want to reintroduce is having students design three experiments, then pick the most interesting to actually carry out. This seemed to make the students more interested in the final project that they chose.
I've also been incorporating some writing for thinking into the flow of the experiment. Our recent district PLC work gave some ideas on structuring writing, so I've been scaffolding the work for my students- having them start by answering simple questions, then working those answers together into a longer passage with more depth. My main difficulties come in convincing the students to think deeply about their work, though it seems that the ability of students to choose their own experiments is helping somewhat.
My next goals: continue to work on experiments that involve repeating and modifying technique, and continue developing thinking skills through writing. I'll address mixed-group uncomfortableness through other classroom activities. One technique I've used before that I want to reintroduce is having students design three experiments, then pick the most interesting to actually carry out. This seemed to make the students more interested in the final project that they chose.
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