Music and Memory: Friends or Foes?

Music and Memory: Friends or Foes?

        Looking around the library at Mount Saint Mary College I can see three students with headphones in and four without. So which of these students is going to remember more? When I got the idea to research the correlation between memory and music I was thinking that the results would show a strong correlation between music and remembering less of what one studied. This was based off of the fact that I cannot listen to music while studying, writing, or reading. My ideas about music and memory have drastically changed though. While this study is broad and does not focus in on the beats per minute, words or no words in a song, or does not use reading or writing as the mode for judging memory, it does give a generalized view of the relationship which is more generalizable as not everyone studies the same material, or listens to the same music.

        To begin with, I posed a question: will listening to music affect memory? I hypothesized that yes, music would negatively affect memory. Next I asked 18 friends and family members to play a memory game so that I could collect data. The participants went to http://www.play.vg/games/52-Concentration.html and played the memory game four times. The first two times were practice rounds to eliminate the bias of naturally getting better the second time one plays. The third time was with music. The participant was allowed to choose their own music that they would normally study to. Lastly, the fourth round was played with no music. I recorded all of this data in a chart and it was concluded that my hypothesis was wrong. 11 of the 18 participants remembered more and faster with music than without. In retrospect, however, I suspect that if instead of a memory game with pictures I had used a reading comprehension task to assess memory that the results may have been different. As DeRosa and Abruscato discuss in our class textbook, Teaching Children Science: A Discovery Approach, “children love to touch, they also love to look at things, to smell them, to move them about and to twist and turn them. Children must develop habits of mind that go beyond their natural curiosity. Scientific inquiry requires careful, active observations of the details and connections of systems and events that we encounter, which often go unnoticed by casual observers. The experience you provide children can stimulate and strengthen connections among brain cells that reinforce learning” (DeRosa & Abruscato, 2010). By doing an experiment like this I was modeling and practicing the scientific method but through touching, listening, playing a game, researching a natural curiosity, and stimulating both sides of my brain. These are the types of experiments we need to assure our students are engaging in.

        This project helped to develop pedagogical knowledge in that I now see the huge value in a science fair. I am young enough that when I was in elementary school it was the beginning of the move away from science fairs and so I never participated in one until now. After creating my own project, viewing all of the projects in the Bishop Dunn Memorial School gymnasium, and reading various articles, I have been made aware of the huge value in science fairs. This is a development in my pedagogical knowledge because it has given me a large resource to use in teaching scientific inquiry and investigation. One advancement in particular is my new attention to statistics as they are involved in science fair projects. As Gonzalez-Espada describes in her article “Using Simple Statistics to Ensure Science-Fair Success”, it is statistics, especially those backed by the t-test, hold great value and show great understanding of the experiment and the scientific process.

I also added to my pedagogical knowledge the experience and feeling of what it is like to feel the nature of science on my own without any guidelines or suggestions as to what or how my project should be. This speaks to DeRosa and Abruscato’s comments on the nature of science based in exploration as a human endeavor. They discuss in their book how explanations are tentative and and subject to change, however, scientists do not change their explanations on a whim and that new information is always forming (2010). By doing this project I was able to add this pedagogical knowledge but growing up in school science was a fixed set of questions and answers so this knowledge was not old hat to me. Technology, which was at the center of my data formation in this project, opens up a whole new world of science and discovery as well as information. Throughout this whole course I have added to my pedagogical knowledge a wealth of technology sources, methods of teaching with technology, and how it aids and enforces learning in the classroom. Science, engineering, and technology are connected in ways that are inseparable in the classroom.

        Throughout the course of this project I gained science content knowledge, knowledge on the teaching of science, and learned of new tools to use. Being that I had never done a science fair project before this experience was full of new learnings. The first of these that was mastered was content knowledge. Content knowledge, as in science, was available for the taking all throughout this process. In surfing the internet for ideas, seeing the ideas in real life as I walked around, and then doing the actual project, I learned so much about conducting small scale research, recording information and eliminating additional variables, and presenting evidence visually in both a clear/academic way and an interesting/eye-catching way. I also learned even more as I walked around both the upper and lower grades science fairs and saw the presentations there. I read some projects and others were shared with me verbally through presentations but either way there was a lot to learn on many different subjects. The next mastered content was methods, or the way of teaching science. I had never participated in a science fair and so I had never thought to use one as a method for effectively teaching science. Through watching Mrs. Foster-Faith and Dr.Smirnova I learned so much about the way or method to teaching science through student generated ideas, projects, research, and largely independent work.

        This project could be easily adapted to use with 2, 3rd, 4th, or 6th grade students. The adaptations would include adding or subtracting variables that the students must attend to and what type of memory study is used. For 6th graders I would add variables such as they type of music listened to, the beats per minute of the song, and what setting the person was in. I would also have them see if there were differences between what was being memorized: memory game of images, reading comprehension, Facebook posts, etc. To make this a 2nd grade project, however, I would not have any of these additional variables or specifications. The 2nd grade students could just time people playing a memory game with and without music. According to the Next Generation Science Standards, students in all grades K-6 are taught on categories under the umbrella topic of Understanding about Nature of Science. Students explore scientific investigation, scientific knowledge based on empirical evidence, scientific knowledge as open to revision in light of new evidence, science models, laws, mechanisms, and theories that explain natural phenomena, science as a way of knowing, scientific knowledge assumes an order and consistency in natural systems, science as a human endeavor, and science addresses questions about the natural and material world. “Science, like all other learning, is a progression. We need time to process information. Learning progressions imply the deliberate and coordinated development of learning over time. Children learn science by doing science.” (DeRosa & Abruscato, 2010). By changing an activity to fit a grade level we are keeping the same concepts, nature, and engagement with science, just creating a developed and staggered experience of science throughout the grades. DeRosa and Abruscato make the point that yes, science is learned by doing science and understanding its nature, but science learning must be a progression and a development. This is why quality, inquiry-based, engaging science is integral at different levels throughout every age group or grade.

This project will help students learn how to generalize concepts of inquiry, scientific method, and critical thinking skills because it shows that students can take any question, interest, or problem they face and using the inquiry or scientific method/processes they can arrive at an answer, conclusion, or solution. For example, if a student has a parent who is always telling them to turn their ipod off while studying then they could perform this experiment and show their parents the result that more people remembered greater amounts, faster while listening to music than without. Science fair projects, in general, show students that the isolated concepts we teach in the classroom (inquiry, scientific method, critical thinking) are really not isolated at all as they can apply and be generalized to almost any aspect of life. “Assimilation is the reconciliation of new experiences and data with present understanding so that the new data support and deepen but do not change their fundamental mental model. Accommodation is when new evidence cannot be reconciled with prior understanding and mental models are forced to change. (DeRosa & Abruscato, 2010). This difference in accommodation versus assimilation speaks to generalizing concepts because the experiences we give students or ones they embark on themselves falls into one of these two categories. Either way, whether the concept is automatically assimilated or if the student needs to change their prior understanding and accommodate the information, the student is taking in their experience and new knowledge and will have it in their brain when confronting all other experiments, problems, or situations in the classroom and outside of it.  Isolation of these ideas is not possible.

As far as science content, this experiment teaches on the subject of biology, more specifically, the human brain. The brain can do more than one thing at a time, especially when it is something with a dichotomy much like studying in music. Music is a right brained activity while studying or memorizing is a left brained activity. By combining the two not only are students brains doing two things at once but they are fostering connections between the two parts of the brain which makes studying more effect, long term, and effective. In our course work we discussed in length how getting children engaged, active, moving, and responding evokes a better and more memorable learning experience. This concept was shown or proven in just a slightly different context through my science fair experiment. I would have students to this experiment before I open up a unit on the human brain and then ask students once they learned about the brain to reflect on why we started with this activity to allow them to make the connection about how the brain functions as a whole and in parts.

According to the standard for understanding the nature of science students must learn science as a way of knowing, scientific knowledge assumes an order and consistency in natural systems, science as a human endeavor, and science addresses questions about the natural and material world. By doing an experiment much like mine or my colleagues students will naturally understand and apply these objectives.

Bibliography

Abruscato, J., & DeRosa, D. A. (2010). Teaching Children Science: A Discovery Approach.

Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Gonzalez-Espada. (n.d.). Using Simple Statistics to Ensure Science-Fair Success.

Retrieved April 27, 2016, from

https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-168631628.html

Tradebook -No Way Book!

     This was my first trade book assignment and my first book talk via technology. It was fun and challenging to make a book trailer that was interesting, peeked a need to read the book, and didn't give away the end. By the end, however, I had a video that makes it hard to believe the book is just a trade book! 
     I began by choosing a trade book that fit into my unit plan. This book, Making a Difference by Megan Goss, describes the journey of a teacher and her class through their study of aquatic ecosystems and then their role in restoring their local watershed with the help of STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring A Watershed).
     After reading this book and gaining approval I began work on choosing which pictures would be helpful in setting the tone and peeking interest and what comments should be made around those photos to peek interest yet not give away the content of the book.
     I used animoto to compile the images and text with background music. I chose a song that was upbeat and spoke about the present to fit with the restoration theme and show that now is the time to take positive actions for our ecosystems and environment.
     This virtual book trailer took a lot longer than I thought and it was hard. Taking a short, nonfiction book and then making a video that is interest peeking, engaging, informative, and makes the viewer have to go and read the book was a challenge.
     While verbal book talks are quicker and easier no doubt, these virtual ones only have to be made once and then can be used multiple times. These book trailers are also more interesting and would be more engaging for students. The students could also make their own videos based on books they have read and enjoyed to share with their classmates who might be looking for an interesting read.
     As a teacher this book trailer was good as well because it made me thing very critically about the book I was using. Between the rubric and the trade book talk sheet I had to think about the purpose, standards, interest, result, activities, engagement, and generalizability of this book. By making these book trailers it would force me as a teacher to be choosing effective and engaging books rather than ones that just fall under my unit.
     All pros and cons aside, this assignment was good for me because I used animoto and now feel comfortable with it, have thought about what really goes into choosing trade books, and have the ability to make book trailers for my class to save time, get students reading, and engage them with nonfiction texts that they will enjoy. I even think having the students create a virtual library of books they have enjoyed using book trailers would be a good idea. Students who loved a book can share it which helps students chose books for reading workshop and also helps those students who have trouble finding books they enjoy reading.

Astronomy in Real Time- Science in the News

     While studying Earth and the atmosphere we researched popular press articles on astronomy. It was interesting looking through articles without abstracts, data pages, and words longer than supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. These articles were catchy, to the point, interesting, informative, and were on or around an 8th grade reading level. I thought it was an interesting project to create a scrapbook of articles because it made researching current events and information pertaining to astronomy engaging and interactive when it could have been a laborious task. Below is the link to my glogster which includes my scrapbook of engaging, interesting, and astronomy filled articles!
LINK TO GLOG

     After the creation of our glogsters (which each held a student's 10 articles) we got in groups of three in class and then discussed our articles and what were common themes among these. We picked out about thirty words or concepts that were prevalent in all of the articles and made a collaboration for a visual representation of astronomy in popular press.

     After this creation we went to work creating a timeline for these terms which proved to be important and significant in the field of astronomy. This task was easier said than done as terms such as sun, stars, and milky way date back to before human existence. Other terms, such as astronomers and spacecraft had more interesting stories behind their concepts and names. Just by researching these "top 30" terms, so to say, I learned a great deal about what is at the heart of astronomy and how it has evolved. 

Link to Timeline

     In reflection, if I were to do this activity again, I would have liked to choose a topic within astronomy and do the terms and timeline relevant to that topic. For example, the first trip to the moon as a topic and then choose terms and a timeline for the history of planning, building, and then actually going to the moon. 

     This structure for an activity was really engaging and also informative. The hands on creation of objects appeals to many types of learners and the way students are creating their own knowledge will make it more memorable. This activity would be an engaging and helpful way to begin a unit. It quickly and effectively gives every student background knowledge and a working knowledge on a subject or topic. 

     The articles chosen were mostly chosen because the topic or title caught my eye. While reading though they were mostly about the stars and planets in the sky changing, moving, and creating phenomenon! This all fit into our classroom discussions of keeping on the cutting edge, how teachers can keep up to date on astronomy information, and in general how we, as teachers, will keep ourselves informed on new findings. Through these articles I learned new breakthroughs in astronomy and also followed through on the discussed ideals of us teachers keeping our knowledge current. I would use news articles in teaching science for this exact reason- they are catchy, short, to the point, and give a lot of information about a broad topic through several more specific articles. In teaching I would have students browse articles on a topic and then write down everything they learn that they feel is significant. It is amazing how much is learned through just 30 minutes of browsing articles and the knowledge is mostly current and cutting edge. 

The Earth is Moving- Are You?

Week 9 Explore and Explain- Keeping Knowledge Current

As part of our Earth Science unit, we led class discussions and posts on what we know, don't know as well, what and how we can keep our knowledge current, and the resources that can help. The following questions and answers are what Melissa and I came up with to add to the discussion.

1. Consider the area of Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and weather about which you feel most knowledgeable. What ideas do you have regarding what you will do as a teacher to keep your knowledge current?
1. There are many ways to keep your knowledge current. Some ways are to subscribe to different magazines, look on websites, and keeping it engaging for the students. An example we would like to use in our classroom would be, during the unit, we could track the height of sea level.
2. Consider the area of Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and weather about which you feel least knowledgeable. What ideas do you have regarding what you will do as a teacher to continue to strengthen your knowledge base about this topic?
1. I will continue to research and keep my facts current with all new findings. It is important to have the most current information to bring to your students. We can attend science professional development events. We could attend “IROC” type informational presentations at local colleges, and we could also join a science professional organizations.
3. What resources are you aware of that will help you be an effective teacher of Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and weather?
1. We can follow and support NOAA, NASA, or IPCC  to help us stay current in our science teaching. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Nasa, and  IPCC, or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are extremely useful resources. As for the earth’s surface, museums and national archives are good resources for information on rocks, fossils, and Earth’s changes.  

Social Learning Theory at Work

    I learned just as much from teaching as I did from watching all of the other groups teach. I had the pleasure of being in the last group so I was able to watch the mistakes of those before me and then learn from them to become a better teacher. I was given time to work on learning student names, not saying "you guys," and making sure everything in my lesson was engaging (not fun) and purposeful.
    Humans are social creatures and through the first few years of our life as we develop we learn mostly from social interactions. Modeling and cooperation are used in lessons for this exact reason- students learn through social stimulus. By watching other teacher candidates teach I was able to learn and study their models and then incorporate behaviors and positive teaching strategies I learned.
    Throughout this process I watched and learned about Web Quests, the importance of a base vocabulary understanding, group work, class management, time management, the importance of rubrics, the double edged sword that is videos, how motivating technology is, and how added responsibility produces more and better work from students.
    As teachers we add advanced as well. Throughout the course of fieldwork we all became better at not saying "you guys," responding to correct or wrong answers, presenting without reading from the board, speaking clearly and not yelling to get attention, signals for attention, assessing, and creating more engaging and interactive lessons. We developed insights into teaching a whole class rather than groups such as the necessity for guided notes and questions rather than non-structured notes. Leading a whole class also taught us to use choral responding or group answers over picking individual students to ensure that every student was engaging and responding to each question.
     Groups one, two, and three each built on each other content wise and in perfecting skills that were commented on. Each group got better time management control and learned new ways to keep the students on task. Throughout all of the similarities, however, each group planned and executed very different lessons and activities. I was glad to see work, ideas, and lessons from peers that think differently than I do so that I can push myself to move outside of my comfort zone as well to better accommodate all of the learners in my future classroom.
    In a last note, the chance to sit back ad observe a lesson instead of always being in it was an interesting and worthwhile experience. Just observing a lesson allowed me to put myself in the students shoes and find where confusions, boredom, excitement, engagement, and learning could occur. Being in an observing position is rewarding because it gives the teacher candidates a chance to think more critically about lesson components, implementations, and engagement. As stated in the beginning, it is easy to say I learned just as much from observing my colleagues in this class as I did from actually teaching.

Model Pond Snapshots Evolve Into the Hudson River Case Study

     The students have mastered the model ponds! Models serve as a smaller and more manacle version of what one is studying. In our case, our models are a small version, or snapshot, of bodies of water like the Hudson River. Due to the proximity of this river to the school and the prior knowledge students have on it, I chose this river as our case study for the inquiry lesson. The Hudson also worked great because it is an estuary and marine ecosystems were the only topic left to tie into the class unit.
     Given websites with information on a topic having to due with the Hudson River (tides, salinity, water animals, land animals, birds, and plants) and a task to research one of the assigned topics using the inquiry process, the students worked together to create a powerpoint slides about their topic in the class slideshow. The students were excited to use technology and were also excited that they were researching a topic they were familiar and comfortable with. This background knowledge also bumped up the level or quality of information the students were able to use. 
I wish I had taken the time to stand in front of the class and present my example and model and had a slide with it written as well. I should not have walked around and passed out papers while doing the model at the same time. The papers should have been passed out after the model was completed and questions were answered. This is a mistake I will never make again, one I'm glad I learned, and one I wish I could change.
The project was structured as a jigsaw project so that each group got one subject to research and create slides for and then would teach it to the class so that by the end every student had heard all of the information. This sharing part of the lesson went well for some groups and not so well for others; it was dependent on the group individuals.  
This evaluation and check for metacognition was rushed and I wish we had more time for it but a few groups were asked to explain their metacognition. For the independent practice the directions and expectations for the letters seemed clear and the students seemed excited to hear back from a real Aquatic Ecologist. This outside and professional addition made a world of difference for the students. They worked harder and felt that their work was important. 
I wish there was more organization in the lesson, I wish the model was given more time, and I wish that we had more time to ask about metacognition. Everything else went well though and I really enjoyed this lesson and the students were so engaged. Students enjoyed hearing feedback on their hard work at the science fair. Jack was very good at giving answers such as “that is one” “I have never heard of that before. Thank you” and not answers like “yes, you’re correct” I wish there had been a slide with pictures and information on Cary Point as well. These are all things I can improve upon for the next time I teach it and good behaviors I can model in my own teaching. My colleagues seemed to enjoy the lesson as well and all commented on the level of engagement they noticed in the students.

What's In That Pond Anyway? What Do They Do All Day?

     The second the lesson I taught, while the shortest and most simple, was the most surprising and I learned the most from it. This lesson was short and simple; squeezed in between the first and third lessons as a way to touch base on what was in the tanks and what the inquiry cycle was to aid in the work students would do for the science fair. This direct instruction lesson was structured so that I would teach the basic information the students would need to know about their ecosystems and the animals in them and so I could remind them of the inquiry cycle and they could practice tying the two together. As I began this lesson it became evident that the students knew what I was teaching already- they had memorized the Tabletop Reference book! This made the lesson quicker because the students could answer chorally as a class and the check for understanding showed conclusively that the basic knowledge required was mastered. Once this piece flew by we had more time to ficus on the inquiry cycle and examples of how to use it in reference to our model ponds. This extra time turned out to be a blessing because the students had lots of good ideas and theories about what might be going on in their tanks.
     This short lesson turned into such a memorable experience for me because I had to gear up the first part from teaching them the info to having them chorally give me the information. I also had to go deeper into the second part than I planned which was a last minute adjustment as well.  Gearing a lesson up or down is all part of being a responsive and effective teacher so I was glad I got to experience a lesson that required this.
     Gearing down came into effect with the Elephant Poem and questions. The students were eager to read the poem aloud and enjoyed the cleverness in the poem. Them volunteering to read it aloud instead of us was a pleasant surprise. The questions were too complex, however, and the students did not understand what was being asked. This part of the lesson I had to gear down by giving clues and riddles in conjunction with each question that helped students discover what the question was trying to get them to think about and answer on.
     In the closure students were asked to think about questions they would like to investigate within their pond and they began to formulate testable questions. This part was interesting because students were coming up with questions and experiments that I had not even thought of. The exit ticket was a posed situation that asked the students to formulate all steps of the inquiry process to go along with it. This showed me which students understood applying the inquiry process to the ponds and which students did not.
     I would do this lesson again in the future but I think next time I would like to make this an inquiry lesson where the students use the reference materials to formulate their information and to begin thinking about questions or plans for experiments that they have. The students showed they could have been successful at this independently and this is something I could take advantage of in the future to make the learning more the students and less mine.

Engineering Meets Aquatic Ecology in the Building of Model Ponds

     My excitement and love for the 5th grade class at Bishop Dunn Memorial School after the Model Pond Building Inquiry lesson is uncontainable. The students blew me out of the water with their ability to work together, think critically, use the Tabletop Reference Book, learn as they explored, and automatically take on responsibility for this project and apply their learning in the same day.
The introduction went well. The students knew what a model was and about living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Not many of the students knew why we would make a model pond but by the end of the lesson they saw the importance and functions of having a model. I was glad that I was able to call on many different students who volunteered answers about why a model is important in science but if I were to do this lesson again in the future I would have the students turn and talk with their group members and then share out as a group what they came up with. This would get every student engaged in answering and it would also have gotten me better answers because two heads is better than one and more time to think and ponder while talking would lead to better arguments. My next wish was that I had planned a better transition from my introduction to the development in order to peek student interest in the building to come.  
The development was the best part of the lesson and best lesson by far. The students had a lot of ideas for the behaviors and expectations which increased class participation and made it their own. The students liked that they each had a job and took it very seriously which made the final product better and eliminated group rivalries or one student doing more than another. Following the pond guides fostered independence and also had students learning facts while creating their ponds. I had students coming up to me and using terms and concepts, such as "daphnia the translucent crustacean" that I was planning on teaching in the direct instruction lesson. I was so pleasantly surprised that they were exploring and applying information on their own. The checks for understanding were effective in that I was able to gauge what the students knew and what needed to be explained again in a different way. 
The students were not thrilled about worksheets on questioning and observing as a follow up to the totally engaging creation of model ponds but this guided practice is necessary to make sure students obtained the necessary information. After the first few minutes though students were writing all over the sheets about what they could see in their tanks and questions they had. They were fascinated. I was excited to see that they loved this project as much as I did.
The completed tasks helped me to understand the depth to which students mastered the objective by showing what they know about their models and how they can utilize them to learn. Being that this project would evolve into a science fair project and then a base for a case study I needed to be sure that the students knew how to observe and record their model ecosystem and understood the importance of this model and what was in it.
This lesson was so engaging for the students and they learned more in that hour than I thought ever possible. It was fun for me to watch them light up and show their true curiosity and love for learning. This lesson is one I would surely do again in the future. I would change my transitions and my independent practice to something more interactive or technology center though. Learning and growing and changing happen simultaneously.

A First Hand Account of the Fieldwork Explosion: Model Pond Edition

The fieldwork experience was like nothing I have ever done before. The teaching I did was collaborative and whole-class. I have only ever taught a small group of students or one-on-one and I always used my own lesson plans. The style of this fieldwork was more realistic to what actual teaching will be like: me and a co-teacher working together on lessons and then implementing them together to a whole class of students. Although the workload that accompanied this fieldwork experience was wearing me out through February and March, now that I have reached April and can reflect on the processes and products that came of the work, I am filled with life again. This fieldwork experience brought something new to me and to the students that we have never had before in our science learning. The students were creating, supporting life, using a model to study larger bodies of water, observing all day, reporting their findings at a science fair and at an expo, and then reported on in a newspaper. This project even got the attention and commentary of Michael Edelstein and Cary Institute workers who were amazed at the learning, inquiry skills, and in depth knowledge that the 5th grade students at Bishop Dunn Memorial School showed.

Another big learning curve that I can look back on now was in writing different types of lesson plans. In all of my other methods classes we wrote and followed the Mount Saint Mary College lesson plan format. This fieldwork experience was the first time I got to experience, look into, and then write lessons plans like Inquiry, Cooperative, and 5E. Now that I have spent so much time reading about, creating, and editing these three new types of lesson plans I can see the potential in each and in bringing them all together. If I may say, I believe I am proficient enough with these lesson plans now where I could use them in science and in other subjects outside of science to differentiate teaching and enhance student learning.

Fieldwork and class content fit hand in hand to help my learning excel. Reading about 5E lesson plans and then writing and implementing one brought learning to a whole new level that just understanding the 5E’s never would have. We began the semester with an example of inquiry and read a lot on how to teach inquiry lessons, foster inquiry, and what inquiry would look like. Even with all of this knowledge my understanding and ability to implement inquiry in the classroom continued to evolve. Inquiry is a way of doing things and is not as easy as other pedagogies but the results that it got for the students and for me were unprecedented thus far in my education. As part of the last lesson plan I conducted in fieldwork the students did a case study of the Hudson River as representative of both fresh and saltwater ecosystems. This type of experience was a good addition to the concrete and abstract learning the students already gained because it gave them a chance to work cooperatively and apply their learning.

Once these lessons have been designed and perfected they must be implemented. I learned that implementing a small group lesson is much more predictable than a whole-class lesson. With these formats of lesson planning the students take over most of the responsibility for learning which leaves room for growth and exploration but also open ended learning which may or may not be in your lesson plan. Watching other teacher candidates teach their lessons added to my understanding of planning and teaching science by acting as models. Being that my group was one of the last to go I was able to learn from the mistakes and even more so the triumphs of previous groups. I was also able to read all of their lesson plans and get a better grasp on what the types of lesson plans would look like for the class that we were teaching. Taking my understanding of planning and teaching science outside of this experience, however, watching other teachers helped me to improve on my teaching and planning in general because I was able to put myself in the students’ shoes and see what watching the powerpoint is like or see how inquiry can feel awkward at first.

As for the assessments that I used during my fieldwork experience, there was a pre-assessment, checks for understanding throughout every lesson, and open ended summative assessments. For the pre-assessment there were four questions that assessed students current knowledge on models, the scientific method, freshwater, and observations. For the post assessment or summative assessment I chose an exit ticket and then a letter to the director. I chose these assessment tools because they are open ended and require students to think independently and critically about what was learned that day. I also like open ended responses because it reduces cheating and shows authentically whether students understood the content. Questions that are not open ended could show that students can repeat information but they do not necessarily show the level of understanding that students took away. As you can see in the exit ticket below, the student was able to demonstrate full understanding of the scientific method and how to apply it. By asking the student a yes or no question I would not have been able to ascertain this extent of knowledge.  

Look at the persuasive writing attached (an extraordinary example I know) and then look at the one below it. This open ended persuasive essay used as an assessment really showed the extent of what students took away from the experience and what they thought was important or interesting about the learning experience that they had.

The instructional method that I found most helpful was inquiry. Cooperative and direct instruction are needed, good, and successful but of the lessons I taught inquiry was the best. The persuasive essays showed better understanding and interest in content than the exit tickets after direct instruction did. The exit tickets had lower grades in general and there was no voice in the answers, the students just demonstrated the understanding of the content. Direct instruction is necessary to get students the basic and essential knowledge they need to go on and explore on their own with inquiry. During our direct instruction we moved at a quick pace and used a lot of choral and group responses to keep engagement. Despite all of this, the students just shined more when they were working during the two inquiry/cooperative lessons and exploring/ seeking understanding on topics they chose and were interested in. This interest and vigor for learning during inquiry showed in the grades and quality of writing I received in the persuasive writing prompts. These assessments also showed that the instructional methods used were effective because students showed proficiency in the scientific method, models, freshwater ecosystems, and the ability to observe. This was a success for the students and for myself because the difference between the pre-assessment and these summative assessments was quite drastic. 

Cooperative and inquiry lessons feed off of the natural curiosity that students have creates concrete and impactful learning that students discover for themselves. Direct instruction is very quick, direct, and fact-based to create a foundation for learning and a context for other instruction; it is the backbone that inquiry and cooperative lessons branch off from. In future lessons, I would keep the same instructional methods used and in the same order (inquiry, direct, inquiry/cooperative/case study). In future lessons I would like to use more case studies and add the instructional methods of jigsaw and WebQuest though. These are two methods I have not used before but throughout our class experiences and observing others use them, have proven to be engaging and effective.

In this classroom there were not a lot of students who needed accommodations or modifications but there were two students who had delays in reading comprehension and two students who were exceptional learners so there were adaptations to the lessons made to meet these students. All directions and important information were read aloud so that struggling readers had the chance to comprehend verbal directions and the exceptional learners were given more challenging prompts and prompted for metacognition during learning experiences. High achievers could also be asked to describe how they would build a model ocean and what inquiry would go with this model- parallel to our freshwater model and inquiry questions. In the future if I had a student with a writing need I would have a scribe for that particular student so they won’t have to worry about writing and processing the information at the same time. I would also provide them with a computer or keyboard so that they could still participate in exit tickets and writing prompts. Speech to text could also be made available if needed. In the future if I had any students with behavior problems they would be given different versions of assignments to do that incorporate their hands so they do not get bored and distracted easily. These students could also be taught behavior management and self-monitoring skills. This activity lends itself nicely to students with behavioral issues because it is very hands on and interactive. 

In future classrooms, when I have english as a second language learners, I would provide all materials to them in their native language allow them to use text to speech as well. I would make sure these students were in a group with english speaking students who could help them. I would try to add a section to the inquiry or cooperative lesson that requires their native language to be used so that their ability to speak another language is valued and not seen as a handicap. For this I could find an article in Spanish, for example, and then ask the ESL student if he could read the article and explain what we need to know from it. We could also incorporate a case study from their home country. These same adaptations could be made to celebrate the strengths of struggling readers, writers, and those with behavioral issues. Their special need can be set aside for one piece for the lesson where I, as the teacher, would make sure their strengths shined. For this I could make sure there was an art, drawing, music, or kinesthetic piece to the lesson so that the children who may be struggling readers, writers, or behaviors can have a chance to shine at these other types of activities.

Moving off from students with disabilities and on to the benefits of teaching that requires students to think critically and use inquiry flows quite nicely. With inquiry and critical thinking there is no right answer and the students create, explore, and discover their own knowledge. Three students will have three different responses and they are all different but none of them are wrong. This benefits many students, opens up worlds of possibilities, and eliminates students that just search for the right answer. Activities that will foster critical thinking and inquiry are ones that follow the 5E model and allow children to find interest in a path and follow it to the end; this path being different from the path and interests of other students. Inquiry activities are those that pose a problem or question and then allow the children to discover and generate their own knowledge through interaction with a topic. There are certain practices that help to foster critical thinking such as: creating a community of learners where students are not afraid to take chances, using open ended questions and replies, building off of natural curiosities, and using inquiry in all subjects. These simple practices foster the environment for critical thinking in a classroom. After this environment is set all I will have to do is follow through with engaging and compelling problems or prompts that allow students to show their critical thinking and inquiry abilities (each in their own way). In the future I will teach, grade, and encourage students while keeping in mind that critical thinking and inquiry are processes and ways of doing- not a product or result. Records and assessments should reflect the emphasis on this process and means, not the product or end. I will use running records, anecdotal notes, formative assessments, and metacognition to foster critical thinking and inquiry that is valued by students and myself.

All of these adaptations, focus on inquiry, and assessment types lead to one underlying and connecting factor: community. Student work cooperatively, learn cooperatively, explore and report out cooperatively, and contribute to the classroom community cooperatively. In my lessons the only room for independent work is during direct instruction or individual assessments but even then I try to use choral or group responses and give students time to collaborate with one another before responding to written prompts or assignments. I have two feelings on cooperative learning. 1) It is necessary, realistic, goes along with inquiry, and no one goes through life alone so children should not have to learn alone. 2) Teachers must be vigilant of their introverts. Teaching and classrooms are geared towards extroversion (group desks, presentations, and squeaky wheels) but being an introvert has many educational benefits and should not be seen or treated as a negative attribute. Extroversion is so favored by society so teachers do not need to add to this personality injustice. With both of these feelings being said, cooperative learning is never a bad choice, after all, two heads is better than one. 

Community is key. If a strong community has been created within a group then cooperative learning can look different for each individual who is partaking and the group will naturally divide work among strengths so that each student is working where they are most successful and watching or seeing other students work where they might need help. Cooperative learning is natural to students and is beneficial to the demands on teachers time, being that children can answer each other's questions. Cooperative learning activities grow from the psychological research on social learning. Humans, and my future students specifically, are social creatures and learning in a social setting while working cooperative is natural and will be successful. Cooperative learning also highlights the recent research and emphasis on the previous knowledge that each student brings with them into the classroom and to every lesson. Every student has something to offer and share with their group, so by working cooperatively this advantageous knowledge can be shared and multiplied by however many group members there are. With all of this said, methods for incorporating cooperative learning would be using roles sheets during group work, creating teams who research together and then share out (jigsaw), and creating opportunities for every student to be engaged, not just taking one answer and then moving on. Methods for cooperative learning also encompases leaving out worksheets and individual seat work. To work collaboratively students must be in groups, moving and discussing, and using their communication skills. Worksheets are confining physically and mentally when used just to keep the noise level down in classrooms. If the noise is coming from insightful conversation then let it ring through the halls.

In a final reflection I would just like to comment on the growth that this experience has provoked within me and the better teacher that I am for it. Through this reflection I have already begun to apply it to the future and how I can improve even more for the benefit of the students. The class we worked with was large and energetic which gave us a lot of educational drive and force to work with and good practice in managing a class without yelling or losing our temper. I am so thankful for the experience and the hard work that the students put into every activity.

Climate Change Is Happening- Will You Change or Will it Change You?

     Climate change, global warming, and Donald Trump, all topics one would try to avoid bringing up at a party. Why is climate change so controversial? Is there not evidence that it is happening? Why do people chose to ignore science? The time to ignore has past. Climate change is happening every day and although the affects are slow and not visible to us in daily life they are happening and our world as we know it will change. Humans must make the first move and change ourselves to ward off the forced change mother nature has in store.
     The study of climate change was broken up into topics and then in groups we researched the topic we were given and presented it to the rest of the class. My group with Dorian studied freshwaters. The freshwaters on earth include ponds, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and streams. The freshwater is renewed by the hydro cycle. The study of freshwaters is known as Limnology. Limnologists study precipitation, freshwater animal migrations, and water supply. This study of freshwater, Limnology, began with Lake Geneva and has branched our to every lake and river throughout the world. Living organisms and their interactions with their physical and chemical environments are the root of freshwater science questioning.
    Climate, different from weather in that climate is widespread and usual, affects water quantity. Water quality is not effected, but the quantity is decreasing. This decrease in freshwater is frightening because the water cycle relies on inland and groundwater.
    Animals and organisms migrate due to changing water temperatures which upsets both the ecosystem animals migrated from and the one they move to. Global warming causes the glacial sources to melt at a rapid rate and rise ocean water levels. The diminishing of these glaciers means there is less melting, condensation, and runoff to enter the water cycle.
   Freshwater is a concern and its reduction in quantity is a concern because as it is only 1% of the water on earth is safe for drinking. There are millions of people in developing countries who get sick from contaminated water or have no freshwater at all for their consumption.
   Looking into the future, which climate change reflections requires, scares me a significant amount. What are we doing today that my kids will have to bear the price for? Florida may be submerged, water may be a luxury of the rich, and natural food sources may be a thing of the past.
The Colorado River is a good example of a place to start with change. The Colorado River is so taxed by diverted agricultural irrigation systems that no water at all reaches the rivers mouth. This is a place to start and there are thousands of stories like it across the US alone.

Link to Powerpoint Presentation