So I did, to an extent, follow my plan from last week with respect to my Grade 8 Science lessons, except that we didn't do the compare and contrast of the eye and camera. Instead, we continued focusing on how our eyes work by playing around with glasses and lenses. So, in order to tie this all together, we will be making concept maps tomorrow in our class so that the students can demonstrate an understanding of the connections between these different pieces of the Optics 'puzzle'.
Furthermore, I am excited to share that to wrap up the whole unit, I will NOT be doing a test. This is the default assessment that I have used in my science classroom for the last year and a half. Although I have complimented it with other assessments such as research and design projects, tests have been the focus and I would like nothing more than to try something different. So I am!
How?
Students main instruction will be to 'show me what they know' about optics. I will be providing a number of options for students to choose from in order to do this, and a check list of the big ideas of this unit (taken from the curricular outcomes) so that all students are aware of what information must be included.
Examples of Options
1. Poster (main points + connections described/illustrated)
2. Movie Maker Instructional Video (using pictures and/or videos with student voiceover) + worksheet
3. Research and Questions (find research being done that relates to our topic of study, explain the links between + create questions using blooms taxonomy) *this one is my personal favorite
4. Make a Test/unit booklet (using bloom's taxonomy) + answer key
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The Science of Science Education
Although my love for science may surpass my love of mathematics, teaching it has always been a little bit more difficult for me.
Biggest Questions:
- How can I make it as hands-on as possible?
- How can I foster critical thinking and scaffold connections between different concepts we have learnt? And how much structure does this actually require?
- What should the kids be walking out of my classroom knowing?
- Where does assessment fit in?
- How can I make it applicable? (this is the easiest, in my opinion)
I feel like I have the answers to [most of] these questions, but it is sometimes overwhelming to look at all of this and take into account all the curricular outcomes. For this reason I do wish I had one more year with my Grade 8 Science class, to make it just a bit more perfect.
Next week's lessons will include:
Monday - wrap up pinhole camera (Why is it important that you use the camera in a brightly lit area?) + how our eye works
Tuesday - compare and contrast eye and camera
Wednesday - stations - given objects - how do they work and how does the lens affect the light (enabling it to work)?
Thursday - how lenses work???
Biggest Questions:
- How can I make it as hands-on as possible?
- How can I foster critical thinking and scaffold connections between different concepts we have learnt? And how much structure does this actually require?
- What should the kids be walking out of my classroom knowing?
- Where does assessment fit in?
- How can I make it applicable? (this is the easiest, in my opinion)
I feel like I have the answers to [most of] these questions, but it is sometimes overwhelming to look at all of this and take into account all the curricular outcomes. For this reason I do wish I had one more year with my Grade 8 Science class, to make it just a bit more perfect.
Next week's lessons will include:
Monday - wrap up pinhole camera (Why is it important that you use the camera in a brightly lit area?) + how our eye works
Tuesday - compare and contrast eye and camera
Wednesday - stations - given objects - how do they work and how does the lens affect the light (enabling it to work)?
Thursday - how lenses work???
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Snow Daze Follow-Up
Today, as you may have guessed from the title, was another snow day. One good thing that came out of this was that I got to test out my inquiry idea from yesterday!
How did it go, you may ask? Very well. I was impressed by my students and their willingness to engage in an activity that was completely not for marks, simply for the sake of learning and sharing information. Students looked into different topics from video games to sports' techniques and from animals to boy bands. I had given the the kids a few examples of possible questions to start with, but they chose to come up with their own. Students were informed that they must be able to provide some sort of evidence of their learning by lunch hour.
For the most part, the kids worked hard and produced a bouquet of evidence of learning. Posters, powerpoints, videos and demonstrations! It was really cool to learn more about my students, their interests and what inquiry might look like.
Moving forward, I would definitely do this again as it was a productive way for kids to spend the day. With that said, anyone planning to do this will have to change it for the class they teach. If it had been a different class, or even a different group of kids from my current class, this activity would have had to be more structured.
How did it go, you may ask? Very well. I was impressed by my students and their willingness to engage in an activity that was completely not for marks, simply for the sake of learning and sharing information. Students looked into different topics from video games to sports' techniques and from animals to boy bands. I had given the the kids a few examples of possible questions to start with, but they chose to come up with their own. Students were informed that they must be able to provide some sort of evidence of their learning by lunch hour.
For the most part, the kids worked hard and produced a bouquet of evidence of learning. Posters, powerpoints, videos and demonstrations! It was really cool to learn more about my students, their interests and what inquiry might look like.
Moving forward, I would definitely do this again as it was a productive way for kids to spend the day. With that said, anyone planning to do this will have to change it for the class they teach. If it had been a different class, or even a different group of kids from my current class, this activity would have had to be more structured.
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