Ima Sample

Science Methods

Final Paper

Teaching science to a group of students can be an exciting and enjoyable learning experience for everyone in the classroom. In order to encourage a positive learning environment there are many things that a teacher must do. Being prepared and organized for a lesson are two characteristics that will make almost any lesson a good lesson. Going into a lesson with no prior plan is a sure way to teach a bad lesson. I truly believe that planning a lesson is one of the key components for creating a good lesson.

To be an effective science teacher, I also believe a good prior knowledge of what I am planning to teach is necessary. Many times in science there are problems that arise during an experiment that were unforeseen when planning this lesson.  To teach an effective lesson I think it is in any science teacher’s best interest to do the experiment before having the students do it. That way any major problems that arise can be fixed. That is not to say that I do not realize that problems will and should arise when participating in science experiments. I think problems are a necessary part of the science curriculum and will help encourage students to use their problem solving skills in a variety of situations.

Science concepts are hard to learn by just studying a textbook or listening to a teacher lecture. That is why when I teach science I want to have a good balance between book work and hands on activities. I believe that a good balance between the two will enable the students to learn most efficiently. I also believe that by only teaching the surface of a subject, the students will in the long run have learned nothing at all. That is why it is very important to me to spend a lot of time really looking over a science topic.  I believe that a combination of reading, observation, hands on activities, and research is the only way a student will fully understand and comprehend what they are learning and I hope I will be able to have that time in my classroom to do this.

Although there are many ways for a student to learn about a science topic, inquiry learning seems to have the most lasting impact on the student. I believe this is because the student is truly doing everything and discovering things on their own with little help from their teacher. When students work to discover how to solve a problem they are much more likely to remember how to solve that problem again then if they read how to solve that same problem in their textbooks.

My vision for my classroom is one that is full of discovery and inquiry based learning. I would like to also leave room in my curriculum planning to try to help students answer questions that they have about things in their world. I think it is very important to connect science to the students’ everyday life. My hope is that my students will continue to try to answer their questions outside of the classroom and use their curiosity to fuel their need for knowledge.

With ever classroom in America, there are no two students that are at the same developmentally level. There is however a majority of the students that are at about the same learning level and which can be taught using similar techniques. For those students that are not in the majority, adaptations in the curriculum need to be made to accommodate these students. For students that fall in the gifted and talented category I would provide them with further study opportunities to do once they have completed their work. Depending on the topic I would have them continue to further research the topic at hand and have them share with the class their findings. By sharing their findings the student will not feel that what they have accomplished was worthless. In other situations I would have the student complete a more difficult experiment related to the topic the class is doing. The rest of the times I would have the student deiced what he/she wanted to do and let them do it. Many gifted and talented students want to learn and be challenged doing it and I believe that by offering them the opportunity to chose what they want to do will give them the extra push they need.

For students that are below the majority of the students the lessons can be easily adapted. The student should fully participate in every experiment or project but minor adaptations are all that are needed to be made. If students are asked to find x number of something, adapt the lesson so that this student has to find less then the rest of the class. My goal for this type of student is to have this student do everything that their classmates are doing, but just at a different level.

Assessing students in science is often a difficult process. It tends to be very subjective and time consuming. That is why I believe the best way to assess a student in science is through observations. Just by making a mark next to a student’s name, a teacher could have a better understanding of how a student is doing on a day to day basis. Another way that I think is a good way to assess a student on their science learning is through a journal. Journaling is a great way for students to reflect and truly think about what they have just done and what the outcome of their experiment proves. It also gives the teacher a better look into what the students have learned and how well they understood the point that you were trying to get across. It also helps to see what else the students learned that the teacher may not even realize they would learn through the given experiment. Science journals are also good to use because it helps the teacher figure out what the students are not understanding and what question that they have that could be addressed during science class. Assessment is a difficult concept in science, but I believe a variety of different assessment strategies is the best way to evaluate a science class.

The majority of the ideas I have about teaching science come from what I have learned this past semester. The textbook for this class and the experience I had planning for and teaching a science lesson helped me to formulate the ideas I have about teaching science. I believe that the most beneficial way to learn how to teach a science class is through observations and by actually teaching the class. Also in out textbook for this class there are many stories highlighted about different teacher’s experiences with teaching a science class. I do not remember basically anything that I read in the textbook, but I do remember almost ever story that was told in the textbook. Many other journal articles on science teaching methods and classroom activities also helped me to formulate my concept on science. Almost everything I learned about teaching science I learned during this last semester. Although much of my teaching theories have stayed the same, my ideas on science have changed tremendously.

When I first started this semester, I really had no opinion on science because I really did not know much about. Through the semester I have learned many things about science as a topic as well as how to effectively teach it. I have come to terms with the fact that science is messy and that things do not always turn out how you would expect them too and ironically these two concepts have come to be the two things I like about science the most. Though this class I have learned how to effectively teach and assess my teaching of science as well as adapted my lesson to fit the needs of others. I have learned a lot from this class and I am glad I had the opportunity to effectively learn how to teach science.

Work Cited

Koch, Janice. (2000). Science Stories: A Science Methods Book for Elementary School Teachers. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

National Science Education Standards. (1995). An Invitation to Elementary School Science. 05/05/04, www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses

Eisenhower Southwest Consortium for the Improvement of Mathematics and Science. (2003). Children’s Scientific Selves. May 10, 2004. http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass

The National Science Foundation. (1996). Making Connections: Science in the Student’s Own Environment. May 10, 2004. http://www.sin.org

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