Effective Change at School and District Level

Effective Change at School and District Level

            The key issues I am currently facing in regards to trying to improve the science program at my school is lack of funding.  Lack of funding seems to be a huge issue in every school district, but how money is dispersed throughout school systems is something I still don’t understand.  I teach eighth grade science, and I am the only eighth grade teacher at my school that does not have a lab atmosphere.  I had to basically beg to my principal last year to even receive basic tables for my students instead of desks.  We do not have very many lab supplies, and we have been told by our book keeper that we are not allowed to ask for lab fees and she places extremely strict buying policies on our allocated funds to use in our own classrooms.  I often feel like I am having to fight against my own colleagues to be able to provide the best learning environment for my students.  It is also quite aggravating to visit other schools in my district that have amazing lab classrooms with lab tables, sinks, working computers, and up-to-date technology while I am struggling to even be able to buy supplies for my students.

            With all of these complications that happen each school year and the increase in TN on student performance, test scores, and teacher effect data I have become much more outspoken to my administration about how to better the learning environment for my students in the science classroom.  My students deserve the exact same opportunities as the other students receive in the county, and this equality is currently not happening.  I hope that with me becoming more outspoken and more of an advocate for my students that there will be some form of improvement in science education at my school.

21st Century Science

The 'big idea' I feel that is important for student's to understand is actually a topic we covered quite in depth throughout this course.  I feel it is important for student's to understand the difference between Newton's three laws, and it is important for student's to understand what these three laws explain.  Student's need to understand the concepts of motion, acceleration, gravity, force, etc.  These are all physical science aspects that student's encounter everyday so it would be very beneficial if student's could learn and apply this knowledge to the real-world.

I found a few sites that I feel are very user friendly, and that would benefit my students if they interacted with the site.  These sites are http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/Newton/ and http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_laws.html.  Both sites are easy to interact with, and student's can take short quizzes to see how well they are understanding Newton's three laws of motion.

Heat Transfer

Exploring Heat Transfer

            The purpose of the experiment this week was to investigate what materials would make the best 

insulators.  I chose the four materials I wanted to test, and carried out the experiment as instructed.  There

 were two things that I really focused on throughout this experiment: the four materials and how well 

they worked as an insulator, and why I thought each material worked as it did.

The goal for this experiment was to determine which of the four materials would work best as an insulator.  The four materials I chose are as follows: a dish towel, saran wrap, aluminum foil, and a paper towel.  Each material was placed over identical ceramic coffee mugs, each filled with one cup of hot water.  After the water was poured into the coffee mugs, I secured each insulating material over the top of the coffee mug with a rubber band for thirty minutes.  I hypothesized that the aluminum foil would be the best insulator, and the paper towel would be the inferior insulator.  I was unsure how the saran wrap and dish towel would work as insulators.  After the thirty minutes passed, I placed a thermometer in each coffee mug to see what the temperature was and to see how well each material performed as an insulator.  The temperature readings I recorded were: aluminum foil- 40 degrees Celsius, paper towel- 34 degrees Celsius, dish towel- 38 degrees Celsius, and saran wrap- 38 degrees Celsius.  Even though my hypothesis was correct, I was quite surprised with the results of the saran wrap and aluminum foil.

Despite the fact that my hypothesis  was proven to be accurate, I was interested in focusing more on the results given by the saran wrap and the aluminum foil.  While I was doing the experiment, I could actually see what was happening in the mug covered with the saran wrap. Based on our readings this week, I noticed convection occurring inside the mug covered with the saran wrap.  According to the website www.wisc-online.com, “As a gas or liquid is heated, it warms, expands, and rises because it is less dense.  When the gas or liquid cools, it becomes denser and falls.  As the gas or liquid warms and rises, or cools and falls, it creates a convection current” (Laurie Jarvis, Heat Transfer, 2011).  Convection was evident when I heated the water, placed the water in the mug, and covered the mug with the saran wrap because I could see steam and evaporation collecting on the saran wrap.  After about twenty minutes passed, water droplets began to form (condensation) and drop back into the mug.  This process was described exactly by Jarvis in the above quote.  Basically the entire water cycle took place inside my little coffee mug. I expected the temperature of the water covered with the hand towel to be cooler than the water covered with the saran wrap.  My first instinct was that the steam and evaporation given off by the water would escape through the stitching gaps in the dish towel, but when I think back now I did have the dish towel doubled over.  The fact that there were actually two layers of towel over the mug makes the temperature reading more understandable.  There was also more proof that convection and evaporation was taking place inside each mug due to the fact that each insulator was moist at the end of the experiment, and I could also see water droplets on the aluminum foil.

In conclusion, this experiment allowed me to see what kinds of material make good insulators, and what kind of materials do not make good insulators.  It was nice to see that my hypothesis was proven to be correct, yet it was also exciting to discover the results of the saran wrap and dish towel as well.

Guided Inquiry Blog

The purpose of this application was to focus on the aspects of momentum, and to explore the use of guided inquiry inside the classroom.  The question I decided to focus on for my guided inquiry experience was: How do different surfaces affect the momentum of a hockey puck?  I decided to test my investigation on three different surfaces: carpet, concrete, and ice.  At the conclusion of my investigation I was able to reflect on the results, and I was able to reflect on how I could use this guided inquiry investigation within my classroom.

            For this guided inquiry investigation, I focused on the affects of momentum on a hockey puck due to changes in surface.  I wanted to make sure that the hockey puck was applied with same amount of force on each surface otherwise I would not have been able to sufficiently answer my investigation question.  I decided to use a thick rubber-band pulled back exactly six inches and then let the rubber-band go impacting the puck with the same amount of force on each surface.  The first surface I tested was the carpeted surface.  I was not expecting the puck to go very far, and it only went three feet.  The next surface I tested was the concrete surface.  I was expecting the hockey puck to go about the same distance as the carpeted surface, but I was surprised to see the puck go six feet and four inches.  The last surface I tested, thanks to the snow and ice we have received in Tennessee this week, was an ice surface.  I was excited to test this surface, because I knew this surface would provide the least amount of friction on the hockey puck.  As I expected the puck went a distance of thirteen feet and two inches, more than doubling the distance of the concrete surface.

            As I reflected on the results, I noticed that this guided inquiry investigation uses Newton’s laws especially Newton’s second law of motion.  According to our text Integrated Science by Tillery, Enger, and Ross, they state, “According to Newton’s second law, there is always a relationship between the acceleration, a net force, and the mass of an object” (p40).  This statement made me realize that I did not take into account the mass of the hockey puck during my investigation, which plays a huge role on the distances the puck traveled.  I also wanted to focus more on each surface, and why so much momentum was lost on the first two surfaces.  I was already expecting the first two surfaces to have the smallest distances, but the carpet distance was extremely small.  I did use a shag carpet surface, which played a huge role in slowing down the momentum because it caused so much friction on the puck stopping it almost immediately.  I was expecting the distance on the concrete to be closer to the distance of the carpet, but after looking at the concrete surface again, it was much smoother than I thought.  The concrete surface certainly caused less friction on the puck than the shag carpet did.  I also took into account that the measurements could have a small degree of error, since I had to carry the ruler over due to the fact that I only had a twelve-inch ruler to use for measurements.

            As I was conducting this guided inquiry investigation, I kept thinking about how much my students would enjoy doing this type of investigation.  This guided inquiry investigation is a hands-on activity, which always seems to make a lasting impression on my students.  This investigation is also very appropriate for my eighth grade students.  My students already have the capabilities to measure and work together in a group to complete this investigation so I think this would work well in my classroom.  I would have to adjust the three types of surfaces.  I have access to a concrete surface at school and I could bring in the shag carpet rug into my classroom, but the ice surface becomes an issue.  I have an extremely smooth floor inside my classroom so I could apply wax or cleaner to the floor surface to create a surface similar to ice.  I am looking forward to trying this guided inquiry investigation with my students, and I am interested in seeing if my students get a better understanding of momentum and Newton’s laws of motion.

Inquiry lesson: Density

I chose to do a lab on density for our Inquiry lesson.  Throughout this lab students got to see density work at two different stations.  The first station had a 250 mL cylinder with 5 different liquids inside it: honey, Dawn dish soap, water, vegetable oil, and rubbing alcohol.  I surrounded the cylinder with each of these liquid's containers, and my students had to guess what liquid they thought was at each layer.  They were amazed that the liquids were not mixing together.  It was a great visual way for my students to visually see density work.

The next station had students creating their very own "lava lamp."  Students used a 20 ounce clear plastic bottle and poured 1/2 cup water followed by 3/4 cup vegetable oil.  Students then added food coloring for a nice visual effect, and then added an Alka Seltzer tablet to the bottle.  Students were amazed at all of the bubbles and how it actually looked like a lava lamp.  This not only allowed students to observe density, but also physical and chemical properties as well as physical and chemical changes.

I have attached a sample of student work as well as a few pictures from the lab that my students didn't mind me sharing. Enjoy!

Melting Icebergs Experiment

For this blog, I was asked to reflect on two questions over an experiment we were to perform.  The first question wanted to know what I thought would happen if the polar icecaps melted.  The obvious response would be that there would be catastrophic flooding everywhere on the planet, excluding higher elevations.  This flooding would cause a huge number of deaths, not only to humankind but to both animal and plant species alike.

The second question was: What other questions do you have about this Science Inquiry Experience?  The only other questions I really had over this experiment are the following:

1.     What are some other ways you could expand this assignment for higher learning/advanced students?

2.     How could you adapt this experiment for both SPED and ESL students?

STEM Lesson Reflection

This week's lesson required that my lesson be geared towards STEM education which focuses on the usage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  Therefore I based my lesson's theme around the Engineering Design Process (EDP).  I started out my lesson by explaining the steps of the EDP, and we looked at several different technologies and the scientists usage of the EDP to create their products.  My students then worked collaboratively to create their own prototype by drawing it out on a large of piece of butcher paper and including the steps of the EDP that they used.  My students really enjoyed this lesson, and I was so impressed to see the prototypes they were able to come up with.

There was one particular strategy we were required to use this week called the five E's strategy.  The five E's we were asked to use include: engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation.  I liked using this strategy because it requires me to break down my lesson and cover every important aspect from how I want to engage my students to how I will evaluate my students.  This process was a little bit different from how I usually plan my lessons because while I am always certain to have how I want to engage, explain, and evaluate my lessons, I don't always spend enough time on the exploring and elaborating portion of my lessons.

I enjoyed focusing on STEM education this week, and I also enjoyed using a more in-depth and organized lesson plan layout.