Taking action to save science!

I feel that each day I make some effort to keep science on the minds of my fellow teachers and administrators.  I even found an article tonight as I completed this week's assignments and emailed it to my building administrator.  In a nutshell, the article shows recent research showing that literacy and science achievement increase significantly when literacy skills are practiced using science related materials in relation to literacy lessons with excerpts from unrelated pieces of literature.  I have often fought the notion that literacy strategies should be taught in science class.  Certainly they can be used in the reading of any appropriate literature but not in place of science.  In fact, it has been my premise that literacy strategies should be taught using other content area materials.  The cross curricular connections would be invaluable and would help to deepen content and conceptual knowledge.  The greatest challenge I face each day is from the administration wanting to push literacy and mathematics at the expense of science.  Some of my colleagues have followed suit.  They know that only the math and literacy scores are being used to determine AYP (adequate yearly progress).  So given that idea, they are even much more likely to take the alloted time from science to add more literacy and math instruction.  It has been so frustrating.  I do have most of the teachers in my building on board with the science crisis we are facing.  I cannot honestly say the same for the rest of the elementary teachers in my district, however.

What's Our Sputnik?

Thomas E. Friedman's New York Times article was a bit shocking for me because I was surprised to see such a politically charged article in our required readings.  I completely understand the need for it, though.  I understand that we are at a crossroads in our country and we need to shake things up. Although Sputnik preceded my existence by about 15 years, I do understand what effect it must have had.  I do think we need a 2011 Sputnik but I don't think we will be able to get out of our own way to see it happen.  I see the push for science slipping away since I began teaching about 15 years ago.  It is scary to me.  At first I thought that the math and literacy push would go away like so many other education initiatives.  I just kept teaching my hands on science my way and pretended that the state standards would not come knocking for me. Of course, it eventually did.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't disagree with a uniform way of ensuring that all students and teachers are held to high standards, that should be a given.  I do worry that in doing so, we are actually making things worse for ourselves in a global society where math, science and technology drives so much of what is going on in our world today. I worry that without our Sputnik, our children will not be competitive in the global economy and we will have failed to to our best to prepare them.

Hello SCIE 6664 classmates!

I want to thank you for visiting my blog.  I look forward to working with my new classmates in SCIE 6664. 

Implementing an instructional plan using a model



Water runoff through vegetation



Stream (photo taken by student)

 



This week, I implemented an instructional plan using a model of erosion.  I took the students to a local stream to look for signs that the water was changing the ground around it.  I was thrilled to see the kids even making some observations about the edge of the parking lot surface starting to give way near the stream.  We then followed this up with an inquiry activity using an erosion model.  The students mixed soil, gravel, and sand in a rectangular foil pan.  They raised one end of the pan, and then used a watering can to simulate precipitation.  The repeated this process to see the effects of the varying degrees of the slope.  They then tried to use the model to answer questions that they had journaled at the stream.  I was very pleased to see that the questions were appropriate and showed an understanding of the erosion process.  I loved using the model and so did the children.  I look forward to discovering more models for the concepts that I teach.

Erosion model in action

A scientifically literate and compassionate response to disasters

I think science is an excellent way to show the unbelievable force that can be unleashed upon us at a moments notice.  It can also be a way in which to show students other geographic areas as well as other cultures.  We can also use this to show a commonality in that we all, at some point, will face adversity.  Compassion tells us to help those and hope that when it is our time to need from others, we will be so lucky to have someone show compassion for us.  I would use the data available to us, via the internet, to help my students understand these events on a scientific level, but also on a humanitarian level.  I would ask if any of my students have been touched in some way by the disaster and if they have felt moved to help in some way.  I would encourage my students, in an open discussion, to become involved in helping in some way. 

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