Keeping Up with Global Competition

The exploration of the wonderful world of living things should be a fascinating delight for students. But in so many other parts of the United States and the world, most students gain no sense of the excitement and power of science, because we adults have somehow let science education be reduced to the memorization of "science key terms." Students lose interest, or shall I say never gain interest in science at early ages. What can we do to recover from this tragic misuse of our young people's time and effort in school?

The answer to why the United States has let science education go badly astray is that it is much easier to test for science words than it is to test for science understanding. The new age of accountability in U.S. education has led to a massive increase in testing, and the individual states have generally selected simple, low-cost, multiple-choice tests that can be rapidly scored. Because these high-stakes tests drive teachers to teach to them, they are thereby defining what science education means in our schools. This is a great tragedy, inasmuch as it trivializes education for young people. For far too many of them, education appears to be a largely senseless initiation ritual that is imposed on them by adults.

For decades, reading and math have been the focus  in the U.S. and students who go on to become science teachers still lack the spark for science in my opinion, because they did not have that expeience.

Rock Models

Colleagues,

My students created a granite rock models after investigating properties and classifications of rocks. I used students from a summer program to complete the model; therefore, they were in grades 4-7. I began the lesson by holding a rock in my hand and had students to guess what I had in my hand, only allowing them to ask yes/no questions. After the students guessed that I was holding a rock, we then wrote different descriptions of rocks. Next, the students traced and colored their rock, before repeating this process after dipping their rock into water. They recorded the differences in the wet and dry rock and described the texture. After the completion of this recording, the students then placed their rock in a pile and challenged themselves to find it amongst the other rocks

After we had classified rocks and recorded data, the students made a model granite rock. Students were given a patterns page in which they had to label and color each shape. They realized that each shape represented a mineral crystal. After coloring and labeling the patterns, the students cut out the shapes and compared their model to a real piece of granite. The only challenge was the different age groups because of the summer program, but we had fun and ended the lesson with ways that the students could model a granite rock. They had ideas from using construction  paper and rhinestones to cupcakes, icing, sprinkles and saran wrap for the marble effect.

Natural Disasters

I aplologize for this late post, I totally forgot that I had not posted when this week's blog post was due.

In an effort to help develop more scientifically-literate and compassionate citizens about natural disasters, I would like to implement family assignments when tragic events happen around the globe. For example, in addition to the current assignments or units that we are working on in the classroom, I would like to create assignments that relate to a world tragedy that recently happened, regardless of the time of year and create the assignment so that the family has to discuss and offer suggestions. Students and parents could possibly influence each other to be compassionate about natural disasters. Families could begin to form their own emergency plans and take natural disasters more serious.

Inside the classroom, I can envision making my own classroom undergo a natual disaster. One day after school, I could leave my room with chairs and desk turned upside down and out of place with papers and books thrown everywhere waiting on my first period class to come in the next morning. We would discuss their thoughts or finding their belongings, and their feelings. The students will see how much time it takes to get things back in order, then redestroy it for second period and we would do this for the entire school day. This is a plan of mine for next year.

Ask a Scientist

Classmates,

Presently, I have not received an answer to my question on the ask a scientist website; however, I did read interesting questions on the topic of genetics. I am sure that my students will enjoy posting questions to real scientists.

Sandra Barrion

Heat Transfer

Heat can transfer through conduction, convection, or radiation (Tillery, 2008).  Conduction is the transfer of heat by or through the means of a conductor. Convection is the circulatory motion that occurs in a fluid at a no uniform temperature. Radiation is emitting radiant energy in the form of waves or particle means by rays.

Prior to beginning the experiment, I gathered all materials (four mugs, a measuring cup, thermometer, a clock, a cotton sock, a plastic zip loc bag, aluminum foil, and a coffee filter). Next, I made a hypothesis that the cotton sock would make the best insulator. In an effort to achieve maximum results on equal starting water temperature, my husband assisted me with filling the mugs to the marked line. The starting temperature was 117˚ degrees Fahrenheit and we both covered two mugs and started the clock. After thirty minutes had passed, I removed all four substances and recorded my results in the chart below:

Substance	Temperature
Aluminum Foil	99˚F
Coffee Filter	102˚F
Cotton Sock	100˚F
Zip-Loc Bag	105˚F

* The starting temperature was 117˚ degrees.

The zip-loc bag makes the best insulator if these four substances are considered.

If I was to repeat the experiment, I would have chosen items such as paper, a silk scarf, and a wool sock. I would allow my students to conduct this experiment using warm or cold water, to reduce potential hot water hazards.

Pendulum Swings

Prior to beginning this experiment, I hypothesized that the lighter pendulum would come to rest more quickly. My hypothesis was based on my prior knowledge of gravity, mass, and inertia. In beginning the experiment, I tied the string to the pencil before taping the pencil to the countertop as this was a constant since I did not untie the string from the pencil for the duration of the experiment. Taping the pencil to the countertop allowed free oscillation of the pendulum. Next, I attached the other end of the string to the smaller washer, which had a quarter inch diameter in length. I dropped the pendulum from the lowest point of the pencil that was hanging off of the countertop and allowed the pendulum to swing for twenty five seconds. The same procedure was repeated for the next pendulum, which was made using a washer with a half inch diameter. Although the mass of the washers were different, both pendulums completed thirteen rounds. The release points of the pendulums, the length of the string, and the amount of time allotted for the swings were constants. My hypothesis was correct since the lighter pendulum came to rest first.

My students would probably hypothesize that the heavier pendulum would come to rest quicker after completing the “Falling Bodies Experiment” last week and noticed that the heavier objects reached the floor first. Challenges came when I tried to accurately perform the experiment using the same release height and force for both pendulums. Students would be provided the opportunity to measure their strings, discuss why their data differs from their classmates, and debate about the effects of the washer sizes. Students will also have the opportunity to drop their pendulums from whatever reasonable height they choose. “When students gain experience with problem solving, they have the potential to invent new ways of doing things”. Students may be challenged with releasing their pendulums at the same height or accurately starting and stopping the stopwatch.

Skittles and M&M's

In this lab, students used the scientific method to form a hypothesis about the dominant color in bags of skittles or m&m's. There were parts of the lab that the students completed individually (for the purpose of individual data and the allowance of them eating their candy) and the final lab involved them sharing and comparing their data to make new data. Students completed their graph, accepted or rejected their hypothesis then formed a theory about the dominant candy color. Mathematics skills were also used in this lab as the students had to graphically depict their bag results.