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Reynand Dumala-on, Scott's Branch High School, Clarendon School District One

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Reynand Dumala-on, Scott's Branch High School, Clarendon School District One

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Developing and using models is the one that I believe I should and we should do all the time because pictures speak a lot of words. Modelling is very important to understand better the concept. In my class, students know the concept but they do not know when or what or where to apply it and so with that said they cannot appreciate it and sometimes they are not motivated. And so, they should find importance in every concept because they see the application in every single thing they do. Modelling is one-way for showing to them each concept is used to build something to help their lives more easy and comfortable. I am actually doing modeling and developing models to show the concepts and it's just that I need more skills to be efficient and competent doing it. Students, well, as I see it will appreciate learning and be doing more than what the teacher is expected if they see connection and benefits learning it.

From the said SEP videos, they gave me more inputs and refreshing ideas how to make my classroom more interactive and engaging and not monotonous. As I said, I may not apply everything because not all of the SEPs can be done in a single lesson but they helped me gaining more concepts and ready to make something different. Recently, I let my students create models of DNA helix based on the concept they learned (different nitrogen bases having different colors, sugar, and the phosphate group). They love it because they like manipulating something. The good thing is they really remember the concept if they manipulate or create models or a replica.

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Cody Knight/Britton's Neck Elementary/Marion County Schools

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Cody Knight/Britton's Neck Elementary/Marion County Schools

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The SEPs look like experiments in a classroom from the student lens. Many times students come in and ask "Are we doing an experiment today?" For example, we might observe rocks using magnifying glasses and they believe that is an experiment even though we are not testing anything.

The most beneficial part of the viewing the SEP videos was the progression. I liked how Bozeman went trough the process of teaching each of the practices at each level. I also like how we broke it apart by science and engineering. A common trend I noticed was scientists identify problems and engineer solutions.

I applied these concepts through two different days designated to SEP 2 Developing and Using Models and SEP 6 Construct Explanations and Design Solutions. This was a nice transition in my class because they just recently had a home project in which they developed a food chain model. In class we designed models of boats using different materials. They had to design, test, revise, and test again their boat's ability to hold marbles. We blended this with our Social Studies unit on European Explorers moving to the "New World". The second day we used Halloween themed activities to learn design and also focus on the cross-cutting concept of structure and function. They built haunted houses out of marshmellows and toothpicks, as well as designed ramps to see which one would make the gourd roll the furthest. (The gourd rolling provided us with measurement data that we could analyze using SEP 4 too!)

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Christen Bucy/ Gordon Elementary/ Dillon District Four

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Christen Bucy/ Gordon Elementary/ Dillon District Four

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I implemented many SEP's throughout what we have learned so far in our astronomy unit. Some of the SEP's I focused on asking questions and defining problems, developing and Using Models, and planning and carrying out investigations. We have been studying astromomy and constellations. I had my students get in groups of 4-5. Each group was given toothpicks, marshmallows, and several pictures of the different constellations that we had been discussing. Each group was asked to make models of the constellations. At the end, we all came together and presented our constellations and told different information about them that we had previously studied. I feel as though watching the SEP videos that I need to ask higher order thinking questions. I often find myself asking questions that students can just memorize from their notes or a text, instead of questions which involve more thinking. I need to make sure that my qustions challenge my students.

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Waymon Edmonds: Britton's Neck Elementary: Marion County Schools

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Waymon Edmonds: Britton's Neck Elementary: Marion County Schools

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I implemented several of the SEP's in the course of multiple lessons as we were studying "Weather."  My Principal, Mrs. Kimbrough and I collaborated on creating a STEM activity for my 4th graders and giving them an extended period to complete the activity.  Since we were beginning to study weather instruments, I designed a STEM activity in which students were given basic materials and asked to create a weather vane.  After we discussed weather instruments, including wind vanes, and learned their structure and function, I brought in an old one I had on my barn.  I brought a fan into the classroom and allowed students to see how it really worked.  After we experimented with it for several minutes each day, I allowed students to design, model and create their own.  Students were allowed to study the genuine wind vane I set up in the classroom and were encouraged to study its design as they worked to create their own.  They were not given any instructions but rather asked to design one, then re-engineer their model each time they tested it in front of the fan, with the ultimate goal of creating a working model that turned and faced the direction of the fan as it blew across their models.
I chose:  2) Develop and Use Models, 3) Plan and conduct investigations, 6)Construct explanations and design solutions 9) Construct devices or design solutions, & 8) Obtain, evaluate and communicate information.  Each of these was emphasized as we worked through our STEM activity which took approximately 2 class periods and then an additional period in which we wrote in our journals and shared with other students how we created our final products.
During SEP 8 in which we communicated what we did, I hammered the CCC's of 2) Cause and Effect, 6) Structure and Function, 7) Stability and Change.  These aligned well with what we were doing. I focused on these CCC's because I needed  students to think about these concepts as they were writing up their experiments as a way to help them keep these concepts/ideas "front and center." From the student lens, in the classroom these SEP's were interesting, messy, and sometimes confusing to students.  Many struggled with the idea that it became their responsibility to create a model without help from me as I released control over the learning to them.  Many expected a set of directions to follow and had trouble creating and then re-engineering their first several attempts.  Other students took control and began working right away, often not following the design in the original wind vane that stood in the classroom and then struggled to correct their designs when they discovered that they did not work as intended.  Many students struggled with the concept that since it did not work the first time they designed it, they failed.  I spent an inordinate amount of time explaining to students that in science, scientists and engineers rarely meet with success on their first trials, and do not see this as failure but rather learn from these attempts and continue to re-engineer their designs.  I invoked the name of Edison multiple times in his trials at creating a functional, working, light bulb.
I think from watching the SEP videos, I probably came to the realization that we do not often use the language of science often enough in the classroom.  I think we try too hard to use words that students understand in order to facilitate the learning, but this is at the expense of creating a science terminology and familiarity with science jargon that students must know if they are to become proficient in science later in high school and college when this vocabulary is all that is spoken.

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Mark Davidson / Lee Central HS / Lee County Schools

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Mark Davidson / Lee Central HS / Lee County Schools

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Wow!  Sorry so late, but I didn't check the due date.
The SEP's that I concentrated on with my activity with students were 1)Asking questions and defining problems 2) Developing and using models 5) Math and computational thinking & 8) Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.  Really all SEP's are addressed directly or indirectly, but that becomes a monster to try to explain all of that.  We have been working on trigonometry functions so that vector analysis in physics is possible to teach.  I challenged the students to find out the height of the flag pole at school using calculations (no climbing or direct measurements!).  From the student lens, they would have to really define what was being asked and to ascertain information that might be important to answer the challenge (SEP 1).  They would need to use a mental model of potential solutions and develop a model to calculate the sun's angle (SEP 2).  They would use measurement and math directly to calculate possible solutions (SEP 5).  They had to obtain, evaluate and communicate information within their groups and with me to meet the solution of their challenge (SEP 8).

I have looked at the SEP's several times before and am very comfortable with their implications. I have spent a lot of time with the old inquiry standards and these mesh quite nicely with the intent of those standards. The item that stood out for me was the acknowledgement of the development of individual mental models...how we as individuals think things work. These may stand in agreement or conflict of accepted theoretical models and conventional thinking on a variety of topics. It seems sometimes that these self-created models may be the hardest to modify at times, as they are based on OUR perspective and experiences and it may take several conflicts for us to change our views.

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Tammy Hudson/Johnakin Middle School/Marion County School District

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Tammy Hudson/Johnakin Middle School/Marion County School District

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The SEPS look like researching and learning about weather maps and weather patterns. I (student) am practicing reading and interpreting weather maps and the information they give us. I am comparing the information I get from different kinds of maps and usin that to write weather forecasts in order to communicate the forecasts to other. I a focusing on CCC patterns and SEP obtain, evaluate, and use information.

I gained a lot of usable information after reviewing SEP videos. I learned science is mainly about explaining things and engineering is about finding solutions to problems. Even with these differences, they are similar in their processes.

I applied the importance of being able to interpret information and communicating information to my lessons on reading and interpreting weather maps.

Please see my notes below (there are three pages).

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The SEPs look like_______________________...in a classroom from the student lens.

I gained _________________... after reviewing SEP videos.

I applied __________________________...

Please see my notes below which look an awful lot like a koala...HaHa!

Also, this can be super messy. That doesn't matter. Dig deep and when you are ready to add anything hit the pink plus sign in the bottom right corner. If you need me, call or email. Jeff