https://padlet.com/pacificpalmtrees/o2fr3xjcj6zp By Renee Daigle for EDN 336 en-us 2018-12-10 18:58:45 UTC 2024-06-02 17:52:57 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Apple.png pacificpalmtrees https://padlet.com/pacificpalmtrees/o2fr3xjcj6zp/wish/313112004 In my placement classroom, the students were working on the concepts of erosion, deposition, and weathering. At first, the teacher taught the definitions of these terms and related vocabulary words. When the students were turning in their work to be graded, it did not seem as though the children understood the concepts they were being taught. After a couple weeks, the teacher began doing hands on activities with the students. It wasn’t until then that the students seemed to be making connections between the vocabulary and the actual meanings behind them. The students also engaged in learning discussions frequently during science lessons. These were not based on discrepant events, but the students often discussed their predictions and thoughts about the concepts they were learning in a whole group setting. The teacher simply guided the discussion, not correcting students if they were wrong, but redirecting the conversation to allow students to find the answer on their own. These conversations were usually paired with videos that would then explain the concept and answer any questions they might have. At the beginning of these conversations you could tell the students were struggling to think of answers to the questions. However, once the conversation got rolling the students bounced ideas off one another and helped clear up eachother's misconceptions when they were able. There are a couple things that I think I would have done differently in the teaching of these lessons. First, I feel like the students would have grasped the definitions of the related vocabulary if it was paired with the hands-on learning. I think students could have also started with a hands-on activity, writing in their notebook observations and then make the connections between what they had observed and the new content. I think the teacher was trying to implement inquiry-based strategies in her classroom but went with more of a rote memorization route before letting the students explore. For all the hands-on activities, the teacher would explain to the students what the activity would be simulating and what to look for. I think it could have been beneficial, especially since the students had the base knowledge for the concepts, to let them explore using the hands-on activities to make the connections on their own, with a class discussion after to make sure students made the connections.  That being said, the hands-on activities chosen by the teacher were engaging and well enjoyed by the students. The students were able to make connections necessary through these activities and gave their vocabulary words real-life meaning. ]]> 2018-12-10 19:01:00 UTC https://padlet.com/pacificpalmtrees/o2fr3xjcj6zp/wish/313112004 pacificpalmtrees https://padlet.com/pacificpalmtrees/o2fr3xjcj6zp/wish/313112186 The science lesson I created and taught was a lesson on erosion and deposition on coastlines. I had the students engage in a hands-on activity where they first used straws on a hill of sand to observe how wind can move the earth. I then had them fill the pan the sand was in with a bit of water and gave them paper plates to create waves. I asked the students to make note of what their observations were. After the activity, we discussed the activity, with me trying to guide the students and them making connections between their vocabulary words and their observations (this was their first hands-on activity of the unit). We expanded on the idea of coastal erosion to include problem solving the issue of coastal erosion. During our discussion, I was impressed with how the students were making connections to various concepts on their own. The students even reached conclusions that I wasn’t sure they would be able to get to on their own. I also thought about specific obstacles to the lesson while planning and was able to address them before the students engaged in the activity. I think this helped eliminate any potential behavioral concerns that could have cropped up. The students enjoyed the activity and thanked me for the lesson at the end of the day. However, there are several things I would do differently. If I were to do this lesson again, I would have the students take their science notebooks with them to record their observations and write their vocabulary words next to what they were observing. I think the kids would have benefitted from this. I would also have expanded on it in a different way if I had been able to. I would have liked the students to explore the impact of coastal erosion on humans and on sealife. The school has the teachers on a strict schedule and science and social studies share an hour block for instructional time. This made it difficult to really give the students the time to explore and then expand after their discussion. While I would loved to have had more time, it also prepared me to have to teach within scheduled time limits. There were also things I hadn’t really thought about when I was creating my lesson. While I was able to go outside and set up the activity, once the students were done, I realized I hadn’t properly planned the transition because I had no plan for disposal of materials. I ended up picking one student from each group to dump the sand and water. If I were to teach this again, I would plan beforehand how to clean up after the activity without losing too much instructional time.  After observing the students learning about students, I would love to do discrepant event lessons with them. They loved being able to explore, answer questions, and they had such a high level of pride when they realized they had worked out a problem. When they stated that they believed something to be true and then learned it was not, you could see on their faces it had gotten the wheels turning. ]]> 2018-12-10 19:01:17 UTC https://padlet.com/pacificpalmtrees/o2fr3xjcj6zp/wish/313112186 pacificpalmtrees https://padlet.com/pacificpalmtrees/o2fr3xjcj6zp/wish/313112319 At this point, students had used straws to simulate wind erosion and were now making waves with pieces of paper plates . ]]> 2018-12-10 19:01:31 UTC https://padlet.com/pacificpalmtrees/o2fr3xjcj6zp/wish/313112319