SLPE Reflective Post

1.       I think our lesson went well.  My group was not nervous and felt comfortable in the classroom.  This helped us interact with the students.  The students were very interactive back which made the lesson go well.  They were eager to raise their hands and answer questions or observations.  We had 4 in our group and the students were in 4 groups so we split up and were with the same group the whole time.  I think this went well by asking the students engaging questions and staying with the same group the whole time.  We all worked well together and made the lesson go well.  I think the closure of our lesson could have been better.  We didn’t have much of a closure planned and just tried wrapping up the lesson by reviewing students on pitch.  The changes we made for day two were very effective.  After doing the peer teaching and hearing the comments to change day two we did.  For day two we changed it in which each group was allowed to pick what variables they wanted to test and play with.  There were different liquids and containers.  The students really liked this and formed conclusions on pitch and sound waves.

2.       The students did meet our learning performances.  They did experiment with different variables and learned how it affected pitch.  On their worksheets they wrote that the liquid, shape of container, material of container, and utensil affects the pitch.

3.       With the enacted lesson plan with our college classmates they did not care about who filled up the water or who played the song, but in the classroom this was different.  The students were all concerned about who would fill up the Snapple bottles, play the song, or write on the worksheet.  We had to assign roles and some students were not happy about not getting picked.

4.       I learned to not be nervous in the classroom.  The students responded well to us because we were comfortable in the classroom.  Also to think about every detail of the lesson plan.  We did not expect the students would need to be assigned to certain roles of the lesson plan.  I now know to expect this.

5. I think our day one went very well with the Snapple bottles and the playing of the songs.  For day two I would change a few things.  I would give the students more options for variables.  I would give them more choices for cups and liquid.  We had four different cup types and four different liquids.  I would also let each group be more student centered.  We did not have the amount of time to let the students do this part of the lesson with no guidance from us.

Pendulum 2

How does a shorter string length affect the average number of strings? We chose the question because we have the materials to test it out. We are further testing the pendulum. 1 washer was 16.375 on average 2 washers was 16.375 on average 3 washers was 16.1875 on average 4 washers was 16 on average Claim: having a shorter string length affected the average swings but mass did not make the swing numbers rise. Evidence: our average of swings stayed consistent. Quiz answer: it would be a bumpy ride. All swings have a straight bar the strings come from and have the same length otherwise it would not be even.

Pendulum

What is your personal experience with swinging on anything like a trapeze? Being on a playground they had a trapeze like play thing and I would swing and do flips, but do not really remember much. What applications to "real life" do swinging objects have? Swings and playground or recess activities. What is your prediction about what will happen if two people are on one trapeze and only one is on the other and they are both let go at the same time? Explain I think it will be the same time. I remember learning about gravity and two objects fall at the same speed even if their weights are different and I think that would apply to this. What understanding or ideas do you have about the science of back-and-forth swinging objects? I just have understanding about gravity. 9 for 1 washer I think for two it will be the same 9 for 2 washers I think it will be the same for 3 washers 9.25 for 3 washers I think it will be the same for four washers 9 for 4 washers My prediction was correct for all of the washers. Why wasn't a bigger angle used? Does this relate to gravity where the weight of the object does not affect the falling object? For both of my questions it is beyond the scope of the experiment. I think my question about it relating to gravity is interesting to me because I know that is another misconception.

Chapter 9 assessment

Inquiry continuum

Our whole lab was completely teacher centered. It told us exactly how much water to pour into each cup, how long to stir, when to time to it, and how long to time it.

Inquiry Criteria	Inquiry continuum specific statement from the column/row	Why do you believe this fits that column/row (your argument)	How would you improve this part of the lesson to make it more inquiry based?
Engage	Learner engages in question provided by teacher, materials, or other source	We were told when to stir, when to measure, and how long to measure.	To make this more inquiry based I would suggest not presenting the students with every step to the experiment.  They could test different ways to cool the water.
Evidence	Learner given data and told how to analyze	We were told what data we would be collecting and how to collect it.	I would let students design their own experiment and decide for themselves what data is best to collect.
Explain	Learner given possible ways to use evidence to formulate explanation	We used our own evidence that clearly pointed to the answer.	Let the students decide how to use their evidence and how to analyze.

B, B &W

Pink Lab: We couldnt figure out a way to light the bulb in a different way with one wire, one battery, and 1 light bulb When lighting the bulb with two pieces of wire, we had to have the light bulb in the middle of the two pieces of wire and then each wire touching an end of battery. Strengths: Student-centered lab with little instruction from the teacher, so the students can learn more. It is an inquiry based lab. Weaknesses: I could see this lab being a little hard for students to understand and them having to ask the teacher a lot of questions. Yellow Lab: When making a simple circuit and with two light bulbs they were both lit dimly and when we unscrewed a light bulb the second lightbulb lit up more. In the series circuit when we unscrewed a lightbulb, then the second light bulb went out. Strengths: Very straight forward lab and the teacher would not have to answer many questions. Weaknesses: Does not require any inquiry from the students. Physical science content standard b: light heat, electricity, and magnetism. Benchmark c: electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound, and magnetic effeects. Electrical circuits require a complete loop through which an electrical current can pass.

The reading gives two stories about classrooms and their teachers who are in the same district.  The first reading is completely teacher centered.  There was no inquiry.  She did not engage the students at all.  She went straight into the experiment without engaging the students.  She starts it by giving vocabulary to the students that she thinks they need to understand the lab.  She then gives them step by step instructions of what to do.  I am sure the students do not learn about electricity in this lab and are tested only on the vocabulary.  They will then remember the vocab but not know how to apply it.  About electricity they will know that if you connect a wire, lightbulb, and battery you will get light.  The second story is inquiry based.  She engaged the students by asking the question of how would you buy a pound of electricity?  She took all students answers and focused on the students answer who said that you can't hold electricity.  She then challenges the students by letting them form experiments.  She encourages them to walk around the classroom and see how others students did and didn't work.  They will get the most out of this inquiry based because they were challenged and hard to form their own experiment.

Weather

Standard Benchmark	Learning Goals	Formative Assessment	Learning Performance
Content Standard: K-4 Earth and Space Science Content Standard: D Changes in Earth and Sky Benchmark: Weather from day to day changes and over the seasons	-The changes in weather from day to day can be forecasted by air pressure.	Only 11% of the students got the correct answer of D. more information is needed.  Students may have choose their answer due to personal experiences rather than their knowledge of weather.	-Build a simple barometer to measure air pressure, then forecast the weather by using the air pressure.

Learning performance found at http://www.gowildnewyorkcity.com/teachers/lesson_air.pdf

1.       Explain how the learning performance you chose would help you understand what students know about the standard you identified  (learning goals: what students should know)

a.       The lesson teaches students why the weather changes and how they can forecast then by using air pressure as a measurement.

2.       Explain how your Learning Performance contains all five features of inquiry.

a.       They are engaged by being asked questions like:

                                                               i.      • How do we know whether tomorrow will be a rainy or a sunny day?

                                                             ii.      • What are the different ways to find that out?

                                                            iii.      • How do meteorologists predict weather conditions

b.      They give priority to evidence, by first taking the air pressure for a week before weather forecasting so they know they are doing it correctly and then the next week can form their predictions

c.       The second week of the experiment they use their evidence about air pressure to make explanations for forecasting the weather.

d.      Students are evaluating their explanations by comparing to the other students in the classroom.

e.      After they evaluate they communicate to justify their conclusions on predicting the weather.