Science Inquiry Lesson Plan Reflections

          My observations during implementation of my science inquiry lesson were very informative. I learned that during structured inquiry, students have to be lead into that higher level of critical thinking and understanding. At first when I completed the discrepant event by showing them the Cartesian diver, I could tell the students were hooked and engaged. Next, I gave them the guiding questions and elicited responses to what they already knew about buoyancy and density.  The students formulated their own hypothesis, based on what they thought would happen. The students were to write down what equipment they thought they would need to test their hypothesis and began planning an experiment.

        Then, the students were able to begin implementation. Some students struggled with finding the mass and volume of the irregular objects, but when I assisted them a little in explaining how its done, they proceeded with no problems. The students seemed so excited to test the different objects in the different substances. I think this was because I didn’t tell them what to choose, only the guidelines for how the experiment should be done. This gave them freedom in their choice and selection of materials, and I also think they were proud to be able to test their own educated guess about the density of the objects. 

     

          Lastly, we had our Jigsaw and  Think-Pair-Share summary and discussion, and we were able to use our experimental science to explain why we got the results we did, and how we supported our results. The students also increasingly asked more probing and open ended questions, and I could tell that this lab was getting the students to think a little more and more. One student commented that “this must be the type of things that the military have to considered, when building their ships.” I told him yes, you are absolutely correct, and maybe we can do further research on density and buoyancy in the armed forces. The kids thought it would be a great idea to explore and bring back information on it to share with the class for next week.

           I think that not only did I learn a lot about structured inquiry from my students by completing this lesson, but I learned how to improve my current instructional practices. I have completed open inquiry labs in the past, but I  always needed to push them to complete them on their own. Now I see that for students who need some structured inquiry, it’s okay, because I have to meet my students were they are. Sometime I would feel like I was pulling teeth to try to get them to think and use their brain to figure things out. I have tiered and scaffold lessons before, but I don’t think I included all of the 5 E’s. Completing this lesson has made me more cognitively aware of the probing questions I can ask, the importance of a hook that engages the students, the benefit of structure inquiry and the many different levels, and meet my student’s needs from where they are now.

  

              If the polar ice caps melt obviously global warming would be in process. We know that if we continually emit CFC (Chlorofluorocarbons), Pesticides, DDT’s, and harmful CO² emissions into the atmosphere, the Earth’s temperature will began to rise. This in turn will result in global warming, causing the polar ice caps to melt. I think that not only will the obvious happen such as flooding of the land and coastal areas, but in addition, our ecological systems will be disturbed extremely. All of the coastal area will flood; there could be a disruption in the different marine ecosystems such as your marshes, estuaries, or mangroves. In addition, there can be catastrophe weather phenomenon’s, such as extreme tornado's, hurricanes and tsunamis. I also believe that some species of plants and animals may possible if endangered would be eradicated permanently, and never will be able to be replenished. I also think there could be an increase in disease from tropical storms which encourages lots of insects such as mosquitoes. They could be possibly carrying malaria, or other harmful deadly tropical diseases.

             Economically millions of dollars can be lost for people who are displaced or moved from the coastal areas. Some countries financially may not be able to recover if global warming occurs. There could be a loss of natural resources and even affects our revenue such as in agriculture or other ways we obtain resources to live. Damages will also be costly to all areas of the global.  Questions that I have about science inquiry would be how we could utilize this activity with our students, to encourage advocacy in our local school community to go green and protect our planet? How can we as science teachers use this lesson to spark a passion and curiosity to promote changes, and help stop global warming?

Resource: http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/happen-polar-ice-caps-melted

STEM Lesson Plan Reflection

I enjoyed creating my STEM lesson plan, because it enabled me to create a lesson that is not only engaging to students, but can meet the needs of all of the diverse learners in my classroom. My lesson plan focused on the historical perspective of harnessing power, and includes common themes on models and systems. I also tried to incorporate Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences into my lesson plan with the use of hands on manipulatives. In addition, I tried to integrate lots of collaboration and the use of technology into my lesson plan. I also used concept maps to activate background knowledge and provide multiple opportunities to review any misconceptions the students may have. Lastly, I included formative and summative assessments and various strategies to differentiate my lessons by the content, the process of the product. The 5 E’s strategy was very helpful, because it ensured that those critical elements were found in my lesson plan. This process of the using the 5 E’s was slightly different than how I would  plan my usual lessons, but still encompasses the same foundations as  all of my lessons. The 5 E’s allowed me to extend more opportunities for learning, and ensured that all of those critical elements were thoroughly expanded upon.