My earlier blogs were all about how to make science fun and engaging. It is also important to make sure that the students actually learn something when they are doing these hands-on activities. We talked in class about different traps you might fall into as a teacher. One is called activity mania, this is when the teacher has a ton of fun activities for the students but that's all the do. There is no purpose for learning when all you do is activities. They can be engaged and having fun but still not learning anything. This is where the teacher should ask thought provoking questions to make sure the students are learning as well as engaged. Questioning is also a good assessment tool for you as a teacher.
A website and resource for kids that I found was the Science Explorer. This website if full of different activities you can use as a teacher to introduce a topic, or for an activity for a lesson. All of these activities are hands- on and engaging. Most all of them use materials that you can find anywhere and they are something that you could bring into the classroom. The thing that I liked about the website was that for every activity there was a purpose. For every activity, there was a "What's going on" section. This section talks about what is happening during the activity and explains why this is happening. As a teacher I wouldn't show this part to my students at first, I would first as them what they think is happening and why they think this. At the end of the activities there is an interesting fact for students to think about. The one thing I didn't like about this website is that all the activities had step by step directions. We know scientists do not follow a step by step process and we shouldn't make our students do this either. As a teacher I would let my students first explore they activity and try to do it own their own. Some assistance may be needed if they are having trouble getting started. Overall I think this is a good resource for teachers and students who are interested in science. The Science Explorer
The Science Explorer is also a book that you can buy just about anywhere. It is full of activities for teachers and students.
I really like the activities on the website. They seem very kid friendly and engaging. I also like the explanation/rationale that is provided with each. BUT I feel that all semester long we have learned to go against this. I would modify the activity so students didn’t follow the process like the scientific method. I would use the content ideas and form the activity around the learning cycle. Hopefully, this would make the activity more authentic and purposeful to students.
ReplyDeleteWhich is why I said I would modify the lessons as a teacher, I didn't like this part of the website either.
ReplyDeleteThis website has a great variety of activities. I also like your idea of letting students experiment with the materials or activity before telling them exactly what to do. Students are naturally curious and the classroom should be a place that fosters this creativity and does not make students always follow a set of predetermined procedures. Students don't always need directions to get the most out of an experience.
ReplyDelete