High Quality Science Education

Through out our program, and especially this course, we have learned the importance of STEM education. Probably more important, we have learned that it's imperative students get exposed to STEM at a young age. I have the privilege of teaching at a school that educates students in grades K-8. In addition I am now head of the science department. With the situation I have been placed in, I have the opportunity to expose kids to science at a very young age. To accomplish this goal, all teachers, especially our lower grades teachers, need to be comfortable with teaching the science content. To aid with this, I will suggest that all science teachers at my school, especially elementary science teachers, attend professional development courses that focus on the science curriculum and ways to incorporate STEM. In addition, I would like to start a science club for both elementary and middle school students. The two should probably be separate, but I think it will be good if the older kids could help the younger kids during the meetings. Furthermore, I feel students should be exposed to professionals in the STEM fields and hear how rewarding the field can be. Hopefully this will help build students that will be competitive in the global economy which is being driven by STEM related fields.

What's our Sputnik?

This was a very interesting article by Friedman. I agree with a lot of the points he made in the article. One thing I strongly agree with is that we need to let other countries fight their own battles (Friedman, 2010). It makes absolutely no since for the US to attempt to rid a country of terrorism if the the countries leaders don't put forth any effort. Don't get me wrong, I agree that those who took part in 9/11 and other terrorist attacks on the US should be pursued and punished, but the job is done, we need to get our troops out of there.

Friedman also made another good observation that I agree with. He said the war on terror would bankrupt us, and that is exactly what is happening. The amount of money we have spent on the war on terror has prohibited need funds for our education system. This is a huge part to blame for us falling behind in the global economy which is becoming saturated with jobs that focus on STEM.

What can we do? First of all we need to get our government to pump money into our education system that will allow us to focus on STEM related education. We need to train teachers, especially elementary teachers, in ways to incorporate STEM focused lessons. Students need to be exposed to STEM at a young age because it promotes both critical thinking and problem solving skills (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). I also feel that incentives need to offered to teachers who teach STEM related subjects, and also to those who pursue STEM related degrees in college, and to those who have STEM related jobs.

If the fact that we are rapidly falling behind in the competitiveness of the global economy is not motivation enough to get it together, then I don't know what is.

Week 1: Application 2

The presentation tool I chose to experiment with was PreZentit. It seemed to be a simplified version of Power Point. It didn't have as many controls as power point does, but seems to be equally as effective. I am not as technology savvy as I would like to be, but I was able to preview PreZentit and had a very easy time creating slides. I would recommend this presentation tool to any of my colleagues looking for a format for their course project. Over the next week or so, I will continue to experiment with other presentation tools to see which one best suits me.

Jamal

Heat Transfer

This week I had to do an experiment to determine which materials would serve as a better insulator. The materials I chose to test were aluminum foil, a piece of sealing plastic wrap, a cotton wash cloth, and a piece of newspaper. To properly complete the experiment, the mugs and the amount of water had to remain constant. I used four of the same types of mugs with 1/2 cup of hot tap water in each cup. My hypothesis was that the plastic wrap would work best. I based my guess on the fact most of our drink covers are plastic and the inside of most coolers are plastic.

The initial temperature of the water was 100 degrees Fahrenheit. After 30 minutes, the temperatures were as follows: newspaper- 92 degrees Fahrenheit, aluminum foil- 94 degrees Fahrenheit, cling wrap- 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cotton wash cloth- 93 degrees Fahrenheit. According to these numbers, my hypothesis was correct. But looking at results from some of my colleagues, I'm starting to question my results. From what I've seen the plastic wrap has been coming in last place with some of my fellow classmates. There are couple of factors that may cause the differences. (1) The plastic wrap I used was a cling wrap. It's not like normal plastic wrap. (2) Maybe the wash clothes were different. Maybe mine was a little thinner. (3) There could also have been a human error in reading the thermometers.

Despite the differences, this was still a good experiment that I will use for my students. I may change it up a little bit. Instead of testing which materials make the best insulators for lids, I will probably have them investigate what type of cup will keep a hot beverage warm the longest. They could have several different types of cups (Styrofoam, glass, ceramic, plastic, etc...). Instead of using water, I may let them use hot chocolate. I think they'll appreciate that because it'll be cold by the time we cover heat transfer here in Georgia.

Guided Inquiry

This week I had to create an experiment to test how different surfaces affected a marbles momentum. To achieve my goal, I created a ramp that consisted of two books and a piece of cardboard. I also used the larger of the two marbles that was in our science resource kit. The two surfaces I used was the carpet and hardwood floors in my house. The fact that I had the different flooring in my home was very convenient.

My hypothesis was that the marble would travel further on the hardwood surface than on the carpet. I was correct! The marble rolled 66cm from the end of the ramp on the carpet and more than 4m on the hardwood. This was because the friction between the marble and carpet slowed the marble's momentum faster than the hardwood.

This was a good experiment because it was rigorous, but still simple enough to perform in the confines of my home. Thinking back, I should have tested both marbles on the surfaces and see if the different masses would have any affect on the outcome.

When I use this experiment for my students, I will give them 3-4 different balls, all with different masses. I will have them to create their own experiment to determine the affect different surfaces have on an objects momentum. One challenge I see with this in school is the fact that there is not much carpet in our school. To alleviate this problem, the students could go outside and use the concrete, grass, or the track surface.

Another issue I see is some of the students becoming intimidated by the rigor of the activity. More and more activities like this will enhance their critical thinking skills and allow them to be more competitive in the real world (Lantz, 2009).

References:

Lantz, H. B. (2009). What should be the function of a K–12 STEM education? SEEN Magazine, 11(3). Retrieved from:http://www.seenmagazine.us/Sections/ArticleDetail/tabid/79/ArticleID/208/smid/403/reftab/292/Default.aspx

Structured Inquiry Lesson

I choose to present a lesson to 3 eight graders that were helping us get our new school together. The lesson was on density. The students are to pour 20ml of Karo syrup, shampoo, dish soap, water, and cooking oil into a graduated cylinder, and determine which one has the highest density. In the past I've mixed the substances myself and let the kids see the results. After I read the resources, and witnessed other inquiry based lessons, I realize that was a mistake.

I took the lesson a little further. This time, I had the students determine the densities of each substance before they were mixed, and try to hypothesize what would happen when they were all mixed together. One good thing about this is that it allowed students to use math skills along with science. I also tied the lesson into real world events. I asked the students was it possible for oil in the Gulf to be suspended under the surface of the water? Once they poured all the liquids in the cylinder and saw that oil floated on water because it had a lower density, they were able to answer the question.

Melting Icebergs

The results from this weeks experiment was very surprising to me. I just knew that once the ice cubes melted, the cup would overflow. Boy was I wrong! The water level stayed the same. How could this be? After about 2 minutes of confusion, the answer finally hit me. The water level didn't change because of volume. The liquid produced by the melted ice still had the same volume as the solid ice cubes. The water didn't create any new space.

What will happen if the polar ice caps melt? I think this experiment proved part of the answer. If the ice caps are already floating in water, then we won't have to worry about any flooding or rise in sea level. On the other hand, if the ice caps are covering land, the newly produced water will cause flooding or a rise in sea level because it will add volume to the oceans.

Although global warming isn't a topic I cover in 8th grade Physical Science, I can use this lesson in the unit I teach volume. In addition, this lesson addresses a real life issue that could possibly affect everyone in the future.

The one major question I have is what will happen to the wild life (polar bears, etc...) that are living on the ice caps if they melt?