Inquiring minds want to know.....

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     Still at Miami University in Oxford.  Just now getting used to the lab and working on high end scientific problems.  Also just had an "Ah Ha" moment.  It boils down to this...if you are doing science research, everything is working, there are no problems and you understand what is going on...then it is really not science research.  There is no such thing as "good" or "bad" data..it is just data.

     And if this were not enough to blow my mind we are taking an educational seminar.  Part of the seminar is reading a book about inquiry, science and methods of teaching.  We are getting to the conclusion perhaps we might want to teach the topic of science in the same manner as it is done.  That would involve some changes.  Some of the book is the same ideas that have been repeated for some time ( Bloom's taxonomy, state standards and Piaget).  There was something that struck me though...what type of teacher do I really want to be?  I guess the reason it hit me is that about every 3-5 years there seems to be a renewed focus/problem in education.  It almost feels as if people are throwing spaghetti at the wall...let's try something and hope it sticks.  Given the continual cycles, what would happen if I come up with my own plan?  Here is what the author suggests (Teaching High School Science through Inquiry and Argumentation, Llewellyn).

     1. Build an understanding of inquiry.

     2. Develop on understanding of the change process.

     3.  Construct a mind-set for the emerging practices.

     4.  Translate new knowledge into practice.

     5.  Create a culture of inquiry.

     So if I bite, the question is, why?  I am not sure if this is going to work but at least there seems to be mounds of data and evidence that kids will do better if I am an inquiry teacher.  So let's look at question 1....

     Here is what I am going to run with (Flick and Lederman, 2006).

     "Inquiry stands for a fundamental principle of how modern science is conducted.  Inquiry refers to a variety of processes and ways of thinking that support the development of new knowledge about the processes scientists use to develop knowledge that is the nature of science itself.  Thus, inquiry is viewed as two different students outcomes, ability to do scientific processes and the knowledge about those processes."  Llewellyn suggests the third part is how the teacher helps.

     So it boils down to this...inquiry is what students know, what they can do, and how I can help them learn science by doing science.  Now I just have to figure out the "change" part.....

Adventures in Learning...as a Teacher

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     I know this might not have much to do with the three questions.  O.K. ...maybe it does..  I am currently working at Miami University for six weeks in a lab trying to use Raman spectroscopy to ultimately look at important molecules in nature.  You are probably correct in thinking that this is a bit above the head and curriculum of the current high school student.  You are correct.  So why do it and how can it help kids in the classroom?

     If I look at "What am I doing to help kids achieve?" one item might be a simple word...empathy.  First, this is a highly technical field.  I am definitely a fish out of water.  I spent three months trying to familiarize myself with terms and vocabulary, forgot some of it as I was finishing up the year and then showed up on the first day of work.  About a third of the time on the first day the fog barely lifted and I was able to string along a few coherent statements and questions that were barely intelligent.  You can imagine what the other two-thirds were like.

      Here is the good news...I now am getting a much better understanding of what kids go through in chemistry.  So what can I do to help them?  First, insist that they help themselves.  They have to bring something to the table.  They should be able to define a few vocabulary terms to help them conceptualize some of the terms we will use over and over.  It is called front loading.

     Second, it helps to be nice and to understand I can learn from anyone.  Dr. Scaffidi is very patient.  He cares about learning and helping people see what happens inside the "black box".  One of the nicest and most intelligent people in the group is a Junior (soon to be Senior) who has been doing research here for three years.  He is about 20 years my junior but that does not matter.  He, along with all the people in the group, are extremely kind and helpful with all of my questions...even the two-thirds that are not too good.

     Finally, be persistent.  Do not give up.  Life is hard.  Sometimes there is no app for that.  Keep going.  That being said, I need to sign off and get to work.....