Apr30

Online Professional Learning

For a project I'm working on, I wanted to revisit what I know about cooperative learning. When I Googled the topic, among the many resources I found was one from a professional development series Concept to Classroom, produced by Thirteen Ed Online (WNET, the New York PBS affiliate). The "courses" in the series are free and self-paced. They each consist of four sections -- explanation, demonstration, exploration, and implementation.

The explanation section is in the form of FAQs about the research and rationale related to the topic. The demonstration section has videos of real teachers using the concept in their own classrooms, as well as lesson plans that incorporate the topic. The exploration section guides you through thinking about what the topic would look like in your own classroom, and the implementation section assists you in developing and using a lesson. Even if you decide not to take the whole course, the list of resources (including online articles and websites) is worth a look.

Some topics that would be of interest to science teachers include inquiry-based learning, cooperative and collaborative learning, constructivism, interdisciplinary learning, and assessment. These pedagogical concepts would supplement the content-oriented Science Objects professional development resources from NSTA (which are also online and free).

Although Thirteen Ed Online does not award credit, there is a "Get Credit" toolkit with a syllabus to share with your administrators about the content of the course and a rubric to determine how your participation could be evaluated for district-sponsored PD hours. (Actually, I'd look at the materials to get an overview of the course.)

I'd like to hear about your experiences with other online PD courses that are free and relevant to science teachers!
Published: Apr-30-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Apr26

Earth Science

Science and Children cover
It's not hard to get young students interested in the earth sciences that explain and describe the world around them. And yet for many students, the upper elementary and middle school grades are the last time they'll be exposed to earth science topics in school. (Although I just visited a high school that is returning earth science to the curriculum in response to the state's science assessment.)

But SciLinks does not skimp on earth science topics. By entering keywords such as volcano, rock, glacier, plate tectonics, geyser, weather, or earthquake, you'll find many informational websites for students, background information for yourself, and teaching suggestions.

Several sites recently submitted to SciLinks include a wealth of ideas and multimedia resources. Earth in the Universe and Earth System, Structure, and Processes from Teachers' Domain have images, Flash interactives, and videos. You can incorporate these into your lessons, or use the many lesson plans (with connections to state standards) included. Registration for the site is free. Rock Cycle has animations of the rock cycle and the formation of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
Published: Apr-26-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Apr21

Teaching with the Community

Science Teacher cover
When I saw the theme for this issue, Teaching with the Community, what came to mind was students visiting community resources such as museums, zoos, and parks on field trips or students and teachers using the community as a classroom. But the articles in this issue have other interpretations of "community."

The State High Biodiesel Project describes a collaboration between the science department and the agricultural science program to turn fryer oil from the cafeteria into an alternative energy source. Perhaps other institutions in the community can learn from these students (and their teachers). On the web, you can find out how to Make Your Own Biodiesel and the authors provide the details of their lessons on Alternative Fuels

The community engaged in Collaboration at the Nanoscale consists of high school classes and university faculty. They formed a scientific community to study microbes and viruses safely, using advanced technology. For more information on the topic of microbiology, go to SciLinks and enter the term "micro" for lists of websites related to microbes, microbiology, microscopes, and electron microscopy.

Student research on a topic of interest to their communities, such as indoor air quality, is demonstrated in the article The Big Sky Inside.According to the authors, the data collected by the students is being used beyond the project to investigate other air quality issues. If you want to get some ideas for other projects, check out Solving Environmental Problems in SciLinks.

Use the article EQUIPping Teachers to learn how to change your classroom into a community of inquiry. The authors describe a tool/rubric that can help you improve the level of inquiry in your class activities. It's an excellent article that everyone should read. For more information on inquiry, see Making It Inquiry 9-12 in SciLinks.
Published: Apr-21-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Apr12

Astronomy

Science Scope cover This is a timely theme, considering that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. And this month's Science Scope is full of relevant teaching ideas and lots of background information, such as simulating the vast spaces in the solar system, working with models of the Earth, incorporating movement into lessons, and finding video resources on Teacher Tube

I must admit that I never had the chance to formally study astronomy in high school or college. But it's been the focus of a lot of my informal learning - in museums, planetariums, observatories, and with my own telescope. It is certainly one of the oldest of human scientific endeavors in many cultures, as described in the article Solar Paths: An International and Integrated Look at the Sun and the Seasons.

Many of us have done lessons on the phases of the moon, but the authors of Inquiry, Argumentation, and the Phases of the Moon show how to embed this content into a lesson on scientific literacy, argumentation, and critical thinking.

For more information on astronomy, check out a special set of websites in SciLinks. One of my favorites here is NASA Quest, which has many learning activities in astronomy and the atmospheric sciences for grades K-12. One of my morning rituals is listening to StarDate program on my local public radio station. At the website, you can listed to the daily program, download a podcasts of the programs, read current astronomy news, and get lesson plans, classroom activities, and lots of visuals. Of course, if you have particular topics in mind related to astronomy, you can log into SciLinks and search for particular keywords.

I'd also suggest two other sources. One of my favorite sites is Windows to the Universe. This site (many sections of which are in the SciLinks database) takes a comprehensive look at the universe and Earth's place in it. There are many graphics, lesson plan ideas, and the site is available in Spanish, too. Another good source is Teachers' Domain. Use the index to get multimedia resources and lesson plan ideas on the topic of "Earth in the Universe."

You don't have to wait for a Science Scope themed issue for update in astronomy. The monthly column "Scope on the Skies" has information and suggestions for classroom activities. The author has his own website Current Skies with monthly star maps and other resources.

But getting back down to Earth…. Who would think playing with a pen (something that I do at meetings that once made my supervisor go crazy!) would inspire a science activity described in Everyday Engineering: What Makes a Bic Click? If you're thinking of including this activity in a study of writing technology, check out the SciLinks topics for pencils and paper. Right now, SciLinks doesn’t have much on how to actually make paper. We'll work on adding some (if you have any suggestions, put the URL in a comment, and we'll take a look at it) but here are some directions for making handmade paper from the Exploratorium.
Published: Apr-12-09 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post