SCED 330 // Blog 2 September 27, 2018

Hey y'all! I can't believe it's already time for blog 2 for this class, and that we are almost to October! It's going by so fast!

Reflect on your thinking, your learning, and your work this week. What were you most proud of?

This week, I have been really gearing my mind towards planting seeds and creating an environment in which they can grow-- watering them, making sure they don't stay too wet, making sure they get enough sunlight, etc. This is because in class lately, we have been working on our ecocolumns and science fair projects. My group's science fair project consists of growing plants and testing which species is most resilient against acid rain. This week, I was most proud of how our plants are growing! I am so glad our project is off to a good start.

Where did you encounter struggle this week, and what did you do to deal with the struggle?

I encountered struggle when I found that some of my lettuce in my ecocolumn is dying. It was growing and thriving so well, and then all of a sudden started turning yellow and dying. I realized that I was absolutely drowning it by giving it too much water, and it could never dry out because I did not make the holes in the top of the lid big enough, in hopes that it would keep the crickets from jumping out. I dealt with this struggle by skipping watering it for a day, and putting the lid on it sideways in order to let it dry out some, since the crickets aren't in there yet. 

What about your thinking, your learning, and/or your work brought you the most satisfaction this week? Why?

This week, I got the most satisfaction out of my discussion board post on the 5 Elements of Effective Science Instruction by Center on Instruction. For this assignment, I made an infographic, connecting these 5 elements to my future classroom, and including a short description of each element. Here it is so y'all can view it!

I really enjoyed reading about these 5 elements of effective science instruction, and I am excited to hear back from my C.E. on the interview questions that I made for her regarding how she implements these five elements in her classroom. 

What action steps do you want to complete over the next week? Why?

Over the next week, I will analyze and reflect on the interview that I conducted with my C.E. regarding these 5 elements of effective science instruction, and I will make connections between this information and my future classroom. I want to do this because I want to learn all that I possibly can from my C.E. before I take over the classroom for student teaching in January, and before I have my very own classroom next school year!

How did you contribute to the overall class this week? What can you do next week to help your colleagues more?

I contributed to the overall class this week by replying to my peers' discussion boards, contributing to my groups' science fair project, and tweeting using our class hashtag #SCED330. Next week I can help my colleagues more by participating even more in the science fair project as our plants will probably be big and strong enough to start testing the acid rain on them!

What outside learning/research did you complete? How will you use this information in the future, either in this class or in your future classroom?

For my outside learning research for blog 2, I dove more into research-based strategies for teaching science. I found a slide deck that is super long (98 slides), but very informative. I will link it below for y'all. One of my biggest takeaways is that one of the slides said "Learners grow through the same predictable stages but at different rates." This is so true! I am seeing this in my placement. I have some children in my class that could pass for a first grader, and some that could easily pass for a fourth grader. I thought this slide was a good reminder that children learn and grow at different rates.
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/majumalon/science-teaching-approaches-and-strategies 

Majumalon Follow. (2015, October 28). Science Teaching Approaches and Strategies. Retrieved September 27, 2018, from https://www.slideshare.net/majumalon/science-teaching-approaches-and-strategies

You must include the screenshots of the 3 most influential tweets you read / contributed during this week with a 3-5 sentence description of each. 

Tweet 1: 

I thought this tweet was cool because this teacher's class grew radishes in their ecocolumns, and were able to track their growth over the course of 9 weeks! I connected this to our ecocolumns, and how Rachel brought Parrot Feathers in for us to grow in the aquariums of our ecocolumns. Hopefully ours will last for a while and these students in this teacher's class won't put us to shame! Haha!

Tweet 2: 

I really liked this tweet. It does not particularly relate to science, but it absolutely can be applied to science. This math teacher stated that he stopped asking if students had any questions, and started asking them what questions they have. Think about how this could transform our classrooms if we applied this in all subject areas, but especially when we teach science!

Tweet 3: 

Okay, y'all forreal go check this out when you have time. It will be worth it. I found this tweet where this person made a weather tool that gives you updates on the weather in real time! If you click on his website, the weather currents and patterns swirl on your screen. It is amazing! 
I'll make it easy for you, here's the link! https://t.co/ZjeBfuyLEB

What specific current event related to science did you learn about this week? How were you able to connect a component of science methods to your learning?

Speaking of weather, my current event for blog 2 is on hurricane Florence that just hit our east coast and got us out of class a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, the hurricane was not as severe as they thought that it would be here, but it was very bad in Wilmington and New Bern, and other places on our coast. We should all be praying for those affected by hurricane Florence recently! I was able to connect this to science methods because we took a whole class period and talked about hurricanes, what they really are, and how they get started. I actually learned that it all starts over the Sahara Desert. 

Bacon, J. (2018, September 24). Hurricane Florence hit 10 days ago, and still hundreds of roads remain closed, thousands evacuated. Retrieved September 27, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/09/24/florence-10-days-later-rescues-and-evacuations-continue/1408965002/

What did you learn about the NCTCS this week? How does this relate to your future science instruction?

This week, I am unpacking NCTCS 2c and 2d for EDUC 435. These standards are about treating students as individuals, and adapting teaching to benefit students with special needs. This can relate to what I have learned in science this week. When I hear the phrase "Teachers need to modify their teaching to benefit students with special needs," I do not automatically think about adapting my teaching for students who have a disability of some sort. When I think of someone having a "special need," I just think about them needing something that is specific to the way that they learn, and it can be anything. One of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences is the Naturalistic Learner. These students learn best when reading about animals or nature, when sitting or walking outside, or while learning about the outside world. Our students learn differently, and we must treat them as individuals (Standard 2c) and cater their learning (and special) needs. We must remember that some students just need to get some fresh air and get back to nature.

Cherry, K. (2018, February 24). Which Type of Intelligence Do You Have? Retrieved September 26, 2018, from https://www.verywellmind.com/gardners-theory-of-multiple-intelligences-2795161

EDUC 435 // Blog 1 September 20, 2018

Hey y'all!
This month has been busy, busy, busy. I have been getting really involved in my clinical placement with my 2nd/3rd grade combination class, and I am starting to feel like I am getting the hang of it!

References to Learning Experiences this month:
     This month I completed a classroom management system, classroom management plan, and my lesson plans and commentary for task 1. I really enjoyed taking pictures around my C.E.'s classroom for the classroom management system because it helped me to get acquainted with how she runs her classroom and the expectation she has for her students.  I also really enjoyed making my own classroom management plan, because I think that this was a good thing to go ahead and have completed so that I can "work smarter, not harder" and have my procedures set into place. I think that it will be more helpful than we all realize to go ahead and have 3 days worth of substitute plans done. Writing task 1 this month has really helped me to feel more confident and relaxed about edTPA. I feel like I am finally starting to make connections in my mind between my practices and what the prompts are asking me. I think the light bulb might finally be coming on for me with edTPA!

References to outside learning/research:
     One thing that I have really struggled with this month is grouping for guided reading stations in my task 1 lesson plans. This is because two students were removed from our class just this past Monday. Also, the way that I have always done grouping in my lesson plans is much different than how my C.E. groups students for literacy stations. This isn't a bad thing AT ALL, it's just different and something for me to adjust to! She is very flexible and supportive, and she told me that I can do grouping how I want. However, I don't want to change the grouping too much from what the children are already used to. She was so sweet to send me an email last night with a book that she read that inspired the way she groups for literacy stations. The book is called Practice with Purpose (Literacy Workstations for Grades 3-6) by Debbie Diller. I looked into this book, and basically, the author that wrote this book was a teacher for 30 years. She decided to look at classroom practices with a questioning/inquiry point of view. She asks the questions "What are the purposes for these classroom practices, and why?" I am glad that my C.E. shared this book with me, and I can't wait to dive into it more. It might change the way I see grouping students for literacy stations as well. One thing that I love about my C.E.'s practices is that they are all research based.

Learning Experiences related to the NCTCS:
     Planning and writing task 1 is connected to the NCTCS in so many ways. It is directly related to Standard 4, "Teachers facilitate learning for their students." When we write task 1, this is exactly what we are doing! We are not just planning for the whole class, but for our students who need modifications and supports, as well. We are planning to facilitate learning for ALL of our students... not just the students who are "on grade level." Completing the management plan with substitute teacher lesson plans and the management system are directly related to Standard 5, "Teachers reflect on their practice." These learning experiences are also directly related to substandard c, "Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment." You never know when you might get sick or have some kind of emergency and have to miss school during student teaching or in your own classroom. By having these plans already in place for our substitute teacher to use for 3 days, we are planning ahead and preparing for anything. When we first went into our C.E.'s classrooms in August, we had a lot of information thrown at us. By creating the management system and taking pictures for artifacts, we became better acquainted with the classroom and how our C.E.'s will expect us to keep those procedures going in January. This is directly related to functioning in a complex and dynamic environment.

Connections to my Future Classroom:
     This month, I have made so many connections between my learning experiences at Gardner-Webb and my clinical placement to my future classroom. I have been taking care of my student with diabetes so much this month, and it has taught me a lot about life. First, I realized how blessed I am. I am 20 years old and by the grace of God I have not yet known struggles that this sweet child has already faced at 7 years old. She goes through a lot every single day with her condition, partly because she does not have a pump and in a 24 hour period she can have up to 4-5 shots of insulin and 10 finger sticks. She's so brave! She faces every single day with a smile! She keeps us on our toes, not just because of her severe diabetes, but because she is so sassy too! She is a constant encouragement to me because she tells me "Ms. McDaniel, I think you're getting the hang of this teaching thing. You're learning fast." I think we all need a kid like her in our lives. 💗 I feel like I was placed in this classroom with a purpose that is bigger than me, and I am already feeling more prepared for my future classroom. This placement has been tough and intimidating at times, learning to teach two grade levels at the same time, but it is only building my confidence for my future classroom.