I was talking to my roomate (a third grade teacher) about what she is teaching her kids in science and math. She was writing lesson plans about measurement. It hit me how important it is to teach correct principles in the early grades. A lot of elementary teachers I have talked to recently have said that they dislike teaching science, even to the point of avoiding it as much as they can. Especially the physical sciences. Part of the problem may be that it is hard to teach physical science without the math background, but maybe the teachers just aren't prepared for it. I don't know because I am not an elementary teacher, but maybe if elementary teachers weren't so disinclined to teach physical science, kids would have a better foundation by the time they get to high school and show up in my chemistry classes. It is so important to build on the sense of wonder children have. The math can come later, but children need to see and touch and build conceptual ideas about what things like gravity, friction, heat, energy, reactions, etc. really are. If children have a strong foundation of correct principles, they will be so much more prepared to take more formal science classes in high school.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Lambert-Beer Law lesson plan
In this lab, students will use spectrophotometry to determine the concentration of ions in solution.
Subject matter/Grade level
This lab is designed for a high school chemistry class with access to a spectrophotometer.
Utah Core Curriculum
Stadard II, objective 1. Evaluate quantum energy changes in the atom in terms of the energy contained in light emissions.
Technologies
Students will use a spectrophotometer to measure absorbance at at specified wavelengths for several ions. They will measure solutions of Cu+ , Cr+, and Ni+ at various concentrations, and then determine the concentration of an unknown solution provided by the teacher. They will use excel to chart their results.
Teacher Crafted Example
The final product to be turned in for this assignment will be a lab report. The students will prepare lab report written according to formal lab report guidelines. This means that students must include an abstract, a background section, a procedure section, a results section, a conclusion, and an error analysis. They will include a description of the work done in the lab, the data they collected, the analysis of the data from Excel, and their final answer for the concentration of their unknown ion.
Assessment of the Final Product
Students will be graded on their lab report. They will get points for accuracy, and the lab report will be graded according to correctness. There will be a rubric assigning points to each section of the lab report, and describing what students recieve points for.
Ethical Considerations
The biggest area of concern for this lab is disadvatage for the students without computers at home or knowledge of Exel. To compensate for this, the students will have time in class to work on their calculations and analysis, and I will work with them in small groups to make sure that everyone knows what to do. This may create a management problem, so I will be aware of what is going on in the classroom and if certain groups seem to finish early, I will have a special project (i.e.-cleaning the lab) prepared if they create problems.
Subject matter/Grade level
This lab is designed for a high school chemistry class with access to a spectrophotometer.
Utah Core Curriculum
Stadard II, objective 1. Evaluate quantum energy changes in the atom in terms of the energy contained in light emissions.
Technologies
Students will use a spectrophotometer to measure absorbance at at specified wavelengths for several ions. They will measure solutions of Cu+ , Cr+, and Ni+ at various concentrations, and then determine the concentration of an unknown solution provided by the teacher. They will use excel to chart their results.
Teacher Crafted Example
The final product to be turned in for this assignment will be a lab report. The students will prepare lab report written according to formal lab report guidelines. This means that students must include an abstract, a background section, a procedure section, a results section, a conclusion, and an error analysis. They will include a description of the work done in the lab, the data they collected, the analysis of the data from Excel, and their final answer for the concentration of their unknown ion.
Assessment of the Final Product
Students will be graded on their lab report. They will get points for accuracy, and the lab report will be graded according to correctness. There will be a rubric assigning points to each section of the lab report, and describing what students recieve points for.
Ethical Considerations
The biggest area of concern for this lab is disadvatage for the students without computers at home or knowledge of Exel. To compensate for this, the students will have time in class to work on their calculations and analysis, and I will work with them in small groups to make sure that everyone knows what to do. This may create a management problem, so I will be aware of what is going on in the classroom and if certain groups seem to finish early, I will have a special project (i.e.-cleaning the lab) prepared if they create problems.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Our Deepest Fear is that We are Powerful Beyond Measure
Nelson Mandela said that we are frightened by our light, not our darkness. He said that we are all children of God, and our playing small does not serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. I know for me, this is true. I have shied away from the power within me many times. I have been afraid of letting people know who I really am. By overcoming this fear, we can help others bring out the best in themselves. Teachers can play a special role in helping their students recognize the light they hold within themselves and let it shine. Teachers need to be a model for students of confidence and of someone who is living up to a set of principles. They need to recognize that each student is a child of God and has the potential to shine and to manifest the glory within them. Students need opportunities to shine and we can give them these opportunities in class.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Ethical Issues
Recently, our IP&T class completed a discussion on ethical issues with technology in education. We covered software and media copying, flexible copyright, fair use, privacy and security issues, and cheating with technology. We talked specifically about how these issues affect teachers.
What I Learned About Ethics
This discussion opened my eyes to the wide variety of ways to break the law. Even though there are fair use laws making it easier for teachers to use copyrighted materials for educational purposes, there are still many issues to be aware of when using copyrighted information. I was aware of the basic copyright laws, but I was not aware of the specific details for some types of media. For example, I was not aware that it is only okay to play 30 seconds of a song from a cd. I also became aware of flexible copyright options. I like the idea of flexible copyright. It puts the power in the hands of the author or creator of the work. I realized that privacy and security issues have greater ethical ramifications than I had previously supposed. Letting students use the internet at school provides a way for them access content that is outside of the teacher's direct control. Teachers have an ethical responsibility to protect their students from inappropriate content. I don't know much about firewalls or other computer protection software, but if I use the internet in my classes, this will have to be something I learn. Our discussion about cheating also opened my eyes to the temptation to cheat that students face. I suppose I was somewhat naive as a high school student and didn't really pay attention to the different ways for students to cheat. Technology increases opportunities to cheat.
As a Teacher...
The thing that was the most useful to me about our discussion about ethics was the information about fair use and cheating. This information is directly applicable in teaching. As a teacher, I will probably be using the internet to find information and create assignments for my students. It was helpful to know what I am allowed to use, how much I am allowed to use, how I am allowed to use it, and what I am not allowed to use. I need to make sure that the software in my classroom all has the proper licensing. When I make handouts for my class, I need to avoid information that is copyrighted or not permitted according the fair use guidelines. I will also have rules in my class to help students avoid cheating. A big issue in chemistry could be calculators with programming capabilities. Students will not be allowed to program equations I expect them to memorize into their calculators. In class, we discussed the potential for students to copy their homework off of the internet. I do not see this a major problem in my class. If a student is concerned enough about their grade to search the internet high and low for a problem exactly similar to the one I assigned, well, good for them. But, it won't help them on a test. I expect students to work together and use whatever resources they need to figure out the problem. They may need to be taught how to work as a team without cheating by simply copying each other's work. I can have students practice this in class by assigning problems for them to work on as a group and monitoring how the class is doing at cooperating.
What I Learned About Ethics
This discussion opened my eyes to the wide variety of ways to break the law. Even though there are fair use laws making it easier for teachers to use copyrighted materials for educational purposes, there are still many issues to be aware of when using copyrighted information. I was aware of the basic copyright laws, but I was not aware of the specific details for some types of media. For example, I was not aware that it is only okay to play 30 seconds of a song from a cd. I also became aware of flexible copyright options. I like the idea of flexible copyright. It puts the power in the hands of the author or creator of the work. I realized that privacy and security issues have greater ethical ramifications than I had previously supposed. Letting students use the internet at school provides a way for them access content that is outside of the teacher's direct control. Teachers have an ethical responsibility to protect their students from inappropriate content. I don't know much about firewalls or other computer protection software, but if I use the internet in my classes, this will have to be something I learn. Our discussion about cheating also opened my eyes to the temptation to cheat that students face. I suppose I was somewhat naive as a high school student and didn't really pay attention to the different ways for students to cheat. Technology increases opportunities to cheat.
As a Teacher...
The thing that was the most useful to me about our discussion about ethics was the information about fair use and cheating. This information is directly applicable in teaching. As a teacher, I will probably be using the internet to find information and create assignments for my students. It was helpful to know what I am allowed to use, how much I am allowed to use, how I am allowed to use it, and what I am not allowed to use. I need to make sure that the software in my classroom all has the proper licensing. When I make handouts for my class, I need to avoid information that is copyrighted or not permitted according the fair use guidelines. I will also have rules in my class to help students avoid cheating. A big issue in chemistry could be calculators with programming capabilities. Students will not be allowed to program equations I expect them to memorize into their calculators. In class, we discussed the potential for students to copy their homework off of the internet. I do not see this a major problem in my class. If a student is concerned enough about their grade to search the internet high and low for a problem exactly similar to the one I assigned, well, good for them. But, it won't help them on a test. I expect students to work together and use whatever resources they need to figure out the problem. They may need to be taught how to work as a team without cheating by simply copying each other's work. I can have students practice this in class by assigning problems for them to work on as a group and monitoring how the class is doing at cooperating.
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