Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Women In Science

1)  Why do you think girls tend to not consider science as a possible career option?

2)  What can you do in your classroom to help girls make more informed choices about science careers?


I think the majority of girls don't consider science as a career option becasue in our society today women are more so involved in the home and family life.  Being a scientist takes up a lot of time so I think women who want to have a family don't see themselves in the sciences.  I'm not saying this is true for everyone but in our society today, it is more acceptable for the male to be away from the home more so then the woman.   I also feel like when we were taught science it was a very boring and  step by step process.  In my high school we never went outside to explore, we just worked with numbers and read out of a book and then were tested on the material.  Women in general are creative and like to explore.  I think that overtime there has been more males involved with the sciences and so women may see this and think it's not for women so they think they don't belong.  I also think it has to do with their experiences in school.  If they were taught by a male and all they learned was about biology and chemistry then girls think that's what science is all about.


In my classroom I can show students that science can be for anyone.  Science can be fun, engaging, and creative.  In my classroom I can have students explore more and not just focus on teaching science from a textbook.  I can show students that science is not just about numbers and experiments.  I can show students that there are many different kinds of sciences.  I think there are a lot of things that are considered science that girls don't know about.  As a teacher I can teach girls these other options instead of just the normal chemistry and biology. There's so much more out there for girls to explore so I think if teachers would introduce these topics more then they would show more interest in the sciences. 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Class so far...

I have enjoyed every class disscussion so far in class becasue they always make me think about things in a different way.  Before class, I didn't realize that I will be sending a message to my studnents everyday in the classroom.  Professor Kruse said everything we do in the classroom sends a message about how science works.  This scares me becuase I feel like I don't know enough about science to be able to teach it the "right" way.  I'm scared I won't remember all the things we've talked about in class on how and why we teach science.  I feel like there are so many ways to teach it wrong but only a few ways to teach science right and I need to fully understand how to do it right. For example, when professor Kruse said that we are always teaching A nature of science... but is it accurate?  How do we know if we are teaching the nature of science accurately or not? 

Every time I leave the class I feel like I took in so much information and I don't know if I can remember everything.  I think teaching the nature of science and how to teach it correctly is a very complicated process.  I think the most frustrating thing for me is that this is the first class that I've had that is actually teaching me how to teach the content effectively.  It is a bit overwhelming becuase like most of the class, I had science teachers that stuck with the step by step process so coming into this class knowing that I was taught the wrong way scares me.  I know that the first year of teaching will be a struggle and I hope I can get through it.  I hope that I will remember the things we discuss in class and be able to teach the nature of science effectively.  It's just a lot to take in right now.  Like we discussed in class, I am still getting used to the fact that I was taught wrong and I basically need to start from the bottom and relearn everything, or at least how to teach it effectively.

I like how our classes are going becasue I find our class discussions very benificial. I really liked the goals we came up with because we will be able to use these in our classroom for all content areas. I enjoy this class because we talk about how and why we teach things, not just becuase the book says we have to.  I just hope I can apply all the things we discuss when I start teaching.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

How I Think Science Works

We talked a lot about how we think science works during our classroom discussions. I think we all have different views and beliefs on science but I think we all agree that science is based on evidence.  The big point I took from class discussion was that we can never know science is 100%.  Professor Kruse made a comment that stuck with me after class. "Science is interesting because science is interesting."  Science is a huge puzzle that involves thinking in lots of different ways.

We also talked about how science is motivated by curiosity.  Scientist study and research certain things because they are curious about them.  Our class talked about the roles of peers when it comes to science.  Scientists use their peers and ask questions.  They also go out into the field because they are curious about science.  We talked about the developmental learning theory and how the "real thing" is the best way to learn about something because it's very concrete.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Education 125 Student Goals

           I think the goals that we created in class are very powerful.  These goals demonstrate effective teaching because if we, as teachers, can teach our students to achieve these goals then I think we would all be effective.  I do however think it will be a big challenge for us as teachers to get everyone of our students to achieve these goals by the time they leave the 12th grade.  I’m not saying it will be impossible for students to achieve these goals but it will be a challenge because no student learns the same so it’s up to us as teachers to find a way to teach so that our students actually learn.                               
           I think for me the most challenging goal for students to achieve will be that students will demonstrate understanding of learning.  We’ve talked in class about how difficult of a concept learning actually is.  I don’t think I will actually know how complicated learning is until I get into my own classroom.  To not only teach my students how to learn but for them to demonstrate what they’ve learned will be a great accomplishment for me as a teacher.  It is a goal for me to have every one of my students learn what I’ve taught them.  A fear that I have though is that not all my students will learn what I have taught.  I will hold myself accountable then and know it was my fault that some of my students didn’t learn what I taught them.                                                                                                    
           I think the goals we came up with in class will be very beneficial for me as a teacher because they cover everything a student should demonstrate after 12th grade.  These goals will be very useful for not only my students but for me as a teacher as well.