Where does a tree come from?

© Dietmar Klement - istockphoto.com

     Over the last two weeks, we’ve watched sections of a video, Minds of Our Own, which can be viewed online at http://www.learner.org/resources/series26.html  The most interesting part was interviews of recent MIT and Harvard graduates who couldn’t light a lightbulb with a battery, wire, and a bulb OR describe how a seed turned into a tree – hint the tree needs the chemical shown above and a few other things.

     There is an interesting list of the most common misconceptions at http://www.amasci.com/miscon/opphys.html   Obviously some of these apply to very young children but some continue through adulthood. As long as a person has not discovered information to challenge their view, why would they bother to modify it? It will be a major focus of my teaching to both discover my students’ misconceptions and motivate them to change their views.

     On the subject of green stuff. My garden never happened this year. I bought the seeds and started some of them but stalled before putting them in the ground due to grad school. I briefly hoped that I would plant some lettuce, chard, and kale during my brief hiatus in August – a few sheets of plastic and I could have had fresh veggies through the end of November at least and some years into January. I am fortunate that I can rely on my CSA and the farmers there who transform carbon dioxide and sunlight into food for my family.

 

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Science Stars & other Stuff

© Andrea Haase - iStockPhoto.com

     Science Stars this week seemed to be an uneven experience.   For those groups – including ours – who were met with great enthusiasm last week, the girls seemed to be a bit more apathetic this week.  For those groups who dealt with more ennui last week, there seemed to be more interest and participation this week.   This unscientific observation is based on a sampling of blog posts around the cohort about our experiences with the Science Stars after-school program on Tuesday.   Perhaps it is an expected consequence of the work many of us did to get off to a strong start last week.    The girls in our group wanted to know when we were going to burn something or blow something up – a reasonable expectation based on that other groups have been doing.   Hmmm – we are supposed to be doing physics;  would a nuclear bomb or cold fusion be more appropriate?

     We had less enthusiasm this week but that seemed to be related more to the mini-lessons than the hands-on part of our plan.    I’m still trying to understand where we are headed w.r.t. physics, energy, and an investigation.   I’m about spent on ideas – largely met with a lack of enthusiasm by my team – which is otherwise terrific;   this statement is more of a comment on the quality of my input rather than our potential as a team.  I enjoy physics and took almost enough courses to be certifiable to teach it in NY state – a scary statement in and of itself.  My kids, and some others, would consider me certifiable in other ways but that’s another blog post.   I am not anywhere close to the level of my teammates – Mike and  Dylan – who majored in Physics, or Donna and Amanda – who are experienced teachers;  although I’m trying, I feel like I’m way behind and also having trouble  wrapping my mind around how to do energy, physics, and inquiry with these girls.

     Hoping for inspiration.   Ideas greatly accepted from both our cohort blog world and anybody else who is listening.

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Hand-On Physics with the Stars

    

     Tuesday was our first meeting with the middle school girls who will be partipating in our afterschool program, Science Stars.   Our group will study energy within the realm of physics.   Thankfully, I’m working with two physicists, Mike and Dylan, who majored in physics AND graduated recently, who will be able to help me dust off and get that part of my brain functioning again.   When we did introductions, two of the girls mentioned that they liked pouring chemicals together so maybe, just maybe, I’ll find a way to work some chemistry in – batteries? explosions? (see what Anne & Kristin did here, for more on explosive teaching).

     We did hands-on APK work with the kids using “Newton’s Cradle”, pictured above  [Thanks Orlando!]; hot wheels cars on a track, powered by rubber bands,  crashing into blocks; and electrical circuits including light bulbs.  The students even mustered up some enthusiasm for a picture about energy sources which we used as a discussion starter.    They were great at making connections, without necessarily using the terminology, about stored energy, inertia, and simple circuits.  We were able to see how they did with group work and experimenting to put the car and the block in the target zone after the crash.     The global connections about energy sources and they use was a bit of a weakness, e.g. no indication that they understood where the electricity in the outlets came from although we had talked about wind, solar, etc. but we may not focus on that anyway.

      I’m still trying to wrap my mind around inquiry in Physics as it pertains to electricity or other forms of energy.    We’ll have to come up with a good plan for next week to help them understand their knowledge, extend it, and then figure out what they want to do for an investigation/project.

      I loved meeting and spending time with the kids today.  One of the highlights was getting a hug from one of the kids from summer camp in the hallway on the way to Science Stars.   I had some clashes with this student during summer camp so I was pleased that her reaction to me was so enthusiastic.   After spending a solid week with the kids at camp, I got quite attached and frequently wonder how they are doing.   Did the camp make a difference in how they are approaching their science classes this year?

 

 

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