"Who can be a scientist?"

I tried envisioning what a scientist would look like, and I came to the same picture as the one in Koch's text. I envisioned a white male with crazy hair, someone like Albert Einstein. Because he is such a renown scientist, it's hard not to think of him when I think of scientists. However, upon reflecting on my recent readings from Koch's text and my own image of a scientist, I realized how such stereotype of what a scientist looks like can have harmful effects on students.

When I reflected upon my past experiences with science as a child, I know the thought of being a scientist has never crossed my mind. No one has ever brought it to my attention that it could be a possible career path. Science was simply a subject in school that we learned, and sadly, that was the end of it. So I hope as a future teacher, I could do more for my students.

In Koch's text, she mentioned that when students asked, "Who can be a scientist?" she raised a mirror, so that they can see they all can. I would like to do the same for my students. I want to break the stereotype that only white male can be scientists and provide the idea that anyone can, regardless of gender, background, or ethnicity. I would like to supplement this with examples of women scientists as well as scientists of different ethnic backgrounds. I could use technology as I've mentioned in my previous blog to help me bring these samples to life for my students if I could not invite a scientist to come to the class.

I would also like to incorporate the idea of having science journals, except it would not be just for me, but for my students. It would be used as a free writing tool, where students' grammar and spelling aren't most important, but rather their observations and analysis. The goal is to bring awareness as well as help them reflect on the connection between their lives and nature.

Teaching Science in the Classroom

There were a quite a few ideas from a textbook, Science Stories by Janice Koch, that I thought were worth mentioning in this blog. I won't reiterate the text by writing them all down, but a few that I wanted to take note of were the idea of teaching science as a process, the benefits and values of teaching science, the hands-on activities, and the use of technology while teaching science.

I think many teachers are reluctant to teach science because many of us are guilty of thinking about science as a dull process of memorizing facts. I, myself, am guilty of this thought. It has certainly played a role in my hesitation. However, after reading about teaching science as a process, I am reminded that science is more than just facts. It's about inquiring, asking good questions, exploring, observing, predicting, analyzing and finding answers. It's also about developing an open-mindedness towards new evidence and developing the skills to cooperate with others. If all the scientists kept their discoveries to themselves, this world would not be where it is today. We, as humans, would not have progressed as quickly as we have. And learning about science as a progress not only benefits students in science, but the skills that they practice can be applied to all other aspects of life.

I also love the reminder that Koch mentions about hands-on activities. Many teachers believe that hands-on activities in itself will suffice as a valuable learning experience. However, without connecting the experience to the students' lives, without opportunities for students to reflect, and without clearly defined goals, these students are lacking the true depth in the experience. They are less likely to see the significance in their task, and thus, less likely to retain the information and skills they are meant to develop.

Lastly, integrating technology in the classroom is such a valuable tool and experience for both teachers and students. Teachers are able to provide information for students that they might not otherwise be able to gather on their own. For example, teachers are able to visit places all over the world from within their classroom. They can track migrations or weather patterns. There are even websites that provides simulations of animal dissections if doing it in the classroom is not feasible. With technology, teachers are able to broaden students' experiences to much greater lengths than they can using just the means of a classroom.

I'm excited about all that I'm already learning about teaching science in the classroom and all the new perspectives that I haven't previously considered. As I continue to explore Koch's text, I will be updating more thoughts and ideas here on the blog. Stay tuned!

My first post!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my first post. I've never been much of a blogger, so there's a lot for me to learn. I'd love to kick start this with a picture of me and my first student teaching class. It was so much fun and a wonderful experience! I can't wait to start teaching!

I'm looking forward to posting more pictures here and sharing more of my experiences in and outside the classroom! Stay tune! =]