Practice Practice Practice

    






     

 In order to become better at teaching science while infusing technology throughout the lessons, the best way to accomplish this is through practice. In collaboration with taking this science course, as a student , I will work in a group with other teacher candidates to create and present a lesson to students while completing our fieldwork. Each group was given a topic to produce a lesson from and the theme of the after school science program is Every Day is Earth Day. The topic for my group (group 4) is Land, Air, and Water Resources. Teaching this lesson will occur in a couple of weeks but today we meet the students we will be working with in the after school program. 
     Today's class consisted of the student's sitting in groups at tables. The professor kept track of the time while each group of teacher candidates presented the same lesson to a new group of eager students. Our first group began by each teacher candidate introducing themselves. Each teacher candidate took turns throughout the lesson being a facilitator of the activities. The first activity presented to the students was a group recycling activity, There were pictures of a variety of objects including cans, paper, glass bottles and banana peels. Each student was given a paper 'bin' which was labeled either glass, aluminum, paper, plastic, or compost. Directions were explained to the students and they completed the activity with some support especially when it came to the concept of composting. Each student then explained their reasons for placing certain items in their bin. After the explanations, we transitioned into the next activity. 
     An All About Me Science worksheet was given to each student. While student's completed the worksheet, so did the teacher candidates so modeling and conversations were occurring. The conversations built relationships with the students. Once completing the worksheet, each student presented the information about themselves to the group. Some students needed encouragement to share while other students thoroughly enjoyed sharing about themselves. When the time was up, another group of students joined our table and the same activities were presented in a similar manner. 
     After meeting our students, from grades third to sixth, I have a better understanding about creating the lesson our group will create and present in a couple of weeks. Since the students will continue to work in groups, placement is important. Some students had more side conversations when they were in a group with friends. Promoting conversation about the science lesson is important while maintaining a student's focus on the lesson presented. I look forward to the planning process with the teacher candidates in my group. Watching the other groups present a lesson will also be a valuable learning tool.