Lorry

Journal 5
Agency and Gambare are two words that may be new to you this summer. What do you think they have to do with teaching science? What other words or phrases would you add that sums up your experience in this class?

If you answered the question above, you are being reflective. How can reflection help you be a better (science) teacher?

What have you noticed about the classroom where we meet each week? What aspects do you like and what would you change, add, or remove if it was your classroom?

Journal 4
How does promoting logical and critical thinking fit into a science curriculum? Does this save time or waste time?

Is a textbook needed all the time? When is it needed and when is it not needed?

What would be the most interesting science topic to share with another subject? How would your students prove mastery?

Start a list of community science resources (institutions or agencies/ people, materials, or websites) that could be used to support the unit you are planning.

Journal 3:

What is Differentiated Instruction and what can it do for students and teachers? Shouldn’t all students have the same opportunity? Is it fair for some students to do less and others do more? What is the difference: ‘What gets rewarded gets done’ vs. ‘What is rewarding gets done.’ Which is more true for you?

Journal 2: Did technology help you understand buoyancy? If it is still unclear, how could you find out now that we are not in class?

How could you do this without technology?

How can technology leverage learning?

What exactly is technology? What is available? Do I need the Internet?

Do I need a bunch of computers?

What role does technology play in schools? Is it used too much, too little?

 Is it the teacher’s responsibility to teach the tech or expect a certain level of expertise on the part of students, or should tech be avoided?

 How does technology fit into pedagogy and curriculum?

Journal 1: What was the best thing you took away tonight? The thing that caught my attention the most during week one of class is the inquiry learning/teaching phenomena. I like this method of learning/teaching because i'm a person that likes to know why something is what it is. I don't like to take someones word for something or just allow people to state something to me. I would rather an individual give me a fact and break it down so that I understand firstly why i'm being told the fact and also so I can try to connect it to other information that I have obtained throughout my career as a student. The person that does the work, does the learning. If the teacher does all the explaining, then the teacher does all the work and therefore all the learning.

This is how I would expand this idea… In order to further expand the idea of inquiry learning/teaching I would take two of my classes and teach the same content traditionally and using inquiry teaching and compare and contrast the results. If turns out that the experiment shows evidence in favor of inquiry teaching (as far as test results and other measurable variables are concerned) I will then take my idea to other faculty members and school administration to see if the method can be implemented on some level until it is something all educators practice.

What is Inquiry Learning and is it a valid way to teach? Simply put, inquiry learning is learning by way of seeking or requesting information no matter how one goes about doing it. It is somewhat of an investigation into a subject matter. It depends on what an individual would call "valid" therefore I can't answer that question. But I can say that for a student like me it would be an effective way to teach me because it would not only cause me to think which is something I enjoy doing but it would hold my attention because I would be caught up thinking about what will happen next and I lose interest in stuff fairly easily.

What is ‘Gambare’ and does it have a place in science education? I have been unable to find conclusive evidence that tells me exactly what Gambare is. However a couple of the sources I read have stated that Gambare is a part of Japanese culture that means to have determination, extraordinary power, or endurance. Basically it means to persevere through any situation and under any circumstance. I believe you have found enough to get the point. Does Gambare have a place in science education? It seems from your interest in Inquiry, there would have to be some Gambare involved on the part of the student (and the teacher).