Teaching: Meeting the Standards
To exemplify my ability to teach inquiry-based science and effectively build scientific curiosity amongst students, I have organized samples of my teaching into the six National Science Education Standards (NSES) for science teachers.
Teaching Standard A: Provide inquiry-based learning
You Are What You Eat: An Energy Bar Project
One example of my use of inquiry-based learning is a project that my Biology students worked on this year. The Learning Goal for the Expedition (Unit) was that students would understand how the body uses energy and what types of energy are best for the body. I challenged the students to design a research-based energy bar that was tasty and provided basketball players with the energy they needed. Students started the Expedition by brain-dumping the things that they thought were essential to learning about how the body uses food to gain energy. As a class, we combined and reworked our ideas into 6 essential questions. Students then spent several week research their essential questions and used this information to create their energy bar. They then created a website to inform the public about their bar and also made enough samples for a school-wide taste test. In the end, students still learned the major concepts, but did it in a way that helped them take ownership of their learning...and they had a lot of fun! Go to the Student Gallery to see examples of their websites.
Check out the photo album of different stages of the project!
Teaching Standard B: Guide and Facilitate Learning
Science is Sweet!
When Chemistry students were learning about stoichiometry, it would have been really easy for me to just tell them how to calculate the number of atoms based on mass. However, I approached it through a problem-solving activity and it led to a deeper understanding of the mole and molar mass. I gave students a bag of sugar and challenged them to figure out how many carbon atoms were in the bag. Students worked for 2 class days and shared their procedure in a Powerpoint file. During the inquiry activity, I talked with students and helped guide their thinking without "telling" them the answer. By stepping back and being the facilitator, I helped students work to gain their own understanding of the material.
Check out the Student Gallery to see a sample Science is Sweet procedure!
Teaching Standard C: Engage in assessment of student learning
R.A.F.T. Project-Based Learning: Assessment Embedded in the Process
Student assessment does not necessarily mean a test reviewing the standards. Instead, authentic assessment engages students in meaningful learning to illustrate what they have learned through the uncoverage of scientific concepts. R.A.F.T stands for Role, Audience, Format and Topic. Student chose how they want to show what they have learned during the expedition. This choice gives students "buy in" to the learning and they end up getting excited about the concepts. On top of that, the project was set up so that students worked independently to "dig" for a deep and robust understanding of body systems and how they interact. I provided research questions that were scaffolded by ability and language level. At the end, students created a "product" to show their learning. Some students wrote a travel blog from the perspective of a sandwich, some made a display board to teach others about their systems, while others created a 3D poster with information bubbles about their systems. At the end of the expedition, students reflected on how they handled their freedom and gave me feedback on how to improve the activity.
Click here to see a photo album of students working hard on their projects
Go to the Student Gallery to see samples of student work on this project
Teaching Standard D: Develop learning environment with resources needed for learning science
SMASH! Day
SMASH! stands for "Smith's Marvelously Awesome Science Hoopla" and is and is a monthly tradition in my teaching. I originally got the idea from a colleague, and adapted it to fit my classroom environment. SMASH! Day happens the first Monday or Tuesday (block scheduling) of the month and is designed to be an activity that promotes communication, trust, teamwork, and scientific inquiry.
Students are faced with a scenario or challenge and work in teams to solve the problem or meet the challenge. Afterwards, we "de-brief" by discussing what went well and what needed improvement, and then the students blog to reflect on how the activity aligned with the 5 student outcomes we promote at the school (Person of High Character, Critical Thinker, Community Contributor, Effective Communicator, and Active Learner). They also reflect on how they contributed to the "team effort" and what they enjoyed about the activity.
SMASH! Day has become a part of the open and inviting learning environment that I have built to help students feel comfortable asking questions and striving to find answers. This also begins the process of relationship-building between students, which is the first step towards a true learning community.
SMASH! Day activities include: Mystery Structure, Chocolate Attack, Paper Tower-Building, It All Depends on the Angle, and many other problem-based activities.
Teaching Standard E: Develop communities of learners that reflect intellectual rigor of inquiry
The Density Column
Students in 9th grade Physical Science begin the year with a brief introduction to the properties of matter. This was a great opportunity for me to challenge student thinking regarding the density of liquids vs. solids. I designed a lesson where students first observed a density column that I had made using different liquids, and then got samples of the liquids to "experiment" with on their own.
As students began experimenting with the liquids, they began to collaborate on how the liquids interacted. As they collaborated they began to ask questions and then provide each other with ways to explore the answers to each other's questions. I facilitated the discussion by providing guided questions when they "got stuck."
By providing the lesson as a jumping point and working to develop a community, I had made it possible for the students to truly explore the liquids through the lens of a density exploration. They were asking questions and testing the liquids in ways I had not even thought of! The result was that they learned about the process of being a scientist and how it required an inquiry attitude to be able to answer the questions they had generated.
By the end of the lesson students were dropping things into the columns to see if the size of an object affected whether it would float or sink! It was as if they had taken over as the curriculum specialists!
Teaching Standard F: Actively participate in ongoing planning and development of the school science program
Developing a Scope and Sequence
Part of working at a growing school, is being able to have a hand in the development of...everything. Working at Hsinchu International School has given me the opportunity to contribute to the science department in ways that were never possible for me in larger schools. This experience has been a professional development opportunity for me and I have learned more than I ever would if I only read about curriculum development.
As a department we worked together to develop a curriculum matrix that would eventually develop into the scope and sequence for secondary science. This experience was invaluable and it helped me to see the "big picture" of science curriculum at all grade levels. This macro approach helped me see how my individual teaching units contribute to the overall success of the entire 7-12 science program.
Later, I went on to help facilitate the development of a systematic template for the school to adopt when using the Understanding by Design approach.
