Two Important Lessons

1. How to get permanent marker off a white board- use a white board marker and write over the permanent marker. Let it sit for a while then use an eraser and it will erase!
2. http://rubistar.4teachers.org

Krajcik Chapter 9- Assessment

This reading contained a lot of information on assessment. It would take me quite some time to really understand all of the information that was given. It was interesting to learn about how many different forms there are of assessment, because in my experience, I can only really remember a few types: through tests, written assignments, speeches, and projects.

Features of effective assessment in Science: Assessment is contextualized, continuous, multidimensional (differentiate), students are actively involved with how you grade and what you are grading, it's valid and reliable, aligned with learning goals, accommodates diversity, consistent with learning theory, measures meaningful understanding. Assessment is done by the teacher, the student- when students are too hard on themselves, peers- when working in a group telling who put most work in. The purpose of the assessment through formative assessment is constant. The summative assessment is when the year ends. Assessments and rubrics must be linked to learning performances!

Pendulum's

Think Individually:
1. What is your personal experience with swinging on anything like a trapeze?

My personal experience is swinging on a swingset in the park. Playing with yo-yo's and doing the cat's cradle trick.

2. What applications to “real life” do swinging objects have?

A real life application could be a crane with a wrecking ball that knocks down buildings.

3. What is your prediction about what will happen if two people are on one trapeze and only one is on the other and they are both let go at the same time?  Explain.

I think that they will swing at the same rate. 

4. What understanding or ideas do you have about the science of back-and-forth swinging objects? 

Gravity causes objects to swing on a rope. The length of the rope is what determines the frequency of the swing.

Do the investigation:

# of washers	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Trial 4	Mean
1	9	9.5	9	9.25	9.1875
2	8.75	9	9.5	9	9.0625
3	9	8.75	9.5	9	9.0625
4	9	9	9.25	9	9.0625

After one trial of 1 washer at 22.5º, I still think that the amount of washers on the pendulum is not going to matter. I think that the only thing that matters is the angle that it is released and the length of the pendulum. So, I believe that with 2, 3, & 4 washers there will still be about 9.1875 swings in 10 seconds at the angle of 22.5º.

Explore on your own:

1. What questions do you have? Complete the list of your personal questions from doing the pendulums activity. 

• How does the length of the pendulum affect the swing?
• How does the angle of the pendulum affect the swing?
• How does the force behind the pendulum affect the swing?
• How does the weight/length/angle affect the force that the pendulum has when it hits something?

2. Analyze your questions – Look at your list of question
         a. Which of these questions can be investigate using the activity materials you’ve been using? 

• The first two questions can be answered with materials given in class.

         b. Which questions require additional materials? What are they? 

• The second two questions require additional materials. The force question requires something that will push the pendulum consistently at the same force. The last question would require something that the pendulum could hit that would mark how much damage was made.

         c. Which questions are beyond the scope of this activity to find answers? How would you find those answers? 

• I think the last question would be too difficult to measure. I would talk to someone who knows a lot about physics or about wrecking balls.

         d. Identify three questions you personally are most interested in investigating. Why are these questions interesting or important to you?

• I am interested in investing the first three questions because it is interesting to think about what factors affect the swinging pendulum. I had never really thought about all the factors that go into a pendulum and how precise everything must be for it to stay consistent.

Open Inquiry in class [3.1.2012]:

1. Choose a question: How does the length affect the frequency of pendulum swings?

1. Why did you choose that question? We choose this question because we wondered whether the was a factor in the frequency of the pendulum.
2. Why is it important or interesting? It's important to know so that I know what exactly affects the frequency of a pendulum.

2. Design an investigation:

One length 8.5 cm, another is 201/2 & another is 29 cm

3. Investigate:

LENGTH (cm)	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Trial 4
8.5	16	15	15	15
20.5	10	10	10	10
29	9	9	8.5	8.5

8.5 average: 15.25

20.5 average: 10

29 average: 8.75

4. Evaluate:

We concluded that the length affects the frequency of the pendulum.

• When we looked to howstuffworks.com we found that this is the only factor! http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/clocks-watches/clock3.htm 
• Angle does not affect the frequency of the pendulum.
• Weight does not affect the frequency of the pendulum.

QUIZ:

This would be an odd swinging experience because the length of the two strings holding on to the pendulum is different and we know that the length of the pendulum is the only thing that affects the frequency of the pendulum. It would cause the child to swing crooked because the shorter side of the swing would swing faster than the longer side of the swing. 

Line of Learning

2.27.2012

Line of Learning Questions:

1. How do elementary students learn science? 

Elementary students learn science by interacting with materials and becoming hands-on learners. These activities allow them to make connections, observations, and conclusions. They learn science by incorporating their knowledge about multiple subjects, such as mathematics and reading, and writing into the development of their creative thinking. As was shown in the moon lesson in class, a manipulative helps students demonstrate their knowledge and work through problems. Students are also more apt to learn science when they are able to connect what they are learning in the classroom to real life situations. The School of the Wild is a great example of a place where students can be completely exposed to the physical science all around them, it is also easy for students to connect to the real world through this experience, because that is exactly what they are studying. Also, students may still hold onto these misconceptions even after doing hands on learning, so students can learn best when they truly overcome these misconceptions. Students learn from making mistakes in their experiments. Students will learn science by experimenting, teachers should not always give students a ideal lab to eliminate mistakes. Students learn science through the 5 step inquiry process. This process is on a continuum from more teacher directed to student directed. When the lesson is more student directed students are in charge of their learning.

2. What classroom environments facilitate elementary students science learning? 

I believe that an environment that fosters student-centered learning; where the students needs come before the teacher. It is an environment that exposes children to different things and allows children to explore and test theories. 
The teacher should act as a facilitator; correcting misconceptions, guiding topics of conversation, and maintaing a safe and welcoming environment where students feel free to share thoughts openly with their classmates. A classroom environment where students are allowed to work together is helpful for students. 

3. What should teachers know and be able to do to design and foster effective elementary science learning environments?

Teachers should know that students work best when working with hands-on materials. They must also have Science notebook where write their thoughts on the subject matter. This can provide the student with a place to freely express his or her opinion and also a place for a teacher to assess the ability levels of his or her students and cater to those individual needs. A teacher should also know that it is okay for students to not know the right answer, but should give the students the time and opportunity to solve problems. A teacher should be able to gather information on what students already know or don't know. This allows the teacher to tackle the lesson knowing what common misconceptions need to be tackled. A way to gather this information is through assessment probes, which can be easily distributed online through google forms.Teachers should become familiar with the core standards in their state. This will allow the teacher to know what the goals are of their students. Teachers should know the 5 steps of inquiry. These are: engage, evidence, explanation, evaluate and communicate. Students become engaged by asking 'how' questions instead of 'why'. Teachers should allow their student to use sources outside of the classroom such as books, photos, scientists, videos, experiments, etc. to evaluate and communicate findings. Allowing students to have control of the classroom may seem stressful because of time management, but it allows students to feel connected to the science.