Tectonic Plate Boundaries- African Plate.

Our western, southern, and eastern boundaries along the African Plate were very similar to the actual boundaries portrayed on Google Earth. It was made known that the redish color along the western part of the African plate showed characteristics of a divergent boundary. These characteristics include it gets older as the boundary is pushed out, volcanic activity was scattered, earthquakes are spread out by boundaries and shallow, and usually include higher elevation. The western, eastern and southern parts of the boundary also had signs of transform boundaries (the blue) scattered throughout. There were no signs of volcanic activity, shallow earthquakes, higher elevation, and younger ocean floor is in the center. The only difference we noticed between our two maps was that we labeled the NE part of the boundary differently. In our original map we noted that there was less volcanic activity in that region. The Google Earth map portrayed it as very similar to the rest of the southern and western boundaries.

Along the top part of the African plate there are convergent boundaries (purple). Here, earthquakes are more spread out, earthquakes are considerably deep, and volcanic mountains are noticed here. This is where a subduction zone is found.

The orange part of the map shows no significant data.

Mel, Erin, Cassandra, Marissa

Student Driven Ed.

More than anything, I think that this video is an inspiration. Not only for educators, but for parents and children who do not have as many opportunities as others. I loved that it showed us how it worked for children in other countries--so amazing how technology is becoming a main source for education. The hole in the wall project gave other countries a chance to grasp technology--and it was proven that they were able to learn on their own just by practicing. Here in America, its rare to see anyone without a smartphone, even young kids. They are growing up in the technological environment and learning how to play computer games or using the internet is very simple. To those who do not get that opportunity, it is great to see how functional they became with the equipment.

I thought the Granny Cloud was great. It just portrays opportunities suchas using Skype or other video learning tools to the classroom. I was never given this opportunity growing up, and I think if something like this was available I would have potentially been able to learn more about other cultures (or even know anything about them, really.) Because we have such easy access to the internet in America, it actually might not be as useful as it was in other countries.

Technology is going to play a major role in our future as educators--and even now as a student. This blog here is a prime example of that. And all of the emails create constant communication from students and teachers that asking questions and being able to recall everything makes learning that much easier. I use the internet to help study. I usually can form flashcards online, or look up extra information right as I need it. The only inconvinience I see in technology is if it becomes unavailable. This weekend I have been moving, and without Internet, my roommates and I have been going crazy. Most of our classes include online submissions or just information and when it become unavailable, it is so stressful. I love it though--and plan on using it everyday. Especially as a teacher. The web especially provides so many ideas for educators and it is so helpful when thinking of lesson plans or fun activities.

Mel

Motion.

This is our Motion blog-- Mel, Erin, and Marissa. 

The Moving Man and Sandbag Experiment were both good experiments to introduce physics. I had a hard time with the Moving Man one though because of all the calculations. The one thing I did like better about the moving man than the sandbag experiment is that you were able to see the numbers changing in the velocity and the acceleration. It was a good way to see what we were doing in the sandbag experiment in actual numbers on a screen. 

The graph i made was the mapping of the sandbags. I found this job to be actually a little difficult, it was hard to draw a good picture from what was on the ground, especially when it came to the last two when we changed direction and made up our own. It was really hard to draw the map where Mel had been spinning around in a circle, the map sort of resembled the one where we had to change directions.

The moving man process was originally the most confusing thing to our group. We probably sat at the computer trying to figure out what we were supposed to do. The second day, after further explanation, it was actually pretty easy. We were supposed to enter in different velocities and acceleration to accumulate a graph that represented the data collected from the website. We explored the motion of objects and were asked to represent them using tables and graphs from our acceleration data and our different velocity data.

On the day of the motion project, Mel and I (Marissa) were going to work on the ramps. We got the ramp, a car, a wedge, an acceleration monitor (A.M.), a pen and a graph paper. We measured a distance for the car to start from. (Where the car began, to the middle of the A.M.) Then we attached the A.M. to the ramp. We let go of the car to undergo the A.M. We recorded the numbers, and then graphed it to find the slope and what the angle would look like. The examples will be shown as such. 

The purpose of the tennis ball experience was to see average velocity versus gravity at different heights from the ground. We had ten tennis balls that were dropped from 5 different levels and a for a total of 20 timed trials. Our results turned out not very accurate and think this could have been due to a couple things. One of them was that were using one stop watch and one cell phone. Another was that we had two different people alternating between throwing tennis balls. Looking at the different results groups had--things that differed was our data. Those who also did tennis balls rounded differently, therefore making data different. The golf ball group had completely data, which ended up being much more accurate. 

The Newton's Laws took the whole class period for last Thursday. We were given three videos to watch (each about the three laws) and we were to construct experiments for each law. The ways our natural world works, these laws are put into motion just by us living our normal lives. By doing or normal routines, we are putting these laws into use.

The first law states that an object of a body remains constant unless the body is acted upon by an external force. We kicked a tennis ball to represent this law.

The second law states that the acceleration of a body is parallel and directly proportional to the net force, and inversly proportional to the mass. (F=ma). We used a toy car going down a ramp while using the A.M to collect our data. We used a toy car with a weight attached, and one without. Our data is shown below.
 

The third law states that the mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear. We played tug of war to represent this. 

Here is the info on the ramp activity Erin and Marissa did while I was not feeling well:

Creativity.

 

I honestly don't even believe creativity can be explained in a definition. It has so many properties and functions that a definition could not do it justice. Creativity is what we strive on...it is partially what makes us so unique. Our minds are full of wonderful things and ideas that are just dying to get out and be heard. Creativity is so important in our everyday lives, especially in the classroom. If we weren't creative, everything would be the same and boring. I also think that we would not necessarily "know" anything to be real without a creative mind first thinking it could be. Our questions would be left without answers--and would ultimately make us stop asking questions in the first place. Creative thinking is a fundamental part of learning and growing in education. 

I remember growing up, I actually had a tough time being creative. Most ideas I had were not originally mine, but I have always been great at expanding on ideas. If a classmate or group member came up with the main task at hand, I would add the details or further explanation. When I think of creativity, I think of Volleyball, because it is one of my passions. I am the athlete to come up with "plays" and "tricks" to score against the other team. I really believe that I am good at being a Volleyball coach/athlete because it is something I love and have so much desire to expand the knowledge and creativity of the sport. 

Fostering creativity can probably be quite a difficult thing to teach. I grew up in classrooms where the only creative moments we had were during art--but even then, we were required to follow a specific process. I think that is why today's assignment frustrated me so much. I did not want to figure out how to time a car while turning it on while measuring it all. I wanted to know how to do it already. I have always had teachers/professors that just give me what I need. If it were any other teacher, I probably could have convinced them to change it into a partner lab rather than by ourselves. I do understand the importance, however. I just need to figure out how to teach in a way that I was never taught to prevent frustration from my students. 

The Harwood Activity Model meshes with creativity in that there is always room for more. More ideas, questions, experiments, ect. I noticed on our candle burning experiments that not two groups had the same Harwood order. Some groups had over 20 steps, and some had less than ten. The more steps taken, more room is made for creative thinking. It is infinite.

I believe that everyone is creative in different senses. For me, it is athletics and even math that get my mind going. It amazes me to see that people in my History discussion classes have so much to say about what they think everything meant in the 1700’s. I have no desire whatsoever about History. It is one of those things that you cannot comprehend. “To each his own” fits perfectly here. I think creativity is based off of passion and understanding. If you really want to grow in a concept, you’ll fight to find something new and unheard of. Creativity is in every person—it just takes the right kind of turn to express it.

I enjoy Ken Robinson a lot. I think he has an incredible way of showing his thoughts and desires for change. I agree that he does joke a little bit too much, but, that is his way of being creative. He keeps people interested in what he is saying. I seriously love his ideas..I just want to be able to teach like we should—not how it currently is. It upsets me how much potential (and creativity) is lost because we are forced into “standards” and specific ways of teaching.

Mel.
:o]

SBG Response.

• You can discuss and provide examples of social, historical, and cultural influences on science and visa versa. 
•  I think we were very capable of doing this standard. I honestly cannot tell you how we did this during our project. We did not necessarily use historical influences, but potentially the reason behind our project would project use of the social and cultural influences. If we perhaps created our 'scent' based experiment to help people choose the best candle during a social event, maybe it would have had an influence on us.
• You can create analogies between science process and every day experiences and find connections across disciplines.You can deal with the frustration of creating/executing a research project and develop a positive attitude required to complete inquiry projects.
•  We had to use many analogies between science and everyday experience to complete our process. Before the experiment even began, we had to compare and decide how it was best to continue on with the experiment. Dealing with frustration was indeed a challenge in many different ways; it is hard to get all four people on the same page, some were doing things that were irrelevant, and some were doing most of the work. To conquer the frustration and complete our experiment in a positive manner was very manageable.
• You can examine/analyze the inquiry process using Harwood’s Activity Model for Inquiry and/or the Understanding Science flow chart.
•  This was probably the easiest part. I enjoy using the flow chart because possibilities are endless. If we had all the time in the world, our experiment could have gone on forever. We retraced our steps and could keep asking questions without having to follow a step by step process. We were able to make our own steps.
• You can identify dependent and independent variables and develop experiments that require controlling variables.
•  Okay, maybe this was the easiest part of the project. The variables we used were controlled by the amount of time we chose to measure the wax build up, as well as the multiple scented candles that we used. I actually wish we thought this part through more clearly--I think we could have come up with a better experiment.
• Be able to clearly communicate to others.
•  I think our communication went rather smoothly. Technology actually made it smooth. I emailed my team members on Facebook, GMAIL, and we were able to use Prezi for easy editing. This was portrayed when the correct materials were brought in by team members and when our final product came together.
• Interpret and manipulate data in a variety of formats, such as technical drawings, graphs, tables, charts and, maps to analyze results and derive and defend conclusions using evidence.
•  Our data was clearly represented in graphs--we used a bar graph to show the change in amount of wax produced. It was easily readable and it was obvious which candle produced the most wax. The Prezi presentation also helped interpret our data.
• You can generate testable questions and design experimental procedures that are reliable, reproducible, and executable.
• This part was interesting. I have never been given the power to construct my own experiment, questions, and procedure. This experiment is definitely capable of being constructed in so many ways--and it was left open. It was an easy assignment for the most part--just a lot of waiting time.
• You can collect accurate data on the natural world including observations using your senses and numeric data of length, mass and time. 
•  We gathered all of our data using observation and numerical data. We had to weigh our final wax product, and subtract the amount of the beaker to properly collect it. We also were forced to observe using our eyes (as we watched the wax produce), and our scents (being that the scented candles were one of our variables.)
• You understand the definition of science, theory, law, hypothesis, and experiment (you can find definition of these on the Understanding Science website) and how they relate to each other.
•  Science, theory, law, hypothesis and experiement all have to be related in one way or another. Without science, hypothesis, theory, and law--experiments would not be possible. Without experiments, science would be extremely challenging. They all correspond with one another to make themselves a stronger component in the science world.
• You  know that science involves developing an understanding of the world through posing and answering questions.
•  You cannot really understand anything without first questioning it. Science develops opportunities to answer questions about phenomenons in our world. Its a no brainer. It is like I have explained in a previous post-- almost anything we do includes the scientific method without realizing it. If something breaks, we ask a question, observe, hypothesis...ect. It becomes automatic in our routine.
• Know that scientific ideas are subject to change yet durable and that science cannot provide answers to all questions.
•  I think this is actually interesting. I definitely agree with this, mostly because I think science and religion play specific roles to this day in age. If science never changed, and was always proven to find answers to everything, then I honestly think religion would be gone. Being a believer, I do think that God plays a huge role in all things--including science and drastically it can change.

Thanks. Hope all is well,

Mel

Changing Education Paradigms

1.  How did you like the video? What were some of the main points?

I actually loved the video. I was on the verge of skimming it to get the general idea, but ended up watching the entire thing twice. I love the way it was constructed visually for me to stay focused. This video was kind of an eye opener as well as it got me excited to teach in new ways. I completely agree with the lecturer on his ideas of reforming the way we teach. The way education is currently constructed makes it very difficult for children to enjoy learning and actually grasp concepts that are being shoved down their throats. I feel like that now, even as a college student.

2. What parts of this video do you agree with?  Are they instances in your educational background or experience that were represented in his presentation?

I agreed entirely. I specifically agreed with his concept of kids and the growth of ADHD. It is almost impossible to stay focused on the boring things when there is so much we think about. Growing up in this educational system, I have found it more difficult to enjoy learning and staying focused. I have had a cell phone since 7th grade, a myspace, then facebook once high school started. 

3. What part of this presentation to you disagree with or have some question?

I was a little bit confused with the "to the east" thought. I think maybe he was creating a joke due to his location, but I am unsure.  

4. Did this video have any impact on you as a teacher and/or learner?

I think this did impact me in both situations. It not only makes me want to approach teaching in a different manner, but also as a student. Even if I am still being taught in this manner, maybe there is something I can do to help myself or encourage myself even more. 

5. Should we consider any part of this video in terms of structuring our learning and class framework?

Of course! I do wonder though, how can I change the way teaching is approached if the system itself does not change? Also-- how will the system change after being the same for so long? The ideas are wonderful and hopeful, but we also must rely on what we are given as educators. 

Mel.

QFT Response

At first, I found the QFT assignment extremely confusing. Little instruction was given, with the exception of the rules. We had to first evaluate how difficult we thought the rules would be. I am pretty sure my group thought that asking questions would be easy--and we found it to be the hardest part of all. I was typing up our questions, and well, goodness. I think we only thought of 16 questions in the time given. I am naturally a competitive person, so I was driven by getting more questions than anyone else. I know it was not the goal, but it motivated me to think deeply about what I wanted to know. As time moved along some questions started flowing a little bit easier.

This assignment overall got me thinking a lot, but I do not necessarily believe it changed my views/thoughts on science. The questions we mainly thought of were directed towards learning and teaching. My opinion on science being a hands on process of learning phenomenons is practically the same. Very many teaching questions emerged--and I find that to be extremely vital. Honestly, it made me more excited to teach someday. I am glad we are focusing on different aspects that will help me grow as a teacher. For example, I never really sat down to think about how different teaching methods can influence a child, ect. Overall, I am glad we did this assignment. I did not like it at first, but it gave me many questions that I would like to find the answer to.


:o]

Learning, Doing, Teaching Science

Our group today included Melissa Rohr, Amanda Call, and Samantha Pearson. 

This is our list of questions we came up with. Next to them, we put 'o' for open and 'c' for closed,  and the bold means we chose that question as significant.

1)   Are there different types of learning in science? (C)

a)  How can we address different learning styles of students while teaching science?

2)   How do you teach science? (O)

3)   What are good science projects? (O)

4)   How to conduct group projects? (O)

5)   Can different people learn more easily in different settings? How? (O)

6)   What are ways to keep your students engaged? (O)

7)   Is it harder to teach science rather than other subjects? (O)

8) What is a good way to teach science when you do not enjoy the subject material? (O)

9)   How can technology be used while learning, teaching, and doing science? (O)

10)    How can we make science more enjoyable for students? (O)

11)   What are the different types of science for different age groups? (O) 

12)   What is science? (O)   

13)    How many types of science are there? (O) 

14)   What are the advantages of knowing science? (O) 

15)   What are ways you can teach science to special needs kids? (O)

16) What is the best method to teach science? (O)

       b) Are there different ways to teach science?