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.
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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?

What is Science?

Science, to me, is a knowledge that has to be obtained through practice. In other words, I think Science is used to explain different phenomenons and ordinary things by experimenting and observing.

Everyone has had a good and bad experience with Science.

• The bad: I remember my Junior year in high school, my best friend and I took Chemistry together. We were messing around with chemicals, and so we had to wear lab coats. The class before us spilt all over mine and my best friends coats (what luck?!) and we both broke out in a nasty rash. We were sent home for the entire week.
• The good: Same class, a few months later, my teacher had us bring some ingredients to make ice cream in a plastic baggie. I do not necessarily recall the process or anything, but I thought it was one of the coolest things ever. And it tasted great. 

 Science occurs in our every day lives. An example would be generically the scientific method.  We go through our day observing and processing information. Without realizing it, I am sure everyone uses the steps every single day.

For example, if our cell phone loses service, we begin to use the scientific method to find the source of the problem. We hypothesis what is wrong, observe other people phones, and try and fix it according to what we think the issue is. We repeat until we can conclude that their is no service in the basement of the SMLC building.

:o]

Why am I taking this course?

I am a third year Elementary Education major here at the University. I am excited to take this course, not only because it is required, but because it has a lot of hands on material. My favorite classes have been those in which I am engaged and am placed in interactive settings throughout the entire semester.

I am also quite nervous for this course--2.5 hours of class each meeting sounds rough. I am hoping it is more getting up and doing things rather than sitting down the entire period. I love using technology, so I am relieved to hear that we will be using a lot of it. I have heard great things, so I can't wait to see how it goes.

mel.