The End

The End

 Many days have passed,

The course is done,

And so this is the last.

It was a long run.

In the end though he lost,

He fought the course and the course beat him.

Taking it was not worth the cost.

Sadly, it looks quite grim.

The future grows darker still.

Another trial on the horizon,

To bring with it another thrill.

In the end he is quite wizen.

But take heart!

He still has one last chance before he falls apart.

(Oh and P.S.: Check these out.)

Science in the News

New Dinosaur

An new fossil is found,

The mighty triceratops is closely tied.

 And a new horned dinosaur is crowed,

With its horned that are very wide.

My interest was quite piqued,

 I was quite excited by dinosaurs in the past.

So when I saw it I kind of freaked.

The number of kids who feel the same was is vast.

They ask many questions.

The students clamor for knowledge.

So it would be good if I could provide them with suggestions.

After all, I am in college.

And so this article I do recommend.

So read it dear friends, and comprehend.

Science Fair

Minimlism

So few can understand.

I supposed I should known by now.

After all, before this I have been banned,

My projects simply fail to wow,

With their minimalist approach.

Maybe I should figure out people's pains.

Perhaps my projects encroach,

On their brains. 

 Whatever the reason, one thing is sure,

These people like to think of my projects

As things done by some boor.

But my projects cover many subjects.

For their versatility is extreme,

But only I can see how they gleam.

Personal Reflections on Fieldwork 8

All in All

Overall I think it went well

I must now reflect,

For I hear the tolling of the bell.

I had many papers to collect,

Assessment is important after all.

Students must know how they did,

Otherwise it could be their downfall.

And so we graded each and every kid.

Our planning had been spot on

And the execution generally followed

And conclusions were drawn.

None of the students holloed.

So I say it was a success,

Even if did bring me much stress.

Personal Reflections on Fieldwork 7

Perhaps Not the Best

So began the third and final day

All our colleagues joined us,

When they had previously been away. 

All those people made quite the fuss.

The lesson was good in theory,

But human error brought it too its knees

It ended up being somewhat dreary.

We all did our best to appease

The students and their groups,

And in the end I think it took.

Though I did often say, "Whoops!"

But other parts went by the book.

And so ended our work,

And on my face, was despite it all, a smirk.

Personal Reflections on Fieldwork 6

The Second Day

Once again we set out.

The first day had gone so well,

that our minds were not filled with doubt.

And so we went and began to tell,

The students about the creatures,

Their names, habits, and diets,

We described all their features.

We worried that there would be riots,

When they came to fetch the fish.

But they were an orderly bunch,

It was like we had made a wish.

Although I had a hunch,

That all would turn out all right.

My spirit was quite bright.

Personal Reflections on Fieldwork 5

Model Ponds

The first day begins,

And not a colleague in sight.

Just talk of fish and their fins.

 And so I set out with all my might,

For this is a day I can not screw up.

We start off quite well,

Which is good because we have no backup.

Overall i think it went quite swell. 

The model ponds were completed,

Without too much fuss from the kids.

Many felt that they competed,

Even when writing out the rules and what they forbid.

The ponds glimmered on the on the desks,

We would have to wait until latter to add the grotesque.

Personal Reflections on Fieldwork 4

Planning

Planning is the core of things.
Up all night to plan out.
However, it is worth it for the joy it brings.
If you do it right now one can accuse you of being a lout.
Many papers are dispensed with,
Printers work steadily as you wait.
At the metaphorical forge like a smith,
Trying not to break under the weight,
Of the workload that teaching exemplifies.
You seem to be filled with bliss,
But are simply acting under the guise,
Of being someone who has got this.
And so the planning is done,
Now can begin the fun!

Personal Reflections on Fieldwork 3

 Those Who Went First

Thank you to the group that went first.

You were given little to no training,

Going before all those students must have been the worst.

I'm sure you were staring at the clock wondering how many minutes were remaining.

The students were noisy and rowdy.

But you did your best not to make it a mess.

Outside didn't help as their was no sun; it was cloudy.

So you went forth with only a guess,

And went forth with impressive zest.

Some said it looked like you were only feigning.

But you were doing you best,

After all you were given so little training.

So thank you one and all,

I'll see you again in the fall!

Personal Reflections on Fieldwork 2

The classroom we operated in had a very high ceiling. I'm talking ridiculously high. I first noticed this when i did observations in that classroom at the beginning of the year. Why on Earth is the ceiling so high? I thought. What scientific function does it serve? I decided to look for an answer. According to some one reason for high ceilings is to increase the amount of space one feels is there. This makes sense then, since the classroom is really kind of small, so maybe the ceiling was meant to make it feel less cramped. Another reason is listed is for ventilation or light. I doubt this is the reason, because if it it failed in that regard. The room was quite dark and not very well ventilated.Some days it was extremely hot while everywhere else was a pleasant temperature. The third reason could be that the building was just built that way. Given the strange decisions often made in life that would not surprise me.

Personal Reflections on Fieldwork 1

Do you know how hard it is to hold up a camera on a shelf with one arm for 40 minutes on end? If you do not, the answer is it is very hard. I had to do this multiple days during fieldwork. By the end of the session my arm had a groove in it. And yet I still had to provide feedback for the fieldwork. So I had to focus enough on my colleagues in order to be able to complete the sheets we had to fill out. And I couldn't fill them out on the spot due to the aforementioned camera holding. Nor could I fill it out immediately after since I had a class afterwords. So I often had to look up the sheets other people published to jog my memory. My point is it wasn't fun.

Leaping Lizards and Learning

I read the article Leaping Lizards and Learning. It was about a program in a school where students would team up with farmers in the community. The farmers would short-horned lizards during the summer. The students would then record the data, both the numbers and where the lizards were found.

This was a very interesting article. It explored the idea of getting help from the community. I know many teachers are reluctant to reach out for help, but help is out there if one goes looking for it.

Explore and Engage Science

In class today we explored ways for teachers to keep up with scientific advances and discoveries about topics. Below is the work my partner and I did.

1. Consider the area of Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and weather about which you feel most knowledgeable. What ideas do you have regarding what you will do as a teacher to keep your knowledge current?

• Read the latest and use academic literature, stay subscribed to different newsletters (Newsela), Use trustworthy Youtube channels, and have students engage in current event projects based on current lessons and unit plans being taught.

2. Consider the area of Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and weather about which you feel least knowledgeable. What ideas do you have regarding what you will do as a teacher to continue to strengthen your knowledge base about this topic?

• Read the latest and use academic literature, stay subscribed to different newsletters (Newsela), Use trustworthy Youtube channels, and have students engage in current event projects based on current lessons and unit plans being taught.
• Actively seek out research regarding the topic, buy books relating to the topic, rent documentaries relating to the topic, seek out professionals in the community to educate both yourself and your class.

3. What resources are you aware of that will help you be an effective teacher of Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and weather?

• Scishow, Newsela, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), NOAA(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and the NSTA (National Science Teacher’s Association) - Blog, Press, and Journals.

Dawn of the First Day

One the first day of class we discussed the course and our idea of a scientist. Below is a PowerPoint with some of the scientists we came up with. We also had to deduce what was in a mystery bag. My guess of a physical object was partially correct (it was actually several physical objects) but was shot due to not being specific. I should add we were not asked to be specific, so I stand by my answer. We never did get to see inside the bag. Below you can also view a video demonstrating some science tricks one can perform with liquid. We seem to be doing units about water, so this made sense.

A Link to the PowerPoint 

Scientific Me

Jack Reilly

           My exposure to science started early. I was a curious child and so was my brother. My parents recognized this and bought us books and showed us videos. In fact, for a time in my life I probably watched just as many if not more educational videos than entertainment ones. Many of the books were the DK books. DK also put out videos based on these books and I watched many of them. There were also these videos hosted by Gary the Gecko or Larry the Lizard or something like that. Dinosaurs were the focus of much my early exposure to science as, like many young children, I was fascinated by them. I watched Walking with Dinosaurs frequently, even if the underwater part scarred me for life (I still can not look at large sea creatures without feeling uncomfortable). My brother was a much better reader than I was and also told me about whatever he read, so I picked up a lot of science from him. My family also had memberships at the local zoo and science museum and we took frequent trips there. I still remember one great trip to the science museum where they had a special exhibit on dinosaurs with a computer game where you could design your own dinosaur. We would also visit science museums when we travelled so as a natural history museum on Cape Cod.

           As I entered school science was not a huge focus in the primary grades. In kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade we did science but it felt more token than anything. 3rd grade this started to change, with more focus on science as a subject. I remember we hatched chicks in an incubator. Unfortunately the power went out over the weekend and only one survived. We broke up the other eggs and got to see the dead chickens. We named the survivor Blackie because he had black feathers. I was appalled at my classmates’ lack of creativity. 4th grade is where science really started to pick up. Mrs. Decker is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had, and I had her for both 4th and 5th grade. She loved all subjects including science and we did several projects that I remember. We built a model of a cell (I did an animal cell). We did a large unit of geology in 5th grade where we had rock kits and tested rock samples for their various properties. We also had to research a major geological feature in the U.S. and then record our results on a large star. I can’t remember what mine was, but it border more than one state. In 6th grade we started changing for subjects and science was one of them. I also had the science teacher, Mr. Witham, for homeroom, so I was in the science room a lot. This started a period where I did really well in science, even getting 100 on a few tests.

           Moving into junior high school I had the same science teacher for both years. I continued to do well in science, and in 8th grade got a 95 in every quarter and on the final. What I remember most was not a standard part of the curriculum. One of my classmates was convinced that wood did not float. His evidence for this was the Titanic. So my teacher put a piece of wood in a water filled jar. It floated, but after several weeks it became waterlogged and sank. So we switched it out on him and continued to do so for the rest of the year. In high school my first year I had biology. We dissected fetal pigs. I named the pig my group had Lucky the Third (take notes 3rd graders, this is how you name animals). In 10th grade I had earth science, which I did okay in. Mostly I remember arguing over whether or not one lab was necessary with my teacher. In 11th grade I took physics instead of chemistry. I’m glad I did even though it was hard and I did not do that well. My teacher was fun and I enjoyed some of what we did, like creating rockets. In 12th grade I took human anatomy, which was a course for seniors who did not want or need to take a proper science course, but still wanted to take a science. It was pretty easy. In college I took earth science my first semester because I needed a lab science. It was hard at first, but once we moved out of geology and into Earth history, I did better. That takes me up to now. I have not taken hard science since, limiting myself to psychology. While my love of science has waned a little over the years, the enthusiasm I once had for it being replaced by the same enthusiasm for history, I still enjoy learning new science facts and keep up with a few science channels, such as Scishow, on YouTube.