Science Philosophy and Vision

Michael Kendzora’s

Science Philosophy and Vision

In my science class I see myself teaching my students how the universe is linked together from the smallest part to the largest part. The areas of science that we will be exploring are Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Earth Science and Life Science. The science curriculum that my students will be exposed to is based on Inquiry Learning. I will be guiding their learning through the questions that they generate, which is the foundation for Inquiry-based learning.

My students will be participating in labs, activities, cooperative learning groups, individual activities and projects throughout the school year.  They will be making the decisions on the types of activities they will be doing and the products they will create to demonstrate their learning.  My students will also be writing a Science Book through the use of an Interactive Note Book.

Since science is all around my students, my teachings will help them gain a better understanding of their place in the universe. Through the Scientific Inquiry Process they will generate questions, formulate predictions, conduct experiments, test hypotheses, make observations, collect data, analyze data and form a conclusion. 

My success in the classroom will depend greatly on my classroom management. My classroom rules are based on respect and are as follows. Show Respect by; entering the classroom politely and quietly, being in your chair ready to learn, being prepared. (i.e.: textbook, notebook, folders, pens, pencils), raising your hand to ask a question, answer a question, make a statement or to get your from your chair, and using positive and appropriate language.

I will also manage my classroom by using positive reinforcement through the use of raffles and a compliance board. The rewards will vary from school supplies, Jolly Ranchers, doughnuts, 5 minutes of talking time or accrual of time to watch a movie. 

I believe that all of my students can succeed and I strive to ensure that all of them will succeed.  By providing my students with choices they will be motivated to take on responsibility for their learning.  I will also provide my students with real-life connections from their lives to the curriculum to keep my students interested and excited. 

My overall Vision, is of me teaching a successful year at Churchland Middle School.  My success will be based on their results from the SOL test, and my ability to obtain and sustain a good rapport with all of my students.

I have many memories from my years as a middle school student and a high school student.  Science class was always my favorite subject.  In middle school I enjoyed the lab activities.  In high school I also enjoyed the lab activities and also the daily class activities.  Overall, the group activities were my favorite.

From middle school I remember participating in the lab activities that we had.  Some of these entailed the Probability of getting heads on a coin, dissecting a worm, frog and sheep eye, and participating in an egg drop.  All of these involved working in a group, which is what I really enjoyed; it provided me with the ability to share what I knew and to learn from others.

In high school I also remember completing lab activities but I also remember different learning strategies and activities that my teachers used to guide our learning and to retain what we learned.  Some of the activities in biology included incubating, dissecting and raising baby chicks.  I also remember watching videos and interacting with different charts to understand the biological classification system. In physics I remember the labs and hands on demonstrations modeled by my teacher. 

My overall memories of middle school science and high school science encompass the lab activities in which I participated.  It was these activities that held my interest in science and are the basis for what I learned.

In my future classroom my students will enter the classroom and grab the activity guides and sit in the seats.  They will read the Power Point and begin the warm-up or activity that is displayed.   Once the students are finished with the warm-up I will present a demonstration that will relate to the objective of the day.  From this demonstration the students will be able to build upon the experience that it provides to make connections to the lesson. 

The students will then be presented with directions for an activity that connects to the demonstration.  The teacher will then monitor the students as they carry out the directions in their groups.  The teacher will check for student understanding and answer any questions they may have.  The teacher and students will also make a video recording of the group activity.

Once the students complete the activity the students will share what they learned with the class and their family.  The students will upload their video onto a blog page and provide a summary of what they have completed.  The students will then share their findings with the class and teacher. 

For homework the students will go home and access the blog page and complete a reflection of the group assignment that they completed in class.  The reflection will require the students to compare their findings to their classmates and to other classes.  The students will reflect on their coherence as a group and their successfulness in completing the assignment.

I became the teacher in my story by taking all that I have learned from my Undergraduate Courses and from my first year as a science teacher.  While obtaining my Degree in Education, from Northern Illinois University, I learned that student rapport, student centered learning, classroom management and planning are key factors to my success as a teacher.  While teaching at Kenyon Woods Middle School I learned that demonstrations connected to the objective of the day, inquiry based learning and science labs are an extremely important aspect of teaching science successfully.

Student rapport is first for me because teaching is all about the students.  You need to be able to relate to your students and you are only able to achieve this if you know your students.  You need to know their physical abilities, psychological abilities, cognitive abilities, their learning styles and their prior-knowledge.  Knowing who your students are is the most important factor.  The other is taking time to get to know your students; this lets them know that you are serious about being their teacher and are willing to go the distance for them.

I believe that student centered learning is the direction that all teachers need to go.  By providing your students with the ability to make choices in the classroom you are giving the student responsibility over their learning.  This sense of responsibility motivates them to accomplish the task at hand.  Students like choices and they like to feel that they have an active role in the learning process. 

Classroom management plays a huge role in my success.  This includes use of routines and rules that assists students in keeping on task. By maintaining control over the classroom the teacher sets an environment that is conducive to learning.  This environment should make the students feel safe to be a student; one who can ask questions, participate and cooperate with others without feeling singled out or unappreciated.

The planning process encompasses more than just writing a lesson plan.  It is planning a lesson that includes instructional strategies, accommodations and modifications for students with disabilities, connections to prior lessons, connections to real-life, hands-on activities that provide rigor and experiences that will leave the students with vivid memories of their accomplishments.

During my first weeks at Kenyon Woods Middle School I found that it is important to provide the students with experiences to which the student can build their knowledge.  I presented these experiences by completing demonstrations that connected to the objective of the day, sometimes a similar demonstration to what they would be completing.  Other times I provided the students with a simple activity that related to the objective of the lesson.  I was using a guided inquiry based learning strategy.

Inquiry Based Learning drove most of my labs and lessons for the rest of the year.  I found that the students gained knowledge by my questioning during a beginning demonstration.  I also found that their questions and predictions were a key component to their gaining of prior knowledge and experiences, while drawing out misconceptions.  These demonstrations became the foundation to their learning.  I found that my students were enthusiastic and captivated by this teaching method.  These demonstrations then made the following activities and labs more meaningful and worth wile to my students.

I know that my students enjoyed the science labs the most.  There were times that I would complete two labs a week.  If I went one week without a lab my students were asking for more.  This feedback was what made me realize that I was successful and that science labs were an important piece to teaching science.

Being in week two of the school year I feel that I have been failing my students.  I have not provided these demonstrations for my students to build their prior knowledge and experience, while drawing out misconceptions.  I would like to build a repertoire of demonstrations that connect to the objectives and have science labs and activities for students to build on their prior-knowledge. 

During my first teaching experience my school used the Carolina STC Kits for Middle School.  These kits worked excellently and were laid out perfectly for students and teachers.  I feel a lot of my success came from the availability of these kits.  The directions were easy for teachers to follow and just as easy for the students.  I wish that I had a curriculum in place like the Carolina STC Kits for Middle School, even if I have to create one myself. 

I am ecstatic for the opportunity to participate in VISTA.  I had a mentor during my first year of teaching.  I found great importance in having a mentor; someone who is there to provide ideas, guide me in my teaching, provide feedback and assist me in improving my teaching.  That is why I am participating in VISTA, to improve my teaching.