E- Journal

Pradesta Martin

The Seven Roles of the Teacher:

As Mediator:

LM - Encourage students prepare documents to share with their classmates using MS Office, e.g., PPT.

As Designer:

KS - Become well versed in programs such as WebQuests and use it to create tasks that are at your grade level. Design a web page with activities for students to complete. Teachers can focus on difficult topics/concepts without worrying about the pressures of completing a curriculum.

As Administrator:

SD- Set up a monthly live webinar/online conferencing to allow parents the opportunity to converse with you about their child's progress or any other school related matter.

As Scholar:

SD- Subscribe to online tech magazines to keep up to date with the latest tech gadgets.

As Pastoral:

RK - Encourage to monitor the sites their children visit and what they post on the internet via Facebook and YouTube. Let them know the importance of partnering with the school for their children's benefit.

As Assessor:

KS - Group students by which assessment tool best suits them. Use videos, creative apps, cameras, and other ICT's as assessment tools that students will enjoy. Create rubrics that can be placed on a class webpage and is accessible by parents, so they understand how students are being assessed. 

As Specialist:

ST-   Attend workshops, seminars and confernces to enhance skills in the use of modernized ICT's. Use all forms of modernized ICT's in the classroom to facilitate learning.

Reflections:

Teaching Techniques:

I usually use a combination of direct instruction, discovery observations and cooperative learning. With direct instruction students are usually given a set of instuctions to follow. This can be also be done using a webquest that is designed for students to solve a problem.

Students can use the internet as a search tool for discovery learning. There are several avenues to do this. They can use skype,twitter or facebook with the teacher's supervision to find out what students are doing with the same problem in different classes around the world.

YouTube videos, virtual labs and science software can all be used to assist the teacher with developing observation skills in her students.

Reflections:

The Seven roles of the educator:
The role that I assume most often is that of assessor.

I am constantly assessing my students formally and informally. I learn alot from the formal assessments. The test scores tell me which concepts students understand and which concepts need to be revisited. The rubrics also give me information on areas of strengths and weaknesses. Oral questions also let me know who is paying attention and who is not.

If a student is sitting at the back of the room and I ask them a question to see if they are paying attention and they cannot answer me I would move them to a seat closer to the front or where there are less distractions.

When it comes to using rubrics I feel that students can be involved in the assessment process by providing ideas on how and what they feel should be assessed.

Reflection: Rationale for computers in schools.

If presented in the right way I feel that technology can be a powerful tool in the classroom . However, before it is implemented successfully there needs to be a plan in place and the neccessary stakeholders must be knowledgeable in implementing this tool. Classrooms also need to be student-centered and students should become active participants in their own learning.

"ICT" stands for Information and Communications Technologies, and covers a large variety of equipment and devices which enable us to transmit, process and use information and knowledge.

Devices are used to pass information to and from each other and this information are acted upon to produce some kind of outcome.

 

Theme: At the Crossroads for Science Education 

Dates: 29th March-1st April, 2012

Each year National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)  holds four conferences on science education: three regional events in the fall and a national gathering in the spring. This organization provide ways for science teachers to connect with one another.

This year I attended the National conference that was held in the spring in Indianapolis Indianna.

This was the conference of a lifetime! This was also my first experience at an international conference on science education and I really enjoyed the experience. 

The conference was so meaningful because there were many hands-on activities that I adopted for use with my students. 

There were many presenters from organizations such as Delta Education, Discovery Education, Japan Artec, and NSTA Student Chapter.

Exciting Activities:

1. Building your own electrical circuit

In this session we built our own electrical circuits using paper, foil, circuit template diagrams with electrical , christmas tree bulbs and 9volt batteries.



2. Using discrepant events to enhance your lessons

A.  Discrepant Event: The Mystery Tube

You can't really tell how the strings are connected in this tube

B. Discrepant Event: The Cartesian Diver

This activity works on the principles of buoyancy, pressure and force (weight). My students love this activity.

Here is an example of a video which explains this activity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiI7DhFgoNQ


3. Building your own coil motor



Members from Japan Artec facilitated this session. With the materials we were given we were able to build our own motors using principles of electricity and magnetism.

Stephen Matthew Skeen, Yao-Shi Osaka and their assistants hepled us with our electric motors.

 

 

 

 

Other activities such as the Elementary Extravaganza,  Make over lab session, and even touring the ehibit halls gave me an opportunity to gather resources for my classroom and also to meet professionals that were in the field of science.

 

                                                                                       

Elementary Extravaganza

 

 

Extreme Makeover: Laboratory Edition Members of the NSTA student chapter introducing us to some exciting activities.

 

 

 

Sea World's display of the Virginia Opossum in the exhibit halls