Literacy is very important in Biology. People may not connect literacy and Biology but that is only because they are not involved in the field. I have learned that planning lessons around comprehension instruction or vocabulary or anything else only gives an added element to a lesson. It doesn't detract from the information I am trying to teach. The only thing it does is help the students better understand what I am trying to teach. I think there are many skills that I can incorporate into my lessons such as multiple vocabulary encounters, before, during, and after support, and think alouds that will really help my students.
I will be reading a lot in my classroom and I will also have them writing. If I can support the students so they try these skills in a classroom, other than English classes, and they succeed I will feel like I have met my teaching goals. I also think that incorporating digital literacy into my classroom but having students create glogs, post on a wiki, or simply search the internet will be very helpful. The students will enjoy it more and it will be something that they will remember.
Lastly, I loved creating a text set for my future classroom. Students need to have multiple experiences with fun aspects of science. They need to see there is more to science than learning big words that they have never heard before. I think it will be a great way to help my classroom management as well. When they have nothing to do I can send them back there to retrieve a book and then they can read instead of messing around.
This has been one of my favorite classes at USU. Thanks Amy!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Dear Students... Whoever you are...
The Handy Dandy Guide to Modern Science:
If it blows up, its Chemistry
If it doesn't work, its Physics
If it is green, wiggles, and smells funny its Biology!
Welcome to Mrs. Tyler's Biology class. Now I know what you are thinking, "ANOTHER Biology class.... How can life get anymore boring??" Let me tell you that our class this year is not going to be another boring class. We are going to do experiments that both you and I create, we are going to take field trips, learn facts, discover truths, and even debate ideas. Science is useful in every day life as well. In our class we are going to try and focus on the outside world and learn from it rather than from a book. In fact, John Lubbock said, “Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.” (John Lubbock (Lord Avebury), The Use of Life (1895)).
Don't worry, I will be a better teacher than this bug here!
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If ever you have a question and you have to figure out how to solve it you are DOING science. For example, have you ever tried to find out the best way to hang a heavy picture? Perhaps you were trying to figure out why your car was leaking oil? Or maybe your question was how to get in the best shape for your upcoming football, soccer, volleyball (or whatever sport you play) season. All of these questions require you to come up with some options of how it could be done and then try some of your ideas out to see if they work. That is what science is, testing your ideas to see how they work to answer a question. They might not seem like science to you because you are used to looking into a microscope or filling out a paper with a hypothesis and conclusion but trust me it is science just the same. Here is a fun site that has a bunch of games on it that teach you a little bit about Biology as you play each one! http://biogames.info/
I am excited to start the year with this class. We are going to have fun and I hope you are getting as excited as I am. Let's get started on a great year!
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Friday, October 12, 2012
Science is FUN
Who knew? Writing really was a huge part of most of my science classes. It may not have been writing a big science paper but we always were writing hypotheses or drawing conclusions. I think that is really important in writing. When a student has many opportunities to perform little writing tasks and then as a few opportunities to produce a polished piece. I remember a couple of assignments that I was able to research a topic and then write a formal paper about it. I was able to share the facts and express my opinion. There were also many lab reports I was able to write and then creative ways of creating texts and demonstrating my knowledge. I remember making an atom out of clay, making an ecosystem, extracting DNA, and dissecting animals. All of these were very beneficial for me and I thought they were fun.
I really think that "fun" is an important word in high school Biology classrooms, and any classroom for that matter. If a teacher always gives multiple choice exams or if he/she always has his/her students write a formal paper the students will get bored and may shut down. If we, as teachers, are able to make our subject fun and unpredictable the students are more likely to be engaged. My personal opinion is that multiple choice exams and other techniques that are similar to it, in other words, general and expected assessment techniques limit the students. I don't think they are bad in every way but I do see some limitations. The students know what to expect, they know there is a right answer, and they don't have an opportunity to share their views. I think that many students prefer these types of assessments but I think all students will benefit with variety. I think it only enforces the ideas a teacher teaches and it encourages the students to look at topics with different lenses on.
I am going to ask my students to create their own experiments, write research papers that are the same as a professional paper, take tests, and produce diagrams or other 3D objects. I think this will really help my students and hopefully they will start seeing the fun side of science. I know I didn't really enjoy science in high school. In fact, I hated my Biology class, then I got to college. It was a whole different experience. All of the sudden I was a scientist. I was asked to analyze experiments and share my opinions. I really enjoyed it. My goal as a teacher is to show them that science is fun and it is useful in their lives. Maybe I can convince a few more people to pursue careers is science because it is a great field.
I really think that "fun" is an important word in high school Biology classrooms, and any classroom for that matter. If a teacher always gives multiple choice exams or if he/she always has his/her students write a formal paper the students will get bored and may shut down. If we, as teachers, are able to make our subject fun and unpredictable the students are more likely to be engaged. My personal opinion is that multiple choice exams and other techniques that are similar to it, in other words, general and expected assessment techniques limit the students. I don't think they are bad in every way but I do see some limitations. The students know what to expect, they know there is a right answer, and they don't have an opportunity to share their views. I think that many students prefer these types of assessments but I think all students will benefit with variety. I think it only enforces the ideas a teacher teaches and it encourages the students to look at topics with different lenses on.
I am going to ask my students to create their own experiments, write research papers that are the same as a professional paper, take tests, and produce diagrams or other 3D objects. I think this will really help my students and hopefully they will start seeing the fun side of science. I know I didn't really enjoy science in high school. In fact, I hated my Biology class, then I got to college. It was a whole different experience. All of the sudden I was a scientist. I was asked to analyze experiments and share my opinions. I really enjoyed it. My goal as a teacher is to show them that science is fun and it is useful in their lives. Maybe I can convince a few more people to pursue careers is science because it is a great field.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Affective Dimensions of Writing
Hmmmm... writing. Am I a writer? Do I enjoy writing? Is writing necessary to express myself? These are questions I have thought about and have revisited many times surprisingly. I don't really consider myself as a writer and I don't always enjoy writing but I think it is very necessary in my life. I may not always enjoy it but sometimes I do and sometimes I even CHOOSE with my own free will to write. Impressive, huh!! I have always kept a journal throughout my life. I love going back through it and reading about my life years ago. If I didn't write down those memories there would be not way for me to "re-live" those experiences with the exact thoughts I had. Now I have a blog I occasionally post on and I often write little notes to people in my life that I care about.
In school I was not asked to write an unusual amount of things but I found I only enjoyed them when they were in my discipline. I didn't know I would end up teaching Biology when I was in middle school and high school but in hindsight I realize that I only liked writing in those classes. I remember feeling so bored when I was asked to write a book report or a script for a play. However, when it came to science and I had to write a report on evolution or wolves or a hypothesis I loved it. It came easy for me and I found it way more interesting. I think I disliked the other writing assignments, not because they were a bad assignment or because I hated writing, but because I wasn't interested in the subject. I also think in science writing I was able to put a little bit of my own opinion in the paper instead of just retelling a summary of a book I had just read. I think it is good that I like to write about scientific topics because then I can have that enthusiasm about scientific writing to share with my students. I can show them why the order of all scientific papers is so convenient and why it is fun to write a research paper. A teachers enthusiasm level plays a huge role in the students enthusiasm and participation.
As I picture my class I do see my students doing a lot of writing and a lot of reading. People sometimes assume that English is the only subject that requires writing but that is so far from the truth it is funny. I think my students need to be able to write and I am going to make sure they have every opportunity to learn how in my class. I may not make them write a million research papers or essays. Maybe they will write two sentences on an exit ticket or they will answer some lecture questions on their paper but they will be writing. So do I consider myself a writer? No. Do I enjoy writing? Sometimes. Is writing necessary to express myself? YES!
In school I was not asked to write an unusual amount of things but I found I only enjoyed them when they were in my discipline. I didn't know I would end up teaching Biology when I was in middle school and high school but in hindsight I realize that I only liked writing in those classes. I remember feeling so bored when I was asked to write a book report or a script for a play. However, when it came to science and I had to write a report on evolution or wolves or a hypothesis I loved it. It came easy for me and I found it way more interesting. I think I disliked the other writing assignments, not because they were a bad assignment or because I hated writing, but because I wasn't interested in the subject. I also think in science writing I was able to put a little bit of my own opinion in the paper instead of just retelling a summary of a book I had just read. I think it is good that I like to write about scientific topics because then I can have that enthusiasm about scientific writing to share with my students. I can show them why the order of all scientific papers is so convenient and why it is fun to write a research paper. A teachers enthusiasm level plays a huge role in the students enthusiasm and participation.
As I picture my class I do see my students doing a lot of writing and a lot of reading. People sometimes assume that English is the only subject that requires writing but that is so far from the truth it is funny. I think my students need to be able to write and I am going to make sure they have every opportunity to learn how in my class. I may not make them write a million research papers or essays. Maybe they will write two sentences on an exit ticket or they will answer some lecture questions on their paper but they will be writing. So do I consider myself a writer? No. Do I enjoy writing? Sometimes. Is writing necessary to express myself? YES!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Who is Karen?
So yes, by now you kind of at least know which person I am in the classroom but that doesn't mean you know who I am! I love to be outdoors. I love to go up the canyon in any season because there is always fun things to do whether it is snowmobiling, hiking, having a cookout, or biking. I love to sing and play the piano. It is what I enjoy doing in my free time even if I am not that good at either. My favorite food is artichokes and homemade mac 'n cheese but I HATE cantaloupe.. yuck. I really do like school. I think it is awesome coming to campus every day and learning something new.
I have chosen to teach Biology. Biology is fascinating. Science in general is fascinating but I like working with the macroscopic part of science more than always thinking in terms of protons and neutrons. I really enjoy asking a question and then going to find the answer. There is an answer for everything in Biology even if you can't find it right away. I also enjoy debating a subject. I think it is so important to view both sides of an issue and really decide what I believe.
I have always wanted to be a teacher. When I was younger I used to teach my stuffed animals math and spelling, so I knew since I was young I would teach, I just didn't know what. My senior year of high school I took Biology 1010 and I loved it. I remember everyone hating the class and always talking about how miserable it was and I just thought it was amazing. When I got into college people tried to push me away from being a teacher but I quickly returned and decided Biology Teaching was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Literacy, what a hard word to define. Literacy is the ability to understand, react, and question information presented. There are many different levels of literacy. I think as a teacher I will try to get my students to a higher level of literacy than many people are. I want them to receive information and really question and decide for themselves if they agree with that information. It is so important, in science, to question information. Scientists have opinions and there are two sides to every issue. In my science classroom I want students to decide which side they want to stand on. So therefore, I think literacy is very relevant in the science classroom. I am intimidated to apply it in my classroom because I may be asked questions I do not know the answers too. I may have my own views and beliefs challenged, but I want to challenge my students. I think I can challenge them by pushing them to achieve a higher level of literacy and have them begin questioning information and coming up with opinions of their own.
I have chosen to teach Biology. Biology is fascinating. Science in general is fascinating but I like working with the macroscopic part of science more than always thinking in terms of protons and neutrons. I really enjoy asking a question and then going to find the answer. There is an answer for everything in Biology even if you can't find it right away. I also enjoy debating a subject. I think it is so important to view both sides of an issue and really decide what I believe.
I have always wanted to be a teacher. When I was younger I used to teach my stuffed animals math and spelling, so I knew since I was young I would teach, I just didn't know what. My senior year of high school I took Biology 1010 and I loved it. I remember everyone hating the class and always talking about how miserable it was and I just thought it was amazing. When I got into college people tried to push me away from being a teacher but I quickly returned and decided Biology Teaching was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Literacy, what a hard word to define. Literacy is the ability to understand, react, and question information presented. There are many different levels of literacy. I think as a teacher I will try to get my students to a higher level of literacy than many people are. I want them to receive information and really question and decide for themselves if they agree with that information. It is so important, in science, to question information. Scientists have opinions and there are two sides to every issue. In my science classroom I want students to decide which side they want to stand on. So therefore, I think literacy is very relevant in the science classroom. I am intimidated to apply it in my classroom because I may be asked questions I do not know the answers too. I may have my own views and beliefs challenged, but I want to challenge my students. I think I can challenge them by pushing them to achieve a higher level of literacy and have them begin questioning information and coming up with opinions of their own.
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