First Day of Science Methods

This first week back at Gardner-Webb has given me an insight of what this semester will hold. As soon as assignments were available I turned in what was required. I'm proud of this because I procrastinate frequently and I finally felt on top of things, which is a great start to a class. I have struggled understanding exactly what we need to turn in. I researched many different sources to find the information I agreed was sufficient for my understanding. Right now my thinking is running circles from all the information I have been given in the last two days. I know there are many scientific topics I need to review from my younger years. The work that brought me the most satisfaction was our "Why" we want to be a teacher. The video I watched from Simon Sinek made me think in a new light in the motivation a person has for what they do. Breaking down why, how, and what we accomplish or want to accomplish helped me remember why I am going through school and what the outcome will be. I want to complete assignments earlier than I normally do because if I am confused I will have the time to ask questions. I contributed by making a boat in our groups. I named the boats and remembered that we need our hypothesis before the experiment (which we almost forgot). Next week I hope to bring different ways to look at things which can connect my colleagues' understanding or view. I researched some great experiments that are hands on for students. My first retweet was practicing science safety. Safety procedures are extremely important for anyone practicing science. Repetition is key and there will always be a more dangerous procedure in their future which will need safety instructions followed. It makes me think of different experiments I can conduct that can require safety equipment. My second retweet went along perfectly with what we talked about in class. When science is taught just to memorize facts it will not help critical thinking. Instead, observing how science is involved in our every day lives will become more interesting and get students to think about science, not just repeat statements. My third retweet related to Monday when the eclipse passed over our area. There is no doubt that schools will focus on this subject, but there is so much more happening every day that we have not considered to learn about. Changes in weather, plants, animals, water and more should be looked into just as the eclipse was.  This week I learned about why an event like the eclipse can happen with the sun and moon's rotation. This helped remind me of ways that I was taught about space visually and I thought about hands-on ways I can show my students. I honestly just learned that NCTCS was a thing today, so I will research further. This should be very useful for creating lessons.