20 October 2013 Fieldwork Journal Week #7 Draw connections between a course reading and something that is happening in the

e field. In my methods course at enn! "eachin# $iddle % &econdary &chool &cience! we ha'e recently been #oin# throu#h the book Teaching High School Science Through Inquiry by (ou#las )lewellyn *200+,! and it has hu#ely in-luenced my recent thou#hts around my own classroom! and s.eci-ically in the direction that I want my classroom to be mo'in# towards in re#ards to curriculum! /uestion askin#! and the kinds o- assi#nments that I want to be desi#nin#0 "he ma1ority o- our readin#s -rom this book ha'e worked to answer /uestions re#ardin# the #eneral nature o- in/uiry based teachin#! how in/uiry classrooms com.are to traditional classrooms! and many e2am.les o- how traditional 3cook4book5 labs and assi#nments could be reworked with an in/uiry lens0 6lthou#h! what has really stood out to me -rom )lewellyn7s writin#! has been his insi#hts into how to best transition his students 3into in/uiry acti'ities ithey ha'e no .rior e2.erience in in/uiry5 *.08+,0 One o- the mindsets that I can o-ten #et stuck in while .lannin# or thinkin# out acti'ities! is that my students would ha'e a di--icult time en#a#in# in a com.letely in/uiry led acti'ity! and that in addition! I wouldn7t be able to -acilitate or .lan student4initiated in/uiry to the best my ability0 &o I -eel like I ha'e to com.romise! or -ind ways to make it more teacher led and subse/uently closer to the 9cookie4cutter9 acti'ities that we7'e all had -ar more than our -air share o-00 I don7t belie'e that this is bad! but I can o-ten loose si#ht o- the .rocess that it takes to #et to in/uiry learnin#0 For students who ha'en7t e2.erienced in/uiry! it is di--icult! and it does take time to work into and de'elo.0 It takes baby4 ste.s to #et there! but I belie'e that it is im.ortant that we actually take those baby ste.s i- we want to #et there0 "his week! I was able to initiate a .ro1ect with a #uided a..roach to in/uiry! in which I let each student choose their own 3biolo#ically im.ortant element5 and learn about di--erent as.ects o- it throu#h research in the te2tbook and on the internet! and then re.ort their learnin#s throu#h the -orm o- their own .oster *6..endi2 I,0 "he sco.e o- this .ro1ect was broad! in that I wanted it to be an introduction and 3baby4ste.5 into the kinds o- in/uiry assi#nments that I would like to start im.lementin#! and I wanted it to be an assi#nment that encoura#ed my students to -eel like they ha'e more 3stake5 in the classroom! they would #et to ha'e some choice! some say in how they would learn the in-ormation! and their work would #et to be shown

in our classroom and in the hallway0 "he -inal .ro1ects turned out #reat *6..endi2 II,! I think that some students really lo'ed the assi#nment and totally took ad'anta#e o- it! as a..arent throu#h their .ro1ect7s a..earance and the e2tent to which they mana#ed their time in com.letion0 6lthou#h some students seemed to be disen#a#ed and not nearly as e2cited to be com.letin# their .ro1ect: this is where I need to #o back to the drawin# board and think about what I can im.ro'e -or our ne2t class acti'ity! to #et those other students en#a#ed0 I think that the bi##est thin# that could ha'e im.ro'ed this class was better time mana#ement! and a real sense our#ency communicated to my students0 6lon#side this! the assi#nment could ha'e been streamlined by .ro'idin# a resource list o- direct websites and .a#e numbers: althou#h this would ha'e remo'ed some o- the in/uiry! it mi#ht ha'e been a better! more #uided .lace to start -rom0 In addition! I wasn7t antici.atin# the amount o- students who were absent either Friday or "uesday! and this de-initely slowed us down: students who were absent on -riday had to start late! and students who were absent on "uesday weren7t able to -inish what they started on the same .ace as e'eryone else0 "hese insi#hts will de-initely e--ect how I will .lan my u.comin# lessons! and in .articular! -uture multi4day in/uiry assi#nments0 I think that this assi#nment was a #reat -irst ste. towards buildin# a 3in/uiry4minded5 startin# .oint -or my students! and it was incredibly .roducti'e in de'elo.in# my own a..roach towards .ro1ect .lannin# and -acilitation0 Works Cited: )lewellyn! (0 *200+,0 "eachin# hi#h school science throu#h in/uiry; a case study a..roach0 "housand Oaks; <orwin ress0 Appendix: I0 =lement oster 6ssi#nment For this .ro1ect! I>d like you to research a s.eci-ic biolo#ically im.ortant element and hi#hli#ht what you>'e learned in a .oster0 First! choose one o- these si2 elements to research; ?ydro#en <arbon &odium O2y#en otassium @itro#en

6nswer the -ollowin# /uestions! you can use any o- the a'ailable resources .ro'ided in the classroom -or research *e0#0 com.uters! te2tbooks! teachers! .re'ious notes00,0 10 What is the chemical symbol o- your elementA 6tomic @umberA $ass @umberA

20 (etermine the number o- .rotons! electrons! and neutrons o- your elementA 30 When was your element disco'eredA Who disco'ered itA B0 (etermine where your element is -ound in natureA +0 ?ow is the element im.ortant to li'in# thin#sA 80 (raw the Cohr model -or your element0 Once you ha'e answered the abo'e /uestions! you may use the .ro'ided su..lies to create a .oster to re.ort your -indin#s0