Kristin Pokorny

November 23, 3015

TEAC 315
Professional Development

For my professional development activity I chose to go to the Morrill Hall

planetarium show on Monday, November 23. The planetarium presentation was an
IMAX presentation about our earth, moon, sun, surrounding stars, and common
misconceptions.
This experience presented important elements related to successful science
teaching and learning. One of the more important things about teaching science
that I learned was that there are many opportunities for misconceptions to form. It
is important to address those misconceptions and validate science truth with
evidence. The next big thing that I learned about teaching science was the notion
that science is in all things, and all who inquire about science are scientists. This
brings me back to our first day in class when we discussed What is a scientist, and
the many misconceptions that surround the public definition of what makes up a
scientist. I found this idea to relate well to the inquiry based classrooms that we
have learned to create throughout the semester because inquiry allows students to
see themselves as scientist and learn that, by way of the the nature of science,
those who inquire and investigate are scientists.
As I consider the qualities of the planetarium experience, I understand how
this experience can be used for teaching and learning as a whole. There were
several qualities about the planetarium show that made the science concepts
memorable and more likely to be stored into long-term memory. The first thing that
stuck out to me was that they made me feel as if I was a scientist too. That just
because I didnt look like a scientist, doesnt mean that I am not a scientist. We are
all scientists; we can all develop a wealth of science knowledge. This identified
understanding that we are all scientists was a motivating component to the
experience, and it inspired me to pay closer attention to what I was learning. It
made me feel capable and relevant. The next thing that stuck out to me was the
relationship of new content to my prior knowledge and experiences, and using that
to create an overarching theme for learning. Instead of teaching about our solar
system as an overwhelming whole, the information was tied to one concept that
everyone has some sort of experience with - the moon. It is important that learning
has a big idea, one idea that is familiar and ties all of the learning together. In TEAC
315 we have inquired about and observed the moon, but have yet to formally
discuss our observations in a concrete manner. Thus, I was already curious about
the science presented in the show! By having a big understanding, we are able to
center in on one focus point for learning. Students can learn a vast amount of
information without feeling too overwhelmed. The final characteristic of the
planetarium experience that I found to be transferable to teaching and learning as a
whole, is the friendliness of the the information being presented. The show
presented the science content with an integration of animation and commentary
that made learning the content feel attainable. Terms, that could seem potentially
difficult to learn, were made inviting by the presentation. The friendliness of the
information allowed me to understand the importance of presenting information in
an inviting manner. It also allowed me to understand the effect that the presenters
emotions on the content being taught has on a students desire to learn. I could tell

that the characters in the planetarium were excited to share their knowledge and
that made me excited to learn it!
The planetarium show is an experience that can easily benefit students
education. I felt that the show was put on quite well, and there was little I would do
to modify the viewing portion of the experience. However, I would make sure to
provide more opportunity to inspire inquiry before presenting the materials, and
then explicate those inquiries through the viewing and discussion. Going into the
show I had minimal knowledge about what we were going to learn about. I knew
that the show was going to have to do with stars and the constellations, but I knew
nothing else. I didnt know what I was suppose to learn from the show. In order to
promote inquiry, I think that it would be a great idea to incorporate moon journaling
and other celestial observations. I would use this experience as an opportunity to
discuss the multiple reasons how understanding the moon has contributed to our
society. I would also ask students to consider ways that the concepts in the
presentation can help us make sense of time. This take the experience from a
surface level, a level where students might think that they need to be able to
identify or notice the constellations, to a deeper level that gets students to
understand the importance of being able to identify constellations. I would want my
students to be inquiring about certain concepts before they encounter the explicit
learning materials. Why is it important to be able to identify patterns to recognize
pictures within the stars? How might society benefit from the constellations?
(Potential response: knowing the constellations allows us to look up at the sky and
identify what time of the year it is). Promoting inquiry is important because it gives
students an opportunity to mentally engage with the concepts being presented, it
facilitates a deeper understanding, and it decreases the sense that there is an
overwhelming about of information being presented by giving students something
to focus on.
The planetarium experience allowed me to demonstrate the capacity for
collegiality, reflective practice, and professional growth in regard to science
teaching. It granted me the opportunity to consider multiple perspectives at one
time, allowing me to feel like a student while considering the experience as a
teacher. I was able to reflect and grow as a learner and education as I looked at the
planetarium show through a critical lense and reflected on the the impact the show
had on a student's level of knowledge. I had the opportunity better myself
professionally by considering the components that made this show a successful
learning experience, and their relationship to the elements comprised in successful
teaching and learning.