Joke of the Week: Quotes from Confucius

Confucius once said, "When you breathe, you inspire, and when you do not breathe, you expire."

Incorporating Instructional Videos

I recently made a video of science projects you can do at home in your kitchen, with full explanations of how to do the experiments and what the science concepts behind them are. If you are have a rainy afternoon, I suggest watching it and trying some of the experiments out!

After reviewing a project, ideas of how to improve it always come to mind. In this case, I would have done the video clips in an overdramatic silent video style using big gestures and a lab coat/goggles. Then, I would have done all of the explanations with voice overs. I think that this would make the video more entertaining to watch, which I believe is an important factor in getting a classroom to pay attention to their teacher.

I think that it would be beneficial to my students if I made a video of how to do a lab before they actually do it. This would help assure accuracy and make sure they had an idea of what they should be doing in lab. Having students view a short how to video before they start the lab will also make them focus on the safety rules associated with chemicals they will be handling, and this will improve the environment for everyone in the class.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

There has been lots of talk in the media lately about copyright laws. Copyright is something that everyone needs to have a full understanding of so they know if and when they could be doing something against the law. But "copyright" is no longer the only player in the game, fair use and creative commons are also policies to be considered.

As a future teacher, there are two big ways that copyright laws will effect me. First, I need to be aware of what I am presenting in my classroom, and how I am representing the source. If I were to show an educational video, lets say Bill Nye the Science Guy, from a DVD that I bought with departmental or personal funds I would be in the clear! But, if I were to pull up a clip from YouTube of Bill Nye doing an experiment and show that to my class, I would be breaking copyright laws. The second way I will be encountering copyright laws is with student plagiarism. It is important for students to know what exactly plagiarism is and the consequences of it so they do not break any copyright laws.

Fair use says that I, as a teacher for a recognized nonprofit educational institute, may use portions copyrighted material in the course of my lessons (even those on a class website) without permission or paying a fee. This means that I can make numerous copies of a worksheet out of a book to give to students to work on, or I can play "The Element Song" for my chemistry class.

Because this all wasn't complicated enough, they decided to add a third element. Creative Commons is similar to copyright in that you are still the owner of what you make, but it gives you the ability to share your product with others in the way that you want to. If I was to use a creative commons poem about ecosystems in the rainforest to share with my class I would have to attribute it, give credit where credit is due. Depending on the author of the work, I may have to follow some other rules.

Joke of the Week: Elementary Physics, My Dear Watson

Question: What is the name of the first electricity detective?
Answer: Sherlock Ohms

Joke of the Week: Love in Lab

A small piece of sodium that lived in a test tube fell in love with a bunsen burner. "Oh Bunsen, my flame," the sodium pined, "I melt whenever I see you." The bunsen burner replied, "Its just a phase you're going through."

Thoughts On Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning is considered to be one of the best tools a teacher has in his/her arsenal. It is common knowledge that students, or just people in general, tend to do better when they are explaining or teacher a subject instead of just reading about it in a book. Collaborative learning allows students to work together in a way that every member of the group will be doing both teaching and learning. This re-enforces the concepts and usually sheds new light on the subject matter. Collaborative learning can help reach the peak of a "slow hunch", but instead of an award winning idea at the end of that hunch the result is mastery of a certain content area.

In a science classroom teachers tend to utilize informal and formal learning groups, and since science tends not be the easiest subject students utilize outside study groups. To facilitate an informal learning group I could ask my chemistry students to get together in a group of five and make a list of all the terms and concepts they can think of that apply to the scientific method. Then I would have them define and connect the ideas together.

This article describes how a Harvard physics professor is changing his intro physics course from a lecture based class to a class based on collaborative learning.

The Start Up

Hello everyone! My name is Sasha and I am currently studying at a major university to become a high school science teacher. I would like to teach either chemistry or biology, but I will also be certified in physics and general science when I graduate. I am new to blogging but I hope that you can enjoy this blog and maybe even laugh at my (very nerdy) science jokes!