We Made It!

I can't believe the semester is over. This has been the most difficult semester in my college years. Not only was I taking 6 major courses, I lost one of the most important people in my life a week before midterms. Dealing with all of life's issues can be very hard, but you have to push through. I would like to thank Dr. Smirnova for helping me throughout that hard time and being so understanding. At times it was extremely difficult, but I made it, and very much looking forward to Summer. 

Looking back, when I first walked in to Dr. Smirnova's Science and Technology Methods course I was a ball of anxiety. Many people had told me this was the most challenging course they had ever taken. Hearing this got me more worked up because I was taking both Social Studies Methods and Science Methods with Dr. Smirnova this semester. Coming out of these courses, I am extremely happy with the goals I have accomplished. Nothing ever comes easy, and I think these courses are a prime example of that. I worked very hard in these courses, and from the projects I have presented, lessons I have taught, and live binders I am completing, I can see the changes in myself. I'm very proud of what I accomplished this semester amidst life's challenges. I would like to thank Dr. Smirnova for being a teacher that pushes her students. I am coming out of this course with so much new knowledge. I am so happy I took this course right before I student teach in the Fall, because I have many added tools to my teacher tool box from this course! I am looking forward to reflecting on this course this Summer as I prepare for student teaching in the Fall. 

Enjoy the Summer everyone! 

Sign Here!

Today in class we created a petition! It was fun and exciting! We all came prepared having watched the documentary Home. We then created our arguments for the petition. There were two different groups but our statements were similar. Both groups were expressing the urgency of saving our planet, that is quickly deteriorating.  

After each group created their arguments, we created a joint statement for our petition. Next we created an actual petition on Change.org. This was very exciting, because this is something we could do in our own classrooms. It shows students that they can make an impact. It is also important because these are the people of the next generation, and we have to ability to teach them how to be good citizens and to protect our earth. 

Here is the link to our petition, if you would like to join in the fight and sign our petition. 

Building up our Technology Teach Toolbox

From the start of this semester, Dr. Smirnova stressed the importance of technology, and how much we would be using it. I was apprehensive at first because I am not that tech savy. Coming out of this course I am confident, and I enjoy all of the resources technology can provide to us. Right from the start, we were building our technology tool box with our about me projects. We learned about 30 new technology sites that, over the course of the semester, we became very confident with. Even better was most of these sites had a free option. The free option fit our needs just fine. Dr. Smirnova also gave us her personal access to some sites. It was great to become familiar with these sites without the cost, so one day when we have our own classrooms we can know which sites we may want to bring in. I had never heard of glogster, now I use it for everything! I learned how useful vokis and word clouds are. I also learned how to use sites like powtoon and voice over sites. All of these engaging and unique sites are key to having a successful 21st century classroom. 

This video provides great insight on the importance of creating a technological classroom. In this day and age, it is so important to have a digital classroom. Students today were born into technology, and can better their learning by learning through a digital environment. I am so excited to take what I learned in this class and embark on my adventure in creating a digital classroom for my students. 

Science Projects!

We have completed many different science projects! We have completed space projects, climate change projects, marine life projects. Throughout these projects, we have used many different types of technology. We learned new technology sites that, over the course of the semester, we became very confident with. Even better was most of these sites had a free option. The free option fit our needs just fine. Dr. Smirnova also gave us her personal access to some sites. It was great to become familiar with these sites without the cost, so one day when we have our own classrooms we can know which sites we may want to bring in. I had never heard of glogster, now I use it for everything! I learned how useful vokis and word clouds are. I also learned how to use sites like powtoon and voice over sites. All of these engaging and unique sites are key to having a successful 21st century classroom. Some of my projects are below! 

Trade Book Talk!

For my trade book I used the book Ecosystems Around the World This book is considered a reference book, and provides great details about all different ecosystems found all over the world. The book starts off introducing what an ecosystem is, and then has the reader travel all over the world experiencing different ecosystems. I really enjoyed the glossary in the back of the book, and thought it would be very helpful to struggling students. The book has both animated pictures and real pictures that are very helpful to the reader. These pictures give the reader a better sense of what the given ecosystem is like. Another aspect of the book I love is that in each ecosystems description, it provides details on human interaction, and how we can do our part to help maintain, and sustain these environments.

This trade book would be extremely useful in our class this year. Some of our students at Bishop Dunn Memorial School read this book. It first introduces what an ecosystem is, which would be helpful to the previous field work groups that taught what an ecosystem is. Next, the book explains different types of ecosystems in different areas around the world. This would be helpful to the other field work groups that taught about different ecosystem environments. My fieldwork group, group 4, used this book with our model pond lesson. We showed students what ecosystem their model pond would most closely resemble. The amount of facts this book contains is immeasurable. There are many real-life accounts that make this book that much more personal to the reader. Some misconceptions this book can help to correct is that there is not one ecosystem that the entire world can live under. There are many different conditions that vary to help plants and animals survive.

With this trade book, I would have students created a replica ecosystem on any of the ecosystems found in the book. The students can use any form of media for their creation, such as, clay, paper, figures, popsicle sticks etc. The students will then be able to walk around and visit different ecosystems around the world based on their peers creation.

Here is my book trailer link! Hope you enjoy it!

You Read it Here First!

This week we completed individual projects on science in the news. Using the site NewsELA, I found 8 Astronomy articles to research. NewsELA is an awesome site that contains articles on any category. I also this site because you can decrease or increase the lexile level of the articles. It will be a great tool for when we are in our student teaching placements, or even when we have our own classrooms.


Using glogster, I created a collage of my chosen articles. Glogster is another great tool to use for teachers. It is a nice change from the same old powerpoint presentation. I found my articles very interesting, and really enjoy learning about space science. One article that I found very interest was the light pollution article. I have been going to Maine since I was about three years old. I live on Long Island, which is very crowded, with tons of lights. Whenever I went/go to Maine, I am in awe of the sky. There seems to be a blanket of stars, thousands more than the sky on Long Island. In the past years, the sky in Maine, still covered in stars, seemed to be a little darker. This is due to the light pollution that is now reaching this part of our country. It is imperative that we learn new ways to deal with our unhealthy habits. Here is the link to my glogster.

Using a class powerpoint, we each created slides based on a topic of our chosen, regarding space. I chose constellations. This is another part of space that i just find amazing. How is it possible that we can connect these stars to make beautiful images. Here is the link to our class power point.

Pre-Assessment and Post-Assessment

Pre-Test and Post-Test

We conducted both a pre-test and a post-test in our fieldwork experience. I have learned so much about the importance of both assessments. The pre-test is used to assess what the students already know about the topic we are teaching. From the results of that pre-test, the teacher can then revise her lesson plan to cater to the needs of all her students. The teacher then teaches the objectives set out for her throughout the unit plan. After the unit plan, the teacher administers a post-test. The post test is a guide to see how well the students retained and learned the information. It is also a guide for the teacher. The teacher can reflect on her teaching and see what he/she may need to change in the future. I enjoyed the article, Pretests; Importance and Uses of Pretests, on the benefits of creating and administering pretests. Pretests can be extremely beneficial for not only the teacher, but also the student.

I enjoyed this video on pre-tests and post-tests. It shows that after completing the pre-tests, students can set goal for themselves. The goals can push the students to better themselves throughout the lesson, and ace the post-test.