BB&W Reflection and Lesson

I found Ms. Stone's lesson to be very teacher centered. It was a lot like my experiences were in elementary school. When I relate it to the exact lesson we used in science class last week I believe that that lesson was related a lot more to Ms. Travis' lesson. It was clear that Ms. Travis had a student-centered approach because she gave the kids the tools and asked them to write their findings. She didn't give direct instruction like Ms. Stone. Ms. Stone gave absolutely no room for error for the students and no exploration. She also, by using her teaching style, gave no reasons or explanations for how it works. She explained parallel circuits and so on and while I understood it, I can see kids walking away from that lesson not understanding exactly how it works and even worse the lesson would not have any of their own personal influences.

Lesson:

My lesson would reflect Ms. Travis' because I want kids to discover their own data and then be able to explain it. I would have the same materials that Ms. Travis had and I would add some as well. I'm really interested in water electricity so this would be a perfect opportunity for me to follow along and learn with my kids at the same time. First I would do research on water electricity and maybe incorporate in what settings it is used such as water wheels and so on. I have found an experiment online that I could use the same materials plus beakers, tape, and nails that are accompanied with the water. I would take the same approach as Ms. Travis and ask kids how they think they could light a bulb using the materials given to them. Do they think water can transmit electricity? If they do can they show me using the materials given? If they don't think so can they tell me why? (From here they would just go into having the bulb light without using water). All of these are possible scenarios and they can explain themselves by using the materials and trying to find a way to light the bulb. Here is my resource... http://www.pge.com/microsite/safety_esw_ngsw/esw/hurt/exp_water.html

Engage: The teacher gives students materials and asks the question: Do you believe water can help in the creation of electricity? If you do you can use the materials in front of you to try and show that it does. If you don't you should explain why not and we'll move on from there. TEACHER CENTERED- the question has been posed by me and I am creating the jumping off point for the kids to think.

Evidence: The learner, using the question, now investigates based of their initial prediction if they predicted correctly through trial and error using the materials. STUDENT CENTERED- the learner chooses how to manipulate materials and collect data.

Explain: Students formulate explanations from their own trial and error and interpretations of that. STUDENT CENTERED- gives students to elaborate on their findings and tell how it worked or have them justify why it didn't work.

Evaluate: Students research outside of the initial experiment to find explanations on why their initial ideas worked or didn't work. STUDENT CENTERED- students are independently researching and comparing to their data to evaluate their own thinking.

Communicate: Students explain their findings to classmates. STUDENT CENTERED- students can choose to pair their findings, along with their predictions and research to explain how they accomplished to light the bulb and why it works.