Week Nine: Reflection

When I started this class, I was uncertain how to make science fun for all students. I had some experience in my practicum last year teaching a grade 4/5 class light and sound. What I have learned is that science is a great subject to read fictional books about and is super easy to make fun and exciting.

When I started this class, my perceptions of science was filtered by the real world jobs people I know have. Leaving this class, my eyes have been open to all the relatable jobs that people have in the sciences. Young students should not feel intimidated by science or what science is. Science is everywhere and what makes someone a scientist is what they do, not how old they are or what they look like. This is a really important part of teaching students science when they are young.

I also learned new tools like interactive notebooks and other tools that move the learning to the students and engages them more directly. This is another way that the barriers around science can be broken down for young students. Everything is moved into work that they can explore and allows them to interpret science in their own comfort zone. Using tools like the Think-Tac-Toe tool, students can write poetry about science. This makes science into a more familiar subject and allows the students to creatively express their learning.

After this class, I feel as though some of the fears I had about teaching science to young students have been eased. I now understand how to convey the wonders of science to young children and how to teach them to love the subject instead of hate or fear science. I feel more secure in teaching students about different types of science and scientists.