Maddy's Science Methods I Blog

What did I learn? Today we learned more about the characteristics of matter and how we would describe them and represent them in a particle model. As a group we discussed the differences and what makes each state what as well as the difference in how far apart particles are in each. We then moved to simulations to observe the differences in motion, speed, and connectivity with their neighbors between the different states. We found that solids all move together and have the same neighbors the entire time. Liquids are less controlled and move around all over the place at random. Gas particles are even more spread out with clumps connecting together before shooting away from each other again.  How can you apply what you learned to your future teaching? I really liked the use of simulations today and the change of activity. It allowed us to explore and find more out ourselves first before coming together to share our observations and make connections between the interactions. No matter...

Dice Prediction What did I learn? This week we learned more about density of matter and how it affects the buoyancy of it. We started lab out by discussing our modifications for the 5th grade science lesson so that it met the objectives of the 2nd grade band as well as NGSS standards. After that we looked into whether we could predict if we though a big and small dice would sink or float. We calculated the density of the two dice and because they were smaller than 1 we could predict that they would sink. We also experimented something similarly with 2 checkers except Dr. Nordine's red checker floated while the black checker sunk. After doing our own experiments we came to the conclusion that we could get both of the checkers to sink of float, it just depended on the way you placed it in the water.  Checkers How can you apply what you learned to your future teaching? I think that this week is another great example of switching up traditional teaching and making it fun and engaging f...

Observations Table  What did you learn this week?  This week we explored how properties change when different objects are broken into pieces. We placed a bunch of different objects including an eraser, paper clips, crayons, and aluminum foil into water observing whether they sank or floated. We then placed them into over flow cups to measure the volumes of the objects and we measured the mass of the objects using a scale. We also tested whether or not the objects were magnetic and conducted electricity. It was cool to get to observe the differences in full objects and half objects but due to experience, a lot of the outcomes were predictable for us.  Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?  Sink or Float Like stated above, when we were actually collecting our observations, we were able to predict if the outcomes actually happened. Due to experiences that we've had with the materials we were able to predict which would conduct electricity as ...

M&M's in Water  Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?   During the stations, we were using terms to describe what we were observing. Some of the observations were things that we already knew, or things that we predicted and expected to occur from these experiments. Some of the experiments felt very familiar to me and like i've done them before, but it was definitely fun to get to participate in them again.  What did you learn this week?   This week in lab we went around to different stations observing different things that we noticed happening, how we could explain these happening to students, and came up with questions that students might have come up. It was cool to observe and take note of all the things we we observed from the different stations, connecting what we predicted and expected to happen to what actually did, and tired to make sense of it all just as our students would.  Cold Soda Station How can you apply what you l...

What did you learn this week? This week we learned more about evolution specifically talking about the driving factors of evolution. We talked about how evolution is the process by which species change over time with favorable traits. We learned about the drivers for evolution are natural selection, gene drift, migration, and mutation.   Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew ?  This week's activity reminded me of the bunny simulation that we got to play around with in the lecture last Thursday. In the bunny simulation, we could mess with the amount of food available, the offspring produced, and the predators around to see the population of the bunnies change.  How can you apply what you learned in your teaching in the future? I really enjoyed this week's lab as it was a hands-on learning activity called "Preying on Beans" which was a really interactive way to help students learn about the process of adaptation and selection. Similar to the ...

What did I learn this week? This week we continued our learning of genetic material but exploring the role that mutation plays in it. We talked about 3 different types of genetic mutation, insertion, deletion, and substitution. We learned that substitution is the replacement of a DNA base with a different base. We learned that insertion mutations add one or more DNA bases and deletion mutations remove one or more bases which can impact the mRNA, and consequently, the amino acid that's translated. We learned this through an activity where we made a superhero and examined the differences between the DNA, more closely discussing the effects that mutations can have on different organisms. Mutations can be beneficial, harmful, or even have a neutral impact on organisms like the majority of mutations.  Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?  Prior to this week, I was already familiar with the process of creating DNA and mRNA but it was cool to use the simu...