Week 15

 



  1. What did you learn this week? This week in lab, we did many experiments to try and figure out how we can support elementary students in learning about matter and its behavior. My group did many experiments with baking soda and vinegar to try to prove that even with a chemical reaction, the weight of the baking soda and vinegar would be the same. At first, we did it with a balloon and did not know what we were doing wrong. We figured out it was because even though we were tying the balloon really fast, air was still getting out. So instead, we put baking soda in a skinny tube in a 2-liter bottle with vinegar and made sure they were separated, then weighed it, then we shook it up, and even mixed together it was the same weight. This is because we put the cap on the bottle before we shook it up so no air was able to escape during the experiment. In the end, our experiment showed that the total mass stays the same, even during a chemical reaction. This helped us learn more about the science behind it, and also taught us how to improve our experiment and explain these ideas in a way that younger students can understand. 
  2. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? Yes, I can relate what I learned to what I already knew. Before the experiment, I understood that mass doesn’t change during a chemical reaction. But through the experiment, I saw this idea in action and learned how important it is to make sure nothing, like air, escapes, or it could mess up the results. It also showed me how hands-on experiments can help make science easier to understand, especially for younger students. So, it helped me understand what I already knew even better and gave me new ways to explain it.
  3. How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future?What I learned can help me teach better in the future. I now know that hands-on experiments are a great way to help students understand science, especially younger ones. For example, using things like baking soda and vinegar can show them how important ideas, like conservation of mass, work in real life. I also learned that setting up experiments carefully is important so nothing messes up the results, like air escaping. In the future, I can use these lessons to explain experiments more clearly and help students understand the key ideas while making sure they do the experiments correctly.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 10

Image
  What did you learn this week?  This week, we learned about evolution and its four main drivers: natural selection, genetic drift, migration, and mutation. Natural selection is the only one that isn’t random because it helps organisms survive. We did a preying on beans activity to see how natural selection works. We also visited the School of the Wild and acted as students in their lessons. In the lab, we talked about mutations and genetic drift, which is when allele frequencies change randomly. Migration can change the biodiversity in populations over time. We also learned how adaptation relates to natural selection. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew? Yes, I can relate what I learned to what I already knew. I knew natural selection was important, but I learned it’s the only driver that’s not random. I also knew about mutations, but now I understand how they can affect evolution, especially with genetic drift, which is random. Migration makes se...
Read more

Week 3: Space: The Moon

Image
What did you do in the lab today?  In lab, we learned about how the Moon looks different in different places and why some parts of it are darker. We did an experiment using flour and cocoa powder to model the Moon’s surface. We dropped different-sized marbles from different heights to see how craters form and why there are darker spots. When the marbles hit, the darker cocoa powder showed through, just like how real impacts on the Moon can make some areas look darker. We also talked about how the Earth rotates counterclockwise on its axis, and we learned the difference between rotate and revolve . Rotate means spinning on its own axis, and revolve means moving around something else. Then we used styrofoam balls and a globe to figure out where the Moon would be during its different phases, like new moon, quarter moon, and full moon . We also learned that the Moon has a front side, which is the side we always see  , and a back side, which is the far side we never see ...
Read more

Week 10: Layers of Earth, Convection Cells, and Plate Tectonics

Image
  What did you do in lab today?  In our lab, we talked about the layers of the Earth, such as the crust, mantle, and core, and learned that the iron core helps protect us from the sun’s radiation. We learned about convection cells and how heat and density make the Earth’s plates move, which can cause earthquakes and volcanoes. We shared our convection cell videos and talked about how convection is like what happens in ovens and ocean currents. We also talked about why earthquakes and volcanoes can happen away from plate boundaries. For our lab activity, we used graham crackers, rice cakes, and whipped cream to model the three types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform. What was the big question?  What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics​ What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? I learned that earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountains all happen because Earth’s plates move. Earthquakes are caused by pressure building up and then breaking. Big ones can be...
Read more