Madeline Lanxon Science Methods II

 The big question this week was, What is the Rock Cycle and what causes it?  In lab this week, we started by talkign about our reading, Activitymania.  We talked about switching our mindset from having an Activity with a Worksheet, to an Investigation with a Guide Sheet. My big takeaway was that activities that have no practical applications, no connection to previous learning, and require no critical thinking on the students' part, are generally a complete waste of everyone's time.  Then, we talked about assessment because we were going to be helping to set the curve later that day. We talked about how important formative and pre-assessments are. Without them, the final assessment means virtually nothing because you have nothing to compare it to.  Then, we got started on our lab. We used Starbursts to make models of the three types of rocks. For Sedimentary rocks, my group decided to just squish the Starbursts together because the grater wasn't working. We rec...

The big question this week was: How do we think about geologic time?  What did you do in lab today? In lab, we talked about geologic time. We put sticky notes on a timeline to show how incredibly close in time each geological and biological event was, compared to the billions of years after the Big Bang. Each group chose 5 interesting events to put on the timeline.  What did you learn in Thursday's discussion?  We took the Space quiz on Thursday. 

For me, the big question this week was, "How can we understand various concepts and processes of space and the universe's origin?" What did you do in lab today?  In lab this week, we heard presentations from each table group and Ted about the origin of the universe, the life cycles of stars, the origin of Earth, galaxies, black holes, and space exploration. My group presented on the origin of Earth. Below are the key things I learned from each group:  Origin of the Earth (my group) Origin of the Universe As we know it, the universe is 13.7 billion years old.  The Big Bang was the origin of the universe , not the origin of Earth. It is an expansion, not an explosion.  The Big Bang created atomic structure among millions of other things. Atoms started to combine with each other to form new elements with atomic numbers up to Iron.  Life Cycles of Stars Stars start in a cloud of dust (nebula), then become either a Average or Massive star, then either a Red Giant or ...

The big questions in lab this week was: How can we conceptualize the size of and distance between planets and stars? How can we stop the vicious cycle of student misconceptions instead of perpetuating them?