Course 2, Post 1

1. The experiences that I have had outside of school have given me a great deal of content area knowledge. I believe that the experiences I have had outside of school are more deeply ingrained in my memory, and more useful to me. For example, a few years ago I spent some time studying abroad in Botswana. While there, I spent a few days at a site that was rich in archeology. I saw some cave paintings and some engravings, and had many conversations with a guide who was knowledgeable about the history of the area. In those few days, I learned so much about the archeology of Botswana that I will never forget. Had I read a book about the same information, I would most likely not remember anything now, several years later. However, because I had a real-life experience, I have a deeper understanding of the content and will remember it much longer. When I think about the things that I learned from outside-of-school experiences, they always seem more meaningful and I gain more knowledge from them. I believe that this is partly due to the fact that I choose what I want to learn about on my own time. For instance, a few weeks ago I took a segway tour of Golden Gate Park. I was personally interested in the history of the area, and what I learned from that tour gave me a deep understanding of he history of the park. This has applied to many different experiences I've had, including the books I choose to read in my free time, where I spend my vacations, and what museums I go to on the weekends. Of course, I learned a lot in school as well, and these were valuable content learning experiences. Out-of-school learning does not downgrade the importance of in school learning, but I have personally learned a lot of valuable content from these experiences. The only problem with relying on out-of-school experiences to gain content knowledge is that it can't be relied on to give you the breadth of knowledge that you might need.

2. I found our class discussion of the Ball article very interesting. When I read the article, I didn't get the impression that the author was trying to insult teachers for lacking content knowledge. I thought that she was pointing out the need for teachers to keep learning and pursuing knowledge, even though it is nearly an impossible task to know everything about all the things we have to teach. It was interesting to me that some people in the class thought she was insulting teachers' content knowledge. However, when they explained their points of view, I could see where they got that impression from. I agree with the main point of the article, which in my opinion is that teachers can't assume that they know everything just because they've been to school. They always need to be looking for opportunities to learn more.

3. I am still not 100% confident in my line of inquiry. I changed my idea a few days ago, and I like my new idea much better than my old one. However, I think it will be more difficult to do experiential research for this topic. I want to look at the American Revolution, and I'm not sure if there are any museums around here that focus on that (since the revolution obviously happened on the East Coast). However, I haven't done much research about this yet, so I will keep looking.

Who I've Responded To:
Alex Iwaszewicz
Allison Rayford
Jocelyn Rohan

5 possible guiding questions

1. How do you make "big" science concepts (such as extreme weather or outer space) hands on and interactive?

2. How can teachers involve/interest groups typically disenfranchised from science (girls and minority groups) in learning science?

3. There is not much time allowed for science instruction in the school where I teach. What are some ways to teach it through other subjects?

4. What are good methods for using writing in science?

5. What are some local places to bring students to learn about science that are affordable/easily accessible?