![]() The article by Thomas Friedman, What's Our Sputnik?, brings up some very compelling arguments regarding America's place in today's global economy and some of our political leaders' distorted views on what is important.Īs mentioned in the article, the launch of Sputnik ignited a national reform in education that called for a greater emphasis in math and science. The way I see it, if these teachers are provided with resources, materials and inquiry-based lessons, there is no excuse not to provide students with the best possible science education. ![]() For those teachers who are required to teach science even though they have no interest in it, I can at least provide them with the resources necessary so that they are not on their own when trying to plan and implement a science lesson. If I can work at a district level as a specialist, I can help ensure that all students have access to high quality instruction. I have found that, unless the teacher has a passion for science, many students are not getting the exposure to effective science education. I want to move into a science education specialist role to help other science teachers effectively incorporate best practices for science education. Left 4 bazinga professional#It is a professional goal of mine to change the face of science education at a district level. The best thing I can do to help overcome this challenge is to offer my assistance and even teach a model lesson to demonstrate how easy it can be to incorporate inquiry-based instruction at any level. It takes work to overhaul your curriculum and the teachers are being asked to step outside of their comfort zone. The main challenge is resistance because they do not want to change the way they are used to teaching. There are certainly challenges I have faced along the way. Students will be used to critical thinking and discovering their own learning, so they will not be as hesitant as they normally would when they reach middle school. By giving students experience with this approach to science education at an earlier age, I will not have to back track and start from scratch when the students reach 7th and 8th grade. I encouraged them to consider moving up the inquiry continuum and offered assistance in planning lessons to help them accomplish this. I also shared with the science teachers articles I received regarding inquiry instruction and the 5E model of lesson planning. We began having monthly science department meetings where we worked on making our curriculum more cohesive. We have an elementary (K-4) science teacher, a 5/6 science teacher, and a 7/8 science teacher (me). Prior to this school year, the science teachers rarely collaborated with one another. It has been in this school year that I have started to change the face of science education at my school. I have found that my joy in teaching science has grown and my students interest in science has increased as a result. ![]() My approach to science education has changed from knowing what I should be doing to actually doing it. Upon reflecting on my time in the Master's program at Walden, I feel I have grown in leaps and bounds. ![]()
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