Sunday, February 27, 2011

Pkupfer


Establishing a Science Journal in Science Classrooms at the Secondary Level

Welcome to Mr. Kupfer's Blog. I am delighted to communicate with all of you through this technology.

The purpose of this Blog is to serve as a course activity in Blog development. Blogger.com is a fantastic tool to exchange ideas quickly and efficiently. Being that "blogging" is user-friendly and available anywhere a computer with internet is located, this facilitates effective discussions. Blogger.com is a great source of technology to use in the classroom because it is free. However, there exist many other organizations (i.e.-professional environments) that may be able to profit from utilizing a blog. Hopefully, by the end of this course we should (as professional educators) be able to use this technology to make information more accessible to students. This type of information presentation is desirable for use in the classroom because it is a form of technology that the students enjoy.

In this course Blog we will discuss why it is important for students to utilize their cognitive skills by establishing a science journal in their science classes. Considering this notion, why is it often times difficult to motivate students to produce a scientific journal for class? Does this apply to "crossing the curriculum" for English and Science? Feel free to post your comments, concerns, and condemnations.
Thank you.

14 comments:

  1. I think making science relative to the student would encourage more participation in a Science journal. For example, the teacher could, while teaching about various effects on the environment, ask students to rely personal experiences with the subject. For example, recycling, fishing, eating things grown in the dirt, drinking the water, anything that effects the environment can apply to student personally. You would guide them in a journal topic, maybe give a few personal examples. I think that journaling in science is a great idea because it does make the subject relate more to the individual student.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I believe a science journal to be an excellent idea. This gives students an outlet to write about their experiences, discoveries, and questions that science lessons and experiments may spark in them. The difficulty may come because the students do not see a purpose. They may not see that writing about experiences gives them opportunities to continue learning. Modeling your own journal and presenting how the journal connects with further learning and a deeper ownership of a new skill or concept may boost their enthusiasm. I surely believe science journaling does reinforce English skills also.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with you Ms. Mattox. Here, the journal represents a multi-faceted approach that culminates in skills in both science and English.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Andrea, you are absolutely correct. The journal needs to focus on the experiences of the individual students to provide a sense of purpose. This also makes relating to the student easier for the teacher.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I believe that science is all about observation and because writing is all about using your senses the two should fit together nicely. As the students get used to writing in their Science Journals they should be able to make connections about real life experiences. We should always encourage them to write about what they see, hear, and feel while exploring new ideas. In a way it's alot like descriptive writing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This definitely qualifies as integrated curriculum. You could even work with the students' English teacher on this exercise. I think that if students knew they could use their journal entries in English class, they would be more open to writing in the science class. I believe that thinking through scientific concepts and writing about them will help reinforce what they have learned. You could show students actual journals from "real" scientists which will also show them that scientists do write extensively.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fantastic idea for crossing the cirriculum. I am studying to be a secondary English teacher and would absolutely want to use the scientific journal entries as a part of my assignment requirement. If I decided to require daily journaling, I may let them use their science journal two or three times a week and write a seperate journal entry the other two days explaining how the science journal helps them in their English/literature studies.
    I think that if students could get to use the journal entries for two classes, they would be much more willing to write-and write well since two teachers will be reviewing their work.
    Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  8. A science journal is an great idea because it requires students to go beyond the facts they have learned and process the information, apply it and consider how it is meaningful. I believe that is why it is hard to motivate the students; often they simply want to memorize the information. However, once they get in the habit of journaling, they may find that they enjoy it and find it gratifying.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The scientific journals will be an excellent tool to incorporate both science and language arts. Students will have the opportunity to share their thoughts and observations on the science lesson while displaying their writing and grammar abilities. I can understand that the scientific journal may appear overwhelming or discouraging to students. Maybe you could make the scientific journals seem more appealing or fun. I suggest you ask students to make their journal entries online through a blog or wiki. This will allow students to be creative in their journal entries by including images and research findings from the internet.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The best suggestion is to give the project for science classes. The students will participate and be able to see follow whole process. For example, if they want to learn process of growing the plant, we can let them to grow one. That way they can watch and write the journal about any changes. Doing so, they are performing more operations for one assignment. They will analyze, discuss about methods, and give the conclusion. All of that is actually considered as critical thinking. I definitely support critical thinking and using journals for science classes, because students learn a lot as individuals.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Peter,
    Don't forget to visit my blog. http://sloperedm510.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am so excited about all of the new technology that I have been learning about this semester and look forward to working with my media specialist to help me get around all of the blocks that Mobile County has set up on our computers.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Peter,
    Please visit my blog. http://lmattoxedm510.blogspot.com. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think a science journal would be a good idea. It would allow students to incorporate the lesson they are learning in English with the topics in Science. Also, it will give students the opportunity to look up the answer to questions they may have about the class.

    ReplyDelete