So K., one of my classmates, and her dad actually volunteered today at Chemists in the Library. K. gave a speech at the beginning, explaining her passion for education and science and introducing the labs. I thought it was great that the students got to see her as a scientist, since she is also a beauty pageant winner (she explained both of these interests to the kids). As we talked about at the beginning of the semester, a common stereotype kids have about scientists is that they are white, old, unsociable males with lab coats--she is clearly not the case, and she showed the kids today that they can occupy science and multiple other cultures, should they so choose.
Another thing I learned (again) today is that science is for kids of all ages. That sounds self-evident, but even the barely-talking toddlers were able to do the investigations, on their own levels. I found that it is possible to differentiate explanations on the procedure, based on science exposure and age--the littlest kids needed more help doing things, but I could still hold them to completing most of the investigations (except for the last investigation, which required a lot of reading and writing). The smallest children wouldn't necessarily be able to write anything out, but everyone still built on their schema for each of the investigations.
There were also a lot of ELLs, too, and they were also able to do everything just fine, especially since there was so much comprehensible input--I mimed, K. and I prepared examples for some of the investigations, and all of the material was right in front of the ELLs to play with. Some of the parents translated for the students, too, which I thought was extremely helpful. I am all in favor of bilingual education, when it's feasible.
Some of the kids were really good at playing around and trying different things (e.g., using different materials to try and achieve the same goals) and were eager to explain to me what they were trying and what their results were. I felt that one girl was trying to challenge me, and she made a big deal of "over-doing" each step in the procedure--what she doesn't realize is that science can't really be overdone. It didn't really phase me when she made what she thought was a really big mess (I've learned to throw tarps everywhere on the ground).
Otherwise, my students on Thursday were all at different steps in their enzyme food, enzyme pH inquiry, and enzyme Internet research assignments. Not coincidentally, everyone seemed engaged (they were up and around and doing things). We started off to a bumpy start, with some of the groups missing some of the materials they realized were needed (I forgot to bring the Jello, which set back one group). After D. went on a quick grocery trip, everyone went straight to work. I feel that doing inquiry well and time-efficiently is an ability that is gained over time and is something I will be working on for YEARS.
Some of my students did ask me if it was cheating if they looked up information on the Internet while they were working. It would be really hard to complete their assignments without doing research, but I am not communicating that expectation well enough to them. I might also still be giving off a sage-on-the-stage vibe, despite my best efforts.
Despite my deficiencies, some of my students' food enzyme results were just awesomely disgusting. What I understand about information processing is that those disgusting, smelly results will hopefully store enzyme information into students' long-term memories. That's why I use smells as much as possible with Chemists in the Library and when I work with the high school students--I hope the smells just trigger science and fun for the kids involved, long-term. The smelliest and most disgusting investigation was to watch the effect of complex probiotics (involving a soup of enzymes) on yogurt over time; the yogurt turned to a completely non-viscous, runny solution.
I finally provided direct instruction at the end; despite my best efforts, my PowerPoints are still too long. I would like to get every chapter below 20 slides, because I feel that's the extent of a sane human attention span. Also, let's be honest: my students who have actually worked in nursing know biochemistry MUCH better than I do, and I feel silly lecturing at them about the material (unless I'm relating it back to chemistry--that, I can handle). It helps when the questions I ask are actual questions I have for them.
In fact, some of the parents today at Chemists in the Library asked awesome questions that I couldn't answer (this happens EVERY time), so I am going to go off and see what I can find out.
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