Motivating Girls to Choose a Career In Science

     We talked in my science methods class about girls and how they are fewer female scientist and we discussed why girls seem to not go into the field of science.  Why is this?  Possibly because the girls are taught by male teachers, or that the girls may feel less smart as the boys.  But for whatever reason we need to motivate girls to become interested in science careers.
     I would start with motivating the girls by having more social interactions in science class.  By assigning group work, the students can learn with their peers.  The girls may be motivated to become involved and the girls will find this fun and engaging. 
     Also, another way to get the girls interested in science is to use real world applications.  The teacher needs to find activities that relate to every day life.  An example of this would be to recycle.  Or maybe a activity on makeup.  How makeup works, how can makeup be harmful.  I am not saying to make science all girly and fluffy, but wearing makeup is part of a girl's every day life and makeup can be very interesting to discover how the makeup is made, is the makeup tested on animals?  
     By being a positive role model for all students, the teacher can make a positive impact on the student's interest and learning.  If the students aren't engaged, is the teacher engaged?  Teachers need to work hard and find science activities that promote positive feedback, which in turn will promote the student's self esteem.

Class Reflection

     I am always anxious the first week of class, not knowing the new professor and not knowing how busy I would be.  I was somewhat annoyed not to have a text for this class, but I do see the benefit in not having a certain curriculum to follow, this week read chapter two and we will discuss.  No, for this class our discussions are ones that Professor Kruse directs us into.  We as a class do not need a textbook to tell us what science is.  Instead we have each other to learn from, we share our thoughts are ideas and our goals.  As a class, we have listened intently to our professor, maybe not alwys likeing what he is saying or understanding what he means, but somehow I am learning a different way.  I was hestitant on the technology stuff, but now I am ok with it and actually really enjoy reading what other people have to say.  I guess I needed that shove to jump into technology.  I feel that I am "Old School" through and through.  But so far, I have really enjoyed this class.  I have enjoyed the instructors and his thoughts and ideas make me think differently.  I like that, I really do.  My classmates are so bright and bring to class their opinions and understandings.  I love our discussions.  I love learning science this way and I think I will be a better teacher not only in science but in all my other content areas as well. 

How science works

So how does science work?  What makes it science?  How do we even know it is science?  What an interesting science class we had the other day.  I was so surpassed at how I thought of science, I mean, I know what science is and I think I know what it isn't but I had never thought that cancer research is technology, not science.  I always thought that research is science based, not technology based.  My eyes were opened yet again during another class at Drake.

How does science work?  Is it magic or are there theories that explain or try to explain how something works.  We all know about the law of relativity, but we can not explain what gravity is.  So how does this work?  Scientists ask questions.  These questions are brought on by curiosity or the scientist just has a problem to figure out.  The scientist than makes an hypothesis to lay out the information the scientist is searching for.  This then leads to more questions, more exploration, more detail emerge and this again may lead to more questions. 

Is there ever a  correct answer to these questions?  There are several answers to the many questions scientist have to research on.   Different scientist come up with different answer because of the way they did the experiment or read the experiment findings differently than other read it.    I think science works through a series of ideas and questions.  For example, the tube and string experiment.  Our group had questions about how the strings would move this way and that way.  Why is that, how does tis work?  We used our knowledge and our curiosity to try and figure out the answer.  Through our questioning and understanding of prior knowledge, we were able to draw a figure of what we thought the inside of the cylinder looked like.  We are still working on the answer of how this works, which   is another way science works.  Science keeps us coming back to try and figure things out and maybe on Monday we will! 

Why goals are important.

Goals are important to me.  I have set goals for myself my entire life.  Goals keep me focused, my goasl range from athletic goals to academic goals.  I have different goals as a parent and even more goals  as an individual.  Setting goals make good sense to me.  Although this assignment was focused on our student's goals, the goals for our students are very similar to goals I would want for myself.

The 12 goals that we discussed in class are all very good.  I really liked the goal that the students will be responsible and accountable.  This goal is a goal we as adults strive for.  To be responsible is to be honest with your personal actions.  As an example, if you check out a library book, you return it on time.  The other part of this goal is accountability. To be accountable is also to be responsible, but to be accountable is when you do forget to bring the library book on time and you are charged a late fee, be accountable means you pay the fee.  To me, being responsible and accountable is  a sign of a honest person, a person who shares the same values as I do.

The last goal on our list was that students will demonstrate a willingness to engage in their community.  After high school graduation, the students will live in their community as citizens.  The goal of being engaged to me means that the students will be actively involved in their community.  This involvement could be volunteering, or as  an activist for more parks or whatever that person has a passion for.  The goal of being involved in your community should be shared by all citizens.

Did we talk about a self assessment goal?  I think we shared some thoughts on self assessment, I have notes written on it, but maybe not a goal.  I feel that self assessment should be a goal.  As the students move on through their lives as citizens, they should always be self assessing themselves.  Maybe this is more of an action than a goal, but to me self assessing is very important.  For me,  self assessing means that I look back at my goals and assess how I am with the goal I have set.  I ask myself, am on on track?  Have a lost sight of the goal?  What do I need to do to achieve the goal? 

All in all, as a class I think we worked well together on organizing some excellent goals.  I have enjoyed the journey!

science class

science class