Girls & Science

Why do fewer girls choose science careers? 

This is a loaded question that has many answers.  I think one reason why fewer girls choose a career in science is due to how science is traditionally taught in the classroom.  Often the nature of science is misreprestend in classrooms because teachers tend to use step-by-step procedures and lecture.  This can cause girls and boys to have misconceptions of how science really is.  I believe that girls desire collaboration, communication, and the opportunity to use creativity.  Following a list of steps and sitting and listening to a teacher lecture does not offer the opportunity to do any of the above, which could be one reason why girls tend to stay away from science careers.

What can I do to encourage girls to choose science careers?

Create a science classroom environment that involves student communication, collaboration, and creativity.  Have discussions about women and science and how women have contributed to science.  Encourage them to find what interests them about science and then encourage them to learn more about their interests.   

Class Reflection

Class has been interesting this past month.  I've enjoyed our discussions on the nature of science and respect how this concept was introduced to our class.  In my math methods course we have also spent the last month discussing how to teach math and our discussions have paralleled our discussions in science.  In a nutshell, the main idea that has settled with me is to teach through problem solving instead of teaching for problem solving.  This is not a new concept to me because it is one of the main reasons I decided to become a teacher.  My youth education was a mundane process consisting of teachers giving me the steps to follow in order to solve the problem instead of giving me the problem and allowing me to use strategies and my own thoughts to find a solution.   I always yearned for something more interesting and as I got older and experienced more effective teaching learning became fun!  Our conversations have solidified for me that science needs to be an active process not passive.

 My frustrations may be premature because it is still early in the semester but regardless I will reflect on those thoughts.  I understand that every school district may require us to teach different content but I don't think that justifies not including activities in class that revolve around content.  Iowa does have a core curriculum, which I think would beneficial to use and incorporate into class.  Most if not all of us are elementary teachers, so spending class time addressing science in grades K-5 would be very helpful.   

How Does Science Work??

How does Science work?  This is the question I will reflect on in this blog.  I have a hard time organizing my thoughts because I see Science as an incredibly vast concept.  The first thing that comes to my mind to help me make sense of the randomness in my head are movies.   My main interest has always been theories and research on outer space and I can remember watching movies like Contact and Apollo 13 as a child.  They gave me my first real impression of how Science works.  The Science depicted in these movies was done collaboratively with a lot of trial and error and I still understand Science to work this same way today.  I've never thought of Science as an area that could be accomplished individually.  To you Science buffs and non Science buffs, is this possible?   This may seem like a naive question, but my mind is definitely new to reflecting on such topics.  Science is complicated and I think it would work better to have more than one mind to accomplish the goal at hand.

Goal Reflection

I am a very goal orientated person and therefore believe that setting goals lead you on the path to achievement.  I set goals for myself all the time, but haven't had as much experience setting goals for my future students.  I think this has been a worth while task and has helped me to think broadly about my student's education. 

As a future elementary teacher, I frequently think about what objectives and goals I would want my 3rd, 2nd, or 1st graders to meet or surpass, but haven't thought  a lot about what I need to do to prepare them beyond their year with me.  More specifically, what threads should be continuous in every grade level?  I'm not quite sure how to answer this questions yet, but I do know that it's important to view elementary education as a whole as well as separate units.  

I feel feel confident in the goals we have created as a class and believe they address important aspects of our student's education and success.  After reviewing the goals I tried to decide on 2 or 3 of my favorites but I couldn't do it!  However, I do think that a couple of the goals could be consolidated into one, such as #5 and #10.  5 states: Students will understand and demonstrate respect for their surroundings.  10 states: Students will be responsible and accountable.  What if respect was added into #10? Although I do know respect and responsibility can be set apart, I find it hard to distinguish the two in my mind.