Before The Flood

While watching this documentary, I found a few things particularly striking. In the beginning of the film, the Earth was described as a small boat in the Universe. If this boat is sinking, we will all sink together. This is just a brief, simple metaphor to describe our actions' severe consequences for other countries such as India, Indonesia, Fiji, and more.

When early settlers came to America, they wiped out entire species and civilizations to get what they wanted. Pretty scary thought, right? Good thing it's over now! Not exactly. We're doing the same thing now on a much larger scale and the truth of the matter is that we know what we're doing and how we are impacting the Earth, but we do what it takes to get what we want - regardless of the consequences.

And that's the problem. We're inconsiderate, selfish, and our arrogance towards the fate of our planet is desecrating its beauty at an unprecedented rate.

Another issue in this crisis is that no one is thinking long term. They are focusing on what they notice now or in the last decade and basing their opinions of climate change on that. Simply put, they think that because the effects aren't that noticeable, nothing is happening. The average temperatures of the Earth have only slightly been increasing over the years, but even this slight change has already had incredible impacts (for example, Greenland's ice has melted several dozen feet just in five years and coral reefs are dying).

In the film, Sunita Narain spoke to Dicaprio of the importance of climate change and the severe impact it's had in her country. She stated, “It’s not a figment of their imagination”. We need people in this world that are going to do what needs to be done and encourage others to do the same. Similarly, Dicaprio says, “We have to practice what we preach.”

Climate Change is real and it is affecting everything we've come to know whether we realize it or not. Watching documentaries such as this are just the tip of the iceberg-there is an entire world that our actions have impacted and will continue to impact unless we do something now.

Misconceptions Die Hard

Many students have ideas about concepts that aren't always necessarily true. These misconceptions prohibit their minds from learning new ideas about topics and prevent them from learning new material. Misconceptions Die Hard tells us teachers a few ideas on how we can help our students move past their misconceptions and form newer thoughts. A few of these strategies include asking questions that probe thinking that are sequential from one another, evaluating how students use and understand vocabulary terms, and developing an understanding of student's patterns that show in their conceptions. As teachers, we must be able to analyze our student's thought processes and move them towards the removal of their misconceptions.

Life Cycles of Stars

Preconceptions (standard misconceptions on your topic)

All stars are the same

The sun is not a star

Stars live forever

Stars are made of fire

Stars are pointy-shaped

What is the current science understanding?

Every star begins as a Stellar Nebula. From here, the nebula can go one of two ways: A (top track of picture) and B (bottom

track of picture).

Track A: like our Sun, stars of similar size undergo this lifecycle. Eventually, the star bursts into a Planetary Nebula and into

a White Dwarf, how it will spend the remainder of its days.

Track B: this is the life cycle that larger stars undergo during their lives. Towards the end of their life, they will explode into

a Supernova, and their remains will be scattered around the cosmos (National Schools Observatory). From the explosion,

what's left of the star can either become a Neutron Star, spinning through the galaxy, or a black hole, absorbing other cosmos.

Other:

What was the historical version?

Historically, it has been believed that stars are formed in clouds of gas and dust and form each stage of the above diagram

through condensing, expanding, and exploding.

Cool facts (addressing the misconceptions listed above)

Each star has a different mass, brightness, temperature, size, and color. Depending on its mass, the star will take

one of the two routes discussed above.

The sun is a star because of what composes it (primarily hydrogen, helium, and small amounts of other elements.)

and its size. Stars have to be able to emit a certain amount of light to be classified a star and not a planet.

Stars do not, in fact, live forever. On average, stars live to be about 10 billion years old. This lifespan varies based

on size, mass, and its elemental composure.

Stars are made of helium and hydrogen, and create heavier elements later in their lifetimes.

Much like how our hearts are not heart shaped, stars are not pointy-shaped. They are spherical balls of plasma, but

because they are so far away our eyes trick us into thinking they have points. 

How would you consider teaching this?

I would consider teaching this by first explaining to the students that much like how each sport has a different ball and

purpose for the ball, so do the planets and solar systems in the Universe. Each solar system (sport) has different balls

(planets) and sizes of balls that each have a different purpose and amount of time in which they can be used. For example,

soccer balls come in different sizes. Smaller balls are for you to work on your footwork and control of the ball, while larger

ones are to be used when you have mastered the basics and wish to work on various skills/moves in a way that resembles the

game better (you wouldn't use the smallest size soccer ball in a game against adults). 

Similarly, our solar system has 8 planets that each have different masses and purposes. While Earth's purpose is to inhabit

life, more gaseous planets (like Saturn) are not. Not similar to soccer balls, however, one does not "graduate" to a bigger

planet when they have "mastered the basics".

Private Universe

In the video, every student interviewed had some sort of misconception about the seasons, phases of the moon, or the Earth's orbit. Students who had responses to the cause of the seasons said things like:

• Earth (we) travels around sun
• Change in distance from the Sun is responsible for seasons
• The warmer it is, the closer we are to the Sun 
• The colder it is, the further away we are 
• The light from projected from the Sun bounces (reflects) and hits the Earth differently

A student also had the misconception that the Earth orbits in an oval. While this would explain the idea above about the Earth being closer/further away, it is just as much a misconception. I, myself, have always thought this was a true fact, but have discovered this week that it's the combination of the tilt of the Earth always pointing in the same direction and its rotation around the Sun that cause the season. The direction the Earth points and its position in its orbit are what cause the seasons.

When asked about what causes the phases of the moon, many students had different ideas: 

• Earth's position interferes with the reflection of the Sun's rays against the Moon
• Earth blocks sun rays, which results in the moon having a shadow
• Clouds block the Moon

How do these misconceptions impact me as a teacher?

Misconceptions are a good thing! They show that we are thinking differently. Confronting these ideas allow kids to find correct explanations, therefore furthering their "box of thoughts" in their minds. While having an idea different than others' can make you more closed off to hearing new ideas, this only means that kids have an opportunity to develop a growth mindset. As teachers, it's our job to make students aware of their private theories. Developing awareness means developing growth!

Sun, Earth and Moon

How the phases of the moon occur?

The phases of the moon occur as a result of the Earth casting a shadow on the moon. The moon's shadow reflects its position and rotation about the Earth. 

What causes the seasons?

The seasons are caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis as faces towards or away from the Sun. Seasons can also be described as the difference in the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth at different points.

What causes a lunar eclipse?

Lunar eclipses are the result of the Moon moving directly behind the Earth (farthest from the Sun). It is characterized by being completely covered by Earth's shadow. 

Below are my additional notes from today's class:

Heliocentric: sun-centered solar system

Geocentric: earth-centered solar system

Earth takes 1 day to complete a rotation; about 365 days to orbit Earth

Moon:

• Half that's facing Sun gets light
• Rotation around Earth gives us the phases
• 1 month to rotate around Earth
• Rotates & revolves:
• Rotation synced with revolution
• Rotation = we always see same side

Earth:

• Half facing Sun gets light
• Gives us day and night
• Shortest day = tilted farthest away
• Winter solstice
• Longest day = tilted 
• No tilt = light and dark always 12 hours

Tropic lines:

• Mark most/least sun exposure (Cancer and Capricorn)
• Equinox: 12 hours of light and dark

Forces

Why do things move/not move? What are different ways we can make something move? What factors affect movement? These are just a few questions that we will attempt to dive deeper into through today's experiment.

Why do things move?
There are many reasons as to why an object moves and keeps moving, such as:

• Gravity
• Energy (kinetic and potential)
• Friction 
• Material of object

Why do things not move?
Contrastingly, objects also do not move as a result of:

• Friction
• Balanced forces (i.e. block on table)
• when the forces are unbalanced, this is when movement occurs
• Gravity

What are different ways we can make something move?
Because we now have some understanding of why things move/don't move, we began to think about things that cause objects to move:

• Push
• Pull
• Air/water pressure
• Application/absence of a force

What factors affect movement?
Making something move and keeping something moving are two different things. Here's what we came up with:

• Gravity
• Forces of other objects
• Surrounding air/water
• Friction
• Weight
• Height
• Material of object
• Hollow/not

To test these ideas, we decided to see what would happen when we dropped a bouncy ball versus a ping pong ball:

Claim: Unbalanced forces make things move.
Evidence:

• say you're holding a bouncy ball!
• gravity is the downwards force
• your hand is the upwards force
• the ball is NOT moving because forces are EQUAL
• HOWEVER: If you let go of the ball, it will fall until it hits another object that will help balance the forces again

We also attempted to design a rocket to control the forces:

• 1st attempt at building a rocket:
• We inserted a straw into a balloon and taped it shut. We thought that the straw would force the balloon to release its air in a specific direction, rather than flying all over the place. It was unsuccessful; the balloon just sat on the table and the air was released slowly through the straw.
• This attempt was unsuccessful because the straw was too narrow for the balloon to release its air.
• 2nd attempt at building a rocket:
• Next, we inserted a small metal ball to weigh the balloon down while the air was released. This attempt was unsuccessful, as the ball plugged the balloon so that no air could be released. The balloon fell to the floor.
• This attempt was unsuccessful because the ball was too heavy. Gravity pulled it to the base of the balloon, where it plugged the hole.
• 3rd attempt at building a rocket:
• Finally, we placed a small styrofoam ball into the balloon. This was successful! Because the ball was light and porous, it weighed the balloon down just enough for it release its air and fly in one direction (straight forward at about a 45 degree angle). The balloon then hit a wall and completed releasing its air until it hit the ground.
• Forces involved: Gravity, Energy (potential: the air pressure in the shut balloon; kinetic: the force created by the air escaping), Friction (movement of the balloon through the air and air rubbing against the mouth of the balloon as it's escaping)

Activity Mania

Shifting from Activitymania to Inquiry discusses the importance and effectiveness of Inquiry over Activities in the classroom. 

What were the main takeaways for you? 

While completing this reading, Moscovici and Nelson state that "Inquiry cannot be pre-packaged..." (14). As soon as I read this, my mind immediately thought that they can only mean that this approach is limitless; it's boundless. There are no set of rules to promote this learning, and there's no particular endpoint. Inquiry processes go where the students take them!

How can you incorporate this into your future classrooms? 

In my future classrooms, I hope to incorporate this process by introducing a concept such as properties of matter and allow the students to explore the topic through gathering and making observations about what they notice in each one, and what they would need in order to be something else. 

How did Mark (and now I) work with you on Activitymania versus Inquiry? 

You (Ted Neal) and Mark McDermott have done a great job representing each of these. I have noticed a combination of Inquiry and Activitymania especially in Science Methods II, and more Inquiry in Science Methods I. Methods II presents a concept alongside a thought-provoking question (i.e. batteries, bulbs, and wires or magnetism) and allows the students to use these questions to perform experiments that lead to their own questions, hypotheses, and results. Personally, I enjoy this format a lot. Much like many Elementary students, I also learn better by figuring it out myself with minimal guidance!