Bringing it all Together: What an Effective Science Teacher Looks Like

The research I have been doing over the course of my blogs has been related to what makes a science teacher effective with their teaching. For my final blog I wanted to tie it all together so you could see what an effective science teacher should do in the classroom.

For my first blog I focused on the different ways to be an effective science teacher in the classroom. I focused on a video that focused on an elementary school in California. The video stressed the importance of building on your students' prior knowledge to best teach science in the classroom. You need to survey where your students are at and what their interest levels are. I also focused on the importance of including inquiry into a science lesson. To view the video you can click on the link to the first blog and watch it. It was very educational and very informative!

My second blog focused on the use of incorporating technology into the teaching of science in the classroom. For this blog I found an article that showed the relationship between incorporating technology into the classroom and students excelling academically in school and their eagerness to learn more. I also focused on how SmartBoards can be used in science to engage all learners in the classroom with regards to learning about science.

My third blog focused what science inquiry was, what an inquiry classroom looks like, and how to implement science inquiry into the classroom. The article I found was very informative and made sense of inquiry, so I highly recommend reading it if you still don't understand what inquiry is and how to implement it into your classroom.

My fourth blog focused on hands on learning experiences for students in the classroom. For this blog I used an article that I found on the scholastic website to help make sense of hands on learning also known as "discovery learning". I mentioned how hands on learning activities can be very inexpensive, for example, a nature walk outside to see what evidence there is that shows life exists outside of the classroom.

My fifth blog focused on using interactive websites to get students actively involved in their learning; doesn't have to just be science. For this blog I went over the importance of using interactive websites because it gets the students attention because students like working with computers because they interest them. At the bottom of the blog I shared a website that has amazing K-8 interactive games and activities related to science and science inquiry.

My sixth blog was focused on incorporating field trips into science lessons. The one thing to keep in mind about field trips is the cost. Make sure that if you want to take your students on a field trip that it is meaningful for both you and your students. You need to have an objective in mind that you want your students to walk away with after going on the field trip. If you cant think of an objective for your students, chances are the field trip really isn't going to build off of what you were doing in the classroom and the students wont get the most out of it.

My seventh blog focused on the importance of integrating other subjects into the teaching of science. I made the connection to the week I taught science in the kindergarten classroom. I was able to see how important it really was for the students to make those real world connections within the science lessons we taught during the week. Always remember to try to integrate other subjects into anything you may be teaching in the classroom. You can teach so many skills and concepts without even really realizing that you are doing it!