In this information age, we have access to enormous amounts of information. We can help students use this information as scientists; integrating computer science in science helps us accomplish this goal.
I aspire to be a science teacher that inspires students to question the natural physical world around them and then get excited about the exploration and discovery process. Computer simulations will certainly engage some students to dive deeper into the questions of science all around them.
Yes! You sound excited about the possibilities.
Using computers students are able to change variables and analyze the results. This allows them to see how science works rather than reading facts. This can help the students to develop a solid foundation for problem solving in their own lives.
I aspire to teach problem solvers who want to face and conquer challenges. Students will be less reliant on teacher driven instruction and reaffirmation. Students will look for challenges and work collectively to solve problems.
I aspire to teach students to belief long inquirers. I desire to see my students question their world and look for solutions. Integrating science into my computer applications class is the perfect way for me to help my students learn programming and to see how to model real world problems.
That is a fantastic goal!
I really like that you want your students to see the science instead of just reading about it.
I’m not sure how this relates to my identity, but my professional goals specifically as a science teacher are to advance their science literacy. My students are not all going to be scientists, but they’ll need to vote on an issue or learn about a new science development. When a science current event comes up, I would hope that they would be able to think about the topic with some informed reasoning or know how to evaluate the validity of a claim or someone else’s statements. Basically, I would like students to have an understanding of how science is done. Computer science through modeling would allow students to do the same processes scientists and engineers follow.
I would like to mimic dyan completely. I know that many of my students will not pursue science as a career. I see my job as threefold:
- Provide them with a background knowledge of the major important processes that will help them to understand the world.
- Provide them with the skills to research and critically analyze information to which they are subjected from the outside world (TV, internet, etc).
3.Help them to use the scientific process to solve problems in whatever field they find themselves in.
In addition, I hope to instill in them the same wonder and love of the outside world that I have, and that has grown in me the more I have studied and learned. Often I think people believe that the scientific process quashes one’s mysticism and belief in the divine (not any dogma, just general spirituality). I disagree; in my experience, I have become more spiritual as I have studied the complex interactions of the world in greater detail.
As a Science teacher, I want my students to be able to “think”. They need to be able to critically think about their world and be able to logically reason-out their ideas. As a middle school teacher, I also want my students to have the skills to do well in later classes.
Integrating modeling and simulation with computer science helps with those goals by teaching students how to logically think things through. They will also, practice problem solving and learn the value of persistence; success with a valid model, will give them more tangible positive feedback.
What I am interested with Code.org is that ability for the students to create their own code and simulations. Right now, the most I do is find simulations already created for the students to manipulate, but this also limits the extend of what I can teach. I’m hoping with code.org, I can introduce more of a research and model with the simulation based on the students creativity.
As a middle school science teacher, I see myself as a resource for students. One they may need to learn how to use, but not the sole authority. Learning to integrate computer science is another resource for them to learn, utilize and help them control their own learning.
Regardless of the topic I am teaching, I always want my students to be critical and analytical thinkers. I always want them to think ahead of what I am teaching. I want them to not only ask questions, but be curious about finding their own answers to the questions. Incorporating computer science into the classroom would allow them to simulate what could happen, even what research “says” would happen. I want them to see what happens if we use too much plastic, or find out what will happen if we continue to use coal as an energy resource. These programs would set up experiments that allow them to see what would happen in a situation, which in return would open the door to further research.
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And think of how the ownership of students making their own code would motivate and engage the students to get into what they are simulating.
After reflecting through several of these posts, one of the currents running through my mind is that with computational thinking and computer modeling, students will change from being strictly reactive thinkers to proactive thinkers. They will change from receivers and regurgitators of content knowledge to users and builders of knowledge. As a middle school teacher, one of the missions I have is to take students who have primarily looked at science as an acquisition of facts to an understanding of the importance of the analysis of facts and data to construct meaning and determine how to solve the experimental problem. And meaning is different from data retention. The challenge, as many have stated, is moving students from the more passive stance to a creative, active stance as learners.
I aspire to teach Computer Science skills to better teach experimental design and help students relate curriculum to real world scenerios. . Students I teach often have difficulty with application of content and struggle with PBLs. I aim to mold my students into independent thinkers that can analyze problems that may be complex and TRY to come up with solutions, rather than giving up.
As an eighth grade science teacher, I strive to help my students remain curious and interested in the world in which they live. We are all natural born scientist, the trick is remaining excited about learning! Hopefully by taking this course, I can effectively share a new and interesting method for learning with my students and show students how scientists help solve real-world issues. By running models, students will be able to see how issues are met head on.
Trying to get the science I teach to be relevant in student lives is a constant goal for me. the idea of creating models that allow the students to incorporate their ideas and thinking into the parameters allows them to be relevent in a way that will be new and exciting to them. I can’t wait to get started.
I tell my students all the time “science is everything.” While they may not go into a career specifically in science, I want them to understand how science plays a role in everything we have and do.
I believe that we never truly stop learning. We are always asking questions about things that happen in our world and seeking out the answers.
In my classroom it will be challenging, but fun, to start using computational thinking to help students (and myself) learn new ways to find these answers.