Observations of Student Learning
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As students recalled their knowledge of ecosystems during our initial discussion, one student commented on an observation we had written on our ecosystem chart, as can be seen on the left. She wanted to revise what it said, and we wrote her amended observation on the chart. Another student wanted to make a revision, but not all students agreed when we asked to see a thumbs up. My co-teacher asked if students would prefer us to note their comments as questions that we could revisit at a later date. Although we did not plan to write student questions, it worked well in eliciting their interest. These questions also serve as artifacts of student learning and critical thinking. Throughout the lesson, we took the opportunity to write down questions on the ecosystem chart in order to keep track of their scientific thought.
Students recorded their observations of the plant life differently on their observations table. As shown in the worksheets below, descriptions of the color, texture and shape varied. These variations show that the students were thinking independently during their observations and were not relying on others for answers. Rather, their observations were subjective, and the students used relative measures as their descriptions. For instance, one student recorded that the elodea was the size of a pencil, while another student used his sense of smell in his description. He observed that the elodea smelled ‘weird…like fish.” Since the students measured the plant life, their recordings remained consistent while the descriptions of color, texture and shape were subjective. The subjective nature of their observations allows me to see how differently students make sense of their observations, and how integrated the concept of relativity and relative measure is in formulating opinions.
In addition to the student-generated ecosystem chart and observations worksheet, students seemed excited as they neared constructing their aquarium. I suggested that they name the sea life, and each student named either a snail or a fish. Students' positive responses to the lesson lead me to believe that they took away a positive memory of this science lesson, and that, in turn, this positive memory will elicit a stronger interest in science and desire to engage in scientific thinking.
Students recorded their observations of the plant life differently on their observations table. As shown in the worksheets below, descriptions of the color, texture and shape varied. These variations show that the students were thinking independently during their observations and were not relying on others for answers. Rather, their observations were subjective, and the students used relative measures as their descriptions. For instance, one student recorded that the elodea was the size of a pencil, while another student used his sense of smell in his description. He observed that the elodea smelled ‘weird…like fish.” Since the students measured the plant life, their recordings remained consistent while the descriptions of color, texture and shape were subjective. The subjective nature of their observations allows me to see how differently students make sense of their observations, and how integrated the concept of relativity and relative measure is in formulating opinions.
In addition to the student-generated ecosystem chart and observations worksheet, students seemed excited as they neared constructing their aquarium. I suggested that they name the sea life, and each student named either a snail or a fish. Students' positive responses to the lesson lead me to believe that they took away a positive memory of this science lesson, and that, in turn, this positive memory will elicit a stronger interest in science and desire to engage in scientific thinking.
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Students' observations tables |