Macy Blum's Blog

I was not in lab this week, since I had to go home due to a family emergency. I talked with my peers and came to some conclusions that they/we did in lab this week. They also provided me with all the worksheets and ideas they did.  This week in lab was full of learning and hands-on experiences! We wrapped up our ecosystem slides with our table groups. Through this mini-project, I gained a deeper understanding of the desert food chain. We also explored the impact of drought on the food chain and brainstormed alternative solutions. As a class, we reviewed our NGSS lesson assignment and got to observe caterpillars in their cocoons, briefly discussing their life cycle. Our fast plants bloomed, and since a few stems were falling over, we supported them with a silicon ring. To pollinate our flowers, we used dead bees attached to sticks to transfer pollen—a technique I had never encountered before! Later, we read a book about turtles and completed an activity with turtle fortune tellers t...

This week in our Zoom lab, even though we couldn't meet in person, we accomplished a lot and expanded on both new and previous knowledge. We started by reviewing the five components of the 5E model: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. We also discussed the lesson plan assignment for the week to ensure everyone was clear on what we needed to do. Afterward, we split into small groups to create a Google Slides presentation about the five parts of the 5E model, focusing on what both the teacher and students do in each section. Next, we reconvened in our small groups to discuss the reader response from the previous week, which was the NGSS classroom video featuring Ms. Copes' class and their lesson on changes to the Earth and their effects. After that, we began learning about ecology, which is the study of the relationships between living organisms. We explored topics like biomes, ecosystems, and habitats, and learned the differences between them. We then watched a vi...

This week’s lab was a bit different due to a snow day, so we were assigned asynchronous work. We focused on the 5E lesson model and explored the purpose of each phase. Our assignment involved finding a lesson aligned with NGSS based on limited details, then defining the performance expectations for that lesson. We also answered six reflection questions about the 5E model and identified the scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. The 5E model was new to me, but I found it incredibly helpful as I think about my future career as an educator. I’m becoming more familiar with NGSS, as we frequently discuss it in class. The lesson on insect colonies, particularly bees and ants, brought back memories from elementary school, as we learned about their habitats and social behaviors. I could connect some of this week’s content to my prior knowledge, while other aspects were new to me. What I learned this week is highly applicable to my future teach...

I was gone from lab this week, out sick. That being said, my lab was the online powerpoint that our professor provided, which helped me learn a lot more about life cycles!  Can you connect what you’ve learned to prior knowledge? Yes, I’ve encountered the concept of life cycles in various science classes throughout my education, from elementary to college. It's fascinating how a seemingly simple concept like a life cycle can be taught at different levels and explored in so many different ways. How can this be applied to future teaching? Hands-on activities, such as using playdough to model life cycles, are valuable for learners of all ages. It really helped me grasp how each stage connects to the next. I hope to incorporate similar activities in my future classroom to support my students' understanding. What questions remain? During "lab", I wondered how a plant like an apple tree transitions from a flower to an apple? Dr. You explained that pollination is the key proc...