Reflections on Screencastify:         Susan Unger and Patty Murtagh

Reflections of a Veteran Science Teacher in the 21st Century:  Read the Room!

Goal:  To inspire, inform, reflect, question the past two decades of teaching science in elementary and middle school.  How did my journey begin?  What were my early assumptions?  How did I interact with students in the first few years of teaching?  How has my philosophy of teaching changed?  How can I communicate these thoughts in a non-judgmental, compassionate, and useful way? 

Brain dump of possible book topics in no particular order:

• • reason for writing this book: My wish is that I help other science teachers reflect on their own practices.  When I share feelings and how my philosophy has changed, they may feel more free to do the same.  My emphasis is on the perception of relevance by the student.  This in turn leads to engagement.  Engagement makes it possible to learn.  Compliance is a different construct altogether and in my opinion does not encourage learning

  • challenges/frustrations of teaching science:  One of the main challenges of teaching science is the attitude of the parent or grownup.  I have had many conversations about "My child loves your science class! This is amazing to me because I always hated science.  I was never any good at it."  I have discontinued the practice of assigning homework in science because I do not want parents voicing negative opinions about the subject. 

  • changes in teaching philosophy over time:  At first, I concluded that my students were "starved" for science information and I became focused on loading them with basic science content, for example, how living things are organized into classification systems such as kingdoms, Phyla, etc.  After NGSS were published, I contemplated how students can gain understanding of science ideas through authentic practices that scientists use.  Having worked as a research assistant in five different lab settings, I could see the value of engaging students in authentic science practices.  

  • first attempts at teaching and roadblocks to success: TO BE CONTINUED!!

  • background of experiences that related to science teaching

  • effect of publication of NGSS

  • engaging students in science

  • fostering an active role of students in the science classroom

  • Picasso quote (all of us are artists, to paraphrase) and how this relates to all students

  • create to learn approach and how this relates to the practice of science

  • how science thinking is valuable for all

  • how to preserve confidence in science thinking as we grow chronologically

  • accessibility of science understanding for all, not those who intend to have a career in science

  • foster capable science thinking through the elementary and middle school years

  • examples of student engagement

  • best practices

  • role of relevance in science ed

  • impact of information overload on education in general and science ed in particular

  • value of science ed from teacher perspective and its importance to belief of students that science is relevant

  • fostering connection of science class to daily life

  • impact of political climate on science and science teaching

Back to Tier 3 home  |  Back to SIDL 2023 main site