One of the class activities we did was going to teachingchannel.org and watching videos to help us with class content. We watched the videos on our own devices at our own pace. This is beneficial for teachers and students because it allows students to watch videos on their own devices to keep them engaged throughout the video rather than watching it as a class. I think it's great when teachers can give students this freedom, but with that said, teachers have to be careful and monitor their students while allowing them to use their personal devices.
For this class activity, we weighed our Hershey kisses to practice taring the scale. This activity is a good refresher to make sure that your data is accurate. This is beneficial for students because it teaches them how to use a scale, as well as reminds them the importance of accuracy in data. Teachers can use any object to help practice with taring, but candy is good way to help keep students interested.
During this class activity, we were able to test the bubble blowers that we had made out of pipe cleaners. Each pipe cleaner was formed into a different shape, where we were able to test if the bubbles from each blower would be spherical. This activity is beneficial to students because they are able to test a theory themselves rather than having a teacher tell them the answer. When students are able to discover the answer on their own, they are more likely to remember what they have learned, which in return is also beneficial for teachers.
For this part of the class activity, we were given instruction on the chalkboard on how to execute the activity before we went outside to complete it. I think this was an important part of the activity because it benefits teachers to give the instruction before students go outside, which will also help students hear and focus on the given instruction.
During this class activity, we were instructed to watch a set of YouTube videos that were educational and meant to engage students, at any time during a lesson. I think this is beneficial for students because it is a fun way to grab students attention during a lesson. If I were shown videos like this in my science class as an elementary student I would have been way more interested in what I was learning. Engaging students is one of the most important steps during a lesson.
With this class activity, we were instructed to create a boat that would hold 25 pennies using a limited amount of resources. We had about 5 minutes to make our own design by ourselves and after we finished that we made a group design and were able to construct that as a team. This is important for students because it allows students to have time to gather their own thoughts and the share that as a group and work as a team to construct a model together. This is great for teachers because students who may struggle with this are able to have the group work to help them, which in return also helps the teacher.
During this activity, our class was given time to play with the bubbles before our activity began. This is great for teachers because it allows students to have that time to play which limits the distraction that may come when giving instruction. It is great for students because they are able to get the playing out of their system and they are able to continue their learning when the activity comes.
This bubble shape worksheet was used in class for our group to draw a picture of what each bubble shape turned out to be. This is beneficial for teachers and students because it allows students to show what they have learned and it also shows teachers that students are on the right track of understanding the lesson.
For this part of the gum activity that we completed in class, we were able to look at the different ingredients that was in the gum that we were chewing. This was interesting because it helped us with our prediction on what would happen to the mass of the gum after chewing it for a period of time. This is beneficial for teachers and students because allowing them to see what is inside of the object/thing they are studying helps them create a prediction on what will happen. Students may be correct or incorrect with their predictions, but it will keep them engaged while completing the activity to have them think about what is inside of what they are chewing.
For this class activity we were able to take results from another activity and find three themes that emerged to us from the questions we were able to ask about teaching. This is important for students because it allows them to reflect of what has been learned, and also explore other ideas that have come from the lesson. For teachers this is important because they are able to see what students have got from a lesson, as well as elaborate on the topics that students have found.
During this activity we were able to rank the results of a game we had played. We were instructed to place them on the cabinet according to the score the card we had received. This was great because we were able to see how our class ranked each question we had and see what was most important to us. This is great for teachers because it allows students to have a visual display of the results of an activity.
For this class activity our class went outside to complete a game. We had previously filled out cards with questions about teaching on them, and paired up with different partners and ranked each card to make a total of 7. This is great for teachers because it allows students to give their rankings and receive feedback from fellow students.