Week 1 of Class

This week we had our introduction to Dr. Smirnova and ED 5534 Research in Teaching Science and Technology. I have been looking forward to this methods class because science has always been one of my favorite subjects and if I decide to further my education as a teacher it would be to have a certification in science. I also have also been looking forward to this class because I have seen in the some classrooms and schools the use of technology and how well students respond to having classes such as digital design and coding. In my own personal life I feel like I am being propelled towards this high tech world and it only makes sense to be teaching our students about this new subject matter.  

I think that there is some hesitation about having kids linked to screens throughout the school day. While I'm not suggesting a fully automated school day run by tablets, vending machines, and Wii Fit, I think there is a role for technology as well as a coming to terms with technology is here and how can we best utilize it as a tool. Below is a TEDTalk by Sarah DeWitt, a children's media specialist, that addresses "3 fears about screens for kids- and why they are not true" 

I am also excited that this class is going to have a focus on climate change. A big difference for me about this topic and other topics such as physics and biology is that climate change wasn't a widely talked about subject when I went to school. By the time an "Inconvenient Truth" came out in 2006 I was already in high school and it wasn't even being considered for curriculum. So I am excited to learn different strategies and listen to my other colleagues' approaches to teaching climate change to students because it wasn’t something we experienced in school. I think it will be challenging to address such a broad topic that has many layers to it and I am interested to see how it will be divided among the different groups. One of my biggest questions about introducing climate change to elementary students is where do you begin? I’m looking forward to Dr. Edelstein’s talk next week and listening to how he opens the topic of climate change within an hour long presentation.