Reaching Elementary Science Students on New Level
January 26, 2009
Teachers are having trouble finding time to squeeze in science education in many classrooms. Many in my neck of the woods prefer to teach the content solely through guided reading and neglect students of any hands-on inquiry. There has been a short fall of science interest as students rise in the education ranks due to the failure of many educators in lower education grades.
Personally, having a background and degree in science, it is easier for me to pass along a passion for the field of science. Although, it is hard to instill this love in teachers that lack the background knowledge or feel they don't have time in their classroom with the current push for reading & math with standardized testing.
To compensate and make it a little easier for teachers, I've been building a science site that will help teachers reach students in a way that students prefer. The computer! I'm assembling an interactive website that gives students the opportunity to access games at their grade level, chat board to converse with peers on many different topics, adventures (most for those in the Atlanta, GA area), and more.
I invite all students, teachers, and parents to visit it at AtlantaScience.com to take a look for yourself. See how it may fit in your teaching style and meet your students needs. I appreciate any comments or suggestions for the site through email or the discussion board. I'm still in the process of building it and figuring out the what to include/exclude to the site to maximize its potential. But one thing is for sure, I haven't met a student yet that isn't interested in getting on the computer to play games and chat. This just gives them an avenue to do it in which they are learning together and from each other.
It's in its begining stages, but the few times I've used it in class I've had a great response. I encourage other teachers to create a local science site similar to mine that promotes activities and curriculum to your local area. If you do get proactive, please let us know and stay in touch to bounce ideas off each other.
Thank you for your time and interest in my post. I look forward to feedback from the professional community and hearing about your experiences with AtlantaScience.com
-Nate
scientist@atlantascience.com
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Comments
Gene therapy
January 31, 2009 by Anonymous, 42 weeks 2 days ago
Comment id: 34139
One way to get kids interested in Science is to capture their imagination. I just read a fascinating novel entitled, The Transformed, by Raphael Hirsch who studies gene therapy at the University of Pittsburgh. The premise is that cancer is caused by a foreign species encoded in the human genome. A group of scientists become the heroes in saving humanity from this "invasion". these are the kinds of stories that can really ignite young people to pursue a career in science. the book is hard to come by but worth the effort. It's listed on Amazon as temporarily out of stock but they will get it to you if you order it.
Thank you, Atlanta Scientist
January 27, 2009 by Fred Bortz, 42 weeks 6 days ago
Comment id: 33978
Nate, I hope to have a chance to visit your website after I finish a book manuscript that is due this week.
I will also recommend it to my son, who is a K-5 science teacher in Ohio.
I suggest you also contact my co-author of
Dr. Fred's Weather Watch, Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd, who is now a professor at UGA.
Obviously, I hope that you will explore my website (link below) and link to whatever pages are useful to you and your fellow teachers. And if you can persuade your reading and library specialists to consider a scientist/author for their next author visit, I'd appreciate that as well.
I hope you and your students always follow your questions!
Scientifically yours,
"Dr. Fred" Bortz
Dr. Fred
January 27, 2009 by atlantascience, 42 weeks 5 days ago
Comment id: 33989
I'm always pushing for more science exposure for my students. I'll definately take a peak at the book and look into trying to contact Mr. Shepherd. I'm in my 6th year teaching (young by some standards) and I unfortunately have been a little introverted with my science connections. Mostly due to the fact that an elementary teacher with a science undergrad is a rare commodity. I'd definately like to develop a line of communication with some great science education minds and this site looks to be a great way to start. I'd love to run into more opportunities to make an impact beyond just my classroom as well. Thank you for passing the site along to others. I look forward to speaking with you in the future.