Blog Post Week 1

 WEEK ONE

    In lab Wednesday, we investigated what the Next Generation Science Standards were. As these standards will likely be what we base our science curriculum off of in the future, it is important to understand the coding and purpose of the standards. We each found a life science standard that aligned with a grade we want to teach. This allowed us time to explore the standards we'll likely work with in the future. It also allowed us time to make sense of the standards, as well as come up with questions. We were able to figure out that the NGSS is a set of standards held by nearly 30 states. These standards have crosscutting concepts, and practices. Using these standards to build your curriculum and lessons allows teachers to easily relate the new lesson to other ideas students are already familiar with. As this is still a new resource to me I am eager to explore it more and look through more standards than just life science. Having most states agree upon standards like these makes education more cohesive and I cannot wait to learn more about how to use these standards in the future.  

   Wednesday we also investigated how we would set up our future classrooms. This included personal touches we would make, seating arrangements, and supply placement. We worked with partners to draw out these classrooms. Working with a partner allowed us to get to know peers in the class, as well as come up with ideas we may not have thought of on our own. For example, my partner suggested a fish tank in the classroom. This is something I wouldn't have put in the image if I had been working alone, but I ended up really loving the idea! This activity got us thinking about the logistics of the classroom which I think is really important, as we spend most of our time in classes talking about the content we will teach. After this, I felt excited for the day I get to put together my first classroom. 

    Thursday we were investigating what the 8 characteristics of living things are, in lecture. We were prompted initially to think about this in the context of viruses. We came up with our opinion on if viruses are living or not, and then discussed what makes a living thing living. These characteristics were that they can produce energy, respond to stimuli, maintain a constant internal state, otherwise described as homeostasis, are capable of reproduction, inherit genetic information, and that they move, grow and change. As there is no definite answer on if a virus is living or not, we are left with the same question, but more context to base our opinions on.