Today was a fun day for me—my students and I were able to play with fire! We did several labs dealing with thermal conductivity that included testing which metals could conduct thermal energy better than others…hence the fire…as well as watching the rate of ice cubes melting while placed on different surfaces. It’s always exciting to teach about something I’m passionate about (science and especially physics), but it’s absolutely exhilarating to teach about something I know the students are excited about as well—who cares if just the word “fire” hooked them, as long as they engaged with the lesson and stayed with it!
We student teachers (and Michele) were able to have a group pow-wow this evening. We talked about critical incidents that we’ve been wrestling with this week, and there are definitely some tough situations and points of growth for us all. We struggle with: honing our teaching strategies, how to deal with controversial issues within a classroom—as non-tenured teachers, building relationships with cooperating teachers and students, cultural barriers and differing past experiences, and trying to reach out to students whose lives are heart-wrenchingly difficult (without losing sight of the rest of the class and our own lives).
Week 3 is almost at a close, the sun is staying up late with me, and we’re soaking it all in (as is the roof—as evidenced by my sight out the window). Tomorrow, we hope to witness the Ilisagvik College graduation ceremony and some more bonding time—and sleeping time!
Rachel
No comments:
Post a Comment