Science Center Wonders

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Lunar Eclipse - February 20, 2008

This is the first hours of yesterday's Lunar Eclipse (2/20/08) sped up 400 times from Upstate, NY.

Total Lunar Eclipse - Tomorrow - Feb 20th

Get out your Video Cameras and Cameras - A total lunar eclipse over North America's sky will occur in the evening of February 20th.

Partial Eclipse begins: 8:43 pm EST

Total Eclipse begins: 10:00 pm

Mid Eclipse: 10:26 pm

Total Eclipse ends: 10:52 pm

Partial Eclipse ends: 12:09 am on the 21st Feb

This lunar eclipse will be of a relative short duration of 52 minutes of totality. The eclipsed moon is predicted to be a bright orange - red color with a lighter yellow color edge on the Southern or bottom part of the Moon. The eclipsed moon will be flanked by Saturn on its upper left and the bright star Regulus on its upper right.

The entire event is visible from South America and most of North America (on Feb. 20) as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia (on Feb. 21).

For those wondering about other time zones and accross the Atlantic Ocean I can't seem to get the chart to paste into this document - please visit the following link:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmono/TLE2008Feb21/TLE2008Feb21.html

Global Warming - Hype or Real?

Much is being written and said about global warming. The drastic increase in wild fires in the western United States, consuming thousands of acres and hundreds of homes in recent years is just one example cited. Is the evidence for global warming convincing on a world-wide basis or is much of it just hype? What are the major concerns in terms of the economic and human devastation that global climate change could bring? Are there ways to reverse or minimize the trend, and how could humankind "weather" the decades ahead if planetary warming cannot be halted?

If the world population is to move from hype to understanding, there must be a great deal of education involved. The discovery channel, PBS, Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” has started the long process of educating both the young and adults. My personal feeling is that the younger generation is much more inclined to believe the evidence and truly strive to make a difference. I have witnessed the older generations scoffing at the evidence and stating that media, TV, and politicians are causing the hype around the subject of global warming.

If these concerns are not heeded and global warming continues, the potential devastation of all sea-level cities and communities is guaranteed. Climate changes will alter growing seasons and crops in all countries world-wide. In addition, a potential mass extinction of animals and plants that are not adapted for warmer climates is nearly guaranteed.

Alternate energy sources that reduce global warming emissions are of course a high priority for those concerned. Even if we are not able to stop or slow down the warming trend of our planet, it would be wise to continue to adapt cleaner technology to be implemented in the present and future.

What are your thoughts, input, and suggestions?

What role does the United States have in curtailing Global Climate Change?

As a science Teacher, one important lesson that is discussed, researched and debated in my classroom is the topic of Global Warming and the destruction of the Ozone layer. This controversial topic is not only debated in classrooms but it is also being debated by politicians and scientists around the world. My question is what role does the United States have in curtailing Global Climate Change?



Feel free to respond at the following link:

What role does the United States have in curtailing Global Climate Change

Is Education in the US Improving?

After reading the National Goals adopted by the former President Bush and Congress in 1989 and reflecting upon the situation in my school and many other schools, which are in the national spotlight, I am first inclined to say, what happened? Why have we not seen these goals followed through? What can we do to change this situation, in order to achieve these goals in a reasonable time? I will address each of the eight National Education goals of and reflect how or if they have been met at my school and note whether I feel the goal is still relevant.

The first National Education Goal was School Rediness. This goals states, "by the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn." In my school district there are a few "Head Start" programs available for pre-school children. These programs help to prepare pre-school children for kindergarten and routines found in school. However, there have not been enough programs implemented to prepare each child entering kindergarten in the City School District. Many parents are not even aware that their children should be entered into a preschool program that will give their child a successful start in the school system. In fact, many children are still not receiving proper health care, immunizations, and nutrition. Every child in the City School District does have the ability to eat breakfast before school and lunch during school hours. I feel that this goal is relevant. However, without additional funding for free services and parental support and understanding of this goal, children will not be prepared for school in the preschool years.

The second National Education Goal was School Completion. This goal states, "By the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent." In my High School approximately 700 freshmen are admitted each year. Our graduation of seniors is approximately 110 each year, or 16% of our freshman class graduates. Therefore, our dropout rate is close to 84%. Our High School likes to hide this fact by creatively saying our students are being transferred to other sites in the City School District and to Alternative Programs. However, it is accurate to say that 84% of our incoming freshmen will not graduate from our high school. My high school's minority rate is close to 85% with 70% of students on some form of government assistance. There has not been a decrease in dropout rates in the last 10 years, in fact more students have dropped out because of higher graduation requirements and failure to pass New York State mandated competency tests. This goal is also still relevant. However, a better plan to attack the problem of dropouts especially in the minority population needs to be addressed.

The third National Education Goal was Student Achievement and Citizenship. This goal states, "by the year 2000, all students will leave grades 4, 8 and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography, and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our Nation's modern economy." From my experience at my High School, the students who are entering 9th grade are not entering with the competency needed in these various subject areas. They are simply being pushed through the grades because the middle schools are crowded and they cannot stay there. Many of my 9th grade students read at an elementary school level without comprehension of what they are reading. They are not familiar with how to use a ruler and must use a calculator for simple math problems. They are not aware of the world around them. They do not want to be responsible for their own deeds and rarely pick up after themselves after a science lab period or after eating their lunch in the cafeteria. I really worry about how these students will survive in the world once they drop out or graduate from High School. I do not think this goal is relevant to my current High School. Instead of demanding further testing and competency, we should try to enable students to see the connection between the subjects and material they are learning in High School and the "real world". Once students see this connection, they may be more willing to learn and explore and become responsible with their actions and belongings.

The fourth National Education Goal was Teacher Education and Professional Development. This goal states, "By the year 2000, the Nation's teaching force will have access to programs for the continued improvement of their professional skills and the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century." In my school district new teachers are given mentors and expected to attend a number of professional development programs throughout the school year. Many of these programs are convenient and located right in the same building in which you teach. Many are interesting and directly applicable to the classroom setting. I feel that this goal is relevant and educators should have the opportunity to continue to learn and network with other educators.

The fifth National Education Goal was Mathematics and Science. This goal states, "By the year 2000, United States students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement." I feel that our country and my school are far from this goal. It is a well-known fact that the United States has not surpassed every known country in the fields of math and science. Our country is well behind several other industrialized counties whose children are more advanced in these fields. At the beginning of the school year, the freshmen science students in my classroom are not aware of measurements in the metric system and cannot distinguish between the metric and our US measurement system. Therefore, the concepts of the metric system are still not being taught in the younger grades. Additionally, there continues to be a decrease in the number of math and science teachers with a well-known shortage in these areas across the United States. I do not feel that this is a relevant goal for our country. Why does the United States need to be first? We should be more concerned with what are students are learning and retaining through the years, than the world ranking of our students is in a particular area.

The sixth National Education Goal was Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning. This goal states, "By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship." My students often tell me that they cannot get help to complete their homework because their parents can not read. Therefore, I am very aware that we, as a nation, have not reached this goal. Many of these adults feel that they have "gotten by" their entire life without the ability to read, so why start now. If we are to reach every adult, we must somehow change the attitudes of these adults in order to encourage them to learn this vital skill. This is an important goal for our country. We may not reach every adult, but we should certainly increase funding in order to do our best to teach every American who desires to learn how to read.

The seventh National Education Goal was Safe, Disciplines, and Alcohol - and Drug-Free Schools. This goal states, "By the year 2000, every school in the United States will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and will offer a disciplined environment conductive to learning." Instead of our school becoming more organized and safe, our schools across the nation have become out of control. Rampant school shooting, drugs being sold on campus, students who outright threaten, abuse, and commit violent acts against other classmates, students who refuse to listen to authority figures, and this is unfortunately becoming the norm across America. Administrators tell educators that our schools are safe, but teachers often wonder why our schools are getting worse and not better. In my school, when I walk up and down stairwells and halls, I often smell pot being smoked, I see students walking out of classrooms, I hear students yelling and screaming in the classroom, I see students throwing objects at each other, etc. We have police officers permanently stationed at my school and sentries who are supposed to handle violent incidents or students who show defiance to authority. But their presence in my school is not a threat, students will continue to act in this way because they do not care about the consequences and there is no parental support to change these behaviors. As I look over all of these goals, to me this one is the most important and most relevant. We, as a nation and educators, need to take back control of our schools from the students.

The eighth National Education Goal of was Parental Participation. This goal states, "By the year 2000, every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children." In my school, there is an active PTA with very few members. During Parent-Teacher conferences, only a handful of parents come in to discuss their child's progress. I send notes home with my students and via the US mail and call parents on the telephone. Yet, parents do not overly support their child's education by becoming actively involved or initiating contact. Students often tell me that their parent will not help them on homework assignments or review their work. It is unfortunate that we are raising a generation of students who see the lack of parental support and will most likely continue this cycle with their own children. This goal is also important in the fact that in order to increase student participation and completion of work, we must have parental support. If the parents do not support the educators, the students will see not consequences when they do not complete assignments, do not learn material and fail a course or grade.

Overall, I feel that the educational goals previously mentioned have not been met. Is eighteen years not long enough? Should this type of work be extended over the next 25 or 50 years? It will be interesting to note what the educational goals for the new President will entail. I would like to see him or her address these goals, which have not been met.

Why should students take fill in the blank tests?

Many articles concerning the topic of assessment of science students are available for educators. This assessment plan rational summarizes articles concerning this topic and the writer’s view of assessment in the science classroom. Most science classroom assessments include labs and pen & paper tests, which force students to routinely memorize information. The writer of this rational and the authors of the following articles feel it is important for science educators to realize that there are alternatives to rote memorization and students should remember concepts because they understand the principles behind the concept.

In the article “Assessing understanding in biology” by Mintzes, Wandersee & Novak (2001), the authors stress the importance of real world knowledge that is taught in the classroom. When students are taught knowledge that is applicable to their lives, they will see the world as interconnecting and retain the knowledge they have learned in the classroom. In the past, science students have learned material through memorization, which was quickly forgotten once the student passed the test or exam. Today, educators must be aware of this negative form of learning and stress the importance of bringing meaningful science knowledge into the student’s lives in a way in which the student will remember and apply the learned material.

“Portfolio Assessment” and “Written Products” are encouraged by Mintzes, Wandersee & Novak (2001). Written assignments and laboratory work should be included in the measurement of student’s success in the classroom. Through these assessments, educators are able to determine if students are thinking critically and applying knowledge learned in the classroom to their lives.

During traditional pencil and paper exams, Airasian states, the goal of assessment should be “to provide pupils a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned from the instruction provided” (2001). With this goal in mind, and achieved by the educator, the testing of students should be a positive experience for both the test-taker and the test-giver. Therefore, it is appropriate to test student’s knowledge of unit material in this fashion.

In many situations, alternative assessment instruments should be utilized. These instruments may include, but are not limited to, performance assessment and/or portfolio assessment. During these assessments, students would be required to demonstrate a particular activity or produce a range of products. These materials are graded by the teacher through observation and rating the student’s performance or product. Alternative assessment instruments “can provide some pupils who do poorly on selection-type tests an opportunity to show their achievement in alternative ways” (Airasian).

In addition, educators should also consider the many additional suggestions concerning assessment practices given by Mintzes, Wandersee & Novak. These include “reduce reliance on testing methods that reward and reinforce rote learning of verbal knowledge … begin to imbed assessment efforts seamlessly into the instructional program …focus assessment efforts on student constructed work products … make special provision for assessing the efforts of students who have special talents and those who excel in learning through non-verbal modalities … avoid one-shot assessment techniques … [and] consider the use of collaborative or co-operative assessment methods” (2001).

As educators develop assessment rubrics, it is important to be fair so each student will be assessed in the same way. Katz, Earl & Olson (2001) describes the many roles educators play when assessing students. One role is the mentor as the educator is reflecting the progress of students during group or individual activities. A second role is the guide as the educator reflects on the entire group’s progress and compares the student to the group’s progress.

According to Howard Gardner, students have multiple intelligences and educators must be aware of these intelligences, which include: Linguistic, Logical, Bodily, Spatial, Musical, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal (SwopNet.com) during the assessment process. Gardner suggests that we encourage and support students who do not excel in the "traditional" intelligences (Koch, 1996). Educators should assist students with successful interactions between peers and adults and assist students to excel in areas in which they are successful (Koch, 1996). We should also be aware of educational values placed on students by their ethnic backgrounds (Koch, 1996).

As educators use the previously mentioned approaches or other approaches during student assessment, it is important to remember “that there is no one-way of seeing, experiencing, or defining the world” (Nelson-Barber & Harrison, 1996). In addition, it is equally important for educators to not rely on one method of teaching or assessment. A variety of methods should be used and incorporated into the curriculum, which must include “methods for understanding and analyzing their texts, including note taking, discussion (both whole class and small group), dramatization, graphic response, and personal and critical writing” (Nelson-Barber & Harrison, 1996). Once these issues are addressed, educators open up the opportunity for all students to encounter a “rich schooling experience” (Nelson-Barber & Harrison, 1996).

References:

Airasian, P.W. (2001). Classroom Assessment: Concepts & Applications (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Katz, S., Earl, L. & Olson, D. (2001). The paradox of classroom assessment: a challenge for the 21st century. McGill Journal of Education 36(1).13-26.

Koch, C. (1996). Interview: Howard Gardner, The Bright Stuff. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2001. World Wide Web: http://www.cio.com/archive/031596_qa.html

Mintzes, J.J, Wandersee, J.H., and Novak, J.D. (2001). Assessing understanding in biology. Journal of Biological Education 35(3). 118-24.

Nelson-Barber, S. & Harrison, M. (1996). Bridging the Politics of Identity in a Multicultural Classroom. Theory into Practice 35(4). 256-264.

SwopNet.com. Howard Gardner's Seven Types of Intelligence. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2001. World Wide Web: http://www.swopnet.com/ed/TAG/7_Intelligences.html