Field Placement 4/15/2008

I did not see science today in my placement because there was an assembly during the time science is normally taught. The last science that I saw in placement was the unit on the characteristics of living things, and as far as I know, they are still working on this unit. My CT was telling me about how pretty soon they will be doing a unit where they watch a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. Eventually they release the butterfly outside on the playground at the end of the unit. My CT was showing me pictures of this today from last year, and it seemed like a very cool lesson/unit. I think when the students do this; they will be very engaged and excited about the unit because they will be watching the caterpillar go through the stages of turning into a butterfly. I think this will be very meaningful for the students, and give them a sense of ownership over their learning. In one of the videos that I watched about teaching science online, the teacher made a comment that it is important to give students proof of what they are learning. I think that when my CT does this unit, it will do just that. It is not enough to just tell students “a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.” Instead, the students will see this process, and have proof that this is really true when they watch their own class caterpillar go through the process of turning into a butterfly.