Nini
Forum Replies Created
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NiniParticipantI love your idea of going back to the same location and mapping the sound to see how it has changed over the seasons.in reply to: Encouraging Observations #721173
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NiniParticipantI, too, was inspired by the 'early bird' club and hope to develop this at our school in the spring months. This along with creating a field guide of plants and animals around our school yard and possible ways for interactive models of parts of a plant or bird placed around our playground or nearby trail in the woods could spark further scientific thinking.in reply to: Linking Citizen Science & Inquiry #720717
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NiniParticipantI continue to believe if we can find that 'spark' of what interests a student, it will continue to motivate and excite their learning. I was reminded in the readings of the different scientists how many of them could recall back to a time in their early childhood when something peaked an interest and their scientific pursuits took off from there. I was also reminded of how research can be done, and then be looked at again as in the vulture study to find new information. I liked this perspective especially because a well-known name like John James Audubon made some observations, but also some assumptions that were subsequently questioned and disproved.in reply to: Linking Citizen Science & Inquiry #720713
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NiniParticipantAs someone who supports students in the Special Ed population, your comment about students feeling a sense of defeat resonated with me. How interesting that science can awaken so much in a student and contribute to a drive to learn that may transcend their struggles with reading or writing. The power of observation in these investigations can also lead to highlight other strengths for the struggling reader/writer who has an amazing ability to represent their observations by drawing.in reply to: Citizen Science in Your Classroom #720638
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NiniParticipantHow often did you check your trail cam? If your students do it, how often do you expect to check it? I have acquired a trail cam and captured a couple of moose walking on the trail, but would like to place it out again to see what else we can 'capture'.in reply to: Intro to Citizen Science #720431
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NiniParticipantI love your idea of creating a field guide of the school grounds that can be passed from class to class. This is wonderful. How did you fund your purchase of classroom set of binoculars? Did you get a chance to use them? Did you allow them to be signed out for use at home?in reply to: Intro to Citizen Science #720419
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NiniParticipantI have not participated in any citizen-science with learners. In thinking about the population I work with, I think that finding the student's interest is most important as well as what is reasonable to investigate in the time that I work with them. I'm reflecting back to my work during remote learning and one thing I did with one student was to track the weather using a calendar to record sun, rain, wind, snow, etc. I think that extending this to report our findings and to possibly include other students with this could be an exciting first step. My other exposure to kids is as the recess monitor. Many of the kids approach me when they find something from nature whether it is a track, or animal, or plant of interest. I will continue to monitor this level of inquiry and see if I can steer their interest or collaborate with a classroom teacher to further investigation. The citizen-science spotlights include many specific programs which I intend to look into further to boost my own resources.in reply to: Intro to Citizen Science #720392
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NiniParticipantMy role at our school is as an Ed Tech and even though I support students in the classroom, I don't have a lot of experience with developing my own lessons. I am working to develop a series of nature videos as a result of distance learning. Each video has been around 10 - 13 minutes long, and I have had a particular focus for each one. These videos have been shared with parents/students at our school and I have received some comments on them. I would say that the greatest thing I have guided those who watch my videos to do is to observe. For instance, I did one video on animal tracking while we still had snow. I tried to encourage the observational skills one would use in order to identify tracks. At times I showed how to measure straddle and stride or discussed qualities of a stride while filming my dog in slow motion. I tried to ask questions of those who viewed. Some of what we are being asked to write about feels like a stretch and I am struggling to deliver an answer that addresses the levels of inquiry. That being said, I would say that my videos used only the confirmation inquiry and my encouragement to explore in their own back yards was inching toward structured inquiry. If I were to modify this lesson, I think it would need to be real and not virtual, and together, we would continue to measure, and notice qualities of the tracks we discovered and interactions between them and begin to build a story.in reply to: Inquiry in Your Classroom #720159
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NiniParticipantYour description of making kazoos and further experimentation into other materials and the sounds they make led me to consider how to guide students to making a model of a bird's syrinx. This has been a question I have been posing as I listen to the complexity of the winter wren's call.in reply to: Inquiry in Your Classroom #720156
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NiniParticipantInquiry is innate and differs from person to person. The teacher acts as a guide to reawaken a process which came naturally to the very young and needs to be encouraged as students grow and participate in school. Inquiry drives learning which helps to motivate a student to find out more about a subject. It needs to be authentic and include ways of processing the information so that more questions can be posed and further learning can continue. From the reading, I realized the importance of collaboration and how it can contribute to the excitement and drive that we hope our students can find.in reply to: Intro to Inquiry #720055
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NiniParticipantSmriti, you have some points which I really like. Open-minded experimentation and the need for sparks to begin the process of what about ...? or what if...? I also really like that you consider the whole person and the character and skill development which happens along the path of inquiry and the importance of reflection. I am curious what you mean when you say it shouldn't be overdone.in reply to: Intro to Inquiry #719816
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NiniParticipantI agree that accepting input from others to challenge evidence and support strengths is essential to the growth of knowledge and reminds me of the phrase "on the shoulders of giants".in reply to: Intro to Inquiry #719808