Debbie Goida
Grade 2
Nashua, NH
December, 2010

Reflection On Teaching Science

As I reflect on “Science as Inquiry” my mind goes in so many directions that it’s hard to narrow my personal growth to one area. I began as one of the most recent additions to the group and at the time I was most certainly intimidated by the high quality of professionals assembled to become my cohorts. I can’t begin to describe the level of professionalism, support, and encouragement that I felt by the teachers who were in the 3rd year of the program.

We started the summer conducting inquiry science projects that served as an example for our probes and lessons. I saw what it meant to offer your students materials, a question, and the time to explore a solution, without “teaching” the answer. This has turned my teaching pedagogy from a teacher driven curriculum to at least a partial student driven curriculum.

The most important tool that we implemented was the use of videotaping inquiry lessons in our own classrooms and sharing them with our peers through the CAC Protocol. It gave me the opportunity to see how other teachers were using the inquiry process to facilitate a lesson at many different grade levels. It was critical in giving me a visual representation of what we had discussed in theory during the summer session. I was able to take away visual cues, vocabulary to help prompt deeper thought or understanding, and what inquiry should “look like”. To see the amazing lessons presented by my colleagues gave substantial evidence in letting students use exploration and curiosity to guide them to higher level thinking. I learned that no question is a wasted question if it leads to a discovery unknown to the child before he began. I saw students who were excited about finding the reason that their flashlight didn’t work and missed recess to figure “it” out. That dismissing more than a few wrong answers lead students to the right answer and that going through the process is what inquiry is all about. Looking at others lesson also gave me validation that working through the process might take longer or look a lot different than the traditional science lesson but we have given our students the opportunity to get excited, explore, touch, discuss and come to the same conclusions. Science has become tangible that they can explain from experience. Wow!

I started as a teacher that taught science occasionally. I taught apples and pumpkins in the fall and planted seeds in the spring. In the last 5 months I have grown and become and excited member of our classroom inquiry team. I have developed the confidence to take the curriculum and enhance it to include inquiry for concepts that I know need to be seen, touched, and discussed, and written about. My students ask for science!!! What better environment for my students to learn in.

I want to thank you again for the experience of becoming a better student of science instruction. What I have learned is invaluable to me and especially valuable for my students.