Journal #5 - Beery

 Leah Beery

Journal #5

February 24th - 28th

Project-Based Learning

Glenn Livingston Elementary School

Millie Stamness and Dawn Peterson

Hours: Elementary School - 3 hours


February 25th

  •  Project Based Learning
    • Gummy Bear Waves in Science
    • Protein Balls in Math

Elaboration:

    My practicum hours this week consisting in helping in an elementary school in Cody. I went into the Livingston elementary school to help with project based learning in the fourth grade classrooms when the governor was visiting. I got the opportunity to help in two classrooms the science and math classes during the fourth grade rotations.
 
    In the science lesson the students were learning about all kinds of waves. The activity was testing the difference in energy with different factors. It consisted of putting gummy bears on both ends of a bbq skewers then had tape upside on the table. The students then had to measure distances between the skewers and tape them on as even as possible. Once they had the whole piece of tape full we helped them put another tape over top of them. To finish the activity they then used two chairs to tape make it stable. The students then pushed the sides to make a wave. Mrs. Peterson, all the helpers, governor, school board members asked questions to the students throughout the project to further their thinking. All the fourth graders were very engaged and loved this activity. The students also had a worksheet to fill out throughout the project as well.

    In the math classroom the students were making protein balls for their snowshoeing trip the next day, but the teacher used this project to incorporate math. They are working on conversions and other factors in math. The students had a fun time measuring and making the protein balls. Throughout the project the students also had a worksheet to fill out that were incorporating how many servings would containers of oats, peanut butter, and more ingredients make. The students had challenging questions to figure out and know before they left class. This activity was engaging hand-on that actually incorporated more math problems than I thought it was. 

    I am grateful for this opportunity in the elementary school with these students and teachers, learning more about how beneficial hands-on activities are in the classroom. I am excited for more experiences like these in the future. 

Reflection: 

    My experience in the elementary school really made me reflect on my teaching in the future. It made me realize I enjoy teaching younger/middle aged students. The environment in the school and teachers were very welcoming. These projects showed that hand-on activities makes students have critical thinking and problem solving while learning important concepts. The students showed they also had communication skills in there groups to finish the project in a timely fashion. 

    Reflecting back on this experience I also enjoyed and felt like I did a good job with one-on-one work with students. There was one student who had a peanut allergy, so she had to do the protein ball activity on her own. I sat down with her and helped explain the harder conversations she had to make her with her own protein ball. She appreciated the help and showed that she understood everything I elaborated.

    In conclusion, these opportunities makes me rethink if I want to change my degree to elementary education at a university next year. 





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