Heather Booher: Science Educator

My initial expectations going into my middle school internship were solely based on my own school experiences. As I recall, the learning environment when I was a student was pretty much directed toward one type of learner, those that benefit from long lectures and very little student collaboration or involvement. Most of my teachers followed this example and simply used the textbook or the overhead projector to teach class. The ones who actually got the students involved with projects, plays or labs are the teachers who really stick out in my mind as great. I expected this same sort of pattern to be seen at my placement, with some teachers going out of their way to involve students in the learning process, while others relied on the old favorites like the overhead projector. My cooperating teacher in the fall had been teaching for a long time and seemed to have a pretty set routine, but he tried very hard to incorporate new ideas into his classroom to keep his teaching fresh.

In my interning experience, I spent the majority of my time observing my teacher and the students, and working with the kids one-on-one when they needed extra time or help with an assignment. I noticed many different types of behavior among students, but the two main types that seemed to distinguish themselves were those who worked well on their own when instructed to do so, and those who could not sit still or concentrate long enough to complete an assignment on their own. These students either ignored the assignment altogether or waited for special assistance from me or the teacher. Until someone was there to walk them through everything, those students were convinced that they couldn't do it themselves. Or, they were too busy talking to their neighbors, or making spitballs or teasing someone else to be bothered with the assignment. The majority of what I observed was independent work and a lot of quizzes. He gave his students a quiz at least once or twice a week so that they would memorize important information, but as the one who graded the quizzes, it was obvious that it didn't work for all students. A handful of students always got very high grades, but the majority of his students did not do well.

This was the main reason that I decided to try a group project with the students at the end of my internship. I had them work together to make an edible cell model because I wanted to see if they could get as much out of a social activity as they could out of memorizing a worksheet. In the end, they really enjoyed getting to work with, and eat candy. And the interviews I conducted afterwards showed that they did learn basic cell structures, but I think the more valuable part of the lesson was having the students experience a social learning experience.

In general, I believe that student collaboration is essential to learning because it builds confidence in students and allows them combine their interests and experiences to gain a meaningful learning experience. Individual learning has a tendency to turn competitive, as I’ve witnessed many students comparing quiz and test grades as they are being handed back. I don’t think this is constructive; it takes away any meaning for the children if they are constantly comparing grades with each other. Another aspect of student collaboration is the fact that if I can group a couple of the more ‘reluctant’ students together, they seem to work better, because the other students encourage them more. If a group grade is on the line, and all must participate to do well, they will make sure that everyone participates somehow.

I think it’s really difficult to make science interesting for every student in the class. There are always some who just don’t care, or just want to be left alone. But student collaboration can sometimes reach these students and encourage more active learning. The group motivation helps provide self-motivation.

I experienced very similar behavior among my high school students, and by using many group activities in my unit plan, I was able to keep more students engaged, and interested in what was being explored.