Week 3

 What did you learn this week? 

    This week, I learned more about how living things are interrelated, as well as reviewed the life cycle of living things. I learned about the characteristics of a life cycle- that the distinct stages and length of stages vary between species. I learned about the key component of many life cycles which is reproduction. I learned that life cycles often involve changes in physical characteristics which we call development. I also learned about adaptation and how life cycles can be influenced by environmental factors, and lastly I learned about how all life cycles follow the basic pattern of birth, reproduction, and death. 

Which parts did you find clear and which were confusing? 

I thought it was very clear learning about predator prey relationships, because this is something that I remember learning about for years in elementary and middle school. I also found it very clear when we were discussing photosynthesis and it's role, because this is again something I remember learning about for years in school. A part that is still a little confusing for me is remembering the difference between dormant or active, but after lab and lecture this week I feel more confident. We also discussed what an ecosystem was, and while I know what it is and it's purpose, we also talked about different types of ecosystems such as tundras, forests, grasslands, etc. and I would like to get more in depth and learn about the types of ecosystems so that I can feel more confident. 

How can you apply what you've learned to your teaching in the future? 

    I plan on applying much of what I learned this week to my future teaching. One thing I for sure plan on incorporating is creating a model of the lifecycle of a plant or animal of our choice. In class, my partner and I chose to do the lifecycle of a bee and modeled the four stages a bee goes through in life. This is something that I think students would find fun and engaging because they have a lot of freedom in this project to choose which living thing they would want to model, how they want to model it, etc. I think creating models is a great way to show understanding and engage the students so that they feel confident in what they are learning. We also had the opportunity during class to check on our seeds that we planted last week in our cups. This is another experiment that I would love to do with my future students because I think they would find it very exciting to see how their seeds sprouted, and it would be a good way to keep them engaged and excited about science.