Morgans blog

What did you learn this week?  This week we learned more about the states of matter and identified the characteristics of solids, liquids and gases. Furthermore, we engaged in a variety of different simulations that helped us observe the relationship between particles, temperature, and melting. We also had the opportunity to learn about the resource "Learn Concord" which gave us a variety of resources in regard to matter, particles, melting, and temperature. All of these resources aided in my learning this week, and further helped me develop new ways that I will be able to teach my future students.  How can you apply what you learned to your teaching in the future?  I plan on applying what I learned in lab today to my teaching in the future by utilizing a similar in class activity. I like that there were options that students could choose from- if they wanted to think more about melting or condensation. Furthermore, I plan on utilizing the flip video activity in my future...

  What did you learn about this week?  This week in lab we did more experiments with M&M's in water. Similar to last time we did this experiment, we started by simply observing what was happening to the M&M's as they sat in the water. However, this time we changed the experiment in a couple different ways. For one, we were trying to figure out which colors spread fastest in the water. My group and I did a couple of trials where we observed and documented our observations on which color was spreading the fastest in the water. After this, we decided that red and green were spreading the fastest, but couldn't figure out why. We also changed this experiment to be different than last time by adding sugar to our water. With this, we observed and documented that the colors took a much longer time to spread, and concluded that the sugar was slowing down the spread time.  Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?  I was able to relate some of w...

  What did you learn this week?  This week in lab, we talked more about mass and the different states of matter. We all participated in an activity where we conducted experiments on a number of different objects. Within these experiments, we were observing if the object would sink or float, the volume, the mass, if it can conduct electricity, and if it is magnetic. I learned that these experiments can be used for elementary classroom settings for students to conduct experiments. This is beneficial because after last week's homework, I was left wondering what kind of experiments I can conduct with my future class.  How can you apply what you learned to your teaching in the future?  I plan on applying these experiments to my teaching in the future. I think these would be very useful for my future class because these experiments are very engaging and hands on. This also allows students to see first hand how and why some objects may float or sink as compared to others. L...

  What did you learn this week?  This week in lab we participated in a variety of different experiments. In one experiment, we had to observe what would happen to M&M's when placed in a plate full of water. After a few seconds, the color from the M&M's started to dissolve. After about a minute, the color from the M&M's were almost fully dissolved from the M&M's and started to move towards each other, touching each other. Another experiment we did was with ice cubes and we had to hypothesize which we thought would melt first- an ice cube in a metal pan or an ice cube on a piece of wood. We hypothesized that the ice cube would melt faster on the metal pan, however after observing the experiment, we were proven wrong. The ice cube started to move and melt at a way faster rate as compared to the ice cube on the piece of wood. Overall, these experiments this week helped me analyze and think about how students may address these experiments and allowed me to th...

 What did you learn this week?  This week in lab we learned about evolution. I specifically learned more about genetic drift and migration in relation to evolution. Genetic drift is random fluctuations in the frequency of alleles within a population due to chance events. Migration has to do with advantages like food availability, safety from predators and mating opportunities. Migration also effects gene flow, meaning that when one population migrates to another location, they introduce new genetic variation into the existing population in that area.  Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?  I am able to relate parts of what I learned to what I already knew. For example, I learned that one aspect of evolution is natural selection. We learned about natural selection a couple of weeks ago in lab and lecture, so this was one instance this week that I was able to relate what I learned about Evolution to what I already knew about natural selectio...