Week 14

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 classroom because it is an engaging way to get students to think more about science. The flip video would allow students to discuss with each other and think of reasons why melting or condensation occurs- while also creating a creative way to display their understanding. 

How can you apply what you learned to what you already knew?  

I can apply what I learned about melting today to my previous knowledge because I participated in a similar experiment in class a couple weeks ago. A few weeks ago, we made predictions on if ice would melt faster in a metal pan or on a piece of wood- and my group thought the ice would melt faster on the wood. However, we learned that the ice actually melts faster in the metal pan, and today we were able to figure out the reason why. The ice in the pan makes direct contact with the pan- and it is full of "points of contact". The piece of wood in contrast, has fewer points of contact, so the ice is not melting as fast because it is not making as much contact with the wood as it is in the metal pan.