The glass is never half empty, it's always full with air. Think like a scientisit!

Today we met Mrs. F. We will be fulfilling our field work class requirements with her support and guidance.  She excitedly created an after school Science program for students in 3rd and 4th grade in order to enrich their minds and support our learning as future Science teachers. Mrs. F shared her love and passion for teaching, especially as a Science teacher. The class was introduced to her policy of "hand and mind" learning instead of "paper and pen" learning. She strongly expressed that students learn better when they are active participates. I am a firm believer in active learning also. I was curious to learn more about her teaching methods after she told us this information. Young children can never sit still. Even if you get them to sit still, their mind is elsewhere. It takes a little more creativity from the teacher to plan activities that are fun and relate to the unit of study, but the outcome can be tremendous. A student has a higher chance of remembering the use of the parts of a cell when they get to act out the "mighty mitochondria", then if they just mindlessly copied notes of the board. I particularly liked how Mrs. F started off her lesson with game. It wasn't just any game though, it was a game she could use as a segue into a lesson on magnetic poles. I felt it was a great way to capture attention and keep it throughout the lesson. In addition, you could tell right off the bat that she has a strong passion for what she does. My group already emailed her and she has been very helpful in guiding us to created the perfect lesson. She is very excited to see it, as we are to instruct it.