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= Welcome to EDN 544: Teaching Science! =

I wanted to set up a wikispace for me to get to know you. I know that you are all coming from various backgrounds and experiences in teaching. I would love to get to know you in this wikispace and know your backgrounds, favorite content areas, teaching experience, thoughts about science education, and what you would like to get out of this summer course. Please respond as you get a chance and add to the bottom of this wiki.

In the teaching of this class, I hope to assure that science is taught from a theoretical and conceptual base and that content will include studying theories and concepts related to science taught at various grade levels. Activities will include development of successful methods of teaching through the use of individual and group projects. Materials needed for a successful science program and sources from which these materials may be secured will be discussed. My personal theory of learning incorporates the epistemology of constructivism where I utilize an inquiry-based approach. I emphasize the importance of creating integrated thematic units and the 5-E learning cycle with my science lessons.

In the 5-E learning cycle, students are first //engaged// in the learning before they //explore// their ideas. Following a common exploration “hands-on” type activity, teachers and students exchange //explanations// of a particular concept or idea. Students are then challenged to //elaborate// or //extend// their conceptual understanding to a new context. //Evaluation//, or assessment, takes place throughout the whole learning cycle. R egular discussions with your colleagues will provide the forum for thinking about alternative ways of creating learning opportunities for ALL students.

Teaching an online class presents certain challenges especially when learning strategies to teach science! I would like to explore the possibility of meeting face to face with our colleagues who live locally while inviting our extension colleagues to join us through our distance education classroom.

In the space below, please take the time to share a little bit about yourself, your background, and what you would like to explore in the context of our summer course.

First, I hope I am completing this correctly. I have never used Wikispaces before! Science is my favorite subject to learn and teach. When I completed my undergraduate degree, I had to have my spleen removed right before I was supposed to start student teaching. Thanks to my professor's advice, I postponed my student teaching a semester and completed extra science courses to complete a middle school concentration in science. I am certified in elementary education and graduated from UNC-Charlotte. I taught at two different schools in the Charlotte area before moving to Columbia, SC where my husband worked for a summer. Columbia, SC is the hottest city I have ever experienced! It really is the "armpit of the south." He was transferred here to the beach and I absolutely love it. I couldn't find a teaching job right away but was hired as a full time nanny for twin girls. They are five now and I have worked with them for over two years now. Since they are reaching school age and I want to further my career, I am looking for a teaching job.

I am excited for this course. I have always enjoyed inquiry-based teaching and I can't wait to learn about this teaching method. I am also looking forward to having more science ideas and how to teach science in the classroom. Bring on the learning! :)

-Jessie Ward


 * Hello everyone!**
 * My name is Kathryn. I graduated with a bachelors degree in elementary education from UNCW and now like all of you, I am completing my graduate degree in elementary education at UNCW. I currently teach 2nd grade (my first year) and I taught 1st grade for four years before this. I was born in Charlotte but moved to Wilmington when I was in second grade, so I basically say I am a beach girl. My entire family has been coming to Wilmington for years and years so I consider this my hometown. I am a beach girl all the way! I have a four legged child name Roxanne and a boyfriend who lives in Greenville-booooo for long distance but we have made it work for the past year so hopefully we can keep it up. It gets very busy with teaching, school, and traveling to see him so needless to say I am ready for the summer!**
 * My favorite subject to teach is Reading/Language Arts.**
 * I am not very comfortable wtih science education and I hope after taking this course, that will change. I hope to take from this course activites and methods to use in my classroom when teaching science to my students.**
 * I am looking forward to this course and seeing all of your thoughts from the discussions!**
 * Good luck everyone and have a great end of the school year!**
 * Kathryn Privette**


 * My name is Katherine, but everyone calls me Katie (so as not to get confused with the other "Kathryn").**
 * I graduated with a bachelors degree in elementary education and a minor in English from UNCW in 06. Since then, I taught Kindergarten for 2 years, 3rd grade for 2 years, and currently teach 2nd grade at Bellamy Elementary. I was born in Eden, NC and came to Wilmington to attend college. I loved it so much that I decided to stay. (You can't beat living near the Beach!) I have 3 cats, 2 dogs, and an assortment of fish, so most days my husband and I feel like we live on a farm!**
 * My favorite subject to teach is Reading/Language Arts and Science. Science was always my favorite subject in school because I had really great teachers that made science fun, so I try to do that for my students too. In college I took a course with Dr. Nesbitt and his wife and we learned all about teaching with Science Notebooks. That was a rewarding class that helped me become a better science teacher and I am still using Science Notebooks in my classroom today, almost 7 years later.**
 * I am looking forward to learning new activites and methods to use to add to my science notebooks when teaching science to my students!**
 * Katie Parker**


 * Hello All!**


 * My name is Riann (pronounced Ryan). This is my first year in North Carolina. I currently teach 3rd grade in Pender County. I taught in Northern Virginia near D.C. last year. Most of my teaching experience has been in California where I grew up. I married a Marine and thus have had the "opportunity" to move a lot! ( : I have taught for nine years in 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and Gifted and Talented. My favorite subject to teach is probably math although I really enjoy them all with the exception of writing. It is one of those areas that never feels concrete enough for me, and I seem to always be looking for ideas in this area. I love the hands-on and inquiry-based learning opportunities that so naturally come with teaching science, so I am very much looking forward to learning more about these strategies and how to make them work in a classroom with limited time and resources available. I would also love to learn more about the interactive science notebooks and promoting more application and thinking for my students.**


 * On a little personal note, my husband and I are expecting our first baby June 12th! ( : I am SO excited!**


 * I look forward to working with all of you! Have a great end of school year! We are almost there!**

I'm getting married this weekend and can't wait to start my new journey!!!!!!
 * Riann Ballenger**
 * Hey,**
 * My name is Cameron VandeVeer. I have lived in Wilmington, NC for the past 6 years. I'm originally from Mentor, Ohio a suburb of Cleveland. I graduated with my Bach of Science in Elementary Education in 2006 from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA. I have been teaching 2nd grade at Bellamy Elementary School in New Hanover County for the past 5 years. My favorite content area to teach is reading because I love seeing the growth that is made from the beginning to the end of each school year. I enjoy teaching science because the children are always so focused and excited about the experiements. I love how science is hands on and involves everyone each day. I would like to learn more about teaching different aspects of science and new ways to conduct exciting experiments. I want to make science as fun and allow my students to succeed!**
 * -Cameron VandeVeer**

Hey Everyone! My name is Maria Jo Adams. I have a double name and go by Maria Jo. I live in Fayetteville, NC and teach kindergarten at a K-1 School. I graduated from UNC-Charlotte in 2011 with a BA in Elementary Education. I returned back to Fayetteville last summer and now I am very close to finishing my first year of teaching! What a relief! Our school is very big on literacy and model classrooms so I look forward to taking a science based class. I took a science content class in college and really enjoyed it so I am sure I will enjoy this course too. I know this will be helpful as we prepare for common core as well!

Hello to all! My name is Kristin Reid. I have been married to my High School sweetheart for almost 5 years. We have an amazingly beautiful daughter who is almost 13 months old and 2 wonderful dogs. I graduated from UNC Wilmington in December of 2009 with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Psychology. I am also a first year teacher who is very anxious to finish this year and ready for our summer break. I teach 3rd grade at a wonderful K-6 elementary school in Swansboro (about an hour and a half from Wilmington). I am very excited to take this class and learn new practices. My favorite subject to teach is writing because I love seeing what unique and creative ways each student expresses themselves through words. Science is my second favorite thing to teach because with this subject there are so many opportunities to allow the students to do hands-on activities, which I enjoy almost as much as the kids!

Hi All! My name is Sarah LaFevers and I'm a graduate assistant at UNCW in the Watson School of Education. I am currently starting my second year of graduate school! I graduated from UNCW last Spring (2011) with my B.A. in Elementary Education with a concentration in Language Arts. I currently live in Wilmington with two roommates and and loving the summer weather! My favorite content area to teach is Language Arts, but I really enjoy being able to integrate different subject matters into my lessons. I also value any input you all place on these pages to help add guidance to my future career.