My
name is Taylor Primrose. I was born in Phoenix, Arizona, but at age three I
moved to the Chicago suburbs and have lived there most of my life. When asked
to look back at my science history, the elementary school years are pretty
blurry and hard to remember the details. The thing that stood out to me most
were certain science experiments that I really enjoyed and felt were memorable
to me. My learning style to this day is physical and visual so I enjoyed hands
on experiments that I could see up close and interact with. There were some
science experiments that I feel I could carry on in my own classroom one day. I
believe that I can make memorable experiences teaching science just as my
teachers did for me growing up.
I
remember in elementary school doing easy science experiments that involved
making predictions such as observing a plant grow over time and drawing out
what we saw happening each day. There was one in particular that fascinated me.
It was a salt crystal experiment that involved dangling a string over a plastic
cup filled with salt water. As the salt water evaporated it formed small
crystals on the string. I also
remember following the scientific method and recording each step as we did
small group experiments. Another memorable elementary science experience I had
was when my 4th grade
class took a field trip to Lake Michigan. We all got to go on a boat ride and
observe the environment around us. There was a part of the field trip where we
went inside to do a science experiment with the nature we just saw. I remember
I got my picture in the paper working with my group, wearing safety goggles,
and leaning over the experiment. I don’t remember the details of what we did,
but that field trip was one stood out to me in elementary school and I still have
the cut out of the newspaper in my memory book. That field trip was a great way
to incorporate learning science and adventure all in one.
High school science was the
most memorable for me. My freshman year I took Biology. I struggled with the
topics we learned in that class, but it was helpful to have many small groups
and partner work so we could collaborate with each other. I met my best friend
in that class starting out as biology partners. I would have never gotten to
know her if we were not paired up in that class. That makes me realize why
teachers encourage switching up partners, so that the students can better get
to know each other. My sophomore year I took chemistry and used a lot beakers,
scales and hot plates to do experiments. I enjoyed chemistry because it was
partly math as well and I felt confident in me my math abilities. My
junior year I took Physics. I loved that class mostly because of my teacher. My
physics teacher had such a bubbly personality that it seemed as if it was impossible
to fall asleep in class. I think it was her passion for teaching physics that
kept the students engaged. Physics focused on motion. I remember doing an
experiment where we had to create a protection of a raw egg using our own ideas
and drop it from a one story building window. Our egg ended up cracking, but it
was the planning and anticipation that kept us motivated. I think I liked
that experiment because it was creative, it was competitive, and we all worked
in small groups. Most of
all I think the teacher made the class what it was and for me it kept me
focused and interested in what I was learning. My senior year I took genetics.
I lucked out with another fun and engaging teacher. There was less
experimenting in class, but the information we learned interested me.
I now
study at Illinois State University as an Early Childhood Education major. I
took Science classes for my general education courses. I chose to take Biology
and Geology. Science college courses were a big adjustment from the way high
school classes were run. It was harder for me to get interested in the content
because they were mainly lecture halls. I did enjoy the lab section of biology
because that was when we completed experiments and did more activities. Geology
had a focus on rocks and comparing the color, hardness, weight, etc. From what
I have noticed over the years of my science history, I think science classes
became more focused on one topic and there was less hands on group work as I
got older. It’s funny to look back at the experiments that stood out to me and
the few that I remember growing up. You never know as a teacher when you are
making a lasting impact on a student.
Going
into college I knew I wanted to be a teacher and work with young children. I
have had a passion for children ever since I was young and knew that I would
love what I do if I perused teaching as my career. I had originally wanted to
be a pediatric nurse but I changed my mind when I realized I just wanted to
work with children. I hope to one day have my own classroom of
kindergartners or 1st graders.
I think the education that I have developed over my college years has
really assured me that I am in the right field. When I teach science to my
classroom I want to create an inviting atmosphere that supports all ideas and
comments. I want my students to feel comfortable sharing their ideas and
thoughts in my classroom. I also want to make sure that I have a lot of hands
on and active experiments for the students. I want to try and veer from
teaching out of science text books and incorporate more activities in the
science lessons. I will make sure that the lessons are engaging in order
to help the students stay interested in what they are learning. I want to
create memorable moment in my classroom that my students can look back on and
say that they enjoyed learning about science.
I grew
up in Libertyville, a small suburb outside of Chicago. The town was
predominately middle class. All three schools I attended were mostly white with
little diversity in my classes. It wasn’t until college that I had more
exposure to diversity at my university and clinical. In my clinical I have had
experience with multiple diverse daycares, Montessori Preschool, 2nd grade, and now 1st grade for my PDS student teaching.
From my experiences in different classrooms, I can tell that science is hard to
make time for. I hope that when I have my classroom I can incorporate science
into my daily schedule and make sure that science is not ignored.
My
cultural upbringing contributes to the student I am today through the values
that were taught to me growing up and the influential teachers that made an
impact on me. I have had positive and memorable experiences with my teachers
and I have learned ideas from them that I can use when creating lesson plans
and in my future classroom.
Below you will find
links to science experiments that can engage your students and make
science fun.
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/projects/saltcrystals.html (Salt Crystals)
