Gabriella De Feo Science Blog

    1. What did you learn this week?  This week in lab, our focus was on sea turtles and their ability to survive based on the living conditions around them. To learn more about the topic, we read a book and played a game that had many facts about the sea turtles. We discussed the many natural and human factors that pose potential harm on the species. This is why the survival rate is .01%. Additionally, we completed two worksheet to even further our understanding on the NGSS. We also got to take a look at our fast plants, and I was extremely happy to see that mine is starting to blossom with beautiful yellow flowers.  2. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?  I am able to relate what I learned this week to what I already knew, because I already knew a little bit about the parts of a flower, like the petal and stem. However, I was able to learn some new parts, which was very interesting to me.  3. What are new or remaining questio...

1. What did you learn this week?  This week in lab and lecture, we began speaking on the study of ecology, or the study of relationships between living organisms. We discussed the difference between biomes, ecosystems, and habitats. A biome is a large scale category of ecosystems that have similar climate conditions and similar dominant types of plants and animals. An ecosystem is a community of living and nonliving things that interact with each other in a specific environment. Lastly, a habitat is a specific place where a particular community of organisms lives. Additionally, we were able to see the growth of our plants. I was so surprised to see how much it had grown since last week. Finally, we discussed a specific biome with our table. While learning about the marine biome, I learned that it is the largest of all the biomes in the world.  2. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?  I already had some existing knowledge of the terms biome, ec...

  1. What did you learn this week?  In lab this week, we began talking about creating lesson plans. We were introduced by first discussing what lesson segments are and how they are used in a lesson plan. We then discussed what are some key aspects of a lesson plan: learning objectives, a topic, an introduction, an activity, any needed materials, and some sort of an assessment. Additionally, we talked about the 5E Instructional Model and its five components: engage, explore, explain, extend, and elaborate. We were able to practice these new terms with the people sitting at our table by making a shared Google Slides powerpoint and then sharing it with the class. Lastly, we were able to see our plants and the growth they have gone through so far.  2. Which parts did you find clear and which were confusing?  I found the five different aspects of the 5E model to be pretty clear, because I felt like I could relate it to my schooling experience in high school and in middle ...

  1. What did you learn this week?  This week in lab, we were able to learn about life cycles. We learned about each step of the life cycle of a mealworm and a butterfly. The mealworm life cycle includes the following:  1. eggs 2. mealworm 3. pupa and 4. beetle. The butterfly life cycle includes the following:  1. eggs 2. caterpillar (larva) 3. chrysalis (pupa) 4. adult butterfly. To learn even more about what life cycles are like, my group and I constructed a diagram of the life cycle of a frog, which includes the 1. eggs 2. tadpole 3. froglet and 4. adult frog. In addition to all of this, we were instructed to make fast-growing plants by adding cotton balls, fertilizer, seeds, and water into a styrofoam plant potter. As the weeks go on, we will be able to track its growth and see how long it takes.  2. How can you apply what you learned to your future teaching?  In my future classroom, I can show my students the process of plants growing by cons...

  1. What did you learn this week?  This week during class, we furthered out knowledge on the components that determine if something is living or nonliving. We discussed the eight different components and talked through with peers what some examples of this would look like. Additionally, we were able to model our own plants by placing seeds, cotton balls, and water into a cup. We will now be able to see what happens to the seeds and the process that will ultimately take place.  2. Are you able to relate what you learned to what you already knew?  This week I was able to relate some existing knowledge that I had to some of the content we spoke about during our class time. Through my past science classes, I knew some of the things that determined if something was living or not. This week this understanding was pushed even farther, because I was introduced to some newer ideas. Additionally, it was helpful to once again speak about the NGSS, because it expanded what...