Tim Allison:  A Virtual Portfolio

Science Club

I took part in this undertaking, for the most part, to give myself some experience in work with intermediate-level students.  Two colleagues from the faculty and I ran a science club at a local public school.  This club was run in association with the science teacher at the school.  Students attended the club to work on voluntary science fair projects (the main reason); to see the demos which we showed, and to learn from them; or both.  Of course, because of the nature of the club, the students who attended were eager to take part in this activity, and classroom management was not as much of an issue as it might otherwise have been.  We organized a demonstration or two for every session (once/week), and then facilitated the students' development of science fair projects.  Overall, it has gone very well, to date, although we have found that several of the students are rather indecisive -- some took a couple of weeks to decide what they were going to choose for their projects because their interest in science was so broad.  Others, on the other hand, had a focussed goal in mind when we arrived, and simply needed some facilitation in order to think through the process.

Our goal with the club was to have students pursue their interest, and to learn from it; at the same time, developing a quality science fair project.  As Yager (p. 3) suggests, teachers should encourage their students "to test their own ideas...[and to perform] self-analysis, collection of real evidence to support ideas, and reformation of ideas in light of new experiences and evidence."  In the end, I felt something like Juan, the young teacher in Volkmann's article, as I encouraged students to pursue things in the way they wanted (with occasional guiding 'hints' here and there, since time was limited -- the 'vertical interactions' mentioned by Roth), and, on a couple of occasions, their regular science teacher spent lunch hour in the room, telling them how each of them 'should' perform their assignments. 

There were several benefits to participating in this program.  The first, for my own professional development, was learning to work with grade seven and eight students.  Students at that level are clearly different than students in a high school (although perhaps not significantly more so than the grade 9 applied class which I taught on practicum) -- and it was thoroughly enjoyable to see them relating 'fun' demos (eg., crushing cans, chemical sunsets) to the material that they were doing in class (heat, particle theory, light).  Learning 'their' science -- which was indeed something different from my own -- was fascinating.  Some of the views held by the students were actually logical and coherent from their perspective -- and made sense when viewed from their perspective -- but were scientifically inaccurate.  Letting them run with their 'misconceptions' until they hit a snag seemed an effective way of letting them learn on their own.  As Gilbert, Osborne, and Fensham (p. 631) say, "teachers need to be aware of children's science and to encourage students to express their views.  We all need...to listen to, be interested in, understand, and value the views that children bring with them to science lessons."  From that point of view, especially, this exercise was extremely worthwhile.  Learning the way that students think about science at this age was wonderful, and, while I do recognize that the students we were working with were the exception, and not the general rule, the experience has taught me that I would be willing to teach science to students at this level. 

In addition to getting experience with students at this level, there was a aspect of this experience that was definitely unplanned, but which was nonetheless extremely beneficial to my personal and professional ability.  One of the students in the club had physical limitations.  She used a wheelchair, and had limited use of her arms; but was eager to do a science fair project.  She was initially uncertain about what she wanted to do; but she did come one day with an idea which she wanted to pursue (studying effect of temperature on static charge), and she has been doing quite well with it.  While she requires a bit more assistance than the other students (particularly in conducting research, as she is unable to turn pages or to type), I've been very pleased with her interest and with her progress on her project.   

Finally, this activity was valuable in the experience of preparing students for a science fair project; in the process of locating the necessary resources; and of communicating with students and their parents in preparation for the science fair.

I feel that this activity has led to some excellent experiences for me:  in relation to teaching grade seven and eight students; to working with students with exceptionalities; and to working through the science fair process.  Gallas (p. 16) suggested that "the very private musing of a child finds its origins in wonder and may eventually be transformed through reflection, dialogue, and, finally, collaboration, into a question, and, ultimately, a theory about the world."  Our students began in wonder.  Through the 'vertical interactions' described by Roth (encouraging the students to reflect; pursuing dialogue with them; and collaborating with them), they developed questions, which, through their science fair projects will develop into a theory about their worlds.  I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, and learned a fair bit in the process.  I feel that it has contributed a great deal to my growth as a professional.

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