How Creative Are You?

I feel as though my summer experience at ISU has positively impacted my "creative confidence," because as I start to think about lessons and activities for this coming year, I am going to be "thinking out of the box" a lot more :)  I tend to try to think creatively anyway, but I am excited to instill creativity in my students as well.  I am definitely going to have the students complete a couple of creative design projects throughout the year, though I am not sure which ones at this time.

I think that the way I design my lessons for students will be more focused on the process and getting students to really look at the "steps" on the "Lab-o-Matic" as a great tool to start with.  I am also excited to post a checklist of critical thinking skills I want students to achieve by the end of this year for me to refer to and "check off" as I incorporate them into my lessons.  By incorporating the "Lab-o-Matic" and DBCS into my teaching style, I am hopeful to enhance my students' critical thinking skills throughout the year!!

I am the lead in our PLC group, so I am planning to take one PLC meeting and share out what I learned, some of the tools, resources and ideas that are available for us to use and incorporate into our classrooms.  I think a lot of the science teachers in our PLC would benefit from the "Lab-o-Matic" and the DBCS ideas.  I am excited to share these with my colleagues and hopefully help them realize the benefits of thinking outside of the box!!

Creative Bioplastics

I am going to focus more on the bioplastics lab because I can definitely see me implementing this into my classroom when addressing physical and chemical properties/changes.  I am planning to have the students make the plastic as prescribed, have the students run tests on the plastic and then decide which "company" they would like to work for...

1. Dasani water bottles are looking to create a bioplastic that is durable and does not absorb the water it is carrying.
2. Nylabone is looking to create a rigid, durable and safe dog bone from bioplastic that will hold up to sharp puppy teeth.
3. Ziploc is looking to create a container that is made of bioplastic, but is safe and heat tolerate when reheating food in the microwave.

They will have to report out what changes they made to the original "recipe" and what results they found.  I am not sure the exact details yet, but I'm thinking the students would really enjoy this project and it is a great real world application.

As for communications coming back into my classroom, I am thinking that I will invite Women in Science and Engineering students to come into my classroom, but I'm not sure when/and for what unit yet.  I would also like to incorporate the science job search into my classroom somewhere, with a discussion about all of the possible jobs in science that are out there waiting for students to enter into.  I am also planning to incorporate Collin's idea for Research Funding into my classroom at the start of the year and revisit it throughout the year.

Bio Implementation

The biofuels lab would definitely have to be modified down to a shorter amount of time as we only have 40 minute class periods.  Since I have had students find the density of different oils in the past, I also know the amount of mess that students make when measuring oil.  The fermentation lab would also have to be modified down somehow as we only have 40 minutes, but the timing really needs to go for at least 45 minutes.  I like the simplified version better than the high tech version since there is less mess, chance for error, etc.

I really like the idea of the students doing these labs themselves, but could also see the benefits of doing these as a demonstration and time lapsing it so students can see the whole thing in a shorter amount of time (to fit the scheduling constraints).

Both of these labs fully support the students' learning about biorenewable fuels.  The biofuels lab is a direct application and the fermentation can be tied into the production of ethanol, which gets blended into gasoline.  These are real world applications that can be simulated on a smaller scale in the classroom laboratory and really engage the students.

I am definitely planning to look into having ISU come into my classroom for some different labs and/or presentations, but I am not sure where I want to fit that in.  I do know that teaching in Ames allows me to have this great resource available to my students and I need to take more advantage of this.  I am also thinking of possibly getting the students to tour different facilities/buildings on campus, but taking 140 students at one time can be a bit overwhelming, so the logistics is another issue I would have to consider.

I have enjoying thinking outside of the box and finding ways to implement all of these great ideas into my classroom this summer!

Bio-based vs. Traditional Hand Soaps

I have done some experimenting with bio-based hand soaps, shampoo and body wash lately, because I have found out that I have a slight allergic reaction to some of the compounds present in traditional soap.  I want to update you on my findings...

Soap and Company Name	Bio-based vs. Traditional	Cost/fl oz	Leaves Soap Film on Skin?	Fragrance
Bath & Body Works anti-bacterial gentle foaming hand soap	Traditional	$0.57	No	Variety of fragrances to choose from
Dial Complete Foaming anti-bacterial hand wash	Traditional	$0.51	No	Variety of fragrances to choose from
Green Klean Anti-bacterial foaming hand wash	Bio-based	$0.75	Yes	Comes in only one fragrance and smells like skunk
Eco Suds Foaming anti-bacterial hand soap	Bio-based	$1.35	Yes	Comes in only one fragrance and smells like pine trees

I've decided that I am going to stick to the traditional soap for now.  My allergic reaction isn't severe enough for me to wash my hands with a bio-based product and feel as though the soap hasn't been completely rinsed off (even after rinsing for a full minute).  I am also not a fan of walking around smelling like skunk or pine trees after using these soaps.  To me, these are NOT clean smelling fragrances.  I am hopeful that improvements will be made in the bio-based cleansing products industry over time and I will one day soon have more options to choose from that have more appealing fragrances!!

Week 1 in the Books

This week was full of new learning for me.  I love the Biochar concept and what is happening at ISU with regard to Biorenewables.  

The most important thing I learned this week was probably document based case studies, because I can see these easily being implemented into my classroom for many different concepts throughout the year. 

My most challenging experience from this first week was probably not having as much time as I would like to work on our DBCS.  I am the type of individual who likes to have a large chunk of time to sit down and work.  When I have shorter amounts of time, I feel as though I just get started and in a good groove when I have to stop and move on to something else.  Trying to remember where I was at when I return to it and where I want to go is usually a challenge for me.

I definitely see this experience changing my perceptions of teaching science as I plan to implement the DBCS into my curriculum and classroom.  I also plan to find as many ways as possible to incorporate BioRenewables into my curriculum.  My "energy" unit might be the best place to incorporate the concept of BioRenewables, but I'm not sure how I'm going to do this yet.

The Biochar application has already been done to a part of our garden at the middle school, so it will be fun to incorporate this project into my science curriculum.  

I'm looking forward to more "thinking out of the box" in the next two weeks!!

July 10

I came to the Summer Academy with the hopes to enhance my curriculum on energy, learn new science material, and gain a new cohort of people to collaborate with and learn from.  Energy is part of the curriculum in my 8th grade physical science course and I am hoping to incorporate BioRenewables into my energy unit.  I am not sure yet how I will do this since there are a variety of avenues that one could go with this...BioRenewables and energy go hand-in-hand.  Because of the many renewable resources available in Iowa, I feel it is important for my students (and our society) to become more aware of how BioRenewables can impact our society and economy.  By opening their eyes to a "new world," I am hopeful that they will start to look at things through different lenses and start to think outside the box!!  :)