Why leftovers are a food waste problem

I decided t oselect an article from Newsela abour why leftovers are a food waste problem. Ever since the pandemic began people raided super markets for rood and decidewd that cooking at home was what had to be done. When cooking there usually is leftover, these leftovers sit in the fridge until they are picked on, fully eaten, or thrown away beciase they are taking up too much space. By saving food and having less go to waste we are helping prevent the creation of global greenhouse gas emissions and protects the environment. The majority of wasted food ends up in landfills from people throwsing away their leftovers, and this then breaks down to produce methane and carbon dioxide emissions. These emitions are what contribute to climate change. Food in landfills contributes to nearly one-quarter of all methane emissions. Composting food instead of dumping it in landfills helps prevent the creation of global greenhouse gas emissions and protects the environment.

Preparing Tomorrow's Science Teachers to Use Technology

Flick, L., & Bell, R. (2000). Preparing tomorrow's science teachers to use technology: Guidelines for Science educators. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 1(1), 39-60.

I believe that it is extremely important to integrate technology in the classroom. I choose this article because it seems fitting me for considering I am not only an education major but an IT major as well. I find it very important for technology to be used in the classroom because as technology evolves we should learn to evolve with it. If we fall behind technology the amazing benefits of it in the classroom are lost. The flexibility, speed, and storage capacity of contemporary desktop computers are causing science educators to redefine the meaning of hands-on experience and rethink the traditional process of teaching. Because of the use of technology in the classroom students, teachers, and faculty have an easier way to get in contact with each other. Technology also helps the students have a wider variety of resources readily available to them. This article talks about how technology should be seen as a means, not an end. Teachers should teach technological applications and software so that the students know how to use the computer before science is introduced. By teaching this software and then connecting it to science the students will benefit more than just having a lecture. They will know how to use the websites and gain experience in the science topic that way. Content-based activities using technology should be used in the process of modeling effective science teaching for teachers. Appropriate uses of technology should enhance the learning of science concepts and process skills, as well as reflect the nature of science. The activities did that involve technology should make connections to the student’s experiences and promote student centered, inquiry based learning. "Microteaching and supervised practicum experiences should help preservice teachers recognize that when students are making new discoveries of their own with microscopes, they are well-positioned to understand the reciprocal relationship between technology and science." (Flick, Bell, 2000) Students can see how their questions are what is helping to fuel new technologies. As the students are experiencing the limitations that a normal microscope has a teacher can teach them to consider how their experiences with this technology relate to those of a real scientist. Technology is a means to solve human problems, this is why it is important to be used in science class.

My Online Class

This was the first semester ever in all my 15 plus years of attending a school that a whole semester was conducted online. Going into school I was excited because I wouldn't have to get out of my bed for class, or even change out of my pajamas. This was my first mistake in online classes. I have a very short attention span and lose focus very easily. I have come to the conclusion that it's even harder for me to focus in my own room. I am basically forced to focus in a classroom because the teacher will yell if I doze off. Online classes have turned out to be one of the hardest things I have encountered with the school. Besides my loss of focus and attention, my drive and eagerness to do my school work have slowly diminished. Once I gained back my focus after assessing my school work I have learned from this class and the experiences I have encountered. I used to think learning from a computer and teaching through one was nearly impossible and wouldn't have the same effect as being in the classroom. With this course, I have learned that it isn't impossible to teach through a computer. With my teaching through this class, I have learned different ways to use the computer as a teaching tool. This class has also taught me how to get students involved in teaching online. There are many sites that I am now aware of that can help assist interactions between the student and the presentation provided. Pear Deck is a great example of something that I have learned to use through this course. It works perfectly with Google slides so students are able to work interactively with your lesson.

What I Learned

Through time in this course, I have learned a lot from my peers. My fellow classmates who I have worked with like to take initiative and make sure everything is done to perfection. This I appreciate in a person because it shows drive and excitement which is something that I used to lack. I have learned to work towards perfection only and not only do things just to get them done. I have also learned this through my teacher and students during observations. The students that I worked with during teaching and observing were so amazing because they were always so excited to learn. I think it also helped because they were younger and always spoke their mind. If they did not understand something or did not like something we were doing during the presentation they always spoke up and commented, or asked questions about what they were confused on. This helped give us, as future teachers, experience with repeating a topic in a different way for the student to understand. We had to be able to explain topics in different ways in case the student does not understand the original way we are teaching. We always had to come prepared with different examples and explanations. Without this fieldwork experience, I would have never learned how to work online through a computer and still be able to teach a lesson without being one on one or in a classroom environment. I learned that even though we were not in person there are still ways to make learning online still feel like a classroom environment and still make the students feel welcomed and home. I have never heard about teachers using bitmojis before in the classroom until I took this class, I thought they were just a silly thing that my friends and I would use when texting each other. But these bitmojis help connect to the students because they are used to using them on their phones, or other devices. They find the bitmojis funny and cute so they choose to pay attention to them and the lesson. 

How do I plan Science?

Since science is not such an easy topic you have to plan it precisely so the students don't get confused. Children get bored very easily so you have to make sure they are engaged while still learning and absorbing the knowledge being taught to them. You have to be careful not to throw an overwhelming amount of information at once because they can get lost very easily and not remember any of it. To make sure you don't waste your time and your student’s time reading paragraphs and paragraphs of information, make science fun. Pose a bit of information one by one and incorporate fun activities to keep the students on their toes and ready to learn more. The more activities you have for the students the more they are forced to remember what is being taught to them so they can accomplish each activity. By making science fun the students are forced to pay attention and are learning chapters and chapters of topics without even realizing it. I have gained through my student teaching and observations that it is hard to keep students engaged over zoom or over a facetime video. Because students are in their own houses they get distracted very easily, like anyone would, and get started off track easier. It is also harder to come up with different activities to do over the computer since there are no in-person classes and they cant use manipulatives or work with their classmates in the same room. The use of pear deck and google slides is a big factor in creating different kinds of activities for the students. There are many websites that help in creating a collaborative classroom where students can work together.

Is Science For Me?

Science has not always been my favorite subject growing up. I hoped as long as I wasn't a science major in college I will never have to take another science class again! Well sadly, I was mistaken. Though I have found a new love for science and how wonderful it is to teach children this subject, learning to teach science is not easy. I always thought science was straight facts, you can only think one way and there is no elaboration on these facts. I learned through my course that everything leads into eachother and every cause has an effect and that one effect, no matter how small, effects millions of other things. I think this is interesting to teach to young kids because they have wild imaginations and because of this they will be able to imagine all the effects that stem from one problem.

Working as a team despite Covid-19

Seeing a group face to face is essential to creating a good well rounded project, but with Covid-19 this was nearly impossible. Lucky for me, my roommate was in my group for this class so it was easier for us to wrok together rather than having to zoom or factime seperatly with the rest of our group. Collboration with my team was easier than I originally suspected becuase of the use of facetime, zoom, and google drive. Without the use of google docs and google slides we would have not been able to work as a team on our presentation at the same time. TWe found the use of these resources was the key to our success. We would also run through our presentations on zoom the way we would have to present them in class. THis was very helpful to us becuase we learned how to present while someone else in the group was in control of the slides. Despite how diffecult woriking collaboratly could have been me and my team made the most of it and found new ways to work together to ensure a positive outcome.