Best Practices for Teaching Science by Randi Stone

Author:Randi Stone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2015-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

Mission Possible

Pam Roller

Galveston, Indiana

It is my mission in life to give my students as many experiences as possible to stimulate and motivate them to want to learn. One of those experiences is what I call Mission Possible, and it is how I keep science alive in my class. I have had a space shuttle simulator in my classroom since 1996. It is 16 feet long, 8 feet high, and 8 feet wide. The mockup is a replica of the space shuttle, and it is fully equipped with computers, two-way cameras and radios, color TVs, and a VCR. I also have a mission control area in my classroom so the simulation can be as realistic as possible.

My second graders and their parents have had the opportunity to simulate missions in space through my School On Saturday Program. The program is offered to my second graders and their parents. It allows parents the opportunity to be engaged in a fun learning experience with their children. They actually suit up like astronauts and go through an actual launch, do orbital experiments, and end with a landing. The simulation is perfect for students to develop skills in problem solving and decision making and to learn the importance of cooperation and teamwork.

During the orbital part of the mission, my students have numerous opportunities to explore and make new discoveries as they conduct their own experiments growing plants and crystals. The students learn about responsibility and ownership when caring for their own plants. They have many opportunities to make observations, record data, infer, inquire, compare, and draw conclusions.

I recall one very memorable Mission Possible. It was during a School On Saturday Program with my second graders and their parents. This particular Saturday, the mother of one of my students was battling cancer and could not attend, so the student’s grandmother, who has multiple sclerosis (MS) really badly, brought her to school so she could participate in Mission Possible. The grandmother could hardly get around but never complained. She had the best attitude and the most energy of anyone in attendance.

This grandmother suited up like everyone else and did all the experiments with enthusiasm beyond belief! After the mission, I told her what an inspiration she was! She said she decided to bring her granddaughter to simulate Mission Possible so she would be busy learning in a fun way and for a brief while she wouldn’t be so worried about her mother. Not only are missions possible, anything is possible when you believe! The girl’s mother is free from cancer and the grandmother still has MS but is still going strong!

I have offered my Mission Possible space shuttle simulation to the students in my afterschool Young Astronauts Program and to 22 different schools in Indiana through a Kids College Program offered at Indiana University Kokomo (IUK) in Kokomo, Indiana. Mission Possible was the name of a class I taught for Purdue University’s summer institute for gifted students, which culminated with a field trip to my classroom to simulate a day mission.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.