1) It is important as teachers to think of the reasons behind WHY we are picking the content we choose to teach our students. Why are we choosing this content? Why do we want our students to be able to know this by the end of the year? Etc.
2) Students are in control of their learning, so why are they are not a crucial part of choosing what they learn? I believe that students will be more actively engaged in their learning if they had some say in what they are going to be educated in.
3) As teachers, we play such a crucial role in what our students actually retain from our lessons. If we ask ourselves while picking the content of our lessons, "What do I want my students to learn or know by the end of this lesson?", it will help us narrow in on what we choose to teach. We are starting our lessons with the beginning in mind.
4) In Nelson's Article, "Choosing Content That's Worth Knowing", he gives us five key criteria's to look at when picking content; utility, social responsibility, intrinsic value of the knowledge, philosophical value, and childhood enrichment. Along with these five criteria, there is a question that teacher's can ask themselves when it comes time to pick content that will help to decide if the content is right for our students.

1) Science class for me was my teacher lecturing to us from the front of the class, and a lot of textbook readings. This is what made me dislike science so much as a kid. Science is one of the only subjects where you can allow your students to get down and dirty (literally!) when it comes to learning. Science needs to be engaging to all students, at all ages, and this is not hard to do if we pick the right content, and pick the right teaching strategies.
2) Students can only sit for as many minutes as their age. Therefore, science should not be a 40 minute period of the teacher talking, and doing handouts. Science should be fun-filled, and should include as many hands out experiments, or PEOE's, as possible. Students learn by doing, so to allow your students to have a hands on experience with their learning, this content will actually be learned by students, and not thrown out of their brains by the end of the period.
3) By asking your students open ended questions, like how, why, etc., it allows the students to truly showcase their learning. By probing students with these types of questions, it will solidify the learning the students have done, and will also give the teacher a guide to where the students are in their learning of the chosen content. By allowing your students to think about what is being learned, it allows them to construct new knowledge, and apply this to the experiments done in class.
4) The format and structure of the 5E lesson plan supports my previous points of engage, hands on, and open ended questions. When using this lesson plan it allows the students to fully participate in their learning and to construct new knowledge by this hands on experience that these lesson plans give the students. It is so important for the students to not only learn and construct new knowledge, but to also showcase what they have learned is just as important as learning this new information. It allows the students to connect with the learning, and to be the major part in their learning experience.
5) I wish to have not just a classroom, but a community of students. When working on PEOE's, experiments, projects, etc. in pairs or groups, this will allow my students to work together and learn what their own skills are when it comes to group work. Some students may find they are a leader, some may find they excel in research. It is important to have this aspect within the structure of your science lessons because the students will become comfortable with their classmates, and this will aid in the contraction of new knowledge.

1) It is important that students are given an opportunity to show their understanding and grasp of the content being taught. Therefore, I believe it is crucial to ask questions beginning with the word HOW. Like learned in class, when doing our essential questions in the 5E lesson plan, how questions will not only get the students to the answer you desire them to get to, but also allows them to get to this answer with hands on practice and research.
2) I believe the proper inquiry based learning cannot only teach the students what needs to be learned, but can also develop skills needed when it comes to science. Whether it is the skill of predicting, explaining, etc. or even the skill of being confident in their answers and research, inquiry based learning can foster these skills in all students if done correctly.
4) In the understanding by design model we learned about in class, I believe this is crucial to the inquiry process and the answers that are a result of this. The guiding questions and essential questions that we give our students will lead them to a better grasp of the content we give them, and will also solidify the learning they have done while in class.
4) As a teacher, we have an amazing opportunity to allow our students to reach answers to questions by experimenting with their own hands. We as teacher should be facilitators in their problem solving journeys, and allow the to reach their own conclusions through their own thought processes, with a little bit of guidance from the teacher.

1) Simulations are analogies of real world situations as they create a model or modified version of a real world situation. Students can be placed in 'real-world' situations through the use of this technology, and through this, they can problem solve for certain scientific inquiries. Things like SolarWalk, and interactive frog dissection are examples of these technologies. It allows the students to answer questions put in front of them by not just reading to find the answer, but also having a 'first-hand' experience in the subject area of the question.
2) Today, social networking rules the world of most of our students. By using this in our classrooms, in a safe way, it can help the students problem solve together as a community. Using websites like NING, think.com, etc. where the teacher can monitor all things being said, this allows the students to work together on a social network site to solve scientific problems put before them. As a result of the ever present social networking today, students will be engaged by sites like these, as this directly relates to what is popular in today's society.
3) All technological aids are now being put into every classroom for both students and teachers to use in their problem solving. Computers, iPads, tablets, smart boards, are all things that can allow students to expand beyond looking in a textbook for answers, and seeing what else is out there. It is important to use these aids as a teacher as it is more hands on for students, and engages them constantly in their search for answers.
5) I believe that technology is not only important in classrooms to aid in problem solving, but by using it you are truly helping your students construct technological knowledge they will use in the real world, when they are older. By allowing the students to have hands on practice with these different technological aids, they will be better prepared for high school, jobs, etc. in their future. By having this chance to use these aids in a safe, and comfortable setting like a classroom, when it comes time to use these outside the classroom, the students will have better technological problem solving skills than other students who have not had this opportunity.

1) As a teacher, I believe some one of the best assessment tools is that of self-assessment or reflections from the students. By talking with the students, or by giving the students a self assessment hand out, you as a teacher can see where the students believe they are in their learning. You can see what they learned, not only in the content of the lesson, but also what they learned about themselves. These forms of assessment are also helpful to teachers to gain feedback about your lessons, and what you can do to improve on it next time to make it more engaging or easier on your students.
2) Like in the Growing Success document, these three ways of assessing students is key for ongoing and consistent assessment of our students. This form of assessment allows the teacher to see where their students are throughout the whole learning process; before, during, and after.
3) When assessing students, it is important to not just assess their work during scheduled points in their learning, but assessing them on a regular basis. Students learn at different paces, and they may all come to the same conclusion in the end, but how and when they learn this may be at different speeds. Therefore, it is important to assess on a daily basis to get the true progress students are making in their learning.
5) When assessing students, it is important to show the students what you are asking of them. If students do not have clear guidelines for what they need to be reaching for, than how are we as teachers supposed to expect them to get there. We cannot leave our students in the dark on how we will be marking them, as this will cause students anxiety. If we allow the students to see what is being asked of them with very clear guidelines, then the stress of getting marked is subdued, and their true work can shine through.

1) Like all things in life, students need to be taught how to properly communicate in science. This includes diagrams, symbols, scientific language, etc. For students to fully understand how to communicate as a scientist, teachers need to model this behaviour for their students. When the teacher does this for the students, it allows them to what the teacher expects for them when communicating in science.
2) Along with the modelling of the teacher, the students must also be instructed on how to communicate as a scientist. By learning the proper symbols to use in science, or how to create diagrams, the students can become fully competent in scientific literacy.
3) When students are conducting research or experiments on their own, they need to have the knowledge how to put their findings into the proper diagrams. Being able to do this will allow students to use the proper diagrams when using communicating what they have found.
4) By allows the students to have a variety of outputs to communicate their experiences, it does not limit the students to one or two outputs. By extending the way students can communicate past strictly paper and pen, it opens up a whole new world for the students, and will allow them to properly communicate as scientists.