Picture of Mount Rainier
Today started out with a delicious American breakfast of homefries, eggs, and sausage. I hate to admit it, but the coffee here is absolutely amazing. I might have slipped back into my old ways of drinking a lot of coffee, but when in Rome…
We started out the day by reviewing the gummy bear lab that we started yesterday. Our results were very interesting- the control gummy bear increased by 10%, while the other gummy bears increased in size by 475%, 500%, and 550% respectively.
The next activity we completed in class was very interesting- it was a “lab meeting,” in which each group explained their procedure, methods, and results. This lead to some great talks about what was important in the study.
Furthermore, the following activity was to complete a new procedure for everyone in the lab to complete. I can see this being a powerful way of showing students that science works in a process of groups of individuals working together, rather than “lone wolves” in the science field.
After lunch, we talked about using Socratic Seminars in our classrooms, in which you set the classroom up in a circle and have students discuss an article that they read. It was amazing to see the thoughts that were generated through this process, and my understanding of the article increased ten-fold. This is definitely an activity that I would use in my classroom to increase understandings of scientific articles.
We then drove back to Seattle, and had amazing views of Mount Rainier. The drive was beautiful for a while, and then we were stuck in traffic, which is apparently very common in the Seattle-Tacoma area. I ended up finding the end of Interstate 90- of which I know well from the Massachusetts area. It ends here in Seattle. I made it to my dorm at the University of Washington- Seattle campus, and am getting ready to go to dinner with my dormmates.
I-90, which travels between Boston, MA and Seattle, WA
Another beautiful picture of Mount Rainier