Scientific Me

    Science has always been a great experience for me growing up. One of my favorite subjects in school has always been science. One of my earliest memories was in second grade, my class was learning about metamorphosis. We began by learning about butterfly metamorphosis, as our experiment we each hatched our own egg. We had to draw a picture and write about our observations daily. At the end of the experiment we all had our own butterfly and set it free. It was a wonderful experience and was so enjoyable as a child. This experience stands out much more than any other experience I’ve had in science. It was very hands on and we each had our own “pet” to take care of and observe. It allowed the students to observe the different phases and watch the butterflies grow. Since we all considered it a pet we each had names for them, my butterflies name was Princess. I remember getting very upset when it was time to set it free. The experiment was able to target each child’s interests in the class because it gave everyone an important role and excited everyone to watch their butterfly grow.

    In elementary school I had three science experiments that stood out to me. The most enjoyable experiences was observing butterfly metamorphosis, building a volcano and growing a plant. The reason growing a plant and observing butterfly metamorphosis stood out above other projects was that the experiment was my own. Each student had their own plant and butterfly, which made each students experiment individual. During the plant experiment we had the opportunity to choose where we wanted our plants to be located, what dirt we used, and how much we watered our plants. The experiments were hands on and observable which made it so much more fascinating. I felt like I learned the most about those topics because I watched the growth process with my individual experiment.

    The Volcano experiment was another favorite of mine. In third grade we were all assigned to choose a topic in science, research and demonstrate the knowledge we gained. I created my own paper mache active volcano. I remember going to Barnes and Noble with my dad and finding all different books on volcanoes and how to build a model volcano. The project was enjoyable because I had the opportunity to choose my own topic of interest. I was able to complete the project outside of school which was an important aspect that peaked my interest because it gave me a chance to work together with my parents on the project. It was a great opportunity for collaborative learning between the school and home. This assignment also gave the teacher the opportunity to see what topics interested each child. As I got older Science became less enjoyable for me.

    In middle school science was no longer interesting to me. Looking back I believe the reason I don’t have any memories was because we stopped doing hands on experiments. In middle school the teachers only gave us worksheets and provided no experiments to go along with the lesson. Middle school as a whole I remember having poor teachers. My teachers were not enthusiastic and it seemed like none of them wanted to be there. This was obvious to the students, and it made me feel the same way. I vividly remember getting in trouble once in class because I had asked a question. I wasn’t talking or ignoring the teacher, I simply didn’t understand the task, she responded by publicly humiliating me for not understanding. I never spoke again in that science class, whether I knew an answer or had a question, I was too embarrassed and scared how the teacher would respond. Due to that one experience I had a foul opinion about science until I reached tenth grade.

    In tenth grade I took biology with a wonderful teacher. She was enthusiastic, loved her job and enjoyed teaching her students. Ms. L was one of the best teachers I had in high school. She stayed after school two extra hours every day to help students study, complete homework, complete labs or with any extra help they needed. After disliking science for so many years, my skills were not up to where they should have been. I felt comfortable asking her for help, she always provided me with the support I needed to complete a task. I stayed after with Ms. L almost everyday. She encourage me to love science again. Ms. L provided labs for every lesson we did. I learn best by doing, completing an activity allows for a better understanding of the topic, rather than just reading text about a topic. After completing biology I took two marine biology courses my junior year of high school.

Marine biology was the best course I have ever taken. Originally I took the course because I thought it would be an easy course to get an A in. I was very wrong, it was a challenging class but was so enjoyable. The teacher for this course was another one of my favorite high school teachers. She has a passion for nature and enjoys learning about and teaching about marine life. While being in this class it made me question going into marine biology, that’s how much I enjoyed the course. The teacher gave us numerous hands on activities, including tending to the aquarium in the back of our classroom. The classroom had over ten tanks that contained many different fish, plants, turtles, seahorses and more. We went on three field trips in the class, all very memorable. During our first trip we went to the Hudson River to a fish observatory. While there we were able to put wetsuits on and enter the hudson to catch fish with a net. We observed an electric eel, which is found swimming in the Hudson during their migration season. We learned all about the electric properties in an eel, their habits, life span and growth. We also held experiments testing the ph levels of the water. All of the hands on activities created a memorable, fun learning experience for the class.

    Our second field trip had a similar outcome. Our class went to Vassar College to practice scuba diving in the pool. Unfortunately, I had anxiety while participating and wasn’t able to continue. Even though I only had the chance to do it for a small period of time it was a great experience. Many students were able to get scuba diving certified during this time. I learned the difficulties of scuba diving and what it would be like if I decided to scuba dive in the ocean. I learned although it would be amazing, it was not the right activity for me. I’m grateful the teacher provided us with so many opportunities to learn about marine life.

Our third field trip was unbelievable. Our class went to Boston for three days during Spring Break. During this trip we went whale watching. It was a fascinating experience to see the whales come within a couple feet from the boat. We observed a mother and baby whale in its natural habitat. During this hour watching the whales I learned more about whale life then I would have if I read a whole book about whales.

We also visited the New England Aquarium and was able to see and learn about a huge variety of marine life. The aquarium is home to penguins, seals, sea lions, sharks, sea turtles, many different fish, stingrays, eels and many more. Watching the animals and listening to the employees speak about the animals was very enlightening. There was even an exhibit about the pollution in the ocean. It was a breathtaking exhibit. They featured massive fish, jellyfish, turtle and seal sculptures made out of trash they found in the ocean or washed up along beaches. It was a shocking exhibit that displayed the horrible contribution that pollution has on marine life. The field trips provided the class with a greater understanding of marine life.

    In marine biology we were assigned two finals, one in January and one in June. Our final required us to either create a lesson on a topic and teach it to a group of fourth graders that would be coming to our class or participate in an after school science event and creating a science booth. I enjoyed the project so much that I participated in both and continued to do them my senior year when I was no longer in the class. I received 100% on both of my finals. The best activity I created was one about penguins. I taught a lesson about penguins, we spoke about the process of mating, taking care of the egg and taking care of the chick when it hatches. As an experiment I had my group of students split into two teams. I had them wear scuba flippers with a small cup at the ending holding a baseball. The students goal was to walk down the hallway as quickly as possible without dropping their “egg”. At the end of the hallway they had to answer a trivia question, then transfer their egg to their teammates flipper without dropping it. The teammate had to race down the hall and answer another trivia question. The process continued till everyone had a turn to race, the team who finished first was the winner. The children loved the activity. All of the children were able to answer the trivia correctly, this showed me that I had posed the information in a way that interested the students. It was amazing to see the students so into the activity and the lesson. Teaching the students made me remember why I loved science so much as a child and not as a young teen.

    As a child science was fascinating to me. It was an opportunity for me to test theories through experiments and work hands on. The experiences that allowed me to test theories were meaningful to me, they grasped my attention and helped me better understand the topic. During elementary school I was successful in science. I was not successful in middle school for many reasons. One reason was the lack of enthusiasm my teachers had and because I feared them it made it an unsafe learning condition for myself. The only work I remember doing in middle school was book work. This work did not grasp my interest, it was hard to comprehend what the text was explaining a lot of the time. I was given no outside resources other than the text to help understand the material. I have difficulty with reading comprehension and there were no options to do experiments, which limited my understanding of science. Once I had the opportunity to work hands on and engage myself in science in high school I began to succeed again. The teachers I had enjoyed science and showed enthusiasm with their students. The teachers made it a comfortable and appropriate learning environment by allowing for questions and not making students feel ashamed. They created numerous different ways to allow students to learn in a way that best suits them. I look up to my science teachers in high school, they encouraged and made learning an enjoyable and successful experience.