My students crave hands on activities and variety in their learning styles. Not all students learn via lecture, some learn by observation, some learn by lab and some learn by reading. Every week I change what learning technique is used to teach to all learning styles to the best of my ability.
My students are very curious and intrigued by the human body.
They have little real world experience and find it difficult to think of things on a microscopic level. They have many interests that overlap with their academic work such as debate team, lacrosse, drama and science fair. They are dedicated and hardworking in everything they do! We live outside of Boston and this drives an intense interest in the biomedical field and health related careers. Anatomy and physiology is a popular class with almost 30 students in three sections with two honors level and a regular level course. I also teach a new marine biology course this year with students who live within 20 minutes of the ocean. Their knowledge of all things marine is very limited and the materials that we need to explore the marine environment can be difficult to come by. They fish and have family that work on the water on trawlers and draggers and would like to know more about the organisms in the water.
My Project
We have a set of classroom teaching microscopes that the students are learning to use. They use slides to discover human tissues and find it difficult to manipulate the microscopes and of course there is a learning curve. A microscope camera would allow me to show the students how and what to look for on the slides before they begin. There is a lot of frustration trying to find the correct tissues in the slides and I know a camera would be able to prevent some of the frustrations.
The Marine Biology students are begging to take a trip to tidal pools and to explore marine organisms. They will construct a saltwater tank to care for organisms. A beginner tank would help them see daily changes and to monitor salinity and temperature changes in the tank. A plankton net would allow us to see plankton and all the many tiny marine organisms that inhabit the water column throughout the season changes.
I believe that students that have familiarity with tools that they may use in their career choices will give them an edge when they start applying for jobs or even when they continue on to college.
The more hands on experiences they have the more interest is sparked in this field and the more confidence they gain in the sciences. Actually performing science and seeing how data collection and sample collecting occurs is also a key to vital learning that my students require.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Emerson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.