Technology for seventh grade science students

I teach at Middle School 54 in Manhattan. MS 54 (also known as Booker T. Washington) is a large public middle school located just south of Morning Side Heights in Manhattan. In September I will be entering my second year of teaching seventh grade physical science to 4 classes of gifted and talented children. Physical science is an exciting curriculum. It is a combination of Physics and Chemistry and their relation to matter and energy. Some of the topics that we learn about include matter, motion, forces and energy, heat energy, and the chemistry of matter. Additionally, students are expected to participate in a year long self-motivated science fair experiment that adds to their physical science experience. As a science teacher, I value the content of the science course. However, if I simply emphasize “pure” facts, I will inevitably omit many of the more important techniques, methods of creative thinking, and connections to society and history that should help create a richer science-learning environment. Indeed, I regard science not only as a matter of pure knowledge, but also as a process defined by doing. It is the doing of science that teaches students how to become critical thinkers: individuals who are not afraid to question facts and attempt to learn on their own. It is the doing of science that opens students' minds and fosters individual creativity. My ultimate goal is to convert the classroom into a community of learners where students feel comfortable enough to question facts and discover their own explanations. In order to achieve this goal I have tried to incorporate projects and investigations that allow students to see connections between the classroom science and their everyday lives. After attending a workshop at Columbia University and working with the Vernier LabPro interfaces which connect to motion detectors, pH sensors and temperature probes, I can envision how my goals can be achieved, if I had access to this type of technology. Probes allow students to actively participate in the doing of science. They can manipulate variables, experiment with different data sets, hypothesize and come up with their own sets of questions. The motion detectors allow students to graph their own motion and observe changes in acceleration. They can also determine acceleration due to gravity and the effects of different masses on a pendulum. The pH probe can be used to determine the pH of rain water vs. drinking water and the pH of soil. The temperature probe can be used to graph the temperature and amount of time and energy needed to melt ice. The probes can be used in practically every unit that we study in Physical Science. The use of this type of technology will allow the concepts of physical science to become more relevant and meaningful to my students because they will be able to participate in the learning of concepts through direct experiences rather than through reading it in a textbook or copying it from class notes. My students will be engaging in science and consequently science will be transformed from what might be viewed by them as dull and boring to exciting and limitless.