https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/circuit-construction-kit-dc/latest/circuit-construction-kit-dc_en.html

Annotated bibliography ( Jashan and KK)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i0ZejXJ_oYAiuMVmK74CK7brtvU400pBoclkUmiDlqw/edit?ts=5ddedc3d

Permitting creativity in science( Entrance slip)

While reading the article " Permitting creativity in science" by Janet Beavin Bavelas my first stop was at "if no one followed up on original ideas, we would be buried in fresh starts going nowhere." I think it is important to consider the former works of the researchers as it helps us to know what has already been experimented and about its outcomes. Moreover, if anyone is new to their field of interest then reading the prior works will help them build up a foundational context and hence they can start researching from their onwards. I remember in masters, the professors asked us to read the research papers of the scientists related to the new experiment to be done in the lab which helped us to have some prior knowledge and know what has been already experimented and what needs to be.

The other thing that speaks to me is "unfortunately, having seen something interesting, too often we shake our heads and say it didn't happen". I remember in my graduate studies we used to do experiments in physics and chemistry. During that time the teaching and learning were not inquiry-based but it was just following the cookbook instructions and reaching the already known result. Therefore, such learning practices reinforce the idea of ignoring the unobvious results which the students might get during their experimentation. Therefore, I believe that teachers should encourage the open end inquiry in the areas of their interest provided they have some foundational knowledge about that subject.

The third stop was at" when we go to investigate it, we should not pre-decide it ". It is important not to have a firm prediction of what is going to happen because such an attitude will constraint us to think out of the box. Instead when we come across something unusual or " what everyone does not know", we should believe in ourselves, need not awe from society, explore more and double-check our work, because this might lead to the insight of new discovery.

My key takeaway from this reading as a teacher is to encourage my students to explore new things, research their areas of interests, provide them enough resources to develop their creativity, and do open and structured inquiry teaching. Such practices can prompt them to go beyond the texts and books and which might help them to become more curious and find science and math in every aspect of life.

Inquiry Project

Are Marks Accurate? ( Exit slip)

I believe that the accuracy of the marks depends upon the type of tests or the assignments teachers hand into their students. If the tests are good enough to evaluate the curricular and core competencies of the student then the marks can be accurate. But I feel that assessing the students' knowledge in the set time constraint is not fair. In those cases, the marks are not accurate. The student might be under pressure, going through anxiety and may not be able to perform well in the awe of constrained time.

Marks can be made accurate if the students are assessed on the willingness they show to learn new things, their passion for their interests, giving respect to others. Therefore, the students should not be graded solely on the basis of their performance in academic subjects but grading should be in such a way that reflects their consistent understanding of the subject(maybe through inquiry projects), their efforts to be a good human being who respect others viewpoint and strives for the growth of the class as a whole. Hence, in such cases, the marks can be accurate.

Entrance slip : A shift from grading to learning

 Before coming to this program and reading this article I never thought about alternatives of gradings and percentages, and I always thought it to be a norm that every child has to go through. I remember how happily I used to do the subjects that were not graded. For instance,  physical education, dance was not graded in my school in India. This article really resonates with me and to every student in the educational system. I remember my learning was steered by what is going to be on the test. Learning was mere instrumental than relational. Therefore, the student who was able to memorize lots of facts and then jot it down on the exam was considered to be more intellectual. This does not depict their creativity and deep understanding of the subject. Another thing that I think is important to mention and relates to me is peer pressure. I remember how the parents, teachers and peer pressure stresses the student to study day and night to attain high grades. This adds to anxiety and other mental and behavioral issues in the children.

On the contrary, there are some positive effects of grading as well. This acts as self-motivator and the child at least urges to study something. While studying students might find what interests them the most and then pursue their careers in that field. I believe that if we entirely remove the grading culture then the students would be too relaxed and they might take advantage of this culture and chose not to study. Hence, they might follow such paths which are detrimental to them.

 I believe that there should some kind of assessment that the students are accountable to. Some of those can be based on the number of times the child shows up to ask a problem, formative assessments during the class, assessing their engagement in the activities, assigning them group projects and then assessing how well they coordinated and performed as a group, this helps them to build relationships, providing  them feedback by comments rather than percentages. I think such practices if followed would not only make them accountable for themselves but also gives them the freedom to have a deep understanding of the subjects they like.

Exit Slip: Orchard Garden( Part 2) Embodied ways of learning math

I am so blissful to have a chance to be more close to nature during this program. I feel like I was missing the beautiful insights of beauty around me in the fast-paced life. Today, our class was in the orchard garden amongst the lap of nature. We started our class by spending some alone time with ourselves and nature. In addition to this, we also drew the manmade and the natural things around us. While drawing various things, I realized very closely that drawing is not everyone's job. Although it is a very good way of expressing feelings and imagination. I was comfortable drawing the linear and 2-dimensional shapes, but it was hard for me to visualize 3-D shapes on paper. This whole process made my heart and mind to cease and feel the present moment. Learning the embodied ways of showing the path of the sun during the summer and winter solstice was very interesting and we enjoyed the nice body stretches through learning as well. I will also incorporate these strategies of embodied learning in my classrooms since it makes the class environment very engaging and active. In addition to this, we also predicted the present time and also time in future months with the help of sundial. I never did that before and seek to have more knowledge about that.