Blog Post #1- Color Changing Leaves

Research Blog Post #1

When I starting thinking about what I wanted to research and ponder, I immediatly began looking at the world around me.  Fortunatly, we are currently in my favorite time of year-fall! And the thing I love most about fall is the way the leaves change from green to beautiful colors of red, orange, yellow, and brown.  But what I dont know is why this happens.

What makes the leaves go from green to colors of fall?  As you can see in the picture above, some leaves even fall before they get a chance to change colors.

Also, I have seen the same exact type of tree change into different colors.  What makes a tree turn red as opposed to yellow or orange?

This is something that happens every year, and I have always wondered about this phenomonon. It is a beautiful mystery that catches my attention and makes me want to learn more. 

"I HATE MATH"

It seems like now-a-days math is an "I get it" or "I don't get it" kind of subject.  They way I see it, math is all about building upon what you previously learned, so when I child slips, trips, or falls, they immediately fall behind and stay behind.  When a kid exclaims, "I don't like math" or "Im not good at math", it usually means that they were never into it to begin with.  Just as we learn about the different types of way children learn, some children's brains just do not function mathematically.  This just means that we will have to take some extra time to work with them because it will not come easy.

Pendulum Motion Paper

The article starts off by describing the importance and significance of the pendulum.  Basically, the instrument changed the way the time was measured.  "Competent time measurement was a requirement for modern science and the pendulum enabled this to happen".  Not only did the pendulum help with time, but also with the study of navigation.  It helped us to create latitude and longitude and guide our ways through the waters. The navigators then used latitude and longitude along with the position of the sun to find their location. But once the world was mapped and we knew where we were, we had to somehow figure out how to keep time. Things at the time were pretty accurate but not precise, and with time keeping things have to be 100% correct. Galileo knew this problem could be solved using the pendulum.  Now, Galileo's laws and theories are taught and acknowledged in classrooms.
This article basically used Galileo's involvement with the pendulum showed how science is very often influenced by social and economic problems.

Flashlight Madness!!!!

I was pretty excited when I finally got the chance to actually experiment at home what we have been discussing in class.  I got a flashlight and as soon as the sun went down I headed outside. Though I couldnt see a "beam" of sorts, there were definitly areas in which the light was brighter than others.  When I would shine the light onto objects (my house, the ground, etc.) you could see a defined circle.  I alson noticed that the closer I moved the flashlight to the object the smaller and more definied the circle became. When I would move the flashlight further away the light would become dimmer as the circle grew.
The second part of my experiment involved smoke.  When I blew smoke into the direction of the light you could see the smoke inside of the "beam";thus making the beam more prevelant when smoke, dust or any other object comes into contact with the "beam".

I spent this past weekend in Washington DC and while I was there I made a couple of observations.  One, I actually say the "firework beams" that shoot into the sky.  I was so excited when we walked up to them because I knew I was going to see what we had been talking about.  Sure enough, there was a definite beam of light. There was no fuzzy pathway of light, it was all beam.  I believe the lights that are used are a very high wattage and concentrated and that is what created the beam. Two, I saw some spotlights that were used to light the Lincoln Memorial, and even though they were large flashlights, there was no beam,  just a cone shaped illuminous area- a lot like the box experiment.
Last observation- I love light because it creates crazy shadows!

Blog Assignment #1 The Virtues of Not Knowing

As soon as I began reading this article I knew it was going to hit home for me, because this is something I am very passionate about.  Since learning about what the term "rote memorization" meant in my first FOED class, I have been determined to never pound facts into my childrens head and ask them to repeat it back to me and then move on.  This article talks alot about get more than just the right answer.  In short, it is not just about the answer, but how to came to that answer. The author wrote "Knowledge of the answer ahead of time is, on the whole, more valued then ways of figuring it out."   When we read it like that we think, "that is ridiculous and should not be the case." Yet, we judge our student and our teachers by taking standardize tests which in know way show how the student came to that particular answer.  There is no partial credit and it is all about right and wrong. 
The article then went into a story/situation in which children were asked to make sense of their ideas and explore them further than just right and wrong.  When looking at what children actually can do and the way their mind works and continually asks questions, it gives as a teachers better insight and what the can achieve.  We have created an environment in which children are scared and intimidated to ask questions and share their opinions.  The author put it best when she stated, "The virtues involved in not knowing are the ones that really count in the long run." When children learn through mistakes and asked questions, that is when the information sticks and becomes valid.