Professional+Statement

=PROFESSIONAL STATEMENT =

 I’d like to introduce myself as a teacher of Physics/Science. I have received a Bachelors of Science in Physics and Astronomy, a Bachelors of Arts in Mathematics, and am anticipating a Masters in Science in Adolescent Physics 7-12 Education in October 2010, all from the University of Rochester. I have had a years experience student teaching in the Rochester City School District, teaching at Wilson Commencement and the School of Business, Finance, and Entrepreneurship at Edison. At these placements I gained experience teaching general physics, regents physics, and pre-IB physical science courses.

 Although I have not had a permanent position teaching science education, my education and experiences through my undergraduate and graduate years have developed a strong understanding, commitment to, and passion for physics and science education in me. My educational philosophy supports scientific inquiry in a classroom that allows each student to participate in authentic and relevant real-world experiences with applications to everyday life. I place importance on allowing students opportunities to investigate science with hands-on activities that allow all students to become producers of their knowledge through socially constructed experiences. Through this community of learners I have built strong relationships with my students, and the class as a whole has developed a strong connection of trust, motivation, and respect for learning. I also emphasize importance on social justice and equity issues in my classroom, and hold value in a safe learning environment for all.

 My lesson planning and instruction is focused on assessing each student’s development and growth as a science learner. I use backwards design for all my lessons, beginning by looking at standards, stating objectives that will meet selected standards, building assessments that measure those objectives, and then developing a plan for the lesson that incorporates those assessments. The majority of my assessments are formative in nature, and are used to inform my instruction of future lessons and follow students’ analytical skills, integration of conceptual learning, collaborative ability, creativity, and written and oral skills. This allows me to continually reflect on each student’s development and understanding of content and to modify instruction as necessary.

 I also believe strongly in continuing to develop as an educator and learner. I participated in Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS) in the Fall 2009, presenting on authentic assessments with two of my graduate school colleagues. I have also joined several professional development organizations, such as the Western New York Physics Teacher’s Alliance through Buffalo State University and the OPHUN-L Physics listserv through SUNY Oneonta.

 The step to achieving these strengths and goals to be a successful teacher is to understand what is science. Science is the learning of nature through empirical and observational information that are interpreted as symbolizing natural phenomena and used to build an understanding of the natural world. The nature of science is the essence, the state of being of science, which involves a set of tools or means to go about understanding and knowing the world and universe. These tools or means include such things as observation, experimentation, thinking, and validating, as well as communicating and collaborating with others (Clough, 2000; Lederman, 1992). Knowing and experiencing the nature of scientific research will allow students to understand the thoughts, methods, knowledge, and societal impacts that are a part of scientific investigations. Thus, students will not only be engaging in authentic science, but also will be able to critically explain how their process of learning was science.

 Authentic science involves the process of inquiry as a means of discovery and education. Scientific inquiry involves active thinking and investigation of natural phenomena, which allows an individual to construct an understanding of that natural phenomenon, be able to explain this understanding, use this knowledge to make more predictions of future investigations, and apply this understanding to society (Chiappetta & Koballa, 2010). The scientific method misrepresents authentic science because it involves experimentation as the only means of investigating nature and it does not establish models for investigation, and therefore without “an initial model to inform their questions, there can be no argument at the end of the inquiry about how the evidence fits the model” (Windschitl, in press, p.12). It is important for students to develop models because they “can contain unseen entities or processes…there can be multiple forms of models for the same phenomenon, and … models help generate ideas” (Windschitl, in press, p.4). Inquiry as a process of science education ties into the nature of science in many ways. First, science is ever changing, and this requires us to constantly adapt our conceptions of current knowledge. Second, these adaptations create numerous alternative models that each present possible explanation for observations made in science. The errors innate to these models stimulate the criticisms and future inquiries that promote scientific progress. Third, in order to support or refute a model, comparison and collaboration between scientists’ work and scientific designs are necessary, and therefore knowledge of past and current investigations is beneficial (Stewart, Cartier, & Passmore, 2002; National Research Council, 2000). These conditions are important to scientific inquiry because they promote the seeds of scientific progress.  Inquiry teaching protects students from traditional methods of teaching that establish miseducated conceptions of the content and the process of authentic science investigations. The goal of science inquiry is to make “students become producers and not merely consumers of knowledge” (Haberman, 2004, p. 50). “Teachers scaffold student engagement in inquiry by providing opportunities for observing, collecting data, reflecting on their work, analyzing events or objects, collaborating with teachers and peers, formulating questions, devising procedures, deciding how to organize and represent data, and testing the reliability of knowledge they have generated” (Flick & Bell, 2000, p.42). Science inquiry fits the development of all children, especially those in at-risk locations, because it enables them to develop process skills in context, increases their understanding of content, and involves them in meaningful conversations and communication for their own future development and the future development of larger communities of people, encompassing society. At-risk students need this exposure to inquiry science education because they are provided with fewer educational opportunities that develop their abilities and knowledge. Schools usually provide the only venue of formal education for these students as their income does not grant them luxuries to participate in other activities and their families are often busy trying to provide more income (Haberman, 2004). The benefit is that science is a form of enculturation constructed through the social collaboration of learners within a community. “Scientific understandings are constructed when individuals engage socially in talk and activity about shared problems or tasks” (Driver, Asoko, Leach, Mortimer, & Scott, 1994, p.7). Science thus becomes a way of knowing that is constantly challenged, evaluated, modified, and restructured through new evidence, discussion, and interpretations.

 Students often hold misconceptions of scientific knowledge because these students are constructing their knowledge from personal, social, historical, and motivational factors that do not follow scientific reasoning and process. “The entities that are taken as real within everyday discourse differ from those of the scientific community” (Driver et al., 1994, p.8). As a result, “science instruction is at odds with students’ worldviews, and successful science learning forces students to “abandon or marginalize their life world concepts and reconstruct in their place new scientific ways of conceptualizing” (Aikenhead & Jegende, 1999, p.274). Science thus becomes a way of knowing about nature that is distinct from but also connects to everyday experience. Scientific concepts change through assimilating to or accommodating new knowledge through a process of social construction by a community of learners. There is an assumption “that ontogenetic change in an individual’s learning is analogous to the nature of change in scientific paradigms that is proposed by philosophers of science” (Pintrich, Marx, & Boyle, 1993, p.169). Inquiry promotes the study of science through a process of authentic investigation, data collection, and evaluative reasoning with goals of understanding scientific concepts, content, and contexts. Conceptual learning does not necessarily come from being able to sense and affectively identify science, but requires cognitive struggles as well, which is what a teacher must make sure students overcome. “If people have to conceptualize reality, they need to process, organize, and reflect upon it. Thus, learning becomes an active process that builds on prior knowledge. What learners know becomes as important as what we want them to know” (Chiappetta & Koballa, 2010, p. 166). This type of learning can cause many management issues and as a result conceptual change is promoted through interest and motivation and the development of new cognitive abilities for learning (Pintrich, Marx, & Boyle, 1993). Ryan and Deci (2000) developed Self-Determination Theory (SDT) that distinguishes motivation between intrinsic, referring to “doing something because it is inherently interesting,” and external, referring to “doing something because it leads to a separable outcome,” factors (p.55). “Intrinsic motivation becomes weaker in each advancing grade (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p.60),” meaning teachers must learn how students can perform using extrinsic motivation. In order to motivate students to learn teachers need to develop students’ goals, capabilities, control, and personal interest in gaining knowledge (Pintrich et al., 1993). This can be done through the inquiry process allowing students to destabilize their previous conceptions of scientific phenomenon and allowing them to develop intelligible, plausible, and fruitful explanations in an improved conceptual model (Pintrich et al., 1993; Strike & Posner, 1992).

 Inquiry alone is not enough for students to capture conceptual knowledge, but it develops the skills that are required for scientific investigations. Having knowledge of these skills will help one to determine accuracy of investigations, which allows for stronger support in defending or disagreeing with a scientific claim. Students become valuable tools that hold the knowledge and ability for growth in science by having a solid background in past and current science investigations and by being able to constantly change and adapt to new discoveries and scientific ideas. Knowing where you have come from and where you are only leads you to inquire where you can go. However, the fact that the future is unknown and can only be speculated upon may be the concern that many would use to criticize the importance of its value in relation to past and current knowledge. To fully ponder upon the future requires a strong knowledge of what has happened and is currently happening. Questioning the possibilities of the future instills a drive of enthusiasm and passion for making progress, and utilizes conceptual understandings and technological knowledge as a jumping point. Students should discover that scientific learning is never complete, and closure is not a goal of science. Rather, science is the understanding of the concepts created from the continuous development of evidence to represent nature.

 I have worked to incorporate these aspects of science into my teaching of science during the GetReal! Science Camp, S.T.A.R.S., and my student teaching placements at Wilson Commencement and Edison. My coursework has also prepared me to meet these expectations. Through this coursework I have familiarized myself with and included myself in discussion surrounding social justice and equity, disabilities, adolescent development, teaching and curriculum, literacy practices, and modern topics in schools. I have also increased my content and science education skills and knowledge through methods classes that have integrated literacy and technology, as well as implementation and innovation. I was able to incorporate these theories from my classes into my teaching practices by designing lessons using the backward design approach. The completion of my disciplinary knowledge paper extended my knowledge of standards that I used to derive my goals and objectives. Assessments were made to establish a fair, safe, and challenging learning environment for all using multiple assessment methods, including differentiation and inclusive instruction. My pedagogy included strategies that engaged in social justice issues, particularly allowing minority students and females more opportunities to access and involve themselves in technology and classroom participatory activities such as demonstrations and leadership roles. Transition times were developed to keep student motivation and attention, as well as to communicate effective instructions for the next set of activities. All aspects of my teaching aimed to incorporate a type of inquiry-based learning, and emphasized application and understanding of real-world issues.

Aikenhead, G.S., & Jegede, O.J. (1999). Cross-cultural science education: A cognitive explanation of a cultural phenomenon. //Journal of Research in Science Teaching // , //36 // , 269-287.
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