While your mentor teacher is working with the rest of the class, engage with the small group of students identified in Topic 2 on a science lesson or activity. Use your differentiated and engagement strategies where you see fit. After the science lesson or activity, in 250-500 words, summarize and reflect upon your experiences being sure to:
-Describe your initial conversation with the mentor teacher, including how the small group was chosen.
-Describe each differentiation and engagement strategy you planned, explaining your choices in relation to the needs of students within the small group. -Reflect upon your experience using the identified strategies with the small group during the science lesson or activity.
-Explain how you will use your findings in your future professional practice In addition to the above activity and reflection, speak with your mentor teacher about assisting during another upcoming lesson to help you prepare for the Topic 4 assignment. This lesson should be an engineering or STEM lesson or activity.
With your mentor teacher, decide if you will target the same small group of students or select a new group of students who would benefit from differentiation and engagement strategies during the upcoming engineering or STEM lesson or activity. Once you have identified the lesson and group you will be assisting, continue to work with your mentor teacher on the following:
-Identify areas of strengths and potential improvement for the small group. -Identify which state standards and learning objectives the lesson focuses on.
-Based on the lesson and the groups characteristics, develop and share with your mentor teacher two differentiation and engagement strategies to utilize during the upcoming lesson or activity, making adjustments where needed. -Prepare to utilize the identified strategies with the small group during the agreed upon science lesson or activity.
-Spend any remaining field experience hours for this topic observing and/or assisting your mentor teacher with instructional tasks in the classroom. APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected. This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. Resources
– Read Chapters 10 and 11. URL: Read “Appendix F – Science and Engineering Practices in the NGSS,” located on the Next Generation Science Standards website. URL: Read “Teaching Young Children Science: Three Key Points,” by Yoon and Onchwari, located in the Journal of Early Childhood Education (2006). URL: Watch “How to Read the Next Generation Science Standards,” located on YouTube. URL: Watch “The 5E Model for Teaching Inquiry Science,” located on YouTube. URL:
