Introduction
Over the course of this semester I have had the opportunity to volunteer at two events. The first was a field trip on the UNG campus in which South Hall Middle School came to tour the campus. During the field trip, I was stationed in the science center and was able to meet some of the students and discuss their future goals and ambitions in life. The second event was an Elementary Science Olympiad held at North Oconee High School. The students rotated between different stations in order to compete against other schools and test their knowledge in different areas pertaining to science. Due to the fact that the dynamics were very different, I was able to compare several components and relate them to topics covered in class over this …show more content…
During the SHMS fieldtrip, I was at the science station teaching the students the properties of Oobleck. Afterwards, we conducted the Oobleck experiment and discussed the properties once more, since the students were able to physically see the mixture converting from solid to liquid in their hands. Although many of them said they created Oobleck in the past, they still seemed significantly interested in the process and some of the students were even willing to provide feedback during the group discussion.
At the Elementary Science Olympiad, my interactions with the students were somewhat limited. Due to the fact that the event consisted of multiple mini-events, we were on a strict time schedule. When the students arrived at my station, I quickly explained the instructions and began with my rotations. I timed each rotation to only last two minutes so the students would have enough time to complete the category. My duty was to time and observe two stations in total – the “Don’t Bug Me” station and the “Weather or Not” station. I noticed the students were more enthusiastic about the “Don’t Bug Me” station and the competitive scores confirmed my observations. When scoring the answer sheets for the “Weather or Not” station, many students left answers blank and showed little concern regarding their
Over the course of this semester I have had the opportunity to volunteer at two events. The first was a field trip on the UNG campus in which South Hall Middle School came to tour the campus. During the field trip, I was stationed in the science center and was able to meet some of the students and discuss their future goals and ambitions in life. The second event was an Elementary Science Olympiad held at North Oconee High School. The students rotated between different stations in order to compete against other schools and test their knowledge in different areas pertaining to science. Due to the fact that the dynamics were very different, I was able to compare several components and relate them to topics covered in class over this …show more content…
During the SHMS fieldtrip, I was at the science station teaching the students the properties of Oobleck. Afterwards, we conducted the Oobleck experiment and discussed the properties once more, since the students were able to physically see the mixture converting from solid to liquid in their hands. Although many of them said they created Oobleck in the past, they still seemed significantly interested in the process and some of the students were even willing to provide feedback during the group discussion.
At the Elementary Science Olympiad, my interactions with the students were somewhat limited. Due to the fact that the event consisted of multiple mini-events, we were on a strict time schedule. When the students arrived at my station, I quickly explained the instructions and began with my rotations. I timed each rotation to only last two minutes so the students would have enough time to complete the category. My duty was to time and observe two stations in total – the “Don’t Bug Me” station and the “Weather or Not” station. I noticed the students were more enthusiastic about the “Don’t Bug Me” station and the competitive scores confirmed my observations. When scoring the answer sheets for the “Weather or Not” station, many students left answers blank and showed little concern regarding their