Virtual Fieldwork Experience: Teaching Climate Change

 Virtual Fieldwork Experience: Teaching Climate Change 

        Throughout the semester in Science Methods, my fellow teacher candidates and I have been conducting virtual fieldwork sessions on Google Meets with a few students. Every week on Tuesday and Thursday a group of teacher candidates teaches two lessons on a new aspect of climate change. Each lesson focuses on informing students of the effects and results of these conditions and how we can stop them. Each group works together to create a direct instruction lesson and an inquiry lesson.

    Each group created a unique lesson to educate our young scientists on the many factors of climate change. before the session started we discussed various ways of teaching science in an effective way. one aspect we focused heavily on was assessments during and after the lesson. Assessments throughout the lesson allow the teachers to evaluate the student's understanding of the topic. This can help us make changes on the spot to ensure the student is properly comprehending the lesson and gaining an educational experience from the lesson.

    

    There are three types of assessments throughout a lesson; diagnostic assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. Diagnostic assessment occurs at the start of a lesson to assess the student's prior knowledge of the topic before bringing the lesson. this can be done by having the students answer a few basic questions on the lesson topic. Next is formative assessment, this can be done by having the student write observations throughout the lesson on what they learning. Lastly, teachers can give students a summative assessment which allows the student to gather their observations and draw a conclusion on the information they just learned in the lesson. this allows the teacher a final chance to assess the student's comprehension of the lesson.

    Overall, these lessons were very beneficial to my fellow teacher candidates and I. We were able to have an educational experience that helped us become better science educators. Creating these lessons was an informative experience. I've never made a lesson before with four other teachers to teach virtually so it was very beneficial. Although we faced various issues conducting our fieldwork sessions due to technology complications and a lack of students we still completed great sessions. I really enjoyed logging on each week and observing the great lessons created by my peers. The students we had throughout the sessions were a great scientists and we all had a pleasure teaching them.