This TedTalk is from Tyler Dewitt, who is a high school science teacher, and the main point he brings up throughout the video is that one of the most difficult things about teaching science is the vocabulary and how the textbook is written. Thinking back on the science courses I’ve taken, having to do at home textbook reading were the worst. Science texts are written in such a professional way, it seems like you have to be a scientist to understand it.
I really enjoyed how he used the two entertaining analogies, the
horror story and spy story, to better explain the lytic and lysogenic cycles of
viruses. Being able to explain new topics in an entertaining and fun way then
going back and using the proper scientific terms fosters better learning from
the students. This way, they can really connect the meaning of unfamiliar,
strange concepts to something they can relate to or have experienced before. (157)
Here's the link to the website incase the thumbnail doesn't work!
https://www.ted.com/talks/tyler_dewitt_hey_science_teachers_make_it_fun
Deana, this TedTalk was very interesting. I agree that using visuals or stories to get a student's attention before reading is a great idea. A visual or a story could help a student activate prior knowledge while reading a text with difficult science vocabulary. Also, I believe that some textbooks should become less "professional looking" and "more engaging and interesting looking" for students. I connected this video to my experience observing students at Hilsman become more interested in a subject with a visual aid, such as an experiment, compared to them having to read in a textbook. I would be interested in using his video stories explaining difficult subjects in the future!
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