Resource Blog #1

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

Synthesis Blog #1

One of the first points brought up in the chapter was the importance of background knowledge when reading a passage, and the excerpt about the cricket game expressed that beautifully. Sometimes reading about things you have no knowledge about is almost like reading a foreign language. I remember when I had to take the ACT back in high school, I had a similar experience to the cricket passage.

 It was the science portion of the test, and I remember reading the lab write ups and experiment guides and being confused with the scientific jargon. I ended up just skimming through it to find the answers without bothering to try and fully understand the material. I’m sure this is something everyone can relate to because with the push for more standardized tests, it makes students more oriented for skimming through readings and answering questions correctly versus truly understanding and comprehending them. I think that this has turned reading into a bothersome task instead of something that can be enjoyed. Also, learning how to read for different subjects is vital too. Especially for science articles since they’re so different compared to reading for literature. I liked that the chapter included a little bit about schema because I thought that it was amazing that just the right piece of information could fully activate your understanding of the entire passage.

 Also, fun fact, when I read the word schema in the chapter it literally triggered the schema in my brain for that word because I remembered learning about that in educational psychology. Reading this chapter really made me reflect on how reading is much more than looking at words on a page and that it is essential to focus on specific mindsets when reading certain subjects and making sure that students have the right background knowledge and how to activate it.

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