Lissa Levine
Post Round Reflection
April, 2014
This reflection is from the lesson for my last round on Magnetic energy, the fifth
lesson in a unit on the science of energy. This lesson went extremely well and I think
that it was definitely a success. At the beginning of the lesson, I helped students again
set up their science journals so that they would stay organized and be able to make true
scientific hypotheses, observations and conclusions. From the experiment, the students
were able to note observations and draw conclusions about what sticks to a magnet and
how magnets work. I noticed that throughout the experiment they were able to truly
see the differences between materials that stick to the magnets and materials that stuck
to the magnets and those that did not. Having all of these materials directly in front of
them absolutely created a “hands on-minds on” learning environment and students
were able to make thoughtful hypotheses, observations and conclusions throughout this
experiment.
One unsuccessful aspect about this lesson was that while giving students time to
make their hypotheses, I spent some time going over how when you have multiple parts
to an experiment you need to include all of those parts in your hypothesis. Most of the
students caught onto this and did so but there were a few who did not. One example of
this is from Andrea; she made her hypothesis about only two aspects of the experiment
instead of the six parts: metal pieces, paper clips, coins, tin foil, rubber bands and
erasers. I think the fact that she did not think about all of the materials thoughtfully
beforehand led to her conclusion being confusing and also to her not making great
observations on a lot of the materials.
Overall, they made great hypotheses and observations as well as conclusions and
I could tell that they were thinking critically about the experiment in front of them.
From the student work samples from this lesson and the video that illustrates the
successes they had during this lesson, you can truly see how much they learned.