A person exhibits a scientific way of thinking when she decides to explore further into a topic or idea. For example, if a person sees a tree that appears to be very old, she could explore further and figure out what kind of tree it is, how old it is, and if it is indigenous to the area that where it was found.
During one of my MST classes last year, we leaned about balancing equations. After being taught the task and practicing how to do it, I felt as though I understood the concept of balancing equations. However, after going over our answers in our groups, I realized that I was doing something wrong because my partner, and the other girls in my group, all came to the same conclusion, which was not the same as mine. I finally realized where I was making the mistake, with help from my partner, and I was able to correctly balance equations by the end of class. This incident helped me realize that when a student is taught a new idea or concept, it is important for the student to apply the idea to his everyday life. When a child learns and studies something, he is merely memorizing what is on the page in front of him. However, when the child demons rates the idea in context, he is able to see the idea in a visual context and it is more likely to make sense to him as opposed to just reading about the idea in a textbook.
Technology has greatly aided my learning experience, especially during my high school and college years. Many of my teachers in high school used smart boards durring class. They would lecture and then show us a video on what we had just learned about so that we see how, whatever it was we were talking about, worked. My teachers also provided many online tools to further our understanding of the topics that we were working on.
During one of my MST classes last year, we leaned about balancing equations. After being taught the task and practicing how to do it, I felt as though I understood the concept of balancing equations. However, after going over our answers in our groups, I realized that I was doing something wrong because my partner, and the other girls in my group, all came to the same conclusion, which was not the same as mine. I finally realized where I was making the mistake, with help from my partner, and I was able to correctly balance equations by the end of class. This incident helped me realize that when a student is taught a new idea or concept, it is important for the student to apply the idea to his everyday life. When a child learns and studies something, he is merely memorizing what is on the page in front of him. However, when the child demons rates the idea in context, he is able to see the idea in a visual context and it is more likely to make sense to him as opposed to just reading about the idea in a textbook.
Technology has greatly aided my learning experience, especially during my high school and college years. Many of my teachers in high school used smart boards durring class. They would lecture and then show us a video on what we had just learned about so that we see how, whatever it was we were talking about, worked. My teachers also provided many online tools to further our understanding of the topics that we were working on.
I believe that when the textbook refers to the reader's "scientific self" it is referring to the part of a person that seeks answers to new things through exploration. I personally feel scientific when I get the opportunity to discover new ideas and work these new ideas into my everyday life. I enjoy discovering new things in the world around me; especially things that have to do with nature. My high school biology teacher absolutely influenced me to enjoy science more than I did. She was all about science and the exploitation of new things and ideas and she pushed everyone in our class to think outside of the box. After being in her class for a few months, I began to appreciate the world around me and I became very interested in new ideas and how things worked and why they worked.
My idea of a scientist, after reading this chapter, is a person with a longing for exploration. The chapter allowed me to realize that every person has the ability to be a scientist. People should come to realize that a scientist is not just a person in a lab coat and glasses. A scientist has a love and desire for the exploration of new ideas and anyone who has this love is capable of being a scientist. Two scientists whose contributions aided scientific exploration were Marie Curie and Dr. George Washington Carver. Marie Curie discovered the element radium. This discovery allowed for advances in the medical fields at the time and it also allowed for a deeper desire for discovery of new elements and matter. Dr. George Washington Carver was a former slave whose work allowed him to develop synthetic products such as buttermilk, shoe polish, ink, and talcum powder.
My idea of a scientist, after reading this chapter, is a person with a longing for exploration. The chapter allowed me to realize that every person has the ability to be a scientist. People should come to realize that a scientist is not just a person in a lab coat and glasses. A scientist has a love and desire for the exploration of new ideas and anyone who has this love is capable of being a scientist. Two scientists whose contributions aided scientific exploration were Marie Curie and Dr. George Washington Carver. Marie Curie discovered the element radium. This discovery allowed for advances in the medical fields at the time and it also allowed for a deeper desire for discovery of new elements and matter. Dr. George Washington Carver was a former slave whose work allowed him to develop synthetic products such as buttermilk, shoe polish, ink, and talcum powder.
There are endless opportunities that are given to me in order to allow me to explore nature. Living by the Hudson River gives me easy access to go and observe the many different living and non living organisms that inhabit the area by the water. Walking around campus, epically during winter, allows me to explore the effects of snow and ice. It also allows me to observe the wildlife that are present on campus, such a birds and the skunks that sometimes wonder the campus; though I try not to get too close to the skunks.
