Week 3

 

Week 3: 

1.) This week in the lecture and lab, we explored the life cycles of different living things. One of the living things that we discussed, a butterfly, has 4 stages in its life cycle. The stages include the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and finally the butterfly. We also learned about the stages of the life cycle of a mealworm, which included egg, mealworm, pupa, and beetle. In class, we were given Play-Doh to recreate a life cycle of our choice. My group chose to make the life cycle of a frog. A frog goes through 4 stages which include egg, tadpole, froglet, and frog. We also discussed metamorphosis in class and watched a video of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Metamorphosis is the process of changing from an immature state to an adult. 

 2.) Previously, I knew that living things go through life cycles. I had also learned about the life cycles of butterflies and mealworms. I could have probably stated the stages of a butterfly before class. However, I definitely did not remember the stages that mealworms go through before our lab. Class was a nice refresher to help me remember the different stages and lock them down in my memory. I am now confident that I could discuss the life cycles of butterflies, mealworms, and plants. 

 4.) I can apply what I learned this week in the lecture and lab to help my future students learn more effectively about life cycles. When I learned about life cycles, I remember simply labeling the stages that different living things go through. There might have been pictures to help us. However, I really liked the hands-on and collaborative elements included in our class activities. The Play-Doh added an element of creativity that made the activity more fun to complete. I also enjoyed the collaborative element, which allowed us to discuss what we were learning in real time, ask questions, and learn from one another. Hand-on activities are very successful at making activities and learning more engaging, which will help students actually interact with material and lock it down in their long-term memory.