Effective teachers of science can, in a P-12 classroom setting, demonstrate and maintain chemical safety, safety procedures, and the ethical treatment of living organisms needed in the P-12 science classroom appropriate to their area of licensure.
Safety, Legal Issues and Ethics
Classroom procedures are the foundation for a safe classroom. Each new class practices these procedures daily until they become routine. There are procedures in place daily, for lab activities and for activities outside of the classroom. When students are able to follow these without thought, they will be more comfortable responding should something unexpected happen.
All students and their parents sign a standard lab safety contract, provided by the school, which is kept on file in my classroom.
I believe science should be hands-on, as much as possible. Since this is a life science class, we do deal with live and preserved specimens. For every lab, I emphasize the gift given by these creatures so that the students can further their understanding of the world around us. Living organisms that we use include protists, planarians, earthworms, hydra and daphnia. We also dissect frogs. The microscopic organisms are disposed of in the class fish tanks, to further those ecosystems, and the earthworms are "retired" to my garden after the class earthworm races. Many students take great pleasure from caring for their earthworms, and even those who are squeamish at first will often become the best caretakers. Because I want my students to get the most out of the frog dissection, we prepare extensively with computer simulations and anatomy quizzes first. This way, no specimen is wasted, and the students feel more confident when dealing with the frogs.
All students and their parents sign a standard lab safety contract, provided by the school, which is kept on file in my classroom.
I believe science should be hands-on, as much as possible. Since this is a life science class, we do deal with live and preserved specimens. For every lab, I emphasize the gift given by these creatures so that the students can further their understanding of the world around us. Living organisms that we use include protists, planarians, earthworms, hydra and daphnia. We also dissect frogs. The microscopic organisms are disposed of in the class fish tanks, to further those ecosystems, and the earthworms are "retired" to my garden after the class earthworm races. Many students take great pleasure from caring for their earthworms, and even those who are squeamish at first will often become the best caretakers. Because I want my students to get the most out of the frog dissection, we prepare extensively with computer simulations and anatomy quizzes first. This way, no specimen is wasted, and the students feel more confident when dealing with the frogs.