Reflection The drops of water on a penny lesson was engaging and hands-on and provided my peers with a fun

activity that was inquiry based. Forcing students to figure things out for themselves and not providing them with the answers helps to play upon the sense of curiosity that humans innately have. It looks as though I successfully conveyed my sense of passion for the unique properties of water with this activity. I believe that I successful took an abstract concept like cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension and put it in a visual context that students could relate to. As for the improvements that I could have for the lesson; I would have to say that would be to connect it with an activity that students do every day, in this case that would be hand washing. I believe I should have been better prepared to talk about the amphipathic properties of detergents. I did cover the polar aspect of the properties of detergents and water molecules, but not in great detail as many may have liked. Students commented that they would have liked to see the terms brought back in the lesson. I did do this with the conclusion, but believe I should have written down the definitions for the students to know. One thing I could have done is to do a graphic organizer type of table with what the students believed cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension meant before the lesson, after the lesson, and then what the actual definitions were. This would have been a great way for students to see how their thinking changed over the course of this lesson.

Microteaching Video Analysis The students were engaged and attentive during this lesson, finding it fun and interesting. The activity was definitely a strength in this microteaching lesson, due to the fact it kept the students engaged. I

believe by asking the students to predict how many drops they could get on the surface of a penny and then actually do so, this raised t heir curiosity levels even further. I believe that transitions between activities were smooth, but a more meaningful closure was needed. I believe I should have come at this exercise from a different perspective of students washing their hands and the amphipathic property of the detergent on the penny and how the hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties of the water and detergent cause the detergent to surround a dirt/grease molecule on your hands and wash them away. The two principles that I choose to put in this lesson was single group and eco-justice. I came from this as portraying water as a unique substance. Earth is the only place in our universe that it exists as a liquid and supports life and thus the topic of eco-justice fits in nicely. In a full class or as part of a couple week course I would address these areas more fully, but due to the 20 minute time limit it is difficult to address them fully. One of the things I noticed is that when I get nervous I say, Ok. My cooperating teacher this semester pointed that out to me and I was so glad she had. I have been trying to stay aware of this habit. I thought that this would be something that I would just overcome, but she told me that she has her own word she uses and still after teaching this long has to remain vigilant of overusing it. I cannot give a total count as the video stopped working after 10 minutes, but in that time period I used 3 Oks. During this teaching lesson I used four low level and five high level questions. I believe that this is a good ratio for questions. I believe that these questions go in a progression from lower to higher level questions which basically scaffolds on the activity the students are doing. This allows the students to become comfortable with the level of questions and working with the terms in the beginning of the activity and then allows them to learn these terms and concepts in more high order thinking questions to analyze and elaborate on the concepts and terms they learned.

I would have to say that for the most part my wait time was okay, but in certain parts my wait time could have been improved. I have found that the higher order questions tend to be the questions I have a difficulty with prolonging my wait time. I believe that this is the case because I feel that I need to explain to the students more. I start doubting if my explanations were helpful. If feel this is something that new teachers need to get over. Letting students struggle with their thinking means learning is taking place. A teacher must allow a student to struggle with the concept in order to create pathways for understanding.

List of questions asked Can you tell me what molecule this is a diagram of? Low level - Knowledge Why might the (-) and (+) be important to these molecules? High level - Analysis Define cohesion, adhesion, surface tension Low level - Knowledge How many drops of water can you put on the heads side of a regular penny? Low level - Application If the number of drops is very different from your prediction, explain what accounts for the difference. High level - Analysis How many drops do you think a penny will hold after being smeared with detergent? Low level - Application Which property of water: adhesion, surface tension, or cohesion did the detergent change? Why? High level - Synthesis Did the detergent make a difference? Explain how detergents act as cleaning agents, considering the cohesion among water molecules and the effects of amphipathic molecules. High level Application/Synthesis