Tara Hopkins Photo Narrative Final Project MST-202-01
Tara Hopkins Photo Narrative Final Project MST-202-01
Tara Hopkins Photo Narrative Final Project MST-202-01
Photo Narrative
Final Project
MST-202-01
The five pictures are organized in relation to my development as a teacher this semester. I start
with a picture of a scientist because one of the first lessons in our class was about the fact that
everyone is a scientist, not just some mad scientist in a lab coat. I then move to a science
picture book because early on I learned how to weave science teaching in with ELA, because
sometimes there isn’t an abundance of time for an actual science period. I then move into a
picture of student’s exploring science. This was an important next step for me to understand
and remember in my lesson planning. I needed to have students’ hands on and minds on and
really observing materials and being a part of the science not just abstractly thinking about it.
My next picture moves in progression with my development in lesson planning, it is a picture
representative of “Beginning with the end in mind”. This was important in my learning as a
teacher because it started to click that I needed to know where I was going with a lesson or unit
to avoid haphazardly putting a lesson together. My final picture I think perfectly represented
the end of my journey this semester. It is a picture of me actually teaching a lesson. It is perfect
as the end picture because in order to teach I needed to take everything I learned through this
semester and apply it. I feel I came out of this experience a more prepared teacher.
Photo 1- A Scientist
looked like he could be a mad scientist making some sort of chemical reaction with the goggles on. But then
we had talked about how many of us didn’t drawn a woman scientist or let alone just a regular kid. From this
lesson we needed to shift how we looked at science. For me this meant I had to look at science as something
everyone can be a part of. Really that everyone is a scientist. This ideal molded my mindset for the rest of the
semester, which ultimately changed how I looked at teaching science as a whole. I chose this picture to start
with because of that because it set the tone for how I did everything for the rest of the semester and
ultimately for the rest of my teaching career. In looking at all my students as “scientists”, I felt that it was
important that they feel that way as well. In order to do this, I encouraged my students to observe, make
predictions, construct, and analyze through both my actual science lesson and the various lessons I created
this semester. It was important for me to always keep in mind what made my students scientists. What made
them scientists was that they were eager to learn and to be a part of the science. If my scientists could get
excited about learning because I was able to make my science class run in a way where it can be student led,
then I think I would have done my job. Ultimately, the first thing I learned this semester was that EVERYONE
was a scientist and that carried me through, always in the back of my mind.
Photo 2- Science Picture Book
picture books and others you could make work for you. For
have a science lesson from this book, but it worked. What was
school districts, science gets cut to a point where many kids don’t get to see science every day. So, having
these books as a part of ELA instruction is a great asset, as it covers not only English because they are
reading, but you get to sneak in science. What I also love about using these science picture books is that they
are great hooks for a science lesson. My picture here is of the book with Iggy Peck Architect. I found that a
great use of this book is at the beginning of a lesson, where you want them to be engineers and builders. This
book acts as a great way to inspire them to want to be hands on in their science activity. I am now always on
the lookout for books like these to be able to implement into my classroom one day. My realization of how
brilliant it is to use literature in combination in science, puts me at ease knowing my students will get to see
science more than maybe the district is setting aside time for. In my journey as a teacher I know how key it
that day. Through the constructivist approach we talked about this semester, it was apparent that letting the
typical teach and tell method of teaching was important to let go of in the science classroom. For the
students to get what they needed to from science class, they had to be hands-on and minds-on in their
lessons. Having exploration like this also promotes the uncover side of learning, rather than coverage. We
discussed the idea of this a lot in class this semester, and I can now see why that can’t be stressed enough.
Students ultimately don’t really learn much when you’re just telling them everything. As a teacher it is hard to
not just tell. But it is important especially in science to let them uncover their learning themselves. I was able
to do this in teaching my science lesson this semester. In writing my lesson plan, I had to change it to reflect
my change in understanding this concept. At first, I had thought we’ll do a PowerPoint and teach them the
biomes first before letting them do the activity. But alas I realized that this was the perfect chance to let them
uncover instead of receiving the coverage of it. So, I flipped the lesson, so that the activity was first, where
they observed and touched objects, and then to expand on what they figured out or already knew, we then
did the PowerPoint. In my journey now, I now know the importance of letting the students go and inquire and
think on their own, because after all they are the scientists.
Photo 4- Begin with the End in Mind
means that in order to effectively reach your end goal, you have to first have the goal before you start trying
to build the bridge to get there. I now look at lesson planning, as a little more backwards. I now think because
of this concept that is makes the most sense to figure out my objectives and assessments first. I need to know
how I am going to assess their learning, before I can decide how and what they are going to learn. I for the
future want to keep my objective more present in my mind when I am planning and when I am teaching. As a
student teacher, I think I have lost sight of during my lessons, why I teach them, and what I hope for them to
gain. Now as I develop in my study of education, I know how to direct the learning in this way and not feel so
tense in sticking to a script of the lesson. This concept, being received at the later part of my learning journey
this semester will for sure impact the future of how I teach and how I look at teaching. When I reflect back on
the lessons I have taught thus far, I know that when I write out the lesson plan, I write an objective and have a
goal in mind. But I think when I have actually taught it, I forget that that is the point of me being up there. I
feel that this concept is important to always carry through in the classroom, not just when lesson planning,
but also to remember while you’re up there in front of your kids teaching. Ultimately, this is a very important
past education classes and what I learned in this one to the most effective amount. I had never felt that
confident in front of my class and had never been able to analyze what I had done and say, “I could do this
better here”, and “in the future I would...” As my next step is into advanced core block of my teaching
education, I can say I am ready. I feel confident in my ability to lesson plan, as I got to really practice it this
year, as well as in my ability to structure my class in a way that lets them inquire. I hope that I continue to
grow through my next steps in school. I am excited to see what the future holds and how even more
comfortable I can feel in the classroom. It has been a great semester for me in terms of seeing the
development in my teaching. I owe much of that change to this particular practicum, as I feel I have learned
so much about what it takes to be a teacher and in how to always be thinking as the teacher. I now more than
ever am proud of where I am right now and will continue to apply what I have learned this semester into the
Conclusion
All 5 of these photos and so on, because I could probably have 50 photos of things that made my
journey this semester. But with these 5, I feel I hit upon the things that molded me as the teacher I am right
now and as the teacher I hope to become. Starting with my vision of what makes a scientist, I have learned to
remember that everyone is a scientist, and everyone deserves the chance to find that scientist in them and
inquire. This hooked me as a teaching philosophy I want to have in science and I felt that was important to
start with. Next on my journey I talk about science picture books. This was the next important step for me this
year. I had struggled to apply ELA to science because we tend to categorize them in separate boxes. But now
I am confident in being able to tie these books in with a science lesson. It is also encouraging to know that
even if my district lacks in the science department, I will be able to use these books to give my students
science still. I then moved into the concept of letting students inquire and observe science. We talked so
much this year about letting them be hands on and minds on. I want to get away from telling them about
science and I want them to tell me about what they are seeing and hearing and feeling. There is much to be
said about students coming to their own conclusions without the teacher painting it totally out for them. I felt
that this was important to my teaching philosophy because I now keep this ideal in the back of my head to
make sure I let them figure things out for themselves and get to critically think. I then moved into the theory
of “Beginning with the end in mind.” This is so important to remember especially with lesson planning
because you can’t effectively teach if you forget this concept. You can’t build the bridge if you have no idea
where you are placing the other side. You have to know where you’re going as to be able to guide them there.
I ended my journey, with a photo of me teaching. I felt that this reflected what I was able to do because of all
the growth I have been able to have this semester. It showed how I had applied all the new concepts to my
teaching and ultimately be able to effectively teach my class during practicum. Ultimately my growth as a
science teacher this semester, has projected into all aspects of my teaching. The growth I have seen in myself
has made me excited for what else I will be able to do in the rest of my teaching journey, and for that I am
thankful.