Helped with ways to motivate & engage students

I thought that the series of science inquiry activities developed by Margaret Conover and six other science teachers discussed in this article, were very helpful to read about. I am going to... See More

I thought that the series of science inquiry activities developed by Margaret Conover and six other science teachers discussed in this article, were very helpful to read about. I am going to be a teacher in the near future, and was researching for articles that addressed teaching strategies that help create motivation and engagement, and this provided me with several ideas. Having students use something like Chia Pets that they are all most likely familiar with, is both fun and beneficial to their learning experience. Nutrition is the area that I was particularly interested in learning teaching strategies about, and these science inquiry activities directly relate to it. I never knew that Chia Pets can be linked to nutrition, but chia is a healthy food--so you can use them to prompt a discussion about nutrition in the beginning. I would highly recommend this article to teachers, and future teachers like myself.

Sowing the Seeds of Inquiry

In this article, the author explores the uses and history of the chia seed, while allowing students to explore and discover the concept of plant growth. It proves very useful, as well as cr... See More

In this article, the author explores the uses and history of the chia seed, while allowing students to explore and discover the concept of plant growth. It proves very useful, as well as creative, in that much of the material needed is inexpensive, therefore easy to come by for many teachers. Students learn about the components necessary for successful plant growth, explore the uses of chia seeds in terms of sustenance, and discover some of the implications the wide use of chia seeds would have on their community and the world. Chia seeds are incorporated into the concept of plant growth, and are also connected to economics, nutrition, geography, and history. As a result of the lesson in this article, students gain knowledge in the process of plant growth, as well as the benefits of plant growth to human sustenance.