California Educator

December/January 2019

Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1190776

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 19 of 67

T U D E N T S P U T C R A C K E R S and bread pieces inside plas- tic baggies, add water, squish, and watch how the mixture clumps. W h en food i s ch ewed in th e mouth and goes down the esophagus, it looks like that, explains Juan Padilla, a sixth grade teacher at Jefferson Academy in Hanford. Next, to simulate stomach acid breaking down food on its way to the small intestine, students add coffee to the concoction. Some of the mixture is poured into containers of fake blood, demonstrating how nutrients enter the bloodstream and become absorbed. e youngsters work in groups, pour- ing and mixing, clustered around four portable science labs that contain sinks. Eventually students are told to cut the bottom corner of the baggie and squeeze out the concoction, to show how the large intestine helps food depart from the body. "Oh my god, it's poop," the students cry delightedly. This type of hands-on experiment to implement the Next Generation Science Standards was impossible until last year, due to the configuration of desks and no counter space. Then Padilla thought of creating portable science labs on wheels, SCIENCE LESSONS A LA 'CART' Juan Padilla's big idea brings opportunity to all kids Hanford Elementary Teachers Association and l earnin g dire ctor wal ked in and said, 'Wow, this looks like a real science classroom with all the bells and whis- tles.' Other teachers on-site were thrilled because, of course, it's all about sharing." e labs easily roll into other classrooms. "Parents came and saw students look- ing at their own cells under a microscope, a n d th e re w a s d e f i - nitely a wow factor." I n H a n f o r d , a n a g r i c u l t u r a l t o w n near Fresno, half the residents are Latino, and many are strug- g lin g f inanci al ly. S o it 's cr ucial that stu- dents have the same opportunities as those in more affluent communities, to prepare them for jobs of the future, says Padilla. "So many jobs in the future will be science- focused. is gets students think- ing about those types of careers," says S equipped with microscopes, petri dishes, slides, cylinder sets, gram scales, test tubes, pipettes and even fire extinguish- ers. CTA's Institute for Teaching funded the project with a grant of nearly $20,000. "Students are definitely much more enthusiastic about science," says Padilla. "Before, science was hypothetical. Now stu d e n t s d o e xp e r i - m e n t s i n re a l t i m e . I t 's m o r e e x c i t i n g . Students are not just stu dy i n g s c i e n c e — th ey see th emselves as scientists." For stu d ent s , s c i- ence has never been so enjoyable. "Mr. Padilla always has interesting experiments and makes learning fun," says Gianna Garcia. " You never know what's going to happen." Th ere was fanfare and excit em ent when the portable labs were rolled out last year, recalls Padilla. "Kids came in and said , 'Oh my gosh, we're going to do real experiments now!' e principal "Students do experiments in real time. It's more exciting. They are not just studying science — they see themselves as scientists." PADILLA continued on page 20 18 cta.org The Science of

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of California Educator - December/January 2019