Bethany Wilson

Dr. McClary
EDUC 423
Field Experience 2015
Science Teaching Materials
Teaching materials" is a generic term used to describe the resources teachers use to
deliver instruction. Teaching materials can support student learning and increase student success.
Ideally, the teaching materials will be tailored to the content in which they're being used, to the
students in whose class they are being used, and the teacher. Teaching materials come in many
shapes and sizes, but they all have in common the ability to support student learning.
The science teaching materials that were used in my field experience classroom aided and
engaged learning enhancement. Some of the materials and resources used to teach the students
were textbooks, videos, magazines, and models in the classroom. A textbook acts as a reference,
explaining a subject in a certain order that goes with the teacher's curriculum. Above is the
textbook my cooperating teachers used throughout the year to teach concepts and ideas in
science. Textbooks don't engage some students, though, especially since the writing style is
rarely engaging. This is where videos and other forms of social media are important. Ms. Elliott
used a plethora of video series to better explain the concept being taught. Using the videos allow
students to become engaged through visualizing ideas in their textbooks. When the students
were learning about natural disasters such as volcanoes, Ms. Elliott utilized videos from the
Discovery Channel to get student interested in seeing exactly how Volcanoes work. Videos
allow students to be entertained and educated at the same time, and they engage those who are

more visual learners than those who are more auditory learners that otherwise would be fine with
a teacher's lecture.
Another science teaching resource my teacher utilized in the classroom was a magazine
series. Magazines are a step down from textbooks in content, but they educate the students
which is the primary goal. The students responded well to the magazines because they had
questionnaires and puzzles for the student to complete about the content being taught. Although
the magazine activities cant serve as an actual lesson, it can be considered an extension activity
once students have mastered the content.
Lastly, models and figures about content were also used during labs and experiments.
Models and model development are useful for helping students learn quantitative skills such as
graphing, graphical analysis, and visualization; statistics; computational skills, and mathematics.
These models are important for visual students who need visual aids during instruction. The use
of science teaching materials in the classroom is important in getting students engaged and
excited about learning.