It has become a weekend ritual this past month. I walk to the coffee table, and I see little larvae begging me for fresh food. So I go to my refrigerator and look to see what I can prepare them. Of course, on my way to the kitchen, my son asks me to get him something for him, too. I choose to take care of my little visitors first. These silkworms are with us because my wife is continuing her passion to make learning real for her kindergartners. She is having her students document the changes occurring in these critters. But I get the pleasure of seeing them Friday evening until Monday morning. I just plopped a mulberry leaf on top of them and let them do their thing. I decided to stream video of them live this weekend using Ustream.
This is just a pre-recorded clip of the live stream. To see the actual stream, go to my live Ustream channel: Learning Side by Side. In her class, they have been making comparisons of the life cycle of a silkworm moth to the life cycle of a butterfly. Third grade students have come in to help with the learning. More of the kindergarten students’ learning is documented in my wife’s classroom blog: What’s Happening in Mrs. Rivera’s Classroom? But such learning is not unique as other teachers are sharing their classroom investigations about the life cycle.
The second grade students in this class have documented the growth of their live specimens so far, and I’m sure they will documenting the transformation of the chrysalis into adult butterfly in the near future.
Yes, I only get to experience snapshots of the experience students have with such activities. Even in the summer when I work with 4th grade teachers on podcast projects to document their life science investigations, I only get to experience changes within the week I have with them at Teach the Teachers Collaborative as we look at plant and animal environments. It is in reflection of my dilemma that I understand the need to experience the whole process of learning. As i think about my work for the next school year, I charge myself with making sure I learn with the students in the various schools I support rather than to drop in for a moment in time with the hope that I understand the “life cycle” of learning.
