30 Minute Student Scientist Interview
...s a teacher, not a scientist. 5. Six Required Questions: a.) What do you like most about science? We don’t study science much, but I think I would like to learn about air, because air is good for you. b.) What do you like least about science? I don’t know. I think I like it all, but we don’t study it much. c.) What are your favorite activities in science class? Going outside and exploring and looking for things on the playground. Before it snowed, we went out and looked for birds. d.) What is your favorite part of science class? When the teacher reads us books about animals. I love animals. e.) Why do you think science is important? Why? I don’t know. (Prompted for more of an explanation) I guess it is good ‘cause it makes you learn about things that are around you. f.) What things does your science teacher do that makes science interesting and fun? Well she teaches us what to do. And she lets us work in groups sometimes. When we were looking at birds outside we had to work with a partner and had to count how many birds we saw. 6. Five Additional Questions: a.) How old do you think most scientist are? Hmmm. I think they are probably older than my mom. b.) Do you think there are more male scientists or female scientist? I think there are the same of both. Girls and boys can do the same jobs. c.) What kind of work do you think scientists do? Umm. I don’t know. (Asked if she could guess)I’m trying to guess, but I can’t think of anything. d.) Do you study science a lot in your classroom? Would you like to study it more? No, we don’t study it at all. (I then asked “But what about that bird watching you were telling me about?”)Oh yeah. The teacher didn’t call that science though. If that is science, then I want to do lots more like it. e.) Would you like to grow up to be a scientist? Why or why not?? No, I think I want to be a hairdresser like my mom. She has fun at work. I don’t think being a scientist every day would be fun. Comparison to Classmate’s Interview and Summary When I compared my interview results with one of my classmate’s results, I was absolutely amazed at the similarities. I talked with Angela Larsen and she interviewed a sixth grader. Her sixth grader was almost as clueless about what is and what is not science as my first grade student was. Angela said her student kept repeating the same answers for her favorite and least favorite parts of science and most interesting thing in science. My student kept saying she didn’t know what I was talking about, so I would have to go back, rephrase my questions and then give my student hints as to what some science subjects were (for example: space, air, animals, birds, etc.) Angela and I also discussed how our teachers must not have been putting enough emphasis on what the teachers were teaching the students. Both of our students seemed not to n...