Tara Hopkins

Photo Narrative
Final Project
MST-202-01

The five pictures are organized in relation to my development as a teacher this semester. I start
with a picture of a scientist because one of the first lessons in our class was about the fact that
everyone is a scientist, not just some mad scientist in a lab coat. I then move to a science
picture book because early on I learned how to weave science teaching in with ELA, because
sometimes there isn’t an abundance of time for an actual science period. I then move into a
picture of student’s exploring science. This was an important next step for me to understand
and remember in my lesson planning. I needed to have students’ hands on and minds on and
really observing materials and being a part of the science not just abstractly thinking about it.
My next picture moves in progression with my development in lesson planning, it is a picture
representative of “Beginning with the end in mind”. This was important in my learning as a
teacher because it started to click that I needed to know where I was going with a lesson or unit
to avoid haphazardly putting a lesson together. My final picture I think perfectly represented
the end of my journey this semester. It is a picture of me actually teaching a lesson. It is perfect
as the end picture because in order to teach I needed to take everything I learned through this
semester and apply it. I feel I came out of this experience a more prepared teacher.
 Photo 1- A Scientist

I chose my first photo to be of a drawing of

female scientists. This was an important start

to my journey this semester. It was one of the

first classes that we were asked to draw what a

scientist looked like. I had drawn the

stereotype which was a man scientist who

looked like he could be a mad scientist making some sort of chemical reaction with the goggles on. But then

we had talked about how many of us didn’t drawn a woman scientist or let alone just a regular kid. From this

lesson we needed to shift how we looked at science. For me this meant I had to look at science as something

everyone can be a part of. Really that everyone is a scientist. This ideal molded my mindset for the rest of the

semester, which ultimately changed how I looked at teaching science as a whole. I chose this picture to start

with because of that because it set the tone for how I did everything for the rest of the semester and

ultimately for the rest of my teaching career. In looking at all my students as “scientists”, I felt that it was

important that they feel that way as well. In order to do this, I encouraged my students to observe, make

predictions, construct, and analyze through both my actual science lesson and the various lessons I created

this semester. It was important for me to always keep in mind what made my students scientists. What made

them scientists was that they were eager to learn and to be a part of the science. If my scientists could get

excited about learning because I was able to make my science class run in a way where it can be student led,

then I think I would have done my job. Ultimately, the first thing I learned this semester was that EVERYONE

was a scientist and that carried me through, always in the back of my mind.
 Photo 2- Science Picture Book

Science picture books are next on my photo narrative journey.

Off the bat, I was introduced to such amazing children’s books.

In different ways some books were more obvious science

picture books and others you could make work for you. For

example, in our first class we read a book from the Elephant

and Piggy series and we were able to take from it a lesson on

changing states of matter. You wouldn’t think that you could

have a science lesson from this book, but it worked. What was

important about seeing these types of books is knowing the

applications of which you can use these books. For many

school districts, science gets cut to a point where many kids don’t get to see science every day. So, having

these books as a part of ELA instruction is a great asset, as it covers not only English because they are

reading, but you get to sneak in science. What I also love about using these science picture books is that they

are great hooks for a science lesson. My picture here is of the book with Iggy Peck Architect. I found that a

great use of this book is at the beginning of a lesson, where you want them to be engineers and builders. This

book acts as a great way to inspire them to want to be hands on in their science activity. I am now always on

the lookout for books like these to be able to implement into my classroom one day. My realization of how

brilliant it is to use literature in combination in science, puts me at ease knowing my students will get to see

science more than maybe the district is setting aside time for. In my journey as a teacher I know how key it

can be to use books as a part of any lesson.

 Photo 3- Student’s Exploring Science

This picture is an important one on my science teacher

journey. This photo is of students or shall I say scientists

observing and exploring science. In the picture you can

see them using various tools to look at the materials in

front of them and they are working together in a group

to figure out whatever the science expectation was for

that day. Through the constructivist approach we talked about this semester, it was apparent that letting the

typical teach and tell method of teaching was important to let go of in the science classroom. For the

students to get what they needed to from science class, they had to be hands-on and minds-on in their

lessons. Having exploration like this also promotes the uncover side of learning, rather than coverage. We

discussed the idea of this a lot in class this semester, and I can now see why that can’t be stressed enough.

Students ultimately don’t really learn much when you’re just telling them everything. As a teacher it is hard to

not just tell. But it is important especially in science to let them uncover their learning themselves. I was able

to do this in teaching my science lesson this semester. In writing my lesson plan, I had to change it to reflect

my change in understanding this concept. At first, I had thought we’ll do a PowerPoint and teach them the

biomes first before letting them do the activity. But alas I realized that this was the perfect chance to let them

uncover instead of receiving the coverage of it. So, I flipped the lesson, so that the activity was first, where

they observed and touched objects, and then to expand on what they figured out or already knew, we then

did the PowerPoint. In my journey now, I now know the importance of letting the students go and inquire and

think on their own, because after all they are the scientists.
 Photo 4- Begin with the End in Mind

Beginning with the end in mind is a more recent

concept that was covered in class. But after learning

about it, it severely affected how I lesson planned.

When thinking about lesson planning, I had always

written them sequentially. What this concept did was

made me realize that doing it that way didn’t

necessarily make sense. To begin with the end in mind

means that in order to effectively reach your end goal, you have to first have the goal before you start trying

to build the bridge to get there. I now look at lesson planning, as a little more backwards. I now think because

of this concept that is makes the most sense to figure out my objectives and assessments first. I need to know

how I am going to assess their learning, before I can decide how and what they are going to learn. I for the

future want to keep my objective more present in my mind when I am planning and when I am teaching. As a

student teacher, I think I have lost sight of during my lessons, why I teach them, and what I hope for them to

gain. Now as I develop in my study of education, I know how to direct the learning in this way and not feel so

tense in sticking to a script of the lesson. This concept, being received at the later part of my learning journey

this semester will for sure impact the future of how I teach and how I look at teaching. When I reflect back on

the lessons I have taught thus far, I know that when I write out the lesson plan, I write an objective and have a

goal in mind. But I think when I have actually taught it, I forget that that is the point of me being up there. I

feel that this concept is important to always carry through in the classroom, not just when lesson planning,

but also to remember while you’re up there in front of your kids teaching. Ultimately, this is a very important

concept to carry through the rest of my teaching career.

 Photo 5- A Photo of Me Teaching

I chose this photo to end on because I like to think this

represents the end goal of this class and of my teaching

education journey. In the end, I want to be confident in front

of the class and have become an effective teacher.

Throughout all the things I have learned to help me become a

better teacher, none of it matters if I can’t apply it when I am

actually teaching. We also as student teachers rely on these

field experiences to really push us forward to learn and grow

from our mistakes. We ultimately learn from doing. I feel that

during this practicum, I was able to apply everything from my

past education classes and what I learned in this one to the most effective amount. I had never felt that

confident in front of my class and had never been able to analyze what I had done and say, “I could do this

better here”, and “in the future I would...” As my next step is into advanced core block of my teaching

education, I can say I am ready. I feel confident in my ability to lesson plan, as I got to really practice it this

year, as well as in my ability to structure my class in a way that lets them inquire. I hope that I continue to

grow through my next steps in school. I am excited to see what the future holds and how even more

comfortable I can feel in the classroom. It has been a great semester for me in terms of seeing the

development in my teaching. I owe much of that change to this particular practicum, as I feel I have learned

so much about what it takes to be a teacher and in how to always be thinking as the teacher. I now more than
ever am proud of where I am right now and will continue to apply what I have learned this semester into the

rest of my teaching and learning career.

Conclusion

All 5 of these photos and so on, because I could probably have 50 photos of things that made my

journey this semester. But with these 5, I feel I hit upon the things that molded me as the teacher I am right

now and as the teacher I hope to become. Starting with my vision of what makes a scientist, I have learned to

remember that everyone is a scientist, and everyone deserves the chance to find that scientist in them and

inquire. This hooked me as a teaching philosophy I want to have in science and I felt that was important to

start with. Next on my journey I talk about science picture books. This was the next important step for me this

year. I had struggled to apply ELA to science because we tend to categorize them in separate boxes. But now

I am confident in being able to tie these books in with a science lesson. It is also encouraging to know that

even if my district lacks in the science department, I will be able to use these books to give my students

science still. I then moved into the concept of letting students inquire and observe science. We talked so

much this year about letting them be hands on and minds on. I want to get away from telling them about

science and I want them to tell me about what they are seeing and hearing and feeling. There is much to be

said about students coming to their own conclusions without the teacher painting it totally out for them. I felt

that this was important to my teaching philosophy because I now keep this ideal in the back of my head to

make sure I let them figure things out for themselves and get to critically think. I then moved into the theory

of “Beginning with the end in mind.” This is so important to remember especially with lesson planning

because you can’t effectively teach if you forget this concept. You can’t build the bridge if you have no idea

where you are placing the other side. You have to know where you’re going as to be able to guide them there.

I ended my journey, with a photo of me teaching. I felt that this reflected what I was able to do because of all
the growth I have been able to have this semester. It showed how I had applied all the new concepts to my

teaching and ultimately be able to effectively teach my class during practicum. Ultimately my growth as a
science teacher this semester, has projected into all aspects of my teaching. The growth I have seen in myself

has made me excited for what else I will be able to do in the rest of my teaching journey, and for that I am

thankful.