Keeping Students Engaged and Bringing Life to E-Learning
Seneca science students crack the case on embryology. The embryology unit introduces students to the importance of agriculture in our lives with an emphasis on the embryonic development, hatching, growth and care of chickens. The information is being presented through a variety of activities including researching the importance of agriculture in the United States, discussing soil conservation and current farming practices, and incubating chicken eggs in science teacher, Julie Craig’s, remote classroom.
This 21-day journey started in early April. The students observed the preparation of the incubator by virtual classroom via Zoom. When the fragile package of fertilized eggs arrived, the students watched with great anticipation as their science teacher labeled and carefully placed each egg in the egg turner within the incubator. The students kept record sheets at home monitoring the temperature and humidity of the incubator as well as tracking the daily development with embryology packets.
Seneca students observed the candling of eggs at various stages of development through pictures, video and Zoom science classes. To make it fun and interesting the students made hatch predictions. The much-awaited day came on April 28th when the first of the baby chicks hatched. This remote learning experience turned out to be a great success. The students calculated the hatch rate to be 80%. Hatch day was filled with energy and excitement as the students remained tuned in on Google Classroom for updates and video posts. The students observed the first chick to hatch live through science class hosted via Zoom. The students will continue to observe the young chickens and learn about the care of chickens for the next couple weeks.
The chickens will then head to their forever homes where they will live long productive lives as layers. The funding for this unit of study was provided by a grant program sponsored by CF Industries. “Thank you for providing an enriched learning experience for our students allowing for real life experiences to be brought to the E-Learning classroom”, states Mrs. Craig. This remote instruction unit of study has provided valuable curriculum content, kept the students engaged in the learning process, and created a consistent classroom connection.