Monica’s project aimed to connect key players from different disciplines of science throughout history for students to understand how the different branches of science are connected.
I tried to include men, women, different ethnicities, and a variety of time periods. I also included a few mathematicians so students could connect between math and science.
Monica Bergeron
Monica came up with the names of 60 scientists from well-known scientists to lesser known scientists.
She had students randomly choose a scientist from the container and then they researched the scientists and created one-page summaries. This aspect of the project lends itself well to completion either face-to-face or online.
After that, students used a template to make a scientist trading card with the picture on one side with basic information. On the back, a list of accomplishments, awards and contributions to science. When completed, they were displayed on a clothesline across the classroom to represent time.
Students loved figuring out who some of the lesser known scientists were. They were asking to make another one and they were having fantastic conversations around the room.
Monica Bergeron
Two students that were sitting beside each other randomly picked Charles Darwin and the other student picked Alfred Russel Wallace. Monica said nothing but was amused about the irony of the situation. As soon as they started researching, the students realized the connection between the two scientists and they were digging in more – so great to see!