Several years ago, I was introduced to a process designed to help students learn. The plan involved my colleagues and I doing some simple things in our classrooms, with our students, and then discussing the results of our work together and planning how to make learning even better. It’s no longer being used, and I’m sad. I have a few ideas about why it fell by the wayside.
Science, Education, and Science Education
classroom applicationsI had the opportunity to view an important movie this week. I’ve seen it once before. Both times, I watched with a group of the finest educators I’ve ever met. The movie was especially hard-hitting for us because we’ve shared their journey, their tears, and their triumphs.
The misinterpretation of Title IX with respect to student gender quotas in university engineering departments on Joanne Jacobs’ blog yesterday received a bit of discussion Saturday on Twitter. Jason said, in reference to the post,
and then Bryan said
Jason replied, and @druinok responded:
A little later, this tweet popped into the conversation.
This post was inspired by a Twitter conversation with @GetUpStandUp2 and @kiwigirl58 in which I learned that Randi Weingarten,
John Dewey in 1902
president of the American Federation of Teachers, stated in an interview with Walter Isaccson, (described here in the Atlantic) that teachers should have to pass a bar exam. This bar exam would not be merely a test,but would also have a “clinical component.” The discussion, which eventually included a few remarks from Randi, focused on how we might improve teacher quality. Then, @Nancy Flanagan of Teacher in a Strange Land inspired me to actually blog again. (If you’re not following these people, you should be.) Here are my thoughts, as one who’s been developed professionally in a number of ways, on becoming an accomplished teacher. Stay with me here……
I’ve just spent an exhausting, invigorating day with 36 of Washington State’s finest teachers.
This group of teachers, all National Board Certified, are in their eighth or ninth year following initial certification. In order to remain NBCTs, they are faced with the task of renewing their certificates. Most look forward to this process with residual fear and trembling from their initial certification experience. As one who completed the renewal process fairly early in its evolution, Washington Education Association asked me to develop a facilitation protocol and workshop to support NBCTs through the renewal process, so I did. And that’s where I was today. Here’s why it’s the best path to growing accomplished teachers. And here’s why it’s the very best renewal, ever.
Many years ago, I needed something engaging for AP Chemistry students once their exam was over. I found a scavenger hunt, hard copy as this was the olden days, handed out by the late Dr. Cliff Schrader at a conference. I’m forever grateful to Cliff for so many things he gave out freely to anyone who asked. Among so many other things, he taught me to share.
I reworked the list a little to reflect some things my students knew or in which they had shown interest. The first few years, the kids worked in groups and competed to see which group could collect the most items the most quickly.
Truth is, I already did. Years ago..jpg?resize=210%2C162)
About 2 years into my career, I figured out that if students arrived in class already knowing something about the day’s learning, they took away a deeper, more satisfying, understanding. We were able to use class time differently, in ways that helped us learn more authentically.
I did not need standardized tests, value-added evaluations, or clever new names for the method to figure this out, by the way.
This post has little to do with science, or education. It has everything to do with organizing my work, my students, and my life.
I’ve worked in 5 districts in 23 years. Our current adoption will be my 4th experience. The availability of electronic delivery and open source materials have added interesting options to our decision-making. First, I present lists and links to content, including sources for inquiry and engineering design resources. I’ve saved my thoughts on devices until the end.
Please comment including any other resources you’d consider if you were us. Also, please comment on individual resources if you have experience or thoughts that might help us make a decision. This list does not include all of the traditional hard-copy textbooks and support materials we’ve been sent. I don’t want this post to take a year to read.
Research: Solutions
Recipe: Supersaturated Sucrose Solution
Response: Documenting the Process
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- Apparatus
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- Cooking
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- Finished Product
Lately…..
- National Board Certification and Renewal
- Student Guest Post: New Elemental Discoveries Strike A Chord with Chemists
- Creativity and Science, Part 3
- Creativity and Science, Part 2
- Creativity and Science, Part 1
- National Board Certification Renewal: Evidence of Impact on Student Learning
- This is not your father’s homework assignment.
- “So, what did you do in school today?”
- The Learning Brain
- DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte
Follow me on Twitter: @Stardiverr
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@Class Info
Chemistry Educators
- A Digital Life – Phil Cook
- A future chemistry educator – Justin Aitken
- Adrian Dingle's Chemistry Blog
- Adventures With the Lower Level – Tracie Schroeder
- Chemistry is Messy – Cory Kilbane
- Productive and Constructive – Gary Abud
- Random MaPowell (Science) Musings – Marcia Powell
- Reflections Of A Science Teacher – Sandra Goodrich – Chemistry and Marine Biology
- TEACHING|chemistry – Elena Bethea
- The Chemist's Classroom – Jason Olson
Class Info
Educators I Value
- 21st Century Learning
- Action-Reaction
- Bud Talbot
- https://sites.google.com/site/ihistorywithmrjz/
- It's a Journey – Kristal Floyd
- iTeach iLearn iWasHere – Jodie Morgenson
- Keeping Kids First – Kelly Hines
- Kelly Morgan Science Education
- Living the Dream – Diana Laufenberg
- Mister Abrahms
- Nashworld
- Nebraska Change Agent – Beth Still
- Once Upon a Teacher
- Open Thinking
- Practical Theory: A view from the Classroom – Chris Lehmann
- Quantum Progress – John Burke
- ReadWriteThink
- Reflections of a Techie – Marsha Ratzel
- Science Teacher – Michael Doyle
- Stories From School: Practice meets Policy
- Strickland Science – Gary Strickland
- The Barber Shop – Jon Barber
- The Jose Vilson
- The Principal's Page
- Upside Down Education – Amanda Dykes
- Venspired – Krissy Venosdale
Science Blogs
Technology
Visitors
Disclaimer
Anything posted here is my own opinion and does not reflect the position of my employer, any university affiliations, Twitter, NBPTS, Facebook, my husband, my dog, and certainly not my cat.
~ Luann Lee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.