Effecting Change at School and District Levels

We have all shared many frustrations and successes about science education in our classroom and our districts. Some of us have come across more roadblocks than others whether that roadblock be diversity, socioeconomic status, or district/school programming. I have been involved in a group that is hoping to change the philosophy of teaching science at our schools and possibly our district. We have talked about how we may just be a small drip, but over time, and with many, many drips, we can do great things.

I know I have shared this in groups before, so I feel somewhat like a broken record. I have been involved in a Place-Based Education Leadership group that has been meeting at Teton Science School in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the last several years. Initially, we learned how we can integrate teaching a Place-Based Education (PBE) model in our classrooms or grade levels. We then, after we understood the approach and philosophy behind teaching a PBE model, we were able to begin tackling the roadblocks that lay before us. The first block we foresaw was the administration at our immediate buildings. We all agreed to share with our administration what we were trying to do, and to be allowed a trial period to provide data. Data, now that’s the key word to get an administrator on board. We were able to provide positive trend data to our administrators over the course of the first year, so then we moved on to the other teachers in the building. I focused first on the intermediate teachers in my building as I understood the curriculum they were teaching, and what could be expected of intermediate elementary learners. After doing some cohort work, the intermediate teachers went to a professional development together at Teton Science School so that the teachers could be the learners in a PBE model. NOW, these teachers are hooked.

At this point, that’s where I am. The intermediate group is going to work with the primary group now. After we get our school all on board, and our school is showing growth on standardized assessments in all content areas, then we can approach the district level. Our district has site-based management, so it is a challenge to effect change on a broader scale, but in the end, it will be worth it.

Our Sputnik?

I unfortunately don’t spend a lot of time learning about, or discussing politics. I actually live in a blissfully naïve world most of the time. I watch the news, so I am aware, but seldom discuss, or really develop an opinion on politics.

That being said, I have always disliked the War on Terror. I understand the need to make our country safe, I do, but are we going about it correctly? Throwing money at it?

OUR country needs help. We spend billions on the war, just as Friedman discusses in the article What’s Our Sputnik? but nearly every school district in our country is cutting budgets. It’s not just schools, but most of the threads that make up our united country. Selfishly thinking, we need to begin working to take care of our families and specifically, the students in our country. Don’t get my wrong, I fully support our troops and what they do, but I don’t necessarily agree with what they are asked to be doing.

I am hoping that the recession and the alternative fuel crisis are going to be our Sputnik. Our country is realizing that we need to be more competitive and less reliant on other countries for our petroleum-based needs. I think that we are slowly realizing our Sputnik-like event, but it will take time to transition. Unfortunately, I don’t think that it will be as fast and furious as the nation’s focus was with the actual Sputnik event.

Instructional Models

I think that models are a very effective way for students to learn. The students get the opportunity to create and manipulate a model to add a tactile component to the long-term memory. Usually in the process of using a model, students also get to discuss the processes and ideas they may have with one another. Often, the process of discussion is the best way to learn. Students will also discover misconceptions that they may have through these discussions. The non-linguistic representation is also very valuable for ELL learners, special education students, and all other learners. Often, as a teacher, I learn through observing the students create and manipulate a model as well!

Natural Disasters

Natural disasters are all over the media nearly every day. Students are very interested in these destructive events, which make them a great item to study. I think a good way to have fifth graders study the different natural disasters is to do a jigsaw puzzle activity. Divide the students into groups, then assign the different groups different natural disasters such as: earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding, tsunamis, hurricanes, etc. The students could research what the natural disaster is, how it is caused, what warning signs there are, how to survive, and what can be done for disaster stricken areas. Throughout the students' research, they can gather data to be presented to the rest of the class. Doing a jigsaw activity like this creates ownership of a disaster for the group doing the research, and it saves time as each group will study a disaster in-depth to be shared with the rest of the group.

Evaluating Web 2.0 Tools – Eric Freeman

Two tools I evaluated:

Ahead

Pros:

-a web based presentation program.

-basic version is free

-beyond traditional slides

-can upload images, videos, and pdfs

-has a tutorial

Cons:

-Tutorial was PDF only, and not interactive

-costs $35 per year for more saving space and ability to post to non-public domains

-only public posting

-no offline presentations

-no downloadable file

-touchy zoom

-seemed complicated

I think that this could be a good program if you were sharing over the internet, or inviting people to view your presentation online. It is accessible from anywhere, which is handy. It does about any kind of media. I would not be able to recommend this program however. I have a short attention span when it comes to applications, and this one was cumbersome to learn, so I lost interest. Not user friendly, especially for kids. I also thought it was expensive considering there are cool free presentation tools out there.

Viddix

Pros:

-video of presentation for engagement

-slides, images, text, links, polls, blogs, and other links can be posted

-publish to a web page

-can poll an audience or class to get opinions or check for understanding

-use any web browser to invite viewers to presentation

-many video demonstrations available

-free account, but it is basic

Cons:

-best use is for video presentations

-pay to receive more features and space

-pay in Euros

-have to speak for entire presentation

-did not find tutorial, but seemed basic enough to figure out

I can see this presentation tool being used to deliver information, or sales pitches. It could be cool in a classroom to build several of these, then have students navigate through them like centers, and then ask comprehension questions within a discussion. For our upcoming assignment though, I have trouble seeing this one being used.

Welcome to my blog page. I look forward to conversing with you during this class.