On Friday, I was so pleased to be able to return to one of my favorite days of the year, High-Interest Day at Brookfield Elementary School. This is a day where I have been able to bring the concepts of physics to k-5 graders. You may be asking yourself, "Elementary students doing physics?" YES! Not just experimenting, but understanding the concepts behind the physics of electricity and sound. This is a very special day I have had the opportunity to be involved in since 2017. So, how are we able to bring the concepts of electricity and sound traditionally taught to high school 11th and 12th graders to the elementary level? There are a few keys 1) make it a hands-on experience 2) remove the mathematical calculations and make it practical. In the past, I had the luck of bringing a handful of my physics students with me to guide the elementary students through the concepts that they had learned over the course of the year. But in my new role as a Teaching and Learning Speciali
One of my most formative video gaming experiences from childhood was playing one-on-one with my friends. I don't mean outside on the court, I mean on a computer. Yes, for those of you who aren't familiar with it one of the classic basketball games from the early 80's was a one-on-one game that pitted Larry Bird vs. Michael Jordan. I honestly don't have any great insight here tying the game to my classroom, just had to mention the game.
This week, my student in physics are putting together their final video project which is the culmination of the last 8 weeks of study. All the data has been collected and the concepts have been covered, but they need to create a text which will summarize their work.
Today was a day in which I spoke with groups about which concepts they would address in their video. A day like today is one in which I hate the phrase "guide on the side." I don't mind the idea of guide because in each of my conversations today, I was guiding students as through the information they found and the best concepts to include in their video. Students were expected to complete the following document to help guide the content of their video.
Think of this as an outline. If you don't expect students to write an essay without an outline, why should they be allowed to create a video without one as well.
At the end of the class period today, students had to complete a check in quiz on Canvas asking them 2 questions.
This quiz is similar to an exit slip. It will allow me to keep track of student progress, but also initiate conversations. I plan on adding another question in the quiz asking what issues/questions students have.
I look forward to seeing where we go as a class and as individual groups on day 2.
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