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
Our PLC book club meet this week to dig into Chapter 2 of Dr. Rickabaugh’s Book. Chapter 2 is a big one for educators as it is a breakdown of the Honeycomb Model developed by the Institute for Personalized Learning. Rather than try to tackle the whole thing at once, I proposed we start at the center with the Core Components and dig deep into the Learning and Teaching elements. Each member of the PLC was given a choice as to which element they were most interested in. They were then asked to focus in on it and try to find some resources to share with that element. The resources could take the form of a lesson they tried or wanted to try in class that they believe represents that element. The resource could also be examples found online of how teachers can incorporate this element into their learning environment. The plan was that we would start in small groups based on element chosen. The small groups would discuss that element and try to understand it more deeply t