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
I've been to a few conferences and conventions in my time. I've heard quite a few keynote speeches in that time. But on day 2 of PBL World, I think I finally understood the purpose of a keynote speech and speaker is. I could go on describing the keynote, but I won’t. The keynote speaker was Stephen Ritz. That’s all I'll say as preamble. Please take the time to watch the keynote and feel yourself empowered to get out of your chair and plan a project for change. Try to resist, you can’t. For more info on Stephen and his students, head to greenbronxmachine.org . So what was going through my mind during this presentation? Well, my mind drifted to possible projects. The driving question that came to my mind was “How can you cost effectively grow food in a room with no windows?” My classroom has no windows so it would be perfect. Growing plants may be a perfect project for a biology classroom, but what place does it have in a physics classroom? My co-tea