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 finished reading Thomas Guskey’s On Your Mark last night in preparation for a discussion we had today on grading as a part of our PD at Brookfield Central. As a part of the preparation for the discussion, we were asked to read an article on grading and share out our thoughts in an Ed Camp style environment. Different rooms focused on different practices. I was shocked to realize we had been talking for almost an hour when our time was up. I felt like we had just begun digging deep. It was a great feeling to hear these conversations occurring with a positive mindset. Every once few months I read, see, or hear something that really makes me realize the box I’ve placed myself in. The box that has been revealed to me this week is the box of using percentages to guide grading. Like anyone trying to look outside of the box they are in, these views may seem a bit fragmented. It’s my hope that putting them down will help me see the logic in the truth Guskey puts forward. So