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 spent the first part of my summer doing some professional reading and am ready to start putting that thought into my practice. As I've been reading, I'm aware that it's summertime. The time for infused waters to drink on a hot day and infused oils to accompany our garden fresh salads. As we look to bring habits of mind into our classroom we need to be cognizant that they are already a part of our classroom work. But, we may not be including them explicitly in our assessment pieces. As we look at our course standards we need to be sure that they are infused with these habits of mind and brand them that way. As I am aligning my course to Next Generation Science Standards, I am realizing that the overarching standards for my course will be based on science practices not simply content. When looking at these practice standards, it’s clear that habits of mind are deeply integrated in them. I have created proficiency scales for each of the practices and wil