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
In spring of this year, I posted about a plan for personalizing practice in my classroom by creating physical and digital learning zones within the classroom . Well, a lot of physical and curricular changes occurred in my learning environment over the summer. So, I’m ready to start putting that plan into action. In terms of the curricular space of my learning space, I have 2 collaborators to thank. My co-teacher Andelee Espinosa and I are working to reach all learners in our classroom. The needs of our learners in physics encompasses a broader spectrum than ever before. We teach in a fully inclusive classroom in which over ⅓ of our physics students have an identified learning disability for which they receive accommodations. We firmly hold the belief that all of our learners can do physics. They may not all reach the same endpoint, but we can help all learners make gains in their ability to “do physics”. It is one thing to say that we want to reach all learners, but it