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
The idea of a personalized learning environment seems like a wonderful idea. Students working at their own pace and on their own way to demonstrate mastery of learning targets. But as a teacher, it seems like an impossible task to manage. How could it be possible to keep everyone on track? It has the possibility of being a chaotic environment which could feel like a free for all. This week in our physics course, we are finally seeing what we had envisioned become reality. We are into our 3rd unit of the school year. It is projectile motion and we're nearing the end of it. For their summative assessment for the unit, students will be assessed using the following rubric. Although all students had the same outcomes, they were given a variety of different ways to demonstrate mastery. Option 1: Sports Project Check-in Our project for the 1st term focuses on the driving question “How can I use physics to hack sports?” Students are focusing on a specific techni