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
When I prepare a lecture (yes there is still a place for it in my classroom), it is often filled with questions for my students to answer. Most of these questions I already know the answer to. I cast myself in the role of expert. But what happens when learners don’t care about the questions I am asking them? When they are given the space to ask the questions that they are curious about, will I still be the expert in the room? These are the questions that used to worry me. If I’m not the expert with the answers, what will happen? Over time I have learned that there is no way I could know the answer to every question a student has about physics. I’ve learned to be ok with not being the only expert in the room. We have a vast world of resources at our fingertips. So, while I may not know the answer to every physics question, my learners and I can work together to vet resources and we can co-design provide the experiences that will help them make sense of some of the more comp