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
Yesterday we held EdCamp Elmbrook 2019. It was our 3rd time putting on this event in our district. While last year we had around 120 attendees, this year we broke 200 in attendance. If you are not sure what an EdCamp is, it is an UnConference model. Attendees come to the event and propose the topics for the sessions they want. While these sessions are being pitched, the schedule for the day is being built. For each session a communal notes document is created for sharing thoughts and ideas for those in the sessions but also for those who are in other sessions or those who can't be in attendance. Below, you will find our schedule for the day along with session notes documents linked The variety of the sessions was incredible. This is due to the fact that EdCamps aren't geared to one specific population. It is not a tech conference, it is not a literacy conference, it is not an administrator's conference. It is a conference that is shaped by the needs, i