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
5 years ago I published my very first blog post. It was a post highlighting my very first ever conference presentation. Detailing my first attempt to redesign my physics course to put students closer to the center of their own learning. Both the presentation and the blog post were really my first time putting my practice out for a large community. Both of these were steps that I took on my own. But, over the past 5 years many people have given me the opportunity to refine my practice in the classroom and share my work with a larger audience. So, I wanted to take a chance to thank them for making me feel more confident in every risk that I take. All of the changes I’ve brought to my classroom have been with the help of my co-teacher Andelee Espinosa . It’s interesting to look at the presentation we just gave over the weekend highlighting strategies and tools in our fully inclusive physics classroom. All of these changes wouldn’t be possible without the support of my administr