Changing+Our+Practices

Monday- Science 1) Observation-
 * use of language/vocabulary to describe- can be restricting ( not necessarily representative of what a learner can convey through other means)
 * introducing vocab after an experience instead can help with establishing connections
 * use observations without words
 * use memory
 * talking/discussing
 * together we built a body of knowledge (knowledge as a social activity)
 * built the desire to know the vocabulary- through collective discovery, motivation is heightened, build inquisitiveness
 * generate questions (an indicator that there was a provocation, something new was experienced)
 * "I have so much more I'm thinking about" - intrinsic engagement and motivation
 * the process we used:
 * 1) describe object from **memory** with words,
 * 2) then draw object from memory,
 * 3) look at actual object and edit written/verbal(dictated description
 * 4) look at object and make new drawing
 * 5) view collective observations and discuss, bringing in vocabulary
 * 6) generate questions
 * 7) written/verbal reflections

To introduce a science topic/concepts use observation:
 * activate prior knowledge through hands-on activities or artistic renderings/observations to generate information from your students
 * Having the hands-on activity allows all students to participate regardless of prior knowledge.
 * scaffolding use of specific vocabulary- first draw pictures and/or, then use more specific words to label and describe / vocabulary building in an activity context within a rich sensory environment, i.e. see, touch, smell, taste
 * we know more than we realize- but often feel that we don't know- we want to celebrate what our students do know, help them access more, and build on the collective knowledge - we want to celebrate that children can work together to come to know new things - that they are learners.
 * commit to making time for reflection to note what has been learned, discovered, changed, etc. ("notebooking")
 * Try this terrific sheet for students to use when making observations (contributed by Cynthia!) [[file:Memory vs Observation.doc]]

2) The Scientific Process
 * Honor the scientific process by committing to "speak" it, follow it, make it a part of the process. 1- make an observation, 2- test it, research it, explore it, 3- make a conclusion
 * look and listen for the moments- opportunities to insert this into our units/lessons
 * be willing to insert and spend the time
 * Make a school wide consensus on how we will name the Scientific Process (ask Jennifer Beasley for the one she recommended last summer) (scaffold the language for younger students but keep the same throughout the grades)
 * Identifying the "STEM" roles we take on everyday, throughout the day- "we are scientists today", "Problem solvers" (for younger student- make caps/hats, headbands that say it!)
 * Every class should have a poster of the Processes- Scientific, Engineering, etc.
 * Are there opportunities through out the day for students to independently conduct their own investigations, i.e. record an observation, ask a question for further investigation, note and record an out of the ordinary event, ask a big question about a little thing?

3) Scientific Inquiry
 * group work- collaboration, clear and specific instructions and directions, time period/frame
 * open-ended, include parameters (ie: include specific vocabulary, # of resources, group roles, presentation format (technology?)
 * teacher assessment through observation- used to improve collaboration, identify strengths and weaknesses (areas for further development), teach (allow for discovery of ) students what works- can be shared with students- this is what collaboration looks like: leaning in, eye-contact, attentiveness) [use of PBL groupwork rubrics on D3 Magnet wiki space]

Group Roles
 * need to be introduced
 * practiced
 * then students can be given choice

4) Share out/Presentation (include in the weekly lessons as the last few days prior to STEMulating Your Mind) 5) Reflections
 * beliefs
 * history
 * connections
 * emotional responses
 * interests

Tuesday- Technology

What did we discuss and learn: history of tech- how it spreads and grows, tools, electronic kits, we not only use tools we create them ie; reflection tools (made samples of student and teacher reflections,) how we organize ourselves is a tool- in a circle, in rows/columns, relationships that it allows for and expects, the words we use and print shapes our world and is therefore a tool, print shapes thought so some of the other tools we use shape thought. tech makes our life easier, but how and why does it work- we don't spend enough time on that aspect (look inside it, make their own)- why we did our activities- made electrical circuits, etc.- we were making tools/technologies but we still thought about it as science- and made connections to the science not looked at as technology!


 * __How we will change-__**
 * We need to add to our tech curriculum to include learning about tech tools/objects- how does tech work, why does it work, tinker with computers/activities that use tech to figure how it works!!!!!!!
 * Collaboration- High importance- consider strengths and weaknesses- groupings that complement these, helping students to work with each other and build on these, its good to have mixed groups, fostering different dispositions- focus on strengths not deficits, different viewpoints, emotional climate of the collaboration
 * Important to add **reflection**- talk about what works, how students collaborate- point out and be specific, build these skills and abilities
 * Allow for confusion and frustration- build resilience for this (validate this) !!! builds problem solving and critical thinking skills this way!
 * Use more Improvisation games- help support creativity, working through confusion, build community and communication
 * Consider when we give explanation and directions- how much exploration and discovery can be beneficial vs. frustrating (some need to know more earlier on while others benefit from UNcovering what is happening).
 * CONSIDER 21st Century skills!!!!
 * Use the word WE more often (ie; what did WE learn today?- you still get what the individual learned but the message is a collective one)

Wednesday-Engineering Games Self Made Toys Reflection Group Activity
 * Three Headed Expert: 3 people sit together as the "3 headed expert" while the interviewer asks each member specific questions about a single random topic. The answers did not have to be truthful, but had to appear as if the expert knows of what they speak. Used for building trust, communication, creativity. Can be used as a pre or post assessment but with the risk of the educational focus overriding the risk free/team building environment
 * Machine Game: One at a time each member must go to the center and make a repetitive movement and accompanying sound so that each member is a part of the larger machine. An outsider calls for the machine to speed up or down. Used for team building and creativity.
 * We have to provide a model of the finished piece as well as model going through the process. Before starting a project, the teacher should have a completed model and have gone through the process to be able to foresee an issues that could arise when the students are attempting and be better able to support the students. Engineering is fun and creative! As the teachers we should be bringing out the engineering enthusiasm. Engineers make toys and that toys can be made out of anything. We can use engineering to teach science and math concepts and at the same time we can't do engineering without applying mathematical and scientific concepts. It's all connected.
 * Hands on: We were given bag of random objects (junk drawer garbage) with the directions to make something as a group. We began by looking at what was there and were drawn to the storage bag box which could be used as a "building". We then saw a lightbulb so thought our building could be a "lighthouse." From that point on individual roles emerged-Ms. Blair figured out how to make the lightbulb light, Ms. Sabree worked on stabalizing the structure, Ms. Petev added creative elements, Ms. Darensbourg and Ms. Johnson assisted where ever necessary. Ms. Blair tried her best to keep the bulb lit by putting a lot of tape and Ms. Sabree helped with the tape to stabalize it.
 * How can we use this in our classroom: It's worthwhile for us to closely observe groups as they work because what we see will be helpful in teaching the children how to communicate, how to work together. Another option would be to videotape and watch as a class to discuss what were the strengths and weaknesses of the group work. The instructor gave us questions to present on our creation. How did we go about building the structure? What was a challenge for us? We need to have the students practice verbalizing the process because it will help them to verbalize because this is an important 21st century skill. There is also literacy skills built into verbalizing your process. As teachers, it is important that we realize that conversation occurring in the group might seem off task but actually and spur on the creativity and we should be wary to not tell them not to talk. We should also remember to use literature as a springboard for such engineering activities, which they can then create their own story as a follow up. Some classes and students will respond to the totally open ended engineering projects while others will require primarily the more structured variety.
 * Reflection: We reflected on our roles and how we felt about the activity. The instructor commented on our interaction which we all felt was something we are learning more and more (outside observer). Doing things as a group makes tasks less daunting and easier to manage. Bringing together students strengths contribute to the group's zone of proximal development. Different personalities helped us to complete the structure-some members giving tasks to others who were unsure of what to do kept the project moving. Build on people's strengths more so than their deficits. We need to be more open to working with who we have.

Thursday-Mathematics As a school that focuses on problem solving, our math practices should be more focused on real world problem solving and that the process we use in our world help us to problem solve our world. We should use math skills to help us problem solve and investigation. We need to be able to help teachers construct task that help students to problem solve. We need to help and support people in taking in the resources (TERC) into integrating these types of tasks. Process oriented learning tasks. We need to use the same problem solving language throughout the grades so that their is a common speech. (using the engineering process language in science and math). What would problem solving in K/1 look like? There should always be a reason or motivation for what we learn. If you ask a Kindergartner to divide something in half, they would be lost but if we ask the students what we should do if we have 4 students and only 2 crackers-->the students would know that you need to break the cracker in half.

Proposed Task: If we have a bag of jelly beans on this table and we need to make sure everyone gets the same number of jelly beans and leave the remainder on the table, how would we do this? Note: The task has to be framed out/supported by having the teacher discuss with the class beforehand what would be the best way to approach this problem. The process is a game with rules-->do you take 2? do you take 5? where would this get us? The teacher could write out the different suggestions and try one out as a group and discuss the results and then have the individual groups try out each of the other suggestions and discuss the results with their own group. The teacher should be making sure to drop in the vocabulary in the whole class so that the individual groups could try to incorporate the vocabulary on their own.

Side Note: When working as a group, be sure to tap into the people who are isolating themselves by asking them to elaborate on what they're saying to move the conversation forward.

Looking at TERC: How do we approach creating an activity based on the TERC curriculum? For this inaugural year we will follow TERC as is and feel that the inherent real world problem solving of the program is enough for us to consider that we are doing math "the STEM way." Perhaps next year when we are better versed in TERC we can strive more towards tying the math units into our STEM units. That doesn't mean that we should incorporate non TERC lessons, strategies, concepts and games that we feel will benefit the students' needs.

Friday- Pedagogy Final Discussion: Assess our week-long process... Is a pedagogy of the group be possible and how? Is there such a thing as a group pedagogy? 1) yes.... we have already begun to put new learning into practice, collaboration, as a group if we agree to make certain changes in our practices, we have formed a group pedagogy 2) school culture vs. pedagogy- may truly be different things are these practices a way of building a school culture, whereas how we do it is our pedagogy 3) systemic change is what we are doing!!!! 4) our culture is our group pedagogy in that after this week we now have a more common approach- bringing in inquiry, playing, etc. to what we do. we have a more common vision of what we do that is STEM. school culture is truly connected to your pedagogy- dialectal relationship 5) successful schools have a group pedagogy- even when not called that. Everyone has to be in on it. redefine the group- we have stated that this group has a pedagogy but in order to be successful and be sustainable we need to widen the group to include everyone!!!! 6) so example- Montessori schools all have a particular pedagogy- what structures are in place for this: a philosophy, collaborations, approaches 7) what is STEM elementary education? we have begun to form our own pedagogy of STEM education- it is what we say it is?? if we are, what are we doing that shows that/if we are not, what should we be doing? As a group we need to keep asking these/answering these.... WE have to create the beliefs in our group, create a common philosophy 8) can we then be successful in this endeavor when not everyone has bought in or is on board? Get good at **inviting people in** (how do we do this?), making them feel successful, tell the story of what is happening/growing, etc. keep pressing forward, do it well and others will follow take more risks- as a group- let them know we need them, find others strengths, build on this 9) We are building from the bottom up- believe it, practice it everyday may not be a bright sunny day, but everyday is a new beginning to create one! 10) live life like a circle- no beginning, no ending 11) the collective work- must be WE!!!! this journey is being taken together, must be supported as a team, learn to work more as a team! Use "Yes, and" in our conversations add on to what others have to offer work to build good habits, support each other in doing so 12) NYIT mtg- providing vouchers for college credits (get one credit for 30 hours of PD) Can use to take courses online or in person at any school within NYIT

Can we use our STEM Problem Solving Processes Chart????