January ends!

January is a blur to me, however I want to take a moment and reflect on some of the highlights of this month before the dawn of February crosses my car dashboard tomorrow morning (providing I can see the dawn through the impending snow storm).  My one wish today is that I would wake up to this view tomorrow....

This has been an intense month of activity both for district work as well as for AEA work.  This month I:

• facilitated kit training on 4 MS FOSS units (Earth History, Weather and Water, Planetary Science and Chemical Interactions).  The impact of this time commitment is that I know that thousands of students will have a rich experience in science as their middle school teachers implement these kits over the next few years.
• co-facilitated the EiE kit training with Nannette.  The impact of this time commitment was that for a full day 8 teachers were engaged in active learning about a how the Engineering is Elementary kits can provide students with the opportunity to learn about STEM careers and the Engineering Design Process.
• designed, planned and delivered a full day of learning for the CCSD Cadre teachers on the Iowa Core Characteristic of Effective Instruction topic:  Assessment for Learning.  The impact of this was that I personally had the opportunity to coach with the HS and 5th/6th grade science teachers as they worked to embed the strategies of clear learning targets, success criteria and concept-based instruction into their current practices.
• designed, planned and co-facilitated a morning of professional learning for the Marion ISD K-12 vertical science team.  The impact of this was that we had a chance to reconnect and share ideas about effective instruction in science including a focus on AfL, Alignment and Tech Integration.  Another bonus was that through these relationships the 6-8 grade teachers are implementing more of the VAST MS kits and their students and principal, Amy Johnson are both very pleased with the results.
• provided instructional coaching to 6 teachers around their professional learning goals.  The impact of this was to deepen their understanding of the big ideas of their science curriculum and how best to help students achieve the learning targets through the use of effective feedback and/or performance based assessments.   An additional benefit was that I had the opportunity to practice my instructional coaching skills; which is my 2011-12 professional growth goal area.  I look forward to more opportunities to continue this type of support.
• enjoyed the ongoing privilege to provide support to Nannette as she uncovers the complexity of the job as Teacher in Residence.  The impact of this is sometimes hard to measure on a day to day basis ~ but my heart was warmed when Janine informed me that my support is appreciated.  Thanks for those kind words, Nannette.  I sometimes feel as though I am really letting you down when you need a cheerleader and I am focused on other work.

There were many more smaller tasks this month that all add up to a full, rich tapestry of days, minutes, hours and weekends of work.  My greatest hope is that the impact of this work/time will reach every learner ~ no matter if they are 60 or 6.

Good night to January, 2011.... on to February!!!

Google Science Fair Experiment - Extended

Check out all of the Web 2.0 tools on this site:  "'Cool Tools for Schools'."

A New Year and a New Appreciation for EiE

Wow!  What a start to the year 2011 I have had....gone are the days when I came back the first week of January and have a quiet week of organizing emails and files in order to prep for the 'spring rush'.  Instead these past two years my calendar shows a full week of professional development inservices and teacher collaboration opportunities during that first week of January.  I credit dedicated teachers who want to start the new year with a renewed focus on teaching in ways that ensure all students are learning. 

And with that thought I am inspired to write about the experience I had co-facilitating with Nannette today!

Today Nannette and I had the pleasure of planing an all day Engineering is Elementary kit training session targeting the CSI/OSO mini-grant teachers but including the new education leader for the Cedar Rapids Science Station and a classroom teacher who wishes to embed an EiE unit within her elementary science class.  We used the Professional Development Guide which was developed by the authors of the EiE program, the Boston Museum of Science.  It was a very helpful guide and allowed us to focus on the following important goals for the day....

EiE Goals:
Goal 1:  Increase children’s technological literacy.
Goal 2:  Increase elementary educators’ abilities to teach engineering and technology to their students.
Goal 3:  Modify the educational systems to include engineering at the elementary level.

Inservice Goals:  EiE Professional Development activities are designed to support educators who will use the EiE curriculum materials by developing their:

• knowledge of the structure and types of learning activities within one EiE unit as a model for all EiE units;
• confidence in teaching engineering;
• understandings of engineering as a career field, and of the Engineering Design Process (EDP), including how to apply the EDP to solve technological problems;
• appreciation for the types of teaching approaches and learning experiences that best serve engineering education.

Today we will:

• Develop a common definition of science, engineering and technology and how they relate to each other.
• Review the objectives of EiE units and the common 4-lesson structure.
• Experience the Engineering Design Process found in all EiE units.
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Essential Question(s):  How can implementing EiE units help students see themselves as engineers?

To accomplish these goals, Nannette and  I modeled all 4 lessons PLUS the prep lesson in the EiE kit titled:  Catching the Wind:  Designing Windmills.  In this unit the story focuses on Leif and his friend/cousin Dana learning about mechanical engineering as they using the EDP (Engineering Design Process) to catch the wind to help save Dana's fish (think windmill and paddle wheel).

If you want to learn more about EiE - please watch this embedded video from the Museum of Science in Boston....

Nannette,  as a friendly reminder can you draft a Google Form to collect feedback from our participants?  You might want to use the VAST Academy feedback questions as a model and then please add two open ended questions.

1. +  = please share what worked well today/ what supported your goals for attending / what aspects of the day that specifically helped you meet the goals established for today.
2. Delta = please share what changes you would recommend help the facilitators plan for the future.

When you finish the draft of the Google Form; please share it with me and I will offer feedback.

Thanks for sharing this opportunity to co-facilitate this EiE kit training with you and with the teachers!