As the Learning Liaison to Cannon Elementary: a GCISD Stem School, I will be posting weekly my random thoughts, observations, encouragement and celebrations.
This week of school is an exciting time for our scholars!! One way to join in their excitement is to give them a holiday specific design challenge!! I will be sharing with you via email two design challenges: The Final Snowman Stretch (primary-How tall can you build a snowman?) and Jingle All the Way (intermediate- Because the reindeer are getting older a new sleigh needs to be designed!)
I know you can adapt either of these for you scholars.
I leave you with a funny poem for teachers and hope your holiday is full of friends, family, and be sure to take a little time for yourself too! You all deserve it!!
The countdown to our winter break is hectic to say the least with students who seem to have more unfocused energy than ever. I read a blog I follow by George Couros and thought I would share it with you because his view of reality along with his encouragement is perfect to hear at this time of year! Even when we think our directions are clear, sometimes we just have to take a deep breathe and state them in a different way. I especially LOVE his last line...Continue to be the positive moment that kids will remember years from now. Isn't that why we teach?
This time of year can be emotionally exhausting, so here is something that might brighten up your day. Watch the GIF below of a dad teaching his son to hit a baseball and telling him to “keep his eye on the ball”:
I laughed hysterically at this when I first saw it, and then thought about how hard it is to be a teacher. The emotional roller coaster that a teacher can go on in a single day, hour, minute, is exemplified in this post.
Watch it again:
What do you see in a short span with the dad?
I see the following…
Frustration
Annoyance
Acceptance
Love
All things teachers can feel in a matter of seconds.
Thank you teachers for all that you do. I know that this is insanely tough job, but I appreciate all that you do to not only get your kids better, but to become better yourselves. The hardest part of being a teacher is knowing that you will never truly know the full impact of what you do. Just know that the best teachers make a difference.
Continue to be the positive moment that kids will remember years from now.
Walking around Family STEM Night listening to the scholars and parents having discussions about the engineering taking place was insightful. I realize that often teachers do not feel appreciated, but I can guarantee you that your hard work was noticed! The amount of team work and collaboration that took place to make such a successful event speaks to your creativity and professionalism to always strive to provide the best family experience for Cannon community.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Helen Keller
Tired of SCANNING into DMAC?
You have options that will guarantee your DATA is accurate!
Using the Online Student Response System, scholars can enter their answers directly into DMAC using their iPAD or Chromebook. Students also get instant feedback, as do you! To access the Unit Assessments for your grade, click on DMAC Elementary Test Key List and it will take you to a spreadsheet that has all the Unit Assessments for 1-5, Science TEKS checks (3-5) as well as Reading/Writing benchmarks. Once you are on the spreadsheet you can hyperlink to Unit Assessments and the Answer Keys. The Online Student Response System will be turned on during the windows of testing for the benchmark for 5 days and then it automatically turns off as a built in security measure. But if you miss the “window” all you have to do is let me know and I can have it easily turned back on. We need to do this the DAY before you test. Please let me know so I can schedule time to assist you!
As a reminder, Kinder still enters math benchmarks into Euphoria & DMAC is used for 1st-5th math as well as 3rd-5th Science TEKS checks.
TEACHERS AS FACILITATORS in a STEM Classroom Part 2
Following up from last week we will look at the last 3 levels of Bloom’s questions to facilitate STEM lessons through questioning. We will continue to work on adding to these questions to reinforce our desire of deepening understanding and expand problem solving among our scholars.
Level IV-ANALYZE
What are the parts or features that match the criteria being asked of you?
What was the turning point in your design?
What is the function of (point to part of the project)?
Why do you think this will work?
What evidence can you find that will support your thoughts?
What did you decide to change that part of your project?
How is this similar/different compared to your brainstorm design?
Level V-EVALUATE
Why was this better than your first design?
How would you rate or evaluate your project/design so far?
What changes would you recommend?
Is there a better solution to (problem with the project)?
How would you have handled (come up with problem they may have faced during project)?
How effective do you think your solution/design is? Explain
What would you recommend to other students who haven’t started this project yet?
Level VI-CREATE
What could be combined to improve how that works?
How would you adapt this to create a different design?
What changes would you make to solve that problem?
How would you improve (the weak part)?
How would you change/modify this so it does meet the criteria?
Teachers as Facilitators in the STEM Classroom - Part 1
To facilitate STEM lessons, teachers must prompt students to justify, design and evaluate ideas through their questioning. I recently read about a presentation on higher level questioning strategies in STEM lessons from Paul Pack and Deborah Haynie with the work they are doing at Liberty Elementary in Virginia. They took the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy framework and designed questions that would speak specifically to the EDP. This week we will look at the first 3 levels. Next week, we will explore the next 3 levels.
Level I-REMEMBER
What challenge/problem were you asked to solve?
How would you describe your project?
Level II-UNDERSTAND
What do you think might happen next?
Explain how this works.
What in your project shows (the new idea or criteria given)?
Level III-APPLY
Could this have happened/been used in (real life scenario given in design brief)?
What elements would you change if you did this again?
How would you solve (problem in their design) with what you have learned so far?
After reading a blog post by Engineering is Elementary on questioning strategies, I wondered how the intentional use of these types of questions could help us strengthen our scholars' understanding of each phase of the Engineering Design Process. Check out these five effective questioning strategies to help students process, engage and troubleshoot their own problems.
1. LEARNER-CENTERED QUESTIONS
“Tell me what you are making?”
“Can you tell me more about your design?”
“What materials did you choose?”
“Can you describe the materials you are using?”
2. HIGHER-ORDER QUESTIONS
“What did you find out in your research?”
“Why do you think this will work?”
“Can you think of another solution?”
3. PROBING QUESTIONS
“Tell me more about what you mean by that?”
“How did you come to that answer?”
“Let me see if I understand you. Are you saying . . . ?”
4. EVIDENCE-GATHERING QUESTIONS
“What happened when you tested your design? What did it do? What did you see?”
“What do you think is happening? Why do you think that?”
“What would you change about your design? Why?”
“What do you think will happen if you make that change? Why?”
5. STUDENT GENERATING QUESTIONS
What do you need to know about ________________ in order to improve your design? (Examples of the blank could be “wind energy” or “force in motion”.)
What do you know how ____________ works in the real world that will help you improve your design? (Examples of the blank could be “turbines”, “fences”, “roller coasters”, “bridges”
I also realized that #5 - Student Generating Questions not only aligns directly to the iteration process, but it also applies to the Distinguished category on the T-TESS rubric Dimension 1.4 (The teacher plans engaging, flexible lessons that encourage higher order thinking, persistence and achievement.) In order to reach the Distinguished level, the rubric states that the teacher must design learning that provides: Opportunities for students to generate questions that lead to further inquiry and promote complex, higher-order thinking, problem solving and real-world application.
So.... beyond the fact that developing great questioning skills can deepen student learning, as well as strengthen our own instructional practices, it is also simply an important skill to develop....for life! I leave you with the quote from the bookA More Beautiful Question.
This question comes up from time-to-time and people often find it confusing in the elementary teaching world. I thought I would give a little insight into a traditional expository essay vs. the state tested expository test we prepare our students to take.
I found this generic definition online: The expository essay is a genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner
Well, in Texas, an expository essay is what I call a "personal expository". A type of informational text that clarifies or explains something. Students must explain their opinion, or knowledge, or thinking about a given topic. Expository writing is explanatory. Please read through these notes from Victoria Young, Director of Reading, Writing, and Social Studies Assessments at TEA.
Victoria Young's Discussion about Expository
Expository essays must explain what the student thinks about a topic. The student is free to explore the ambiguities of the issue.
To be focused, an expository essay must be centered around an explicit, specific controlling idea, which represents the student's take on the topic.
The controlling idea must be a direct statement of what the student will explain and must give the reader a clear idea of the goal of the essay.
The best development is real, based on a student's own experiences and thinking about the world.
Good development can't happen without good progression, and good progression requires meaningful transitions.
Student's presence in the writing itself, his personal feelings and thinking about the topic all expressed through what the student chooses to develop and how.
What impedes thoughtfulness and individuality: formulaic approaches and 5 paragraph essays=lack of thoughtfulness student uses fill in the box strategy
All of our Kinder-5th grade teachers need to keep this in mind as you ask your students to do expository writing in the classroom. In 4th grade, students are required to write expository essays for STAAR, from their own experiences and thinking about the world. Introducing this type of thinking/writing earlier than 4th grade is critical to their development and success on 4th grade STAAR!
