There has been a slight hold up in mailing out the books. You should get your book early next week (after July 15th). However, you can get started now trying out the blog and practicing posting. So- here's a starter question for you: What has been the most helpful part of your professional development in SCITEC or TIES thus far? How has it (or will) contribute to connecting engineering to science education in your classroom or leadership work in your district?
So far I took part in the Early Mathematical Thinking workshops and in a webinar. The EMT workshop was the most immediately helpful in tracking student thinking in mathematics and offering ways to help them revise or extent their thinking. The webinar was fun and provided evidence that adults like playing with engineering concepts as much as kids. I will be going on the Boston Museum trip next week and will also be participating in two other engineering workshops this summer.
ReplyDeleteI went to the NSTA Regional Conference in Hartford, CT last fall. I attended many workshops, and found that there are many ways to incorporate engineering into the curriculum. I teach Earth Science, and this fall, I will be adding some Physical Science concepts into my curriculum, and I can see some places where the engineering design process can fit in. I will be working this summer to try and incorporate some of them. I also have many questions about STEM and engineering in particular. It seems that most of the projects I have seen just have the students doing small engineering projects, and do not include any long term research, which if I am reading things right, is also part of the STEM idea. I hope to gather more resources through this blog, and share them with others in my district. I am already bookmarking and sharing websites with my colleagues through LiveBinder. I will send the link to Page.
ReplyDeleteI have received training with the Early Mathematical Thinking workshops in my district. I use those screenings twice a year with my students. It provides me with instructional information. I am very excited that my school will be a part of SCITEC. I have signed up for 3 professional opportunities already. I am thrilled to be a part of the group going to the Boston Museum next week. I would love to bring engineering into my second grade classroom.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first opportunity to participate in SCITEC/TIES professional development. I am excited for our school to be a part of this program especially as my own teaching role becomes more science focused. I plan on taking advantage of the many summer workshops and look forward to meeting everyone.
ReplyDeleteI, too, use the EMT, twice a year and have been to trainings. I am just this summer learning about all the opportunities we have by being part of the SCITEC group. How long has SCITEC or TIES been around and what will it look like for out students now, 1 year from now, 5 years? I hope to learn so much through this initiative that I can bring back to my students and ignite a passion for engineering in them.
ReplyDeleteI just returned from Wisconsin to find this book in my mailbox- perfect to alternate with sweat-drenched gardening! I have never blogged before, so I will jump right in-
ReplyDeleteMy first reaction to TIES when I learned of it was that it might be "too much", since I was hired the day before school started (!) as a first year science teacher, Grade 7. But- I had been teaching K-college art for nearly 15 years, including at a couple middle schools, had a life science degree (toward veterinary school, like Page) and had worked with scientists for awhile after that before I got the belated teaching bug.
Nevertheless, Lynn Farrin's professional development classes were so darn fun that I found myself drawn in, particularly by the design aspect, tapping into the thrill of creative solutions.
Still not feeling confident, and not having actually started any "engineering challenges" for students in my classes, I took all my Grade 7 girls to UMO for a Girls Engineer Maine experience. I figured I would go with "kindergarten mind" and be a co-learner. As we planned for my trip, my co-workers' comments were telling; they thought the trip sounded like a boring "educational" thing. No, the fascinating endeavor of engineering has not yet integrated into our culture! The GEM trip was super-fun and wildly successful as indicated by the huge numbers of girls who did career reports (in another class) stating that they would like to become engineers! Even those girls who knew it was not for them gained a total appreciation of the field.
Thus bolstered, I started doing engineering design stuff in my science classes. It was the most fun we had had all year! I saw again what I knew as an art teacher: human beings like to make things! It engaged even my most resistant students. Using success or failure to judge the outcomes of the designs was so natural, especially when un-coupled with judgement of students personally (grades were based on process).
Apparently the TIES program is working, because I cannot imagine giving any of this engineering-design stuff up! At the moment I am working on how to incorporate it into my curriculum, since the measurement topics our district is using (as part of the standards-based cohort) do not explicitly target engineering, and even the Nature of Science is (I am told) going to be placed within a general Habits of Mind category.
To those of you new to TIES or SCITEC: take advantage of as many prof dev offerings as you can! They are great!
I am new to SCITEC and very excited about doing this work. This Spring, I was able to attend the STEM conference and had many wonderful discussions about the role of engineering in our science curricula. Many teachers/administrators expressed concerns about how they were going to add "one more thing" in their current classes. I realized that I was among the few who saw engineering and design as a piece of what we do already. I was therefore thrilled to learn about and become a member of SCITEC, so that I could share ideas with others and continue the discussion.
ReplyDeleteAs a participant at the Sebasco Harbor workshop, I was able to continue these conversations informally as well as participate in a fabulous professional development opportunity. I will be working with other SCITEC members in our district to present and disseminate the information about NGSS, and am excited to try out some of the skills we developed at the workshop.
Mary Ellen," how are we going to teach one more thing" is a valid concern. Do we need to ask ourselves, What is really important now? What will help our students the most to prepare them for life? What are we doing that is really wasting time ?
DeleteI totally agree Linda. I think that as we plan curricula, we need to continually ask these questions. I especially focus on the question, what will my students need to know about this subject in 5 years? I think we all look at some of the standards (I am a generalist so I teach 5 different subjects throughout the year) and feel that they are not appropriate for the age level we teach, or that they only scratch the surface of what our students want to know. Since our world is changing faster than the standards can be revised, I believe that we should all look at them through the lens of students' needs and abilities and the changing needs of the workplace.
DeleteOutstanding professional development opportunities this school year in the way of; EMT,Early Mathematical Training Workshops,a webinair,several days attending Engineering and STEM workshops at NSTA Regional Conference in Hartford,CT,Teaching is Elementary,and participanting in the Sebasco Harbor workshop have provided a plethoria of science oriented lessons which need honing adjustments based on the new standards.
ReplyDeleteUtilizing several of the lessons this past year; the Marshmellow Challenge (structural engineering design) and "Come Back to Me Can"(potential and kinetic energy) come to mind. The experiences were dynamic,100% engagement,engineering and science made simple,interdisciplinary lessons. I am convinced we need to incorporate these types of opportunities for the primary grades building an engineering knowledge base awareness that is thought provoking,fun,exciting, and leads to extensions.
The best part of Scitec has been the various professional development opportunities. Last summer I attended a 3 day workshop at USM in which we spent the majority of the time going into some depth about different steps of the Engineering process. The engineering professor would describe each part of the engineering process, then he gave an example about creating a log holder for cutting wood, and then we would be given time to apply that same step to our task which was to design a novel way to demonstrate the principles of bouyancy. This workshop allowed to experience in better depth the process. I also loved some quick engineering tasks at the 2011 June professional development at Point Look Out - egg carts, egg cathchers, and penny boats. I loved the unbelievable expense paid trip to teh National Science Teachers Convention this spring and this past June's presentation on public speaking at Sebasco Harbor. I loved the Linx lab I worked through just yesterday- hand on knowledge of how to use the materials is priceless and an actual kit to boot is unheard of- just what all teachers need to implement engineering into their classes.
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