[…]professional development experiences happen at the expense of the teacher, or aren’t in a comfortable setting, or aren’t really beneficial to a teacher’s professional development. As a Knowles Fellow, I’ve been reminded that teachers are professionals. We are worth the time and money. Through Knowles, I have participated in professional development in comfort (physically and financially), and in turn, I have been pushed to think outside of my comfort zone (educationally). I have learned that teachers can truly thrive together when they are shown that their profession is valued. -Kellie Stilson, 2016 Teaching Fellow The first few years of […]
[…]it separates those people who perceive they “can do math” from those who believe they “can’t.” Activist Bob Moses of the Algebra Project takes it a step further calling fluency in algebra “the gatekeeper for citizenship” (Moses and Cobb, 2001, p. 14). Six years ago, my colleague and I were brainstorming a way to support students to develop this kind of fluency. We had the idea to stretch out the traditional x-y table so there was one column for each step between x and y. These would eventually be called story tables because they helped students see the story of […]
[…]refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity” (“HS-LS2-7 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics,” n.d.). Simulations are a powerful way to allow students to explore and use data from complex, dynamic systems in a more targeted and simpler framework. To help students accomplish the goal of this and other NGSS standards, I built two computer models that allow students to adjust initial conditions and run simulations based on those conditions, giving them opportunities to experiment and explore these complex systems in a manageable way. Both models run online in web browsers and are […]
[…]so that we can plan together,” she reasoned. Her profile to my left quickly became a familiar, comfortable thing; her spot was strewn with pictures of her two kids and husband, healthy snacks and empty bags of chips—clutter that contrasted with her incredibly detail-oriented mindset and organized, composed nature. Andrea used to sit at the far end of the table, but relocated to the opposite side of the table in October, next to Lynn. It happened suddenly, with little fanfare, after a quiet conversation between her and Lynn one lunch period—she piled up her towers of books and wheeled her […]
[…]three sticky notes to record what they would add to the model, what they would take away, and what new questions they had (see Figure 3). We then added their new questions to the driving questions board. Incorporating multiple models and tools The next question we considered was, “How does heat affect the particle arrangement and motion in solids, liquids, and gases?” We used a virtual simulation, States of Matter (PhET, n.d.), and a worksheet from a unit by MI-STAR, “Water on the Move: The Water Cycle” (Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform, n.d.), to support students to use their […]
[…]by an insurmountable challenge, overall I feel like we are learning how to use language as a tool for making connections, developing content knowledge, and building relationships. 1 Student names are pseudonyms to protect privacy. Download Article Kristin Berry, a 2015 Knowles Teaching Fellow, is a science teacher in Helena, Montana. She previously taught biology and AP Biology in Denver, Colorado and is excited to bring this inquiry to her new context. Outside the classroom, Kristin can be found doing field observations, usually in the form of mountain biking, rock climbing, or floating down rivers. Reach Kristin at […]
[…]Fellow My teacher super power is the ability to find the power in any student’s thinking. Instead of thinking about, “What is your misconception?”, I can, on the fly, figure out, “What question did you answer instead?” -Shira Helft, Senior Fellow My teacher superpower is my infectious energy. My students have told me that my ‘level of intensity’ pushes them to try in mathematics, even when they historically haven’t experienced success. I know when to push students and when to give them space to wrestle with their understanding. -Dwaina Sookhoo, Senior Fellow Download […]
