Classroom III

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

When I have the craving for a turkey sandwich, the last thing I can handle is looking in the refrigerator and not being able to find the mustard, mayonnaise, sandwich meat, and the cheese slices. I am very careful to put stuff back in their place so I can find it the next time. So, what does this have to do with science teaching?

This school year, our district has undergone many changes. Gandhi’s words and my experience with my frig remind me that I have changed as well. I am a year older, a few pounds heavier, and more set in my ways. With this in mind, when I look in the mirror on Monday morning, thinking about how I have to remember the changes I want to see in the world.

Teaching my students about the world around them is a humbling undertaking. One strategy that I am wanting to try this year is project-based learning. I should have spent more time this summer thinking about what kinds of projects. However, my mind would just not allow me to go there. It was my vacation from school stress. Last year…well, it was last year.

This year, our instructional “projects” include:

• Student podcasts
• Student blogs and wikis
• digital storytelling
• Claymation animation
• cell division
• plant growth cycle
• Wisconsin Fast-Grow plants
• “Parking lot” geology
• Virtual field trip to the estuary
• Minerals lab
• Rock lab
• Fossil lab
• Friday Seminars – example Float Your Boat
• How to use Moodle to learn science

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