Problem: Students Not Using Science Terms

Science teacher checking in.

I've drilled and drilled about using Science terms in their labs, in their writing, in their communication. I've given them a vocabulary sheet in front of them while they take a quiz, and they still do not use the vocabulary.

I think I have a solution.

The next Grade 7 unit is Heat in the Environment. The first thing I will do is give them the terms of the unit, and they will create vocabulary cards, similar to the ones they do for French. We will post them around the lab stations. I'm thinking two per word, depending how many we have.

I did it again for our Structures and Mechanisms unit and this is what our board looked like in the end. In general the Grade 8s really shined in learning and using the Science terms and we will keep working with those 7s next year!

I think next year, every time they do a written response for Science, I will have them highlight the vocabulary words they are using. Hopefully that will help!

I think the best part about this time of year is that I noticed them using the Science terms during the presentations of their structures. This was the most ambitious of the structures, made entirely from recovered materials that were saved from going to the landfill. We had a great year in Science!

Inquiry Works even if it's new to all!

As I reflect on this past year, I'm happy to report that my hands on, inquiry based intermediate Science program was an overall success.

I began the year with a group of Grade 8s who had not had a lot of variety in the way they were expected to show their learning in Science class. By that I mean, they took notes, read from a resource, received a study guide and took a test. Some of them were successful with this process, so in comes this teacher, new to them, wanting to them to show their learning in other ways.

Our last Science unit is usually the most collaborative and hands-on, structures and mechanisms. To make some of them feel better, I gave them their lessons and labs in advance, we followed the text book more closely than I have all year. I had high expectations when it came to how they show their learning in lab reports, but I gave them an option to document their findings using alternative ways, not just their lab book.

They all chose to show their learning in written lab report, although since I had been taking anecdotals along the way I still think most were successful overall, even though pencil and paper is not everyone's strength. As a culminating task, I provided them with this activity. The idea was that since there were so many interruptions those two weeks, they would be able to plan their learning and decide how they would showcase it. Most of them tapped into having conversations with me, and I kept track of these, but others chose not to. Even if they were working in groups, they needed to show how this new knowledge personally applied to them.

The magical moments became when I over heard a conversation go something like this:

"Mrs. Skibinski, what do you mean how does the system affect me personally?"

 Another would over hear and pipe up, "What's your system?"

"The transportation system."

"That's so easy! Buses emit green house gases which cause global warming!"

"But buses also help people get places when they don't have a car, we could take a bus because we can't drive a car."

and so on...

In the end, the conversations exploded exponentially more than any memorization of facts for the purpose of taking a test would have shown. If this group had been more open to using the blended learning discussion forums, I can only imagine the knowledge building that we would've accomplished!

My colleagues and I recently finished a collaborative inquiry project in which we investigated giving students a digital choice in showing their thinking and communication, our focus was on Math but it gave all teachers in the project more confidence to give student choice in other subject areas. One of the struggles I'm finding with "old school" teachers, is they feel parents will also question where the learning is if there is no paper evidence at the end, they don't feel trusted to use anecdotals and observations as a way to report to parents. But this Science class with a group of grade 8 students who have only been showing their learning by reading the textbook and taking a test for their whole elementary career, today they told me they even took spelling tests in kindergarten, was able to adapt.

Every month they do a reflection on their learning for me and when given the choice with what to do with the last two weeks, an overwhelming majority voiced that they wanted to do something hands on. Since I had given them hands on learning all along, I did give them the choice to write an inquiry report. A few of them did admit, "oh good, I like that."

I just hope that if you're an educator on the edge of trying something new and out of the box that your colleagues at your school may not be doing, you may feel lonely at first. Innovators usually are. Know that the students do appreciate it and it will be worth it in the end.

A Reflection on the OECTA Math and Technology Conference

My head is still spinning from all the conversations with the many educators that were at the CLC showcase and then after at the conference. A few things stuck out at me, perhaps because they happened last.

My team presented our CLC project at the conference. We were only one of four teams who presented our story. I was so very proud of how far we've come. The time we spent sharing, growing, planning was invaluable. The feedback we received from the educators who attended our session was so very positive. When you are an innovator, sometimes it can be very lonely, but we felt to be in good company at the conference.

One of our key note speakers was Dr. Peter Lilijedahl, I'm still musing over his presentation and of the importance of "building thinking classrooms." It turns out that random groups, the very basis of our project, is one of the three pillars. We also created good tasks, and in a way vertical surfaces when they work with the smart board or do the chart paper on the board, but most of our students still prefer to write horizontally on paper. I'm not sure if I'm ready to remove the furniture and cover my room in whiteboards, but it's definitely food for thought. He also mentioned that engagement is hard to measure, as a Scientist and Mathematician, although I don't like it, as an educator, I believe it.

The other key note speaker who got my mind going, was Dr. Lisa Lunney Borden who mentioned that the research indicates streaming classes don't benefit students. The idea of Growth Mindset opposes streaming as well, how can we peg them in Grade 8? I suppose they can always upgrade, but even high school students will tell me, many of them choose the wrong path and have to reassess in Grade 9 or 10 or even later.

There's so many things I want to try in my classroom, I was dreaming about spiralling Math. I've thought for a long time that the way the Math curriculum is organized into strands makes it so fragmented. I try my best to touch on the many strands, more than just once, but since this is my fifth curriculum in five years, the best I can do is follow the scope and sequence. I will definitely be working on spiralling grade 7 next year, as I get to teach the same thing again.

It was such a wonderful opportunity to share time and space with so many innovating educators. I hope I continue to have these conversations.