Summer of Learning with the Caltech Community Science Academy
Summers are a great time to travel, take it easy, catch up on projects around the house and… learn. That is what I have been doing this Summer. I participated in #caedchat this past Sunday and that is one of the questions we were “talking” about by @jcorippo . One of the challenges I’ve had these past few Summers is finding face to face professional development opportunities. This Summer I participated in a NGSS workshop as part of the Caltech Community Science Academy facilitated by with SKIES Learn a local edtech software start up. A partnership between a local university, edtech companies, and community schools is a great model for professional development.
I’ve been an elementary school teacher for 20 years + and I’ve seen lots of changes with standards in all subjects across the curriculum. NGSS is yet another one of these shifts in standards based education. I do see a correlation with Common Core standards in ELA and Math as well as the focus of language learning and focus on English Language Learners. The major shift is in applying critical thinking and deeper thinking as well as collaborating with others in learning. The added layer that I’ve learned this Summer is integrating technology in collaborative learning. This ties in well with ISTE technology standards for students.
Dedicating four of my Tuesdays spread out over a month was a great way to engage in professional learning. Our workshop facilitators did not come in as experts. It is great modeling to what we are supposed to be doing in the classroom as teachers. They organized our learning around hands on science learning opportunities, breaking down the performance expectations in NGSS and time collaborate and plan. In the organization of the workshop we exposed to not only our grade level curriculum and standards but all grades K-6.
My next steps include time to plan out my school year and look for opportunities to apply the pedagogy and strategies I experienced in the workshop. This includes looking at the available resources in my own school to have materials for hands on science and plan which materials I need to get a hold of. A big part is continuing collaborative planning. I was fortunate to have a partner teacher from my grade level attending the training also. We are going to see if we can include the other upper grade teacher at our school in this process. The other piece I am looking at exploring further is collecting evidence of student learning in a digital portfolio and looking for opportunities for assessment.
So, how has your Summer of Learning coming along. Tag me on twitter @edtechjoe and let me know.
