Meet Kaia Tomokiyo, 2022 PAEMST State Finalist
Kaia Tomokiyo teaches Kindergarten Science at Sartori Elementary in the Renton School District.
What is the most important thing you learned about teaching because of the pandemic?
The pandemic really emphasized the importance of families learning together at home. I could interact with each student in their home environment, I could utilize aspects of each student’s home life during my instruction. For example, during writing, I could refer to specific items that students had in their bedrooms, or mention their pet fish in the background. I felt really connected with those students and even now, while those students are in first grade and no longer in my class, I feel like I have a much stronger personal connection to that student and their families.
Is there a distance learning lesson that you are continuing to use?
Many of my distance learning lessons were modified from my typical lessons. I continue to use digital tools with my students, like using Seesaw to record their ideas about their work. The pandemic showed us that very young children, even kindergarten students, can utilize many of the digital tools that older students typically use.
How has the pandemic impacted your students’ relationship to math and science?
Having to teach remotely has really emphasized the fact that science is all around us and that everyday interactions with nature are scientific. We engaged in many science lessons by making observations of our backyards and neighborhoods during lockdown. These experiences really showed that nature is a curriculum and you don’t need a lot of “stuff” to do science! During science lessons, we took advantage of having planned but non-evaluative conversations about the world, which opened the space for children to engage in scientific practices such as asking questions. These conversations supported student participation and ongoing engagement in science, particularly during discussions about why and how things worked, which worked well for distance learning.
What advice would you give to parents or caregivers who want to incorporate more science and mathematical thinking into their elementary students’ lives?
The advice I would give to parents and caregivers would be to find opportunities during the day to notice the world around you and ask your child to point to things that they are noticing. Those observations can usually be connected to science one way or another. We can ask children questions, listen to their questions, take time to stop and look at what is on the ground as well as above our heads, and just talk about everyday happenings. Every outing, whether you’re going to the grocery store or going on a walk in your neighborhood, has opportunities to talk to children about the world. Research tells us that young children can learn science through everyday conversations about the world as long as they have a willing adult who listens.
What can math and science teachers do to make those disciplines more culturally sustaining for students with diverse identities and experiences?
One way to bring science and culture together is to teach about local phenomena. For kindergarten, this means looking in our backyards or school playground for puzzling questions to ask. We wonder about puddles on the playground or slides in our neighborhood parks. When students can relate to what we’re learning in science, they can bring their personal and family experiences as science ideas. Part of making science instruction more culturally sustaining is realizing that student ideas and family experiences are considered valid components to building scientific knowledge.
It is also important to value and accept different ways that students may participate during science lessons. Some students communicate their ideas well verbally, but some may express ideas more clearly through gestures or by acting an idea out. Others may prefer to draw or write about their ideas. Giving students multiple and diverse opportunities to participate can support students’ engagement in formal science learning.
Is there anything that was easier to do in a remote school environment?
Teaching kindergarten over Zoom was tough! But I learned to utilize distance learning as an opportunity to learn more about my students. Just seeing a student in their personal learning space gave me insights into their interests. Zoom acted as a window into a student’s home life. I was able to connect with students and their families more closely because everyday, they invited me into their homes by logging in to school. Many families and caregivers were part of our learning each day and this really formed a close connection between us. I have many younger siblings of students that are very excited to be in kindergarten because they got to witness our learning throughout the pandemic. These are experiences I typically would not have had if it weren’t for remote learning.
What is one concept that excites your students and why?
The best thing about kindergarten is that everything can be exciting for these young learners! School is still a really new experience for them, and they genuinely enjoy learning a wide range of new skills and concepts. One idea that’s been really exciting recently has been learning about living things and baby animals in the spring. We recently discovered a duck nest right outside our classroom window. We’ve been learning about how to keep the ducks safe and we’ll be watching to see how long it takes the eggs to hatch. The best science learning can sometimes be done right here on our playground!
What kinds of problems are your students interested in solving?
My students love building and solving problems. We recently used the engineering process to design and build kites. We tested them out and made revisions to our designs. They were really excited to go out into our school field and try out their creations. While many of the kites did not fly, we had a lot of fun thinking about what we could change or revise in the future.
Where do you see more opportunity for collaborating with other disciplines to teach math or science?
Science has really close connections to literacy and math. Science is inherently interdisciplinary! I teach a lot of science concepts through read alouds and by looking at mentor texts. When my students engage in scientific modeling, they call it writing because of the depth of ideas and explanations they are building into their model. We write to share ideas in writing, the same way we write to share ideas during science. We read to find out new information. We examine data during our calendar time when we chart the weather and temperature for the day. There are so many different ways to connect science to other disciplines — the possibilities are endless!
Who have you been following or reading from a math and science perspective in the past two years? Any other publications, blogs, etc. that you would recommend?
Some of my favorite work comes from Dr. Megan Bang and the Learning in Places Collaborative (www.learninginplaces.org). Their approach to learning in relation to nature and understanding the value of Nature-Culture Relations really resonates with my long term goals for science education and how I like to teach science in kindergarten. I would highly recommend checking out their website and following them on Twitter!
Speaking of Twitter, there are so many great scholars to follow! Dr. Philip Bell and STEM Teaching Tools have been a great resource for educators for many years and they are incredibly invested in supporting teachers through research and best practices.
Ambitious Science Teaching is also a great follow on Twitter and Facebook. I base a good portion of my science instructional practice on the AST framework and it has supported my students in learning through an emphasis on focusing curriculum on anchoring phenomena.
