I had two “Aha!” moments this summer that helped me transition from a confused, not sure what to  do state…to more of a “Ok, I can do this” feeling.  The first was when I was trying to figure out how to write guidelines for teachers to hold a debate in their class.  I searched online for hours, but couldn’t find a debate format that would engage large classes of students…and I got frustrated.  That’s when I started contacting people on the UNC campus (where I’m working) who were familiar with debates.  After meeting with two different organizations, I found a format that is perfect for what I’m trying to do in my externship.  My take-away lesson from that is that technology is useful…but sometimes good old fashioned face-to-face discussions with more knowledgable people can be really helpful!!!  And it’s ok to ask for help from people who are experts.  They were very willing to share their resources with me!

My second “Aha!” moment was during NCCAT.  Part of my project involves creating a lesson for teachers that includes an online discussion board so that students can communicate with science experts.  I’ve never done an online discussion with an entire class, so I wasn’t sure how to go about figuring that out.  UNTIL – I heard a presenter say the words “padlet” and “online discussion” in the same sentence.  My ears immediately perked up!  I found that Padlet is extremely simple, user friendly, and perfect for my externship.  I shared it with my mentor and he tested it out with our colleagues.  He loved it and I was proud to have contributed something useful.  I’m so thankful we have been exposed to so many awesome technology tools this summer!

The number one complaint I’ve heard about using technology in classrooms is TIME.  Teachers don’t feel like they have the time to learn how to use new technologies.  And they don’t feel like they have the time to incorporate them into their lessons, when they have all kinds of common core stuff and essential standards to teach.  But it really doesn’t matter what new curriculum has been developed recently…because there will always be something new!  The state will always tell us what we need to be teaching, and teachers will always think they are so crunched for time by teaching that stuff, that they don’t have time for technology.  So what we need to do is change the views on technology.  It’s shouldn’t be EITHER technology or essential standards.  It should be BOTH!  At the same time!  Technology is a tool that can enhance lessons for whatever curriculum is given to us by the state.  Once teachers and administrators and policy makers embrace that, we’ll be able to advance our education system.

While I’m on here, I also wanted to briefly mention that this summer experience has shown me how thankful I am to have a job as a teacher.  My husband and I used to disagree on who has it better.  He works in a nice office that he doesn’t have to share.  He does communications and public relations for the court system…which means he is on his computer all day.  He used to complain about having to stare at a screen for 8 hours a day…and I would tell him he has it easy!  He doesn’t have to deal with upset parents or cussing teenagers in the hallways.  He can go to Subway for an hour with his coworkers for lunch…while my short lunch period is spent stuffing down my sandwich while trying to answer questions from the 10-20 kids eating in my classroom.  He gets to listen to music while he works and he can go to the bathroom whenever he wants to.  Meanwhile I have to dance around and hold it until a bell rings when I can rush down the hall during my 6 minute break between classes to fight the other teachers for the 1 teacher bathroom on our hall.

However, after working in an office environment for several weeks now, I have to say that I definitely have it better as a teacher!!!!  I never realized how much I walk around on any given school day, until I had to sit down for an entire day.  It’s brutal to have to sit for that long and stare at a computer!!  I have found that I have to go for a 10 minute walk once or twice a day, just to get my blood flowing now!  Luckily, I’m working on UNC’s campus – so this is my view for my mid-morning walk:

I never really thought about how much I like the social and active parts of teaching.  I miss interacting with people and moving around all day long.  Don’t get me wrong – teaching can be exhausting….but I like that tired, satisfied feeling that I get at the end of good day of teaching.  When Craig came to see me for his on-site visit last week, he mentioned that one problem with creating teacher leaders is that they sometimes leave the profession for higher leadership positions like working for DPI.  Well, you don’t have to worry about this teacher leaving.  I have discovered that I am not cut out for an office job!  I hope that when I have a bad day of teaching and I start to think how great my husband has it in his quiet, peaceful office, I’ll remember that I’m really the lucky one!!  I have gained so much from my Kenan experience so far and I’m thankful that recently it has shown me that I need to have more appreciation for what I do on a daily basis.  Teaching really is the greatest job ever.

I applied for this particular fellowship because it lines up perfectly with something that I already do in my classes:  debating.  Each semester, my AP chemistry students choose a science article and write 5 thought-provoking questions about it.  I copy the articles and questions and pass them out one week before the debate.  Then on Friday afternoons, the student who chose the article for that week becomes the debate leader and for 30 minutes, they discuss the article.

I love this assignment because it forces my students (and me!) to stay current on science news.  It also encourages literacy skills as they read articles, analyze them and then voice their opinions to their peers.  Plus, it doesn’t require much prep work from me!!  And they tend to love the chance to talk to each other!!

However, I have issues with debates.  How do I assess the students?  Count the number of comments they make?  Or should I try to rank the quality of their comments?  What about those extremely shy students or the ones who can barely speak English?  How do I keep everyone involved?  And what about when the controversial topics get TOO sticky or not “politically correct”?

Because I don’t feel I have mastered the skill of holding classroom debates, I applied for this fellowship:  The Science of the Matter.  I am developing a high school component for the NC Science Festival that involves a “Decision Room”, where students debate a current science issue.  I am working on creating guidelines for teachers, assessment tools, discussion questions to match articles, and rubrics.  I will be piloting the “Nuclear Energy” discussion in my own chemistry classes this fall when I teach nuclear chemistry.  It is a controversial topic and it aligns with my curriculum, so I’m hoping it will work out well to incorporate it into my lessons for that unit.

If any of you have suggestions or tips or ideas for holding a successful debate with high school students, I’d love to hear your thoughts!  And if you have things that DID NOT work, I’d love to hear those too!  Thanks!

I remember during my first year of teaching, I had a kid who was angry at the world.  He made my first teaching experience quite challenging and I have to admit that there was more than one day that I drove home in tears of frustration.  I’ll never forget one lesson that I did though.  I reserved the computer lab and the students did a web quest, followed by a group project.  It was the first time I saw this kid engaged and excited about something!  And he was so much better with technology, that he was actually helping others and working with other students!  It allowed him to connect to others to learn about science.

I was blown away.  And at that moment, I realized the power that technology can have in education.

Since then, I have worked to stay informed of new technologies and ways to implement them into my lessons.  However, I have learned a lot since that first year.  I have learned that just because something is “technology based” doesn’t mean it is beneficial to my students.  I have encountered so many teachers who do something simply because it involves “technology”.  I’m quickly learning that sometimes using technology can distract students from learning the objectives.

One issue I have is that technology takes time.  Either we have to walk across our entire campus to use the computer lab or I have to check out a laptop cart and kids have to pick up a laptop and find an outlet to hook them up to.  Then there’s login confusion when inevitably several students can’t login.  Then there are website issues, internet issues, battery issues, equipment issues, etc.  And I have to teach the students the basics for how to navigate the new technology.  Sometimes I feel more like an I.T. person (and an inadequate one at that) than a chemistry teacher.

Once all the technology IS working, my students will proceed with some sort of lesson…and several times I’ve had to ask myself if they would have learned the material better by doing other activities.  For example, when they created a presentation through Prezi to defend or refute nuclear energy, they spent a LONG time on font types and sizes, colors, backgrounds, pictures, etc.  Granted, I understand that in today’s society, it is important for students to be able to put together a professional presentation.  But I wonder if they missed out on understanding nuclear chemistry and its’ societal implications that day, because they were “playing” with Prezi for most of the class period.  I love cross-curricular lessons…but with block scheduling, we have a tough time getting in all the chemistry curriculum in before exams.

At NCCAT I loved that Kari started her Kenan Talk with, “I don’t use technology unless I feel it benefits my students.”  I think the biggest issue with technology today is that teachers don’t always evaluate if it is going to help their students learn.  Sometimes it’s used just because it’s technology.

As I left NCCAT last week, I was excited about the list of new technology options that I’d like to figure out before school starts.  I have some ideas for incorporating them into my lessons and I heard other teachers with awesome ideas that I might use too!  So I hope that as I learn how to use these resources, I’ll discover that they ARE useful for teaching chemistry and will be able to include them in my lessons!

The highlight of my week at NCCAT was definitely making friends with other Kenan Fellows.  I now have so many great ideas of how to use these new technology tools in my classroom because others were willing to share their thoughts.  And more importantly, I am now rejuvenated and excited about teaching again!  The enthusiasm from other teachers here has been contagious and it just makes me want to be a better teacher myself.  I enjoyed all the conversations we had while eating meals, walking on trails, and spending the day at the river.  I am so impressed with what others are doing in their classroom and it reminded me how amazing our profession is!

I applied for the Kenan Fellowship this year because of the strong encouragement from my colleagues.  All three of them told me that the Kenan program opened several doors for them by helping them to create connections with scientists and other enthusiastic teachers.  They said the relationships they formed throughout the program have lasted years and have made them better teachers.  So I am looking forward to meeting more of the current Kenan Fellows next week at our professional development.  I have already formed connections with my mentor and the other people here at the Morehead Planetarium where I have been working this week.  It is so beneficial to have access to resources outside of my school and I’m excited to build on these relationships throughout my teaching career.

The second goal is to improve my technology skills.  It is so important to (attempt to) stay current on the new technologies that are being developed.  I try hard to keep up with my students, but I find that more often than not, they are the ones who end up teaching me about technology.  So I was hoping that throughout the process of working with professionals and challenging myself to complete the Kenan program, I would enhance my abilities this summer.

My last goal is specific to my fellowship.  I am working on creating a high school component for the NC Science Festival that involves a “Discussion Room” where students debate current issues in science.  I love to do this in my own classroom, but I do not feel that I am experienced enough to do it well.  Holding a debate about a controversial topic with teenagers requires a definite skill!  I am hoping to improve that skill this summer because I really believe that bringing real world discussions into my lessons will help make chemistry seem more applicable to my students’ lives.

I can’t believe this school year is almost over and the Kenan program will be in full swing soon.  My mentor and I are going to meet this week to touch base on the specifics of my fellowship.  I’m so excited to discuss the project and start brainstorming ideas that will be used for the NC Science Festival next year.  I’m sure it’s going to be a challenging, but rewarding summer experience.  I am looking forward to meeting more friends at the mountain professional development sessions soon!