This week has started off quickly and it blows my mind that it is already Wednesday. On Monday, it was a whirlwind of activities and the student discover team got to experience an actual citizen science project at Prairie Ridge Ecostation by capturing dragonflies. I never knew there were so many species of dragonflies and the different activities that they do. Of course, I wanted to take a picture with Kerrie and Dayson to look like “legit scientists” which I have posted below 🙂 Unfortunately, none of us captured any dragonflies but we got to see a lot of them as they flew right past our nets. After we roasted outside for a bit, we came back to the museum for an in-depth tour of the exhibits. The coolest part of the tour was when we got to go down in the basement. I felt like I was in the Night at the Museum movie in the collections room. There were creepy white cabinets full of drawers with different specimens in them, random labeled bones, and old exhibits (some of them dating back over 80 years old).

Tuesday is where the real fun began. Dr. Shuttler had an interview so we went to collect the camera traps with her interns. I got to ride in-between Dave and Dayson for hours in the backseat so we got very familiar, very quickly LOL! The funniest part of the day is when we drove to my school, Hilburn Academy to collect the two camera traps. At first, Troy (one of the interns) went bounding down the hill towards the trap, and as I was following her she shouted “gross I almost stepped in that”. Well…do bears poop in the woods? Yes, they should! However, do humans poop in the woods by a camera trap with toilet paper? Well, I didn’t want to believe it was so but Tuesday proved me wrong. Yes, that’s right folks! Some nasty individual took the time to get toilet paper and then go down a steep hill to defecate by our camera trap. Dayson, Dave and I did not jump at the opportunity to retrieve the camera and fortunately one of the interns went and unlocked it. The interns were excited to look at the memory card to see if we caught the individual who decorated our camera trap area but all we found were deer. However, it  was amazing to find out that at my school we have a family of deer with two fawns! I am extremely excited to see what the next couple of weeks will bring! Hopefully, no more human surprises though lol!

NCCAT was an incredible week! I was a bit nervous as I drove up to Cullowhee since I didn’t know what to expect but I quickly became excited after the icebreakers. Of course, the Student Discover Team broke every other team’s record #winners !

The best part of the week was the rafting trip. It was a great experience and I was able to create connections with other teachers. Dayson, Kerrie and I even decided to make our own PLT this coming year, since Kerrie and I are teaching 8th grade science for the first time. Our boat was apparently known as the “drunk boat” because we had 7 people in our boat and the raft guide was having a difficult time keeping us going straight.  Then, about 3/4 of the way down the river, the guides stopped and created a “troll bridge” by tying three rafts together and allowing us to run over the bridge and jump into the freezing water. To be honest, I was NOT planning on jumping into the river but after seeing so many of the other Kenan fellows run and jump-off, I decided to take the plunge 🙂 Kerrie, Michelle, and I decided to do it together which proved to be a bit more difficult than we had originally  anticipated. We all took each other’s hands and began crossing the bridge. The first raft we were all together, then I lost contact with Michelle and she came after Kerrie and I. Then, as Kerrie and I reached the last raft, Michelle came bounding over and jumped on it, causing me to fall :p In the end, I was very proud of everyone for trying a new experience and having fun.

Now, to get back to what I actually will take back from NCCAT into my classroom , I thoroughly  enjoyed the break out sessions. I was most impressed with Trello since I try to incorporate PBL into my classroom weekly and at times it can be frustrating for both students and teachers to keep all of the project details organized. With 6th graders, project management and group-work can be a HUGE learning experience that sometimes has resulted in tears and anger. The biggest issues that I have found with having students manage projects, is the delegation of roles within the group and the organization who is doing what and completed by when. With Trello, the students will be able to take control of the requirements that I write and assign them to different group members. By having the visual aid, where the students can click and drag tasks into three columns: To-Do, Doing, Done will be helpful for both me as the facilitator of the project and the students.

THANK YOU NCCAT FOR A GREAT EXPERIENCE!!

I am so excited to begin this journey as a Kenan Fellow. As a North Carolina Environmental Educator, I was ecstatic to be part of the Students Discover team that is focusing on Citizen Science.  I love that I am able to network with other teachers in NC that have a strong passion for STE(A)M! I also hope to gain new technology tools to take back into my classroom for this upcoming school year. I have already been impressed by Eric Rowles and the tools that he has presented this morning.

Hey guys!

I’m Kelsie Armentrout from Raleigh, NC. I teach 6th grade science at Hilburn Academy and absolutely love it! I can’t wait to meet everyone this week 🙂