As I attempt to transfer my externship experience to usable curriculum material, I am faced with a host of challenges.  The most tedious aspect has been scaling down the content level.  To what degree do I modify the complexity to the material so that a middle school student [6^th grader] would be able to,

– Process and grasp the gist of the material?

– See the relevancy and be able to apply what they have learned?

– Make this information fit into the current standards?

With a true diverse classroom it is a constant overwhelming nag in trying to balance how to compact information so a kid with a heavily layered IEP grasps the concept but on the other hand a kid who is identified as AIG remaining engaged.  Easy right? Just teach to the middle ‘they’ say.  Well that middle line is not equitable when you have students who are at times three (3) years behind grade level. Unfortunately, I am not verse in the tactics

of teaching to that level but I try and I am sure I do get it wrong some times but I give it all I can anyway. With the gap widening every year it seems, my issue remain, how much modifications must be done before I maybe lose the essence of the lesson.

Another unfortunate factor is accessibility to the same resources and equipment being utilized at my location that would really help the lesson to resonate with the students.  I envisioned having the students create a sensor to solve a ‘One Health’ issues using tinkercad to create and print using 3D printing.  This would be tremendously costly for my students so even though I was fascinated and it would be a great opportunity to experience the engineering process it would not work for my classroom.  Then there is the SEM [Scanning Electron Microscope] which was utilized to see the nano-structure of spider silk and the spinnerets.   If I have access to these equipments, I would think there would be many converts of students loving science by the end of the year.

However, in spite of these listed obstacles, I will find a way to improvise and make it work.

A look on the bright side………………..

I have a support group comprised of individuals who have spent years mastering their craft.  Working side by side and being given the opportunity to engage in open dialogue via peer sharing activities, has helped in gauging my thought process of ways I can implement the many faucets of this externship into workable lessons.  By having some members of my cohort who are faced with some of the same obstacles, this allows for realistic brainstorming and generating of ideas that can work for the students.   It will force me to think outside the box in seeking innovative methods of engaging students during the learning process.

I have never shied away from the integration of technology because it is blatantly obvious that the students we are responsible for educating are constantly engrossed on a daily basis.  Therefore I have always made a conscious effort to plug it into my planning and make it an integral part of my method of delivery of some key concepts.  However, within the past two years my greatest challenge for leveraging technology in my classroom to empower the learning experience has been the lack of adequate resources.   My school has grown exponentially with the addition of K-5 two years ago. With this addition, the already tight pickings now has to be spread across K-12 grade levels.

Elementary grades now add a whole new dimension which consist of utilizing data [benchmarks] to drive the progression of lessons.  The occasional testing means that getting into the computer lab is usually nonexistent for weeks at a time since it’s a shared resource.   No fault of the elementary school, all the computers in the school are off limits during this time which can be a bit of an annoyance although I understand the relevancy of the assessments.

One other option would be to assign the students off site assignments but that usually does not yield the outcome that I would rather see.  The issue here is that our school is truly a diverse community and with that I have recognized a huge disparity between the haves and the haves not.  The students who does have the means does an amazing job in execution; model student.  On the other hand, the kids who are barely making it neglects to complete the assignments not for malicious reasons, but because of their socioeconomic standings.  The end result here is that the population who would mostly benefit from this exposure misses out on the auditory and visual stimulation.  I encourage going to the library but some of our students carpool; if they miss that ride who knows what time they will make it home.

Finally, the lack of an actual introduction class to all things technology is missing from the curriculum.  In taking such a class, the students who does not have access at home will not be at a disadvantage.  Unless you are a technology teacher, time spent guiding students to adequately execute basic skills takes away from your already limited time you have to teach that subject.

In closing in spite of these obstacles, I am always seeking and looking for that window of opportunity to integrate technology when I can and is very pleased with the wealth of resources I have acquired thus far.  I am optimistic and very excited at the prospect of introducing many of these activities to my students when the opportunity presents itself.