Live Laugh Learn

…or at least that’s what “they” say. In this particular case, however, “they” are most certainly mistaken!

  I say this because there is no conceivable way that I can repay
Dr. Stephanie Schuttler for welcoming us into her amazing world at the Biodiversity & Earth Observation Lab. She has worked tirelessly to provide us with many adventures that can never be recreated and will never be forgotten! For that, I am forever grateful.

Having acknowledged the disparity in our ability to “give to” one another, I hope to help Dr. Schuttler, and the eMammal team, create a scalable model for Middle School implementation of interdisciplinary lessons using the Camera Trap Stakeout as the foundation. This is what we have so far:
Denise Humphries, Jordan Hohm, and I will also be developing and contributing lessons relating to Art, Language Arts, Math, and maybe even Social Studies!

Our goal, as I understand it, is to develop a system to PROVIDE any teacher, any where in the world, ACCESS to the world of mammals through CAMERA TRAPPING, and to ENCOURAGE teachers to SHARE their lessons and activities with other participants of eMammal and Citizen Scientists everywhere. No big deal, right?!?

Yesterday, at our Lunch with Liz, we learned that the ultimate goal of #StudentsDiscover and #CitizenScientists is to rule the Universe! Here’s how they intend to achieve it:

Let it be known by all that I fully intend to join them on their journey!

As an educator being educated, I am in my favorite element – experiencing life as a learner. My highest hope and mission as a teacher is to help each of my students Learn to Love to Learn! Through my Kenan Fellowship I am documenting my personal commitment to lifelong learning, and as most who will read this blog know and understand, modeling behavior is much more effective than being a sage on the stage.

My excitement about the eMammal Project can not easily be expressed in words, but I am confident that my passion will shine through to my students, as I share with them my adventures and hope for their futures as Citizen Scientists. My fellowship has provided a behind-the-scenes view of how regular people can help scientists in their research. Each of us can contribute to the knowledge-bank of the world! How cool is that?!?

As a co-creator of curriculum, I hope to provide other educators and learners with resources to assist in the exploration and understanding of our world. The eMammal Team will be working together to create interdisciplinary lesson plans, videos, data resources, and field guides to make citizen science as accessible as possible.

As an advocator for education, of any and all forms, I will share my experiences as a Kenan Fellow far and wide, in hopes of instilling the importance of knowledge, in and of itself. One of the most influential discussions that was held this week, surrounded the question of “how do researchers justify funding?” We have learned about so many intriguing projects in the Earth Observation & Biodiversity Lab at the Museum of Natural Sciences, but few have a direct impact on HUMANS, as a species. Our group expressed concern that, especially in the current political environment, it must be difficult to obtain government funding. Dr. Stephanie Schuttler, our postdoc mentor, explained that sometimes we need to advocate for our right to learn for the sake of learning, even if it doesn’t have a direct impact on people. Gotta love that #fancyscientist!

Please join us on our quest to find more Citizen Scientists!

THIS is what a Scientist Looks Like!
Thanks for the t-shirts Rob Dunn
http://robdunnlab.com/projects/students-discover/

 

 

This past week in Cullowhee has proved to me that my first two incredible experiences with NCCAT were far from flukes. All three visits (one at Ocracoke and two at Cullowhee) provided me with incredible opportunities to grow as a teacher and meet others who, like me, believe in the positive potential of our students.

There are so many things that I learned over the past 5 days that I plan to use in my classroom this year – I’m hopeful that Trello will provide me with a visual representation of my students’ proficiency by domain and standards to help with differentiation; I’m confident that Classroom Messenger will improve my communication with families because of its flexible accessibility via phones, e-mail accounts, and directly on the website; and I’m positive that the incredibly talented group of teachers with whom I shared this experience will provide a wonderful network for creative ideas, entertaining anecdotes and a substantial source of support.

I truly enjoyed my first EdCamp experience on motivation where the contributions were all organically generated by teachers passionate about the topic. Unfortunately, the second EdCamp session on innovation was facilitated by “experts” and did not produce the same positive results. I neglected to use the “Law of Two Feet” and was disappointed by the experience. For those who are unfamiliar with the edict:

I will try to remember this precept in the future and learn to exercise my right/obligation to learn/contribute in meaningful ways always.

The difference between my NCCAT experience(s) and other professional development is the overwhelming sense of respect that I felt while I was there. We were always treated as professionals and were given numerous opportunities to share our ideas and reflect on what we learned. It is a wonderful place to get revived and rejuvenated and ready for the many adventures and challenges my future in education will undoubtedly hold!

I am excited about my Kenan fellowship because it is an excellent opportunity for me to expand my education with the help of experts in a STEM field. This fellowship will enable me to share my first-hand experiences with colleagues and students for years to come. I am particularly interested in the eMammal Camera Trap Stakeout because I know there is an abundance of wildlife around our school (we had a perimeter lockdown for a bear a few years ago). I think it will be amazing to have a close up view of the hidden world around us!

During our week at NCCAT, many of us discussed how effective teachers build relationships with their students. This can be done, in part, by sharing personal learning experiences and stories about the trials and tribulations we all go through when we learn new things. I imagine that this opportunity will help me become a more effective teacher by broadening my bank of knowledge from which I can draw to make connections with a wider spectrum of my students.

The biggest challenge in 7th Grade, as a teacher, is to find ways to hook my students and keep them motivated to learn. The most significant way that students will benefit from my participation in the eMammal Camera Trap Stakeout is by having access to high interest, authentic data that can be intermingled throughout the 7th Grade Math Curriculum. Students can use the data to write their own word problems through which they can develop their higher order thinking skills AND practice working with rational numbers. Also, comparative, statistical analyses will be much more interesting and engaging when they can use information gathered in their own neighborhood to compare with students throughout North Carolina and other parts of the world. Finally, my students will benefit from knowing their teacher was inspired to spend her summer learning new things from experts in their field. My mission is to help my students Learn to Love to Learn – what better way than to show them that I love to learn myself!

Other teachers will benefit from my Kenan fellowship experience, not only through my sharing of ideas, but also through my sharing of enthusiasm and positivity toward our profession as educators and learners. This is a difficult time for teachers in North Carolina to stay the course and not abandon this beautiful state to seek greener pastures (and paychecks) in other locales. Pessimism and cynicism abound in most systems across the state. As a teacher leader, I see my role as a cheerleader, motivator and facilitator of an optimistic outlook. I hope to show others that by building our own sense of wonder and curiosity, we can instill those qualities in our students, and help ourselves, and each other, to love our profession again!

For me, the month of May is normally when things start winding down as we approach the end of the school year. Final lessons are taught, and we begin reflecting on all that we have experienced and celebrating all that we have accomplished as a community of learners.

This year, however, May is bringing a more traditional sense of renewal and new beginnings. Spring has sprung, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and I am embarking on some exciting new endeavors both personally and professionally.

On a personal level, my youngest is graduating and will soon be moving on to explore the world – literally – in his new role as a flight attendant. The proverbial nest, however, will be far from empty, as my oldest is just 3 weeks away from delivering my first grandchild, a little girl, Kylie Jane.

As I share in each of their new adventures, I am on the verge of my own as a new Kenan Fellow. I am still in a state of shock and wonder at the thought of all of the amazing opportunities that lie ahead. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you along the way…

Cheers! To New Beginnings!