Hey, Teacher! What Day Is It?

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“It’s Monday!  Ain’t we s’posed to watch somethin’ motivational?” Yep, that grammatically incorrect question is asked every week in my classroom this year.  And, yes, I teach math.  You may wonder why my students would expect to see something motivational on Mondays.  Well, this year, I’ve tagged each day of the week with a byline.  I even put it in… Read more »

Doing “Real Science” in the Math Classroom

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This summer, I spent a lot of time learning what “real science” looks like. I hope that through the module I created, I can bridge the disciplines of science and math in my classroom and engage my students in both “real science” and “real math.” The module I developed this summer for eMammal is centered around investigations students can do… Read more »

Collecting Real Data Leads to Real Learning

One of the most exciting take-aways from my summer externship is that using the eMammal camera traps will allow my students to collect data that is meaningful for them.  In our math textbook, there are lessons on how to use data effectively and how different data measures are useful.  For example, one activity has students to compare the heights of… Read more »

Three Weeks in the Fishbowl Changed Everything I Thought I Knew About Science

“What did I do to deserve that?” Ever ask yourself that question? I have every day for the past week as a reflect on my time in the fishbowl of the Biodiversity Lab of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Nature Research Center.  Working alongside Dr. Stephanie Schuttler has forever changed my idea of what real science is and what… Read more »

Thankful for my experience with the “Fancy Scientist”

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Whether she is discussing Savannah elephants from her time in Africa or the coyotes in Raleigh, it is obvious that Dr. Stephanie Schuttler loves what she does and she is good at it.  Listening to her give a Daily Planet talk about her elephant research led me to more and more questions about the social lives of these mysterious animals,… Read more »

Using eMammal in the Classroom

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This has been an EXCITING week at the Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.  One highlight of my time as a Kenan Fellow will definitely be the moment we all sat in the Daily Planet as Julie Urban introduced the Students Discover cohorts and described our projects.  It was exciting to see interested museum-goers as… Read more »

Kenan Fellows Week at NCCAT

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  While I am a veteran of NCCAT, this week was by far the best week I’ve spent there.  Afterall, my previous trip was in 2001 as I pursued National Board certification and we worked independently pretty much 24/7.  This week was in stark contrast to my previous experience.  Of course, the delicious food hasn’t changed and the atmosphere is… Read more »

And so it begins….

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My time as a Kenan Fellow began on Monday morning on a drive to NCCAT (North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching) in beautiful Cullowhee, NC.  I tagged along with Amy Kennedy, a colleague from Duplin County, who is also a 2015-16 Fellow.  This road-trip allowed us a lot of time to talk about our respective schools and teaching… Read more »