My internship this summer is at Novozymes North America and I’ve been working in the optimization lab looking at the viscosity of a chemical they use in Production.  I have been testing the viscosity of this chemical every hour to see if the viscosity changes during and after a 24 hour period.  We also tested the chemical at different times in a 24 hour period to see if the effectiveness of the chemical changes over time with the viscosity.  This has be extremely interesting and mind opening experiment for me that got project ideas flowing quickly.

I came up with several different ideas for projects but the idea of viscosity kept coming up especially centered around one project.  With this project students are helping companies choose a product for them to sell by reviewing data on viscosity.  I’m able to use the data I’ve been collecting here at Novozymes for the students to evaluate which has made creating my project a lot easier.  I also have so many people that are willing to sit and talk and bounce ideas off of when I need.  The problems that I have hit with my project is centered around the standards.  I easily was able to relate this project to fifth grade math standards, especially with my math background.  Trying to relate it to fifth grade science standards on the other hand, not so easy.  I looked over and reviewed the science standards several times and did some research.  I finally figured out that viscosity can be a physical change in a fluid or material, which is one of the fifth grade standards.  I also hit issues with all the document connections for my project that I need to make it easier for teachers to use.  I had to do some research and waste time trying a few different things, but ended up bookmarking and putting all documents into the same file for ease.  I cannot wait to see this project completely done and see my kids excitement as they complete it.

This week has been fun filled but slightly overwhelming.  I have learned so much and have so much that I want to implement this upcoming year.  We did an Ed camp this week, and their was a session about Interactive notebooks.  I have used these in the past but always hit difficulties or get frustrated.  I got so many different tips and tricks that I want to implement once the school year begins.  I also learned about new apps and technologies like Quiver and class craft that I want to learn more about.

My week here can not compare to other PD opportunities that I have attended.  Other PD’s are more sitting and being given information.  Here I had times where I was listening and learning, but was then given time to really talk about and plan how to use that information.  Other PD’s I some times get to know other teachers there but don’t have the time to really get to know them.  Here I feel like I’ve been amazing friends that I will have for the rest of my life.  I’ve gotten to live and learn with these teachers, and it has been an amazing experience that I’m forever grateful for.