Teaching Moment
One seventh grade class at my school was unable to experience the engineering class due to schedule limitations. The omitted seventh grade classroom had an independent learning program during the time block that many of them considered "free time". I offered to teach those students engineering during this time period. I was assigned a language arts classroom that, due to the layout, presented a host of challenges in conducting hands-on activities. In addition, the students were unhappy about making this change; I had to make sure to quickly peak their interest.
The students were extremely unenthused to see me as I walked into the classroom. They felt I was taking something away from them instead of providing something for them. I immediately went to the introductory video of bungy jumpers in a various settings. This peaked their interest and led to a nice discussion. Students were then challenged to model this activity with the following materials: action figures of varied sizes and masses, masking tape, (2) one-meter sticks, rubber bands of varied thicknesses, and a pencil. Their task was to design a way to record data from the bungy jumper, and to test two variables to determine which had the greatest affect on the bungy jumper's free fall rate under the same conditions.
The students were actively engaged and creative in their designs. They had excellent discussions and did well collecting good data. The hour flew by, and a high percentage of the students wanted to stay for lunch and complete their work. Over the next few days, I heard from several of them about how they were excited to continue their work. These seventh graders were so taken by the lesson that they told their friends and classmates about their experiences. As a result of these conversations, I eventually conducted this activity with another class due to requests from students. Now that is what I call an ultimate lesson!
The students were extremely unenthused to see me as I walked into the classroom. They felt I was taking something away from them instead of providing something for them. I immediately went to the introductory video of bungy jumpers in a various settings. This peaked their interest and led to a nice discussion. Students were then challenged to model this activity with the following materials: action figures of varied sizes and masses, masking tape, (2) one-meter sticks, rubber bands of varied thicknesses, and a pencil. Their task was to design a way to record data from the bungy jumper, and to test two variables to determine which had the greatest affect on the bungy jumper's free fall rate under the same conditions.
The students were actively engaged and creative in their designs. They had excellent discussions and did well collecting good data. The hour flew by, and a high percentage of the students wanted to stay for lunch and complete their work. Over the next few days, I heard from several of them about how they were excited to continue their work. These seventh graders were so taken by the lesson that they told their friends and classmates about their experiences. As a result of these conversations, I eventually conducted this activity with another class due to requests from students. Now that is what I call an ultimate lesson!
Group Top 5 Ideas
Pentagonal
Melinet Ellison
Sandra Jackson
Preston Lewis
Lucas Smith
Andrew Stricker
1. Teacher Facilitator - Using both teacher and student interests, a creative facilitator orchestrates lessons with a balance of structure and flexibility, including various techniques that cultivate students’ desire to learn and inquire.
2. Real World Explorations - Students explore real world problems in order to develop 21st Century skills: critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration and innovation.
3. Student Self-directed learning - The learning environment encourages student collaboration and higher order thinking to make sense of the world. Students reflect and communicate their findings taking ownership of their learning.
4. Various Probing Questions - Questioning that drives instruction as well as allows for expansion of thoughts, at multiple levels, is essential to STEM. This process is open to all: not only should the instructor pose questions, but students should as well.
5. Transferable Application - Students apply and transfer their understanding to novel situations. This fosters creativity, imbues students with confidence & deepens their understanding of and appreciation for the content.
Key Components:
Melinet Ellison
Sandra Jackson
Preston Lewis
Lucas Smith
Andrew Stricker
1. Teacher Facilitator - Using both teacher and student interests, a creative facilitator orchestrates lessons with a balance of structure and flexibility, including various techniques that cultivate students’ desire to learn and inquire.
2. Real World Explorations - Students explore real world problems in order to develop 21st Century skills: critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration and innovation.
3. Student Self-directed learning - The learning environment encourages student collaboration and higher order thinking to make sense of the world. Students reflect and communicate their findings taking ownership of their learning.
4. Various Probing Questions - Questioning that drives instruction as well as allows for expansion of thoughts, at multiple levels, is essential to STEM. This process is open to all: not only should the instructor pose questions, but students should as well.
5. Transferable Application - Students apply and transfer their understanding to novel situations. This fosters creativity, imbues students with confidence & deepens their understanding of and appreciation for the content.
Key Components:
- Teacher as a facilitator + incorporate creativity; formative assessment; balance impromptu and structured classrooms; teacher interests
- Real world engagements; exploration
- Student collaboration; self-directed/student-centered
- Open-ended; critical thinking; probing questions
- Hands-on learning; different approaches + learning pathways; transferable/applications