In this 1.5-hour workshop, we will compare several online streaming platforms that you may find useful for class meetings. We will go over the pros and cons of several popular programs (Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex) and discuss why you may choose one over another. This is not a techy workshop, instead, I will be focusing on the quality of the platform as it serves teachers who are simulating a synchronous classroom experience. We will consider the price…

Whether for STEM, foreign language, arts, or humanities, applying information is one of the most effective ways for a student to increase their level of understanding and for a teacher to assess mastery of knowledge and skills. Team challenges include any activity that asks a cooperative group to use what they have learned to accomplish a goal. For my own purposes, I will differentiate challenges from competitions by defining a challenge as an outcome that is assessed with a mixture…

Using manipulatives found in our homes, we will simulate two common field science experiments:  Lincoln’s Index for measuring abundance and Simpson’s Index for measuring biodiversity. Participants will gather evidence and make calculations that can be used to describe the health of and changes in an ecosystem. Each activity will be followed with the creation of a student-designed experiment that can be performed at home to reinforce the technique and assess the students’ understanding of how biodiversity and abundance estimates can…

(Th  May 28, 2-3:30 pm EDT) How do we talk about data? How do we write about data? In this workshop you will discover ways to help your student be specific, using the correct terms, in context, as they identify and describe trends in a set of numbers. We will play two games useful for building a working vocabulary and increasing student reliance on mathematically accurate communication. We will touch on formal statements of ‘ statistical significance’ as well as…

(Th May 28, 6-7:30 pm EDT) Combat attrition with engaging assignments that can be sculpted to the student’s abilities and interest. Stop-animation videos are short movies made with a series of photos taken from the same position and a handful of items that can be moved about to create a story. In this workshop you will create your own stop-animation video of processes or phenomena, to cover main ideas or convey detailed information. Through this experience, you will see how…

(M June 1, 4-5:30 pm EDT) In this workshop, we will practice a repeatable structure for introducing a topic that will be studied through scientific exploration using a remote teaching and learning platform. We will help our students conduct a preliminary investigation at home developing interest in a particular phenomenon by generating data and making observations and hypotheses. We will then assist our students in recognizing and naming potential variables that may be responsible for impacting this phenomenon. Participants will…

(Tu June 2, 2-3:30 pm EDT) Struggling to teach a lab-based science course using remote learning? In this workshop, we will practice a repeatable structure for introducing a topic that will be studied through scientific exploration using a remote teaching and learning platform. We will help our students conduct a preliminary investigation at home to develop interest in a particular phenomenon, generating data, and making observations. We will then assist our students in recognizing and naming potential variables that may…

(W June 3, 12-1:30 pm EDT) This workshop will pick up where Part 1 of this series left off. We begin with a list of variables our students have identified as potentially impacting a particular phenomenon they have explored. Using a think-pair-share process, we will give students the structure needed to write steps for a scientific investigation using the dependent variable of their choice. Students will work in lab groups to share their ideas and coalesce on an experimental design…