Student-designed Experiments Part 4: Drawing Conclusions
This workshop will focus on the content and demands of the conclusion section of a lab report, with applications to data-based questions and internal assessments for IB students, and free-response questions for AP students. The conclusions drawn from experimental data must be limited to the scope of the experiment, but it is also important for […]
Online Teaching Techniques: Debates
An exciting way to engage your students in their online class is to use a topic that sparks discussion, research, and the desire to sleuth out additional information. In this workshop teachers will participate in a debate in an asynchronous platform (such as Google Classroom) and in a synchronous video meeting (such as Zoom). We […]
Online Teaching Techniques: Competitions
Competitions are assignments that guide students through a preliminary exploration, data collection, analysis, reflection, and revision in a repeating cycle. This process leans on the scientific method and helps students practice character skills such as persistence, curiosity, critical thinking, and self-direction. For my own purposes, I will differentiate team challenges from competitions in that competitions […]
Online Teaching Techniques: Team Challenges
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 […]
Math-infused Science: Data-generating Activities
Even when learning online, students can be placed at the center of the learning experience to increase their level of engagement and self-reliance. In this workshop, teachers will learn how to use any materials at hand to generate data for mathematical analysis. I will help you develop techniques for seeing new ways to use what […]
Math-infused Science: Data Modeling Activities for Ecology
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 […]
Math-infused Science: Graphic Representation of Data
In this workshop participants will use an example data set to explore different methods of depicting the same set of numbers in several different ways. We will define the relationship between the research question and the visual representation of data and address the impact visual presentations make on conclusions. As a participant you will be […]
Math-infused Science: Describing Data in Written and Verbal Formats
(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 […]
Online Teaching Techniques: Stop-animation Videos
(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 […]
Student-designed Experiments: Part 1 Developing Curiosity
(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 […]