Adventures in Learning...as a Teacher

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     I know this might not have much to do with the three questions.  O.K. ...maybe it does..  I am currently working at Miami University for six weeks in a lab trying to use Raman spectroscopy to ultimately look at important molecules in nature.  You are probably correct in thinking that this is a bit above the head and curriculum of the current high school student.  You are correct.  So why do it and how can it help kids in the classroom?

     If I look at "What am I doing to help kids achieve?" one item might be a simple word...empathy.  First, this is a highly technical field.  I am definitely a fish out of water.  I spent three months trying to familiarize myself with terms and vocabulary, forgot some of it as I was finishing up the year and then showed up on the first day of work.  About a third of the time on the first day the fog barely lifted and I was able to string along a few coherent statements and questions that were barely intelligent.  You can imagine what the other two-thirds were like.

      Here is the good news...I now am getting a much better understanding of what kids go through in chemistry.  So what can I do to help them?  First, insist that they help themselves.  They have to bring something to the table.  They should be able to define a few vocabulary terms to help them conceptualize some of the terms we will use over and over.  It is called front loading.

     Second, it helps to be nice and to understand I can learn from anyone.  Dr. Scaffidi is very patient.  He cares about learning and helping people see what happens inside the "black box".  One of the nicest and most intelligent people in the group is a Junior (soon to be Senior) who has been doing research here for three years.  He is about 20 years my junior but that does not matter.  He, along with all the people in the group, are extremely kind and helpful with all of my questions...even the two-thirds that are not too good.

     Finally, be persistent.  Do not give up.  Life is hard.  Sometimes there is no app for that.  Keep going.  That being said, I need to sign off and get to work.....