WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?
WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?
Last Thursday at the TIMU class at Miami I kind of had several items due at once. First, we had to have two copies of our action research paper due. Then, I had to give the last literature critique. This is where a person (me) picks a paper on Chem Ed. about a certain topic. The class has a week to read the paper and then I try to lead everyone in an hour long discussion. We do not just review the paper but we have to analyze it. Much of our grade depends on....you guessed it...using Bloom's taxonomy to go in depth and to get everyone involved.
So I read the paper, worked on a powerpoint and kind of had it ready. I have to admit, this time of the year I am kind of on empty. It was not my best stuff. Most people had a partner but I was flying solo. I did get to pair up with the post doc, Dr. Stephanie Phillips who provided some great ideas and helped to "word smith" things a bit.
I got there a bit early to set up the dry erase boards and check out the technology and was immediately ushered into a focus group. The people from the NSF were there to check in on the program. Good news and bad news...they are nice people who asked all the right questions and do want to help (your tax money put to good work). The bad news is that I kind of wanted time to get ready.
Dr. Phillipps and I started the presentation and it started a bit slow....also the NSF people were in their as well. No big deal (O.K....maybe a little). The discussion started to pick up and one question came up. Who was this article written for that we were reviewing? Dr. Phillips pulled me aside and mentioned that this journal was an elite journal. Getting published in this is like winning a Nobel Prize. It only has about a 10 to 15 % acceptance rate. Ellen then just happened to mention that the lady from the NSF has published in this journal multiple times. The lady from from the NSF then said that out of the 219 top world wide science journal that have an impact, this particular journal is ranked number 9. ( None of this was the "wow" moment.) Slowly, I am starting to realize that there is no way that I will now (or ever) come close to being the smartest person in the room. If I am not on my "A" game...I am going to sink fast. Still, this is not the "wow" part yet.
The teachers were going over the paper and they found some glaring errors. They found some that I had not found after reading it over several times. They found some major ones in a paper that should be in the top 10% of all papers in this elite journal. O.K...here is the "wow" moment...these are the same teachers that will be looking over my action research project. Not only are they some of the most intelligent educators on the planet....they are extremely nice. I am extremely fortunate to be part of this group. Thanks to them, my students are going to get a great project. I am not sure what to say.....I am blessed...grateful...."thank you" ....or just "wow".
The teachers were going over the paper and they found some glaring errors. They found some that I had not found after reading it over several times. They found some major ones in a paper that should be in the top 10% of all papers in this elite journal. O.K...here is the "wow" moment...these are the same teachers that will be looking over my action research project. Not only are they some of the most intelligent educators on the planet....they are extremely nice. I am extremely fortunate to be part of this group. Thanks to them, my students are going to get a great project. I am not sure what to say.....I am blessed...grateful...."thank you" ....or just "wow".
