Project TIMU - The Perfect Storm or How I Spent My Summer Vacation...

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     I had a mind blowing summer...I will try to provide the reader's digest version.

     Years ago a physics teacher was frustrated with his students.  They could calculate numbers and put down answers that seemed correct but when probed they did not seem to truly understand the fine points of science.  This seems to be a universal feeling from many science teachers.  He did some research and about the same time Gabel and Johnstone were developing some pretty convincing arguments that to teach science students really needed the macroscale (labs), the symbolic (formulas and equations) and the particulate level (models and drawings on the atomic scale).  In many cases, the modeling or particulate level is what is missing in instruction. Years of subsequent research strongly supports this model.  The American Modeling Teachers Association was eventually formed.   Fast forward to the last couple years at Miami.

     Project TIMU started at Miami through a NSF grant.   Here is a snapshot.  As teachers, we started off learning to dissect science journal articles.  Next, as a group of teachers we started with an authentic science experience.  I got lucky.  My summer with analytical chemist Dr. Jon Scaffidi was both challenging and rewarding.  I was WAY outside my comfort zone but learned a ton.  Dr. Scaffidi is a good researcher and teacher. .  At the same time we were learning about the types and levels of inquiry and how it fits into modern educational theory.  Next, we started diving head first into papers on chemical education theory.  We were provided the time, tools and often forced to examine articles, figure out what they were saying and critique them.  This is something teachers never would have the time or resources do to during the school year.  We supported each other and got through it.  It also opened my eyes (and blew my mind) about the ideas and misconceptions that students have.

     Then came this summer...we developed two inquiry lab experiences and an action research project.  Imagine developing a lab or activity and then having 10 teachers, four professors and a bunch of graduate students go through it as teachers and students.  Just when I thought I might know what I was doing, most of my work go ripped to shreds.  I even asked a professor if this program was an inquiry program to get me to realize I should quit teaching.  Good news (for some at least)...she assured me the answer was no.  Sure it was tough being run through the critique gauntlet.  Every suggestion I received was researched based constructive criticism that I can honestly say made the activities better.  Nothing was taken personal and nobody seemed to have any agenda except to try to help each other develop good inquiry activities for students.

      Bottom line...this has been the hardest educational program I have participated in throughout the last 20 years.  It dispels the rumor that education is a "blow off major".  It has been emotional.  If I take away the emotion, it has opened my eyes to research and data specific to teaching chemistry that I never knew existed or that I never was able to understand.  Dr. Ellen Yezierski threw up the above diagram on a power point slide when she was trying to sell the program years ago.  Honestly, I kind of half paid attention to it.  She has hit it overwhelmingly in spades, almost to the point to where I wonder if I could keep going.

     So here is the good news...I feel like I have a set of researched based tools and practices that if I authentically use and monitor can provide students with the best possible education that I am able to provide based on decisions from the best practices that are known to exist (sorry for the run on sentence).  Will I get it right every day?  No, but this program can help me stay on target.  Nice way to start the school year.

     By now you might be wondering about the activities.  They will be posted for all to use on the TIMU website.  For now, here is a portion of one I developed.   

http://prezi.com/z61qnnkv4cuf/the-macroscopic-particulate-and-symbolic-level/

    My goal...keep going and keep trying.

     Until next time.....

Here we go again....

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     Welcome back to another year.  Bottom line...we are here to help kids.  The goal of this blog is to struggle and wade through the chaos of education to do three things....help kids achieve, figure out when they are there and look for evidence.  I will probably come up with all the answers three or four years after I am dead...but it does not mean that I should not make the attempt.  The purpose of this blog is to stay positive and to weekly remind myself why I got into education in the first place...to help kids.  So what am I going to try this year???  I decided to revisit the last post I made and see where I am at...

1. Identifying similarities and differences
2. Summarizing and note taking
3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
4. Homework and practice
5. Nonlinguistic representations
6. Cooperative learning
7. Setting objectives and providing feedback
8. Generating and testing hypotheses
9. Cues, questions, and advance organizers

1. Similiarities and differences...this is all about compare and contrast. This summer I participated in project TIMU, possibly one of the most difficult educational experiences of my life (topic of a separate blog). I plan on using models many times this year. There will be many places where we draw models of chemicals and compare and contrast models to the real thing.

2. Note Taking and 3. Feedback - In academic chemistry I am trying composition notebooks. We plan on taking notes and I will write mini rubrics for instant feedback. I also developed an action research plan that involves rubrics to help write conclusions.

3. Homework and practice. I plan to use the UT website with students in Accelerated Chem but I plan to add more numerical questions that they have to work out and less multiple choice.

5. Nonlinguistic Representations - This will be the modeling and particulate matter work I will do with students from day one.

6. Cooperative Learning - Labs and POGIL type activities.

7. Setting objectives - I bought two large dry erase boards. The objectives will be clearly posted EVERY day.

8. Generating and Testing Hypotheses - One acronym - Project TIMU. There will be a large infusions of teacher developed inquiry labs from this program. Again, this will be a separate blog, but let's just say it involves about 10 teachers, 2-4 professors and multiple grad students locking themselves in a room for a great deal of the summer and developing inquiry labs, going over them as students and teachers and making constant changes. These labs will be posted.

9. Ques, questions and advance organizers. I still plan to use the problem of the day every day as a tool to start the kids off.

Again, a hopeful guide. Much of this depends on where the students are at. My goal, have fun learning and teaching and hopefully help at least one student every day in a very real way. We shall see.....