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Take a Stand

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In one of my graduate classes a few years ago, the professor had us learn more about the ethics behind biotechnology by analyzing the 2014 Ebola epidemic from different perspectives. We each had to play a particular role in the round-table discussion about how to best control this epidemic-- as a doctor in Sierra Leone, a burial boy, a family member whose mother was sick, as a member of Doctors without Borders, etc. Another teacher in the group decided to try this model out with her middle school students, found that it worked really well, and recommended that I also try it with my high school students. The most difficult part about this role-playing discussion is trying to get students to see a problem from a particular viewpoint that may not be the same as their own. They don’t fully understand what it means when I tell them to “take a stance” or “argue from your character’s perspective”. As an introduction to the round-table debate this year, I’m going to try this “Take a Stan
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Ebony Thomas's Visit on 7/26

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As a science teacher, race doesn’t come up often, and if it does, it’s often mentioned in passing as a comment to something or someone. Thus, it is something I usually talk about with students privately, just one-on-one, either in the hallway or during advisory. However, I can see the benefit of addressing questions and comments about race with a class of students. So I will keep in mind some of the notes I wrote down from Summer Institute on July 26th, during Ebony Thomas’ visit and subsequent discussion: (1) Don’t be afraid of open dialogue. If I’m uncomfortable leading the discussion, tell my students why I feel this way and then just keep going. (2) Frame shared experiences to help students be more empathetic. (3) Unpack the statements made by students by asking them further clarifying questions: “What do you mean by that?” “How do you know?”
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Character Silhouette

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When we start talking about human impact on the environment, I often show students the original Lorax video on Youtube and then ask them to write a response. The story and corresponding video are engaging, but I feel the boredom streaming out of their ears when I ask them to write about the main message and to make connections to what’s happening in our modern society. Perhaps one of the reasons why my students hate writing this response is that they don’t really know what to write about. I don’t give them an official time to brainstorm beforehand-- I just ask them to go right into to writing. This is why I really liked the character silhouette activity we did this summer. With this activity, students can work in groups (so multiple people can contribute to the writing or drawing) and really think about this character and how he/she fits into the overall narrative. This will in turn help them in writing a response to the story/video, as they will have had time to discuss with
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Social Justice in a Ninth-Grade Science Classroom

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During the Summer Institute, I was also working in a fly lab on campus with a veteran science teacher from Central High School. At the end of every session, I would walk over to the lab and we would chat about PhilWP for about 10-20 minutes before she left for the day. We talked a lot about culturally relevant pedagogies, social justice in the classroom, and how different this might look in a science classroom as compared to a history or english classroom. We also talked a lot about my hesitation to do a lot of the activities that involve class-sharing of personal stories, as I teach at a neighborhood high school with limited classroom management abilities. She suggested that I try to use “awesome science” to create this type of open classroom environment. Although I may not be able to incorporate social justice into the curriculum the same way an English teacher does, I can still create a classroom where respect for ideas and opinions matter. Crazy phenomena breeds questions, and
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Writing the Personal Statement

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I feel like many of my students may be intimidated to write because they think that their words “sound dumb”. This problem becomes especially paralyzing in the Fall, when college applications are due and many of our seniors are stuck, unable to write their personal statement. They get caught up trying to pick words that make their essays flow best and that also make them “sound smart”. But at the end of the day, by trying to be fancy, their essays end up confusing and nonsensical. I get lost in their narratives, misunderstanding the points they are trying to make. What they really need to do, is keep it simple. Many of the readings this summer, especially this one, reminded me that it is the meaning behind the words that matter most, not the words themselves. Of course grammar and syntax are important, but the message of the personal statements are more valuable. When my seniors come asking for help on their personal statements this year, I think I might have them read the hig
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Carmen's Unwritten Story

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Throughout institute, I often thought about how I might incorporate my student’s personal history into the science curriculum. I came up with a couple of ideas over the summer, but I haven’t developed a concrete plan to implement them or come up with any follow-up ideas since. Some of the ideas I had: (i) interviewing someone older than them about the environment/weather when they were growing up (ii) having the ESOL students list or draw characteristics of their home country and connecting that to the different biomes on Earth (iii) bringing in photos of family members and identifying physical features that have been passed down (as a hook into genetics). This story, and the notes I wrote while reading it, reminded me of the reasons why it’s so important for me to continue thinking about how to make this personal connection between the student and the mandated narrative. It’s a way to get students to feel like they matter, that their story is important, and that they belong.
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Trey Smith's Visit on 7/25

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NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) is pushing for students to be able to make statements in the following format: “Claim-Evidence-Reasoning”. I think Trey Smith’s idea of analyzing primary sources is a great way to introduce students to this style of written argument-making. It’s also a really fun way to hook students into a lesson. In the past, I’ve started my carbon cycle lessons by showing a clip from the Lion King where Mufasa teaches Simba about the cycle of life, but I think I’ll switch it up this year and instead introduce the topic by showing students pictures of recent natural disasters that scientists have linked to climate change (ie. Hurricane Harvey; Hurricane Irma; California's 5-year drought and then subsequent flooding episodes). From their analysis and discussion of the pictures, students will begin to wonder why this is all happening and hopefully ask questions that will guide the lesson forward.
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