ImagineIT Phase 3
Desired Results
Students of color are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields (National Science Foundation, 2009). The goal of my project is to increase my environmental science students' science identity over the course of the school year in hopes that they will consider a STEM career as a viable future. In addition to exposing students to STEM careers I also aim to increase their interest in science and their tendency to view themselves as scientists.
Science plays an important role in all our lives from the food we eat, to our smartphones, to the medicine we take. Unfortunately, students become disengaged with the subject due to poor instruction and lack of connection to possible career fields. Minority and low-income students are further affected. Students are exposed to future identities and career options based on what they see around them. While wealthier students regularly interact with adults that went to college for science or are employed in a science field, students in disadvantaged homes and neighborhoods often find images of success that are disconnected from education (Boon & Lomore, 2001; King & Multon, 1996; Oyserman & Destin, 2010).
Students of color are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields (National Science Foundation, 2009). The goal of my project is to increase my environmental science students' science identity over the course of the school year in hopes that they will consider a STEM career as a viable future. In addition to exposing students to STEM careers I also aim to increase their interest in science and their tendency to view themselves as scientists.
Science plays an important role in all our lives from the food we eat, to our smartphones, to the medicine we take. Unfortunately, students become disengaged with the subject due to poor instruction and lack of connection to possible career fields. Minority and low-income students are further affected. Students are exposed to future identities and career options based on what they see around them. While wealthier students regularly interact with adults that went to college for science or are employed in a science field, students in disadvantaged homes and neighborhoods often find images of success that are disconnected from education (Boon & Lomore, 2001; King & Multon, 1996; Oyserman & Destin, 2010).
Performances of Understanding
Throughout the school year I will be collecting evidence from the following areas:
At the beginning and end of the school year, students will take a survey which will measure their science interest, identity, and literacy. Additionally, students will complete a "Draw a Scientist" task at the beginning and end of the school year. The results from each survey will be compiled and the data will be used to determine if my students' attitude toward science has changed over the course of the year.
During my ImaingeIT Phase 2 planning, I thought I would be teaching freshman students. After our summer meetings ended, I found out that I will be teaching three different senior-level classes instead. This obviously changes the context of my project, as the students have already had three years of science class and will be making a final decision on which college they will be attending and begin to identify possible careers. With this context change, I will be sitting down with a group of students if not every students every month to discuss their futures and interest in STEM-related fields.
As part of my Deep Play project, my students will have time weekly for their own 20% Projects. Students will complete two small projects during the first semester and will be able to work on a new project or build on a previous project during second semester. Additionally, students will complete a long-term, content-related project quarter. These projects are:
For homework, students will take terms finding a science-related article that interests them and posting it on our Google Classroom page. A student will post their articles on Monday and the rest of the class will have until midnight on Thursday to read and respond to the article. On Friday, the student who posted the article will lead a discussion about the article they posted, asking other students in the class to share their thoughts. Student responses on these posts can me archived and coded.
Throughout the school year I will be collecting evidence from the following areas:
- Student surveys and drawings
- Student interviews
- 20% projects and project reflection
At the beginning and end of the school year, students will take a survey which will measure their science interest, identity, and literacy. Additionally, students will complete a "Draw a Scientist" task at the beginning and end of the school year. The results from each survey will be compiled and the data will be used to determine if my students' attitude toward science has changed over the course of the year.
During my ImaingeIT Phase 2 planning, I thought I would be teaching freshman students. After our summer meetings ended, I found out that I will be teaching three different senior-level classes instead. This obviously changes the context of my project, as the students have already had three years of science class and will be making a final decision on which college they will be attending and begin to identify possible careers. With this context change, I will be sitting down with a group of students if not every students every month to discuss their futures and interest in STEM-related fields.
As part of my Deep Play project, my students will have time weekly for their own 20% Projects. Students will complete two small projects during the first semester and will be able to work on a new project or build on a previous project during second semester. Additionally, students will complete a long-term, content-related project quarter. These projects are:
- Training a mouse to run a maze
- Constructing aquaponics units and growing lettuce
- Creating aquatic ecosystems using two liter bottles
- Designing and building solar-powered race cars
For homework, students will take terms finding a science-related article that interests them and posting it on our Google Classroom page. A student will post their articles on Monday and the rest of the class will have until midnight on Thursday to read and respond to the article. On Friday, the student who posted the article will lead a discussion about the article they posted, asking other students in the class to share their thoughts. Student responses on these posts can me archived and coded.
Learning Experience and Instruction
For this section I will be using the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework described in Mishra & Koehler (2006) to describe my classroom and the learning experience I hope to create for my students. This framework was first introduced to me when I heard Punya Mishra speak at Chicago Public Schools Tech Talk 2016 and was the subject of one of our first reading assignments for the MSUrbanSTEM program. |
- Context - This year I will be teaching three different senior-level classes. I will be teaching one period of environmental science, one period of FUSE, and one period of One Goal. It is completely possible that I will teach the same group of students two or three different periods every day. These students have already taken introduction to science, biology, and chemistry and even though I may have taught a handfull of them as freshmen, the majority of the students will have never had me as a teacher. However, every student will already know who I am as I started at the school the same year they started as freshmen and I have helped many of them out over the years will service learning, jobs, and internships.
- Content - The group of students I will be working with will be enrolled in my environmental science class. These students will already have a knowledge of ecology and evolution from their biology, but will not have been exposed to the vast amount of concepts covered in the course. I chose not to focus on my FUSE class at the time as it is a completely new course for the district and it it possible that the same students will be enrolled in both of the courses.
- Pedagogy - I do very little direct instruction in my class and instead provide my students with the opportunity to model, experiment, and play first. Afterwards, as a group we debrief and draw lessons from the activities we just created. I have also been gamifying my class more and more by either providing students with online games to play (e.g. Explore Learning Gizmos) or creating my own games for them to play. The majority of the work student complete in my class is collaborative, however homework, reflections, and exams are always independent.
- Technology - Thanks to a Donors Choose grant, my classroom is 1:1 is Chromebooks. I use currently use Google Classroom and Google Apps for Education for class activities. Per school policy, students are unable to use their cellphones during the school day. However, they can access and submit assignments form their phones or tablets after school hours through the Google Classroom app. Every student has their own Google email address provided by the district and access to the entire Google Apps for Education suite with the exception of Google Hangouts. The back 1/3 of my classroom will be blocked off with bookshelves to create a makerspace for the school. Thanks to an HP Learning Studios grant I received, the space will have a 3D printer, HP Sprout, 2D printer, convertible laptops, and 5 Makey Makeys. Additionally, the space will be stocked with traditional art supplies and plenty of cardboard for student projects. The space will be open for teachers to bring their classes to during the day, and for students to use during both lunch periods and after school.
Sources
- Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers college record,108(6), 1017.