science teaching – SciencEdLife

The acting of teaching

I have been the grumpiest, sternest version of myself with these students, but I have not abandoned them. The ability to access, draw out and present appropriate aspects of our selves to students, together with thoughtful lesson design, makes us more effective in our roles as teachers.

Music can be magic in science class

Music can be a wonderful tool for proactive classroom management and building community in science.

Asking Students to Question

Starting with intriguing phenomena and leveraging student questioning can transform a class, making it more interesting for everyone. The more we can step off the stage and ask students to contribute their ideas, questions and wonderings, then introduce our science curriculum as a useful tool in response, the more meaning our science class will have for all concerned.

Permission to Fail — In Order to Soar

The essential questions we develop for each unit help drive lesson planning and focus our choice of activities. But the strategic focus questions we develop for students will provide a bridge between their lived experiences and our curriculum, like a key to unlock their curiosity and reveal their prior understandings.

Classroom Community

When I was a brand-new teacher, I knew it was important to have my lessons planned carefully, and to learn my students’ names. Like most new teachers, I worked hard my first year developing curriculum and figuring out my classroom management strategies. I loved teaching biology to teenagers, I was fired up about inquiry teachingContinue reading “Classroom Community”