Most teachers in America (and the world) are venturing into the weird world on online teaching and remote learning. In some cases, you can't grade it but you still have to provide learning opportunities. In other cases, you must have daily attendance questions and daily assignments. Other teachers have required office hours and meetings with students. So many of us have been working hard to integrate authentic learning experiences with NGSS SEPs, teaching our kids skills and inquiry, rather than focusing exclusively on content. So what to do now? I'll take you through how I am integrating all of the SEPs while we explore this new way of teaching and connecting with our students. Here is a great document to familiarize yourself with the SEPs and grade level expectations. Asking Questions and Defining Problems + Developing and Using ModelsJust because we can't do live phenomenon, does not mean we can't do them! To introduce a concept or review a previous concept, find a video, gif or even video yourself doing a phenomenon. Great phenomenon resources here and here and here.
Planning and Carrying Out InvestigationsWhat a great time to do at home labs! So many labs you do in class can be done at home, especially for the physical sciences. Motion, momentum, chemical reactions (think cooking and baking) and ecosystems in student's backyards. My physics students are doing one of four motion mini labs using materials in their own home.
Analyzing and Interpreting DataThere are so many opportunities to look at authentic data (just think of all of the COVD19 data coming out daily). Here are some ways to integrate this into your classroom:
Using Mathematics and Computational ThinkingTeaching new concepts in math is challenging in distance learning, but are possible. Simulations are a great resource to teach students new concepts and have them use the data. PhET has amazing simulations to get students thinking (they can also be used as phenomenon, a way to carry out an experiment or analyze data). Have students use a simulation to take data, for instance, changing one variable and looking at the result. Then, you can introduce an equation and have students double check their answers. Always use videos to introduce new equations and mathematical students, as many students struggle with their conficene in math. Constructing Explanations and Designing SolutionsThis standard is a great opportunity for students to explore their data analysis and phennemon. This is best used at the end of a unit after introducing a new concept. For instance, during my forces unit my phenenmon is a slow motion slinky drop. Students learn about forces and constantly update their model. At the end, students explain the model and design more variables they can test. Another great way to use a phenomenon to create an engineering solution the problem. I love to use this when thinking about alternative energy sources and safety in collisions. Once again, even without building and testing solutions, students can analyze data and create ideas for solutions. Engaging in Argument from EvidenceCERs, Claim Evidence Reasoning, are one of the cornerstones of NGSS. My students are so accustomed to these at this point they can deliver a high quality CER in no time. All kids can do CERs by looking at a phenomenon, data set or experiment.
Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating InformationCommunication not face to face? How can we make solutions to this. After kids for CERs, an investigation, model... basically any of the standards I discussed above, you can create an authentic communication tools and evaluate students on their skills
Giving Feedback on SEPsMy friend and colleague, Siiri Mason, shared with me how she is giving feedback to students. "For doing CER digitally I post an assignment on Google Classroom the same way I post any assignment. This allows students to submit their CER right on Google Classroom. I can then give students feedback one of two ways. On the computer you can create a comment bank of feedback you find yourself continually leaving. This allows you to just type the first word of the comment and the full feedback will populate as an option to leave as a comment. This saves so much time and allows you to leave meaningful efficient feedback. However, my favorite way to give students feedback on CERs digitally is using my iPad and Apple Pencil. When you open the Google Classroom app on your iPad and open a turned in CER, there is a pencil in the top right corner that lets you enter editing mode. It allows you to type comments as usual, but you can also select pen, highlighting, and eraser tools! This lets me quickly write feedback the same way as if I had hard copies in front of me. I usually just highlight sections and write the score corresponding to what I highlighted from our department CER rubric. I have this rubric posted where they turn in work so when students look at their work they can see...based on this part of what I wrote...this got me here on the rubric. How do they see what I wrote? When you are done editing you click save, which saves a version of their work with your comments on it as a pdf. When you click return work on google classroom the students can see the pdf, and all the work stays on google drive no downloading and uploading required!" I love this approach! Students can see feedback on their page with your handwriting. What an amazing way to connect with students in a brand new way. So let's get started!Remote teaching is all about thinking outside the box. We can't do all the same content, the same time frame and the same lessons you love. We can still integrate vital skills. These skills are transferable through all disciplines and can be used next year, regardless if some content cannot be covered.
It's important to give yourself a break. We are all in this together. Less is more and relationships are still number one. Compassion and understanding must be the backbone of our remote learning experiences.
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