Grades 6-12

Jenny Nord, Secondary Science Curriculum Coordinator

Email: jnord5257@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: https://www.ccsoh.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=2577
Location: 3700 South High Street, Columbus, OH, USA
Phone: (380) 997-0466
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusCitySchools/

Effective learning embraces active learning techniques to engage students, creating a sense of accountability for their own learning. To accomplish this, you will need to become a facilitator in your classroom by:

• promoting participation: Encourage participants to “hear all voices” to highlight a number of perspectives, to pool knowledge to become smarter as an aggregate, and to encourage new people so old culture structures are not perpetuated within the new structures.
• ensuring equity: Allow for the fact that people learn in different ways and that people have different life experiences – race, ethnicity, class background, sexual orientation, ability/disability, age, etc.
• building trust: NOT to help everyone trust every other individual member, but to help each trust the situation that has been collectively created. Not trust in general, but trust sufficient to do the work at hand. It is NOT about making everyone feel comfortable; some work creates discomfort.

Active learning is about engaging students in activities—not just allowing them to passively listen to a subject matter expert. Here are 3 easy ways to begin:

1. brainstorming sessions with your class
2. class discussions
3. problem-based learning

At some point you need to disseminate information. I’m not sure why the word lecture became such a negative term, but there is a correct way to do this. It does NOT mean standing in front of your students and lecturing to them for an entire period. The explanation stage of the 5E Model encourages students to explain concepts and definitions in their own words; asks for justification (evidence) and clarification from students; formally provides definitions, explanations, and new labels; uses students' previous experiences as the basis for explaining concepts; and assesses students’ growing understanding. How could you make your lecture time more interactive?

Here are some interactive lecture ideas:

• No more than 5 minutes of interactive lecturing (or 3-5 slides) without partner work or some form of processing.
• Partner discussion encourages all students to participate and communicate (groups can actually discourage this exchange) leading to higher comprehension; this technique is right in line with Teacher Clarity.
• Students should be taking notes during instruction. Consider creating graphic organizers for your notes.

If you'd like to learn more, here is the link to an on-demand session that was offered at the March 8th PD Day on this topic. Contact Jenny Nord if you would like training on this for your science staff. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nOoL6vjL9r1wYNx080yFmr-nuZIRBXE8Y4nx5kU4Ihc/edit?usp=share_link

Check out these additional resources:

Interactive Lecture and Process Time

Front-Loaded Vocabulary

Organizing Information

Developing Students' Memories

Conceptual and Deep Learning

Word Wall Tip Sheet

B-Wiser:

Buckeye Women in Science, Engineering, and Research (B-WISER) is a non-profit that began in 1990 and is designed for girls who will be completing 7th or 8th grade. Several scholarships are available for those who qualify for Ohio’s free and reduced school meals program. Financial aid recipients pay just $150 for the week, including room and board.

The camp provides hands-on experiences in physics, chemistry, geology, biology, and engineering. The residential program takes place on The College of Wooster campus from June 18-23, 2023. Please note that this girl-centered program is open to students who identify as a girl in any way. See our website for more information: https://bwiser.spaces.wooster.edu/. Please see the poster and flyer links below.

EdWeek:

Education Week is launching its first free mini-course: Accelerate Learning. This five-week email course will give you strategies and practical takeaways for helping students learn at a higher level of efficiency and efficacy. You’ll come away knowing what the latest research says, and which proven tactics you can use to accelerate learning and build learning confidence in your students. Enrollment is free and takes just one click.

EdWeek’s experts have carefully constructed this five-email course to teach you what you need to know about this subject in bite-sized weekly chunks. You won’t need to go to class or complete assignments, but you will come out of the course with the confidence to develop your own action plan. Each week, you will be immersed in a different aspect of learning acceleration.

Week 1: Introduction to Learning Acceleration

Week 2: Diagnosing and Assessing Learning Gaps

Week 3: Differentiating Learning

Week 4: Tutoring

Week 5: Boosting Student Confidence

Every weekly email will include exactly what you need to know about the latest research and provide solutions you can implement immediately. You can make this a professional learning team activity by telling your colleagues to sign up. A pre- and post-quiz will reinforce your learning. And you can discuss next steps with your team and/or leadership to keep everyone in acceleration mode.

Sign up now for Education Week’s free Accelerate Learning Mini-Course. You’ll receive emails every Tuesday for five-weeks beginning April 4. But it’s a mini-course, so feel free to take it at your own pace. You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course for three hours of professional learning.

Students Can Spend Their Summer Immersed in STEM Research:

Students in grades 5-12 in the Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (GEMS) program work in U.S. Army research laboratories and engineering centers at GEMS locations around the country each summer. Registration for this free program is now open for summer 2023. Read More

SSCI Conservation Scholarship:

Below you will find information on a scholarship opportunity for “Students entering college, technical school, or graduate programs in the area of wildlife conservation, outdoor education, game, and land management, and the life/animal sciences.” Awards up to $5,000 per applicant per year will be considered.

OSU School of Music and the Wexner Center for the Arts:

Programming and opportunities offered by the School of Music

1. All concerts at the Ohio State School of Music are free, unticketed and open to the public. Our events calendar is always evolving. https://music.osu.edu/events. Highlights:
• The Jazz Festival in March
• Jazz concerts at Mirror Lake
• The Percussion Festival concerts
• Symphony, Concert band and choral concerts. Note that some are held off campus.
• More to be posted soon
2. Outreach events for student musicians and music educators. The upcoming events are highlighted on this page https://music.osu.edu/outreach
3. Youth Summer Music Programs – 9 summer camps for students in grades 6-12 (depending on the program, found here https://music.osu.edu/outreach/ysmp

Programing and opportunities being offered by the Wexner Center for the Art

1. Gallery admission to the Wex is free for all audiences during regular operating hours. Our new set of exhibitions open to the public on February 11. Details: https://wexarts.org/exhibitions
   
2. With more than 150 films a year (frequently with filmmakers in attendance), dozens of performing arts events, talks, conversations, and more, the Wex has year round programs deeply engaged with the issues of our time, providing a platform for conversation and diving deep into challenging topics. See the current lineup of upcoming events here: https://wexarts.org/calendar Upcoming programs of note include a free conversation with Annie Dorsen on February 9, our winter exhibitions preview (free) on February 10, the Ohio premiere new work by dance ensemble Brother(hood) Dance! (with a sliding ticket sale available for all budgets) on February 16, and the return of our Cinema Revival film festival celebrating the best in film restoration on February 23-27. The Wex's education department, Learning & Public Practice, offers free tours of current exhibitions, architecture, and specific topics upon request. Wex tours center thoughtful discussion and inquiry-based learning and are customized for each group.
3. Learning & Public Practice offers teacher professional development sessions upon request. Sessions are co-designed with our partners to meet your needs, but often include gallery and studio sessions with Wex Educators and local featured artists.
   
4. The Wex offers unique K-12 experiences with contemporary art throughout the school year. Our program series, Expanded Classroom, connects classes with featured Wex artists, films or performances through workshops, discussions and more. Programs can be customized to meet the needs of your class or curriculum.
   
5. To schedule a tour, inquire about teacher professional development, or learn about Expanded Classroom offerings contact education@wexarts.org.

Educators’ Week: Life Beyond the Glacier (Cincinnati Museum)

June 4-9, 2023

Are you an educator? Do you want to connect with other educators who have a passion for their work? Join formal and non-formal educators in their quest for new knowledge and teaching techniques during Educators’ Week in beautiful Scioto County, Ohio. Educators’ Week provides opportunities to gain an understanding of topics related to state academic standards by being immersive in a natural setting and creating a supportive learning environment. Attend sessions that will explore hands-on best practice strategies for introducing people to the natural world. Learn from top experts on a wide range of cross curricular topics and explore new methods that will enhance your skills as an educator. By the conclusion of this unique, retreat-like conference, you will come away with a renewed sense of wonder, a feeling of community and kinship and the confidence to share your new knowledge with others. Please go to https://educatorsweek.com/ to register!

Materials Science Workshop:

Materials Science Workshop: OUR OWN DARREN GRESCHUK WILL BE ONE OF THE FACILITATORS!

Engage your students with the magic of materials!

Saturday, April 22, 9 am to 4 pm, Gahanna

If you teach middle school science or high school chemistry, earth science, geology, or environmental science—we've got a great (free) workshop for you!

Crystals, Candy, and Clinker is a unique professional learning experience that will help you show your students the applications of materials in everyday life. Work with candy and walk away with free classroom supplies...pretty sweet!

Participants will:

• observe how thermal processing impacts metals

• discover how metals and glass react to annealing and quenching

• create composite materials to test

You'll learn through doing activities such as:

• Hot or not? Heat a brick on one side without heat affecting the other side.

• Candy fiber pull: Heat Jolly Ranchers and see how sugar fibers resemble the fibers of glass.

• Thermal processing of bobby pins: Experiment with annealing and quenching to see the effect on metal.

• How strong is your chocolate? See if your favorite candy bar can stand up to weight.

All participants will receive a materials science classroom kit ($250 value) and .7 CEUs, as well as the opportunity to apply for replacement supplies through a kit grant option.

Register today for Crystals, Candy, and Clinker happening Saturday, April 22, 9 am to 4 pm in Gahanna!

If you are a teacher (any grade, any discipline) in Regions 3, 5, or 6, you are invited to attend. Here is a flyer about the event:

https://tinyurl.com/STEAMMFlyer

It will be different this year:

1. CSCC has joined as a collaborator as well as OSU

2. Grades K-12 newcomers will all participate the first week: June 5-9

3. We will be visiting different schools in OSU this year and one day at CSCC

4. All repeaters will be invited for a 3-day week June 12-14. One of those days will also be at CSCC.

If you are not in those Regions and want to participate, we will once again be hiring facilitators for either or both weeks.

Here is the form to sign up for the 1st Newcomers Week if you are in Regions 3, 5, or 6. Invite your colleagues from other disciplines and learn together!

https://tinyurl.com/STEAMM2023

Ed Week:

-5 Ways to Inspire a Love for Learning in your Students: https://tinyurl.com/3n463m2h

-Students Say What Makes a Classroom Memorable: https://tinyurl.com/232ebtc6

-How Lessons about Public Health Can Engage Students in Science Class: https://tinyurl.com/3vpvsxv9

-Jaded with Education, more Americans Are Skipping College: https://tinyurl.com/2p8ffanz

-One Way to Set Students Up for Success...Let Them Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/bde9jxs2

The Ohio Department of Education has created a resource page for educators and school administrators on logistics and curricular approaches to educating students and the community about the total solar eclipse, which will be visible in Ohio on April 8, 2024.

From our own Julia Hall: I had mentioned that OOGEEP had fantastic workshops for Environmental Science related to fracking, geology, mining and energy use. They've changed their names but this is the new link to all the available teacher resources including workshop dates and potential grant opportunities.

https://www.ohionaturalenergy.org/teachers

ODNR: Several of you told Jen Dennison from ODNR at the Partner Fair that you were interested in the Wildlife Education Grant Guidelines. Please see the link below.

Ditch that Textbook:

-Virtual field trips allow us to take our students on adventures we never thought possible. We can take our students under the ocean, across the globe and even into space. But sometimes finding the right virtual field trip, or even finding a virtual field trip at all, can be time consuming. That's why we put together this growing database of virtual field trips you can take with your class!: https://ditchthattextbook.com/virtual-field-trips

-The ULTIMATE Google Slides Teacher Resource: https://ditchthattextbook.com/google-slides

-Looking for a video to show students before spring break?

Choose from 500+ videos suggested by teachers. You know, videos they show actual human children in their own classrooms. TEACHFLIX lets you search by keyword (1), search by grade level (2), and search by content area (3). Plus, we offer activities to assign students to go with videos on TEACHFLIX. See if there's something you can use in class tomorrow! Browse the TEACHFLIX video library

-12 Social Media-Inspired Hooks for Class: https://ditchthattextbook.com/social-hooks

Feed the World, Ohio Corn Education:

-Hands-on spring science lessons! Show your students how to test soil and water quality with our free lessons! They'll learn about different soil textures and content and how these affect plant growth. Test soil from your school, students' yards, or a nearby farm. Explore how water quality can be determined through chemical testing or by counting macro invertebrates in a sample. These engaging lessons are ones they won't forget!

-Show your students the science behind genetically-modified corn with our Biotechnology lessons. Have you students read factual media coverage of the controversy and help them understand the challenges of producing enough food for a growing population with our Feeding the World lessons. Real-world science doesn't get more relevant than this!

Once a Month Open Houses: Come with your Family and Join the Fun! (10:00-2:00)

• March 4, 2023

• using technology to identify plants (iNaturalist & SEEK apps)
• learn to use a compass and go for a nature walk
• make a bird house to take home

  We have wood bird houses that click together. I'll have paint out and markers to decorate the houses.

• April 22, 2023 (Theme: Earth Day)
• May 6, 2023

Brian Morton, Director of Secondary Curriculum

Sonja Dill, Secondary Curriculum Supervisor

Laura Schnebelen, K-5 Coordinator, lschnebe@columbus.k12.oh.us

Jennifer Nord, 6-12 Science Coordinator, jnord5257@columbus.k12.oh.us

Heather Allen, K-12 Spruce Run Coordinator, hallen704@columbus.k12.oh.us