Imagine IT PHASE 5 – Short Report
For the first part of phase 5, I decided to confer with my Assistant Principal, Ms. Richard. Prior to becoming Assistant Principal at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy, Ms. Richard was a science coach in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Additionally, she has worked hard at having the lower grades take science more seriously, especially considering the NGSS are becoming more and more common language. I wanted someone who could give me honest feedback, someone who may see things differently than I.
During our conference, I outlined my Imagine IT to her and she agreed that NGSS 2: Developing and Using Models, would be an excellent point to focus on considering it is seldom addressed due to its difficulty. Opposite of my initial ideas however, Ms. Richard expressed that if I got to NGSS 2 once every one to two weeks, that I would be in good shape. Additionally, due to our scheduling, she and I both agreed that this is a task that I will pilot with our Algebra cohort and not the entire 8th grade. Finally, she recommended that if I was in need of materials that our building did not have, such as magna tiles, I should apply for Donors Choose.
Using the Algebra cohort, I then conducted my Focus Group. The scholars identified that the NGSS we rarely get to are numbers 2 and 3, much to my delight. They also indicated that using models would be something that they are interested in because they feel like it is hard to visualize systems or things at the molecular level based solely on notes and vocabulary terms. Additionally, they informed me that they want more time to explore in lieu of following the pacing guide.
A change that I will make based on my conference with Ms. Richard and also based upon my Focus Group is that I will not complete my Imagine IT with all four-class periods. I will limit it to my 2nd period, which is the Algebra cohort. The reason being is that due to this being a new teaching style for me, I want to use the most flexible group. Additionally, the Algebra cohort is roughly a week ahead of all other classes in pacing thus giving me the ability to do more creative learning with them.
Trends that I am seeing are that modeling, in particular having scholars develop the models, it not a common occurrence in our school currently. Additionally, I am also seeing that in order to achieve all of the NGSS, I will have to reinvent myself and my teaching practices and really deviate from the CPS recommended science curriculum.
For the first part of phase 5, I decided to confer with my Assistant Principal, Ms. Richard. Prior to becoming Assistant Principal at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy, Ms. Richard was a science coach in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Additionally, she has worked hard at having the lower grades take science more seriously, especially considering the NGSS are becoming more and more common language. I wanted someone who could give me honest feedback, someone who may see things differently than I.
During our conference, I outlined my Imagine IT to her and she agreed that NGSS 2: Developing and Using Models, would be an excellent point to focus on considering it is seldom addressed due to its difficulty. Opposite of my initial ideas however, Ms. Richard expressed that if I got to NGSS 2 once every one to two weeks, that I would be in good shape. Additionally, due to our scheduling, she and I both agreed that this is a task that I will pilot with our Algebra cohort and not the entire 8th grade. Finally, she recommended that if I was in need of materials that our building did not have, such as magna tiles, I should apply for Donors Choose.
Using the Algebra cohort, I then conducted my Focus Group. The scholars identified that the NGSS we rarely get to are numbers 2 and 3, much to my delight. They also indicated that using models would be something that they are interested in because they feel like it is hard to visualize systems or things at the molecular level based solely on notes and vocabulary terms. Additionally, they informed me that they want more time to explore in lieu of following the pacing guide.
A change that I will make based on my conference with Ms. Richard and also based upon my Focus Group is that I will not complete my Imagine IT with all four-class periods. I will limit it to my 2nd period, which is the Algebra cohort. The reason being is that due to this being a new teaching style for me, I want to use the most flexible group. Additionally, the Algebra cohort is roughly a week ahead of all other classes in pacing thus giving me the ability to do more creative learning with them.
Trends that I am seeing are that modeling, in particular having scholars develop the models, it not a common occurrence in our school currently. Additionally, I am also seeing that in order to achieve all of the NGSS, I will have to reinvent myself and my teaching practices and really deviate from the CPS recommended science curriculum.