Welcome to the Igniting Streams of Learning in Science blog. ISLS is a collaborative program by Hiram College, Kent State University and The University of Akron to change the way we learn science. The ISLS collaborative has grown the last three years to include more than 18 Northeast Ohio school districts, education and science industry partners, and local and state educational agencies. More information can be found on our ever developing website: www. islsohio.org.
Monday, June 21, 2010
ISLS Educator Experiences
ISLS Educators,
If you were giving a presentation to fellow educators, what would you tell them about ISLS? What memories standout regarding your experiences with: learning communities, technology, and science?
I would say that the connections and relationships that were formed standout the most to me. I met some great people who I was able to bounce ideas off of and have a few different perspectives. This was not limited to the university instructors or fellow teachers. Many times this was with my students or those from other schools as well as the undergrads who were working with us.
I would say of the 5 students that were members of my LC, 4 of them benefited greatly from our ISLS experience, as did I. We not only gained knowledge but also opportunities that we may have never had otherwise.
ISLS proved to me that anyone can do science and when you get down to it, all students are really the same. Watching students from multiple different educational environments, interact and overcome challenges to excel at a high standard in their learning communities was very uplifting. A memory that stands out to me is seeing my learning community during the land-cover assessment successfully field-check their data when the GPS unit failed. This may seem small and insignificant, but this was a true test of the student's understanding of spatial relations in seeing the 3D world on a 2D surface.
stephanie lammlein microscope -$450, micropipettes - $276, box of petri dishes -$75, watching students learn and grow in an environment inwhich they are in control of their learning - priceless :-)
The things that stood out the most to me was how hard the students were worked when they felt what they were doing was meaningful and that they had some ownership in what they were doing.
I was thrown into a situation in which I wasn't the primary means of content delivery. The students didn't learn from me as a primary source. The situation and the task provided the learning. They relied on me for an experienced opinion, but given how everything played out, I think we learned from each other and from the situation/task far more than they learned from me.
I would tell them that the role are reversed for much of the program. The learners are the ones who are doing the teaching - this makes them have a much deeper understanding of their content. This model leads to better mastery of content which is the chief goal of science instruction in my mind.
I would say that the connections and relationships that were formed standout the most to me. I met some great people who I was able to bounce ideas off of and have a few different perspectives. This was not limited to the university instructors or fellow teachers. Many times this was with my students or those from other schools as well as the undergrads who were working with us.
ReplyDeleteI would say of the 5 students that were members of my LC, 4 of them benefited greatly from our ISLS experience, as did I. We not only gained knowledge but also opportunities that we may have never had otherwise.
ReplyDeleteISLS proved to me that anyone can do science and when you get down to it, all students are really the same. Watching students from multiple different educational environments, interact and overcome challenges to excel at a high standard in their learning communities was very uplifting. A memory that stands out to me is seeing my learning community during the land-cover assessment successfully field-check their data when the GPS unit failed. This may seem small and insignificant, but this was a true test of the student's understanding of spatial relations in seeing the 3D world on a 2D surface.
ReplyDeletestephanie lammlein
ReplyDeletemicroscope -$450, micropipettes - $276, box of petri dishes -$75, watching students learn and grow in an environment inwhich they are in control of their learning - priceless :-)
The things that stood out the most to me was how hard the students were worked when they felt what they were doing was meaningful and that they had some ownership in what they were doing.
ReplyDeleteI was thrown into a situation in which I wasn't the primary means of content delivery. The students didn't learn from me as a primary source. The situation and the task provided the learning. They relied on me for an experienced opinion, but given how everything played out, I think we learned from each other and from the situation/task far more than they learned from me.
ReplyDeleteI would tell them that the role are reversed for much of the program. The learners are the ones who are doing the teaching - this makes them have a much deeper understanding of their content. This model leads to better mastery of content which is the chief goal of science instruction in my mind.
ReplyDelete