The Blog
I have spent the past week serving as a teacher facilitator during the first ever DU STEM Summer Institute. It was an amazing week to reflect on the power of our STEM model, be grateful that I have been part of it for the past five years, and see the infectious enthusiasm of the new teachers who were learning the model. Here are some of the powerful learnings I took away from this week!
The world is full of problems--and solutions. Since I became a STEM teacher, I have started to see the world as a place full of problems that just haven't been solved yet. It has changed the frustration I use to feel as a member of our community into a sense of empowerment. We can solve our problems--if we are creative and put in the work! The majority of our week was spent engaging in an adult learner PBL around creating sustainable businesses and then learning how to plan them for our students. On Monday morning, I sat through to presentations by businesses in Denver who had gone green. As I listened, I scrambled to keep up as idea after idea for new PBL's came up in their presentations. How do we recycle unusual items? How do we build culture in existing organizations? How do we monetize our beliefs? Theses were just a few of the ideas that came up. Be the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage. The best learning of this week's institute occurred when we were learning along side the participants, not leading from the front of the room. After completing an adult learner PBL, motivation was there for them to engage in the process. My sessions on creating websites where we sat side by side and thought through how it could look left learners empowered. By the end of Friday, participants left with viable PBL ideas because they had someone to ask them questions and provide just in time feedback to build success. These principles are just as important for students in the classrooms. We lead the best learning when we are vulnerable and authentic. Throughout the week, I shared a long series of failures that I have survived as a STEM teacher. A trash PBL that went oh so wrong, the lessons learned from switching to the NGSS while the state assesses the CAS, and many others provided participants with the permission needed to try and fail. When I reflect on how my practice has grown over the past five years in real ways, it drives others to see that it will be ok to fail. There is always something more to learn. As I sat and listened to other teachers and administrators through out the week, I learned so many amazing things. I pledged to focus on building more authentic business partnerships when I heard about the ones others were using. I refocused on being purposeful about the creation of inquiry opportunities as I saw this come to life. I got curious at using 3D printing as a vehicle for math. Now I have some great things to learn this summer as I wait for my new students. Reflection provides energy to move forward with purpose. As I interacted with many teachers just starting this journey, I was able to reflect on how much I have grown in the past five years. It helped me to find passion, energy and excitement to start planning for the fall and make next year even better! (after a few weeks at the pool, traveling, and enjoying mom time, of course!)
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AuthorMrs. Noffsinger is the 8th Grade Science and Engineering educator. Archives
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Photos used under Creative Commons from Howdy, I'm H. Michael Karshis, r.nial.bradshaw