UW Teacher Professional Development

This past weekend, NSTA pre-service teachers were invited to a UW Professional Development workshop. I've been to a few others this spring and they are super helpful and interesting to attend. These workshops (usually last for a day and half) provide teachers (across the state) and NSTA UW pre-service teachers with lessons, discussions, and new ideas/activities that incorporate STEM into their lessons and classrooms. The two workshops I have gone to have covered Astronomy, Citizen Science, and Computer Science topics and concepts that we can incorporate into out teaching. From what I have experienced, these workshops are broadening my mind on how I can approach my teaching and my future classrooms with an interdisciplinary approach utilizing STEM fields and collaborating with other educators across the state to gain ideas! 

Do you want to know one of the awesome parts to these workshops: you get PAID for attending the workshops! Approximately, $150/day! How awesome is that! Plus, they feed you meals during workshop time. If you are a UW teacher or pre-service teacher, you should totally check out the site! There is one in May about Science and Art Integration!!!!

Listening to Dr. Adam Myers Talk About
Astronomy & Computer Programming
Photo Credit to #LASSIPD3 Workshop
www.uwpd.org

Friday night, we focused on Computer Science programming and engineering and how this can be incorporated into our classrooms. With NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards), the idea of incorporating technology and engineering into our classrooms are providing sets of skills that are beneficial for our students' future academic careers and survival in today's society. There was a talk from Dr. Adam Myers (one of my committee members) talking about how to analyze data (large amounts of data) through computer programming - random selecting, targeting, strategies, and processes - all using computer coding and programs. In addition to how scientists are using computer science in their research and fields, we talked about how we can incorporate astronomy into the classroom while keeping the NGSS standards in mind. Kali (another NSTA member/pre-service teacher), myself, and Sam (an art/science teacher from Riverton), decided to work on talking about the Solar System in a lesson. Focusing on scale, proportion, and quantity (one of the NGSS cross-cutting concepts), we came up with a lesson where students can gain knowledge in regards to the sequence of the planets in a solar system, the size of each planet (in comparison to the Earth) and how far away they are from Earth. Kali and I used an activity (the pocket solar system) we learned from the NASA Moon/Rock Sample Workshop. This activity allows students to create the solar system while representing a scaled down interpretation of the distance each planet is from each other. Then...students could calculate from that pocket solar system, how far away each planet is on a bigger scale (maybe the length of their school through the hallways, or even outside). For Sam's case, maybe the students could utilize their school and paint the solar system with accurate scale throughout their school?!


These workshops are really helpful because we learn about a topic and are given time (during this workshop) to create lessons that we can try out in our classrooms!

Conversing about Being an Algorithm
Photo Credit to #LASSIPD3 Workshop
www.uwpd.org

Saturday was getting more into computer science. We had a speaker, Mike Borowczak, a computer science professional that explained to us some basic fundamentals of coding and how we can incorporate coding with technology and computers into lessons. Not going to lie, it was overwhelming (since I had not taken an computer science classes since undergrad at UDelaware). But it was also a great review when I would hear key concepts. I actually pulled up my Computer Science Methods textbook (PDF) from GEOG250 from UDel as he was talking. Totally helpful! It was definitely a great refresher, however, when it came to coding, there were times I got lost and needed help. But that's the learning process, you know!

Organized Ourselves into a Process
Photo Credit to #LASSIPD3 Workshop
www.uwpd.org

Also, we got to participate in a variety of hands-on, interactive, and mobile activities for all ages. This was super fun. First, we got to be a human algorithm. We were asked to gather together in a circle in the middle of the room. As we were given input data through one person, we were only allowed to hold on piece of data at a time, and only one person was allowed to output. Our objective was to sort the data. As we got data, we realized we had cities and states. So our group wanted to sort them by Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast regions. We came up with steps or processes that as the input got the data (one-by-one), they would pass it either to North or South people. Then that data would be categorized into North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West and then hand it to the output (And place it in the corresponding placeholder based on who it came from). In the end, we realized we made an algorithm or procedure/formula on how to organize our data. Basically, we interacted how a computer program would simulate this process. Super fun!

Kali & Me Made it Onto the #LASSIPD3 Twitter with Our NetLogo Computer Model
Fire Ecology with Pine Beetle Kill
Photo Credit to Mike Borowczak, #LASSIPD3

In the afternoon, we were allowed to free-roam and explore the resources that were brought or accessible on-line to test out and try to create our own computer science program or model that we could incorporate into our classroom. There were a few games and hands-on equipment/kits provided to use at the workshop (such as: Arduino Technologies, NetLogo, Turtle Robot, Khan Academy, and much more). This was super fun! Kali and I worked together on a lesson that she and I could incorporate into our teaching (I know we could definitely use it in a Life Science class, Ecology class, or even when I teach Teton Science Schools later this year). And the best part...you can even play it yourself! Super cool, fun, and I was able to place my coding skills to the test, as well as learn more about this field I have totally neglected since Spring 2006....ha! Dr. Brian Hanson would be sooooo proud! The computer programming website is called NetLogo. You can basically take already created programs (similar to what you want to do) and tweak it to your lesson using coding. It's great to have your students play them as well as design them! How cool is that?! Plus, after the workshop, the computer programming expert, Mike, took Kali and mine and brought it to a whole new-level too! Great team work, Mike! You can test his out here!

This PD workshop was really great for talking and immersing ourselves in a field or discipline that I normally steer away from. It's a great time to try and explore. I definitely should have started going to these last fall! Oh well, better late than never!

TheChristyBel