A Fall Teaching Practicum Synthesis

Every educator continually has a variety of ideas, concepts, and challenges that they have going into a teaching season (field or in-classroom) in which they must encounter, work through, learn from, and to accept.  Coming into the fall teaching practicum with already four years of field educating under my belt, I felt comfortable with the challenge of being given the opportunity to teach in the field and on an outreach level.  Some challenges I knew going into this semester on striving to be an even more effective educator than I already was included being more time conscious during my lessons, making sure I had enough tricks in my bag for when attention was being lost or a brain break was needed, and making sure I was addressing my students in a personable, professional manner.

Confidently, I have a passion and foundation on working with and teaching my students, and there will always be techniques, traits, and tips to make me a better educator, but that working with a whole new group of colleagues and relying on them in so many ways was something I did not really take into a main focus of mine.  After completing my first practicum, there was one thing that I did not take into consideration when viewing what I wanted to get the most out of, until the practicum was over; that was community.  Going into this program, I thought I understood the idea of community; basically, going to class, working, teaching, and living together in a beautiful place.  However, after these three-months with my cohort, my idea of community has changed; it is much more than just teaching and working together. 

For my fall synthesis, I wanted to visually present my idea of community through drawing.  Its shows that my current community revolves around my fellow graduates in the place that we live, go to class, recreate, and teach in.  Of courses, teaching in the has only allowed me to embrace my inner creativity and allow me to use my talents and passions, to let me grow and learn from experiences and mistakes, but has taught me to step out of a comfort zone and embrace the unknown with others around me.  Whether that means teaching age groups and topics I am unfamiliar with to getting to know and working with individuals professionally and personally in a variety of settings.  Something I know I continually see as a challenge for myself, is to allow others in, allow others to support me, and allow myself to continue to grow with a group and not just me as an individual.

The 2013 TSS Graduate Cohort of the GYE - Black & White

I believe this idea of community, is just the start to my experience with TSS and helping me grow to be a better educator and community member, and I am continually learning and striving for this every day.  I believe that learning about your new community and cohort is realizing that it is not just one element (yourself) that makes this place and community special, unique, and successful, but it’s realizing that you need everyone in this community and rely on one another and support one another to have a successful and diverse community. 

Community is relying and supporting one another, which compared to the community we teach about in many of our lessons, is similar to how the local fauna live and thrive together in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  The one beautiful thing about the TSS graduate cohort is that all strive and continue our desire to learn, absorb new techniques, and we share the same passion to be outside.  Throughout this practicum and as we move forward, I believe we continue to learn from each other, accept and give advice, gain new knowledge, and create bonds with each other.  Demonstrated in my drawing as everyone is represented as a local fauna in the GYE.  Each animal was chosen for each individual based on what I have learned about each person.

When teaching with other graduates, I have learned a multitude of things about teamwork and community balance: from respecting personal needs to demonstrating professional collaboration.  I have learned to be flexible, adaptable to weather, scheduling, and limited resources issues and concerns, but to also have fun and be willing to be creative, enthusiastic, and engaging with one another and our students we teach.

I understand, now, and will continue to be mindful as I experience the rest of my journey here with TSS, is that working together and getting to know the fellow graduates, has helped me be a better and more effective educator.  Throughout this practicum, learning to adjust and adapt to many different pulls of world, in a different ecosystem, is like the Rocky Mountain flora and fauna community, we all must rely and live together in a natural balance. 

The 2013 TSS Graduate Cohort of the GYE - Color

Enjoy,
TheChristyBel

Casper 2.0 - Last Week of Fall Teaching Practicum

Believe it or not, our Fall Semester with the Teton Science Schools is slowly coming to a close.  Can you believe that?!  I cannot!  I feel like we practically just started class, like yesterday.  Time has flown!

So, yesterday (at least for the Outreach Team) we completed our Fall classes, ending with our last week of our Fall Teaching Practicum.  The Field Education Teams will finish their practicums on Saturday morning when they send their students home.

For our last week of Fall Teaching Practicum, the Outreach Team went back to Casper to work and teach at a few different schools.  For me, I was team teaching with Hazel in a 4th Grade Sense of Place program for the first part of the week and then concluding my teaching practicum solo teaching 4th and 5th Grade in a Water and Ecosystems Program.

These two classes were phenomenal, awesome to work with, and inspiring on what connection they made on their own: it was a nice way to end on a great teaching high was a great conclusion to my first teaching practicum.

So, I definitely wanted to talk about the 4th graders that Hazel and I worked with - they were awesome: very engaged and determined.  I had never taught Sense of Place before as the main focus, so it was a a great opportunity to try something new, not to mention this whole 'place' concept was still fresh from Place-Based Education.

For our 2-day program, we wanted the class to get a better understanding of the place and space that encompassed their school, build a sense of community and team unity, and conduct a science inquiry field study that focused on and surrounded the area near their school.

4th Grade - Day One Event Path Map

Sense of Place KWL Chart

In order to get their minds wrapped around our project, we created a lesson plan where the class was to tackle the idea of using the scientific process to help them formulate a plan of action - starting with a mock-science investigation of determining which animal created a given plaster cast to each student team.

Together within their small groups, they performed each of the steps in the science circle from forming a question about 'What type of animal track was given to us?' to creating a hypothesis, developing a plan, collecting data about their track, and concluding a answer.

The students did a great job working together as a team, developing plans and steps, using pieces of equipment, and collaborating together to decipher which animal made the track.

The next step was to tie this idea of using the science circle and connect it with their place around their school.  We wanted to know what the students already knew about wanted to know about their neighborhood.  Having each student write down in a KWL (Know, Want to Know, and Learn) Chart, they were able to write down ideas or things they already knew about their neighborhood around their school and questions they wanted to learn more about.

Hypotheses for 4th Grade Sense of Place Science Inquiry
How much trash can be found in North Casper's Schoolyard or in the neighborhood park?

Based on the popular topics they students came up with after sharing as a class about what they wanted to know, we decided to let the students lead on this part of the project.  The topics of question were: animals, trash, and trees.  To narrow down the topics to one, we had a closed, private vote, where each student private voted on one of the topics.

After choosing the topic of trash, Hazel and I had the class have a silent conversation as a class on a huge piece of poster paper.  Each student wrote on this poster about ideas and questions that they had about trash in their community.

After a group consensus, the class chose to work together on determining whether there was more trash found at their school or if there was more trash at their public park.

The Design Plan

We wanted the class to feel like they had full ownership of this project, so we asked them to come up with some ideas on how they would be able to collect data on which area had more trash.  The students worked together as a team to create a plan on performing a trash collection and count at each location.  They devised what materials they would need, specific individual jobs and roles, where we would go, safety precautions, and how data would be collected.

4th Grade - Day Two Event Path Map

The next day, we went to both locations and performed the design plan and collection of data.  The students were incredibly enthusiastic about picking up trash (which was an awesome and surprising thing to see for fourth graders and a form of community service).

Caterpillar Walk in the Park

Cannot Use Your Sight...What Do You Notice?

Going back to the class, we analyzed the data and determined there was more pieces of trash and school, but there were much bigger pieces of trash found at the park.

We asked the students what they thought about this new discovery based on the data and they concluded that there were more, little pieces at school because people may not pick up the trash and will step on them, creating more smaller pieces of trash.


We then asked the students to create a skit about what they learned and what we could do after their time with TSS was done.  The students were incredibly creative and dedicated to these skits.  Some talked about how it is important to keep their neighborhood clean and respect it to others talking about how we have these public places that we all share and if they are destroyed (by trash), no one can enjoy them.  As a result the students stated there could be weekly trash pick-ups in their neighborhood around their school to help keep their school and park clean so everyone can enjoy them.


As a result, the their school teacher informed us that she is planning on continuing this project of a weekly trash pick-up around their school to help keep the idea of community and environmental respect in her student's minds.

We thought the 2-day lesson went really well.  This was a really inspiring teaching moment for Hazel and I.  Not only did we help connect our student's minds on a much deeper sense of place of their school and neighborhood, but also we tied in a sense of working together as team can help accomplish a goal with an environmental respect in mind.

Wonder Bar in Wyoming?
Pssshhhhht.  You Got Nothing on Asbury Park's Wonder Bar!

On a side note, that evening, we went to the Wonder Bar in Casper...totally made me chuckle and think of home.  Very skeptical on how the Wonder Bar in WY would or could compare to the Wonder Bar in NJ...definitely could not compare.  NJ all the way. ;)

Great End to my Fall TSS Semester.
Only 28 more days til I step foot on the East Coast! Boom!
TheChristyBel

Fall Teaching Practicum Week Three - Laramie

For our third week on the Outreach Team, we traveled about 6 hours to Laramie.  This is where I was able to teach 4th grade and Kindergarten (for the third week in a row).  4th grade was a pretty challenging class: they had a difficult time retaining some concepts and had a hard time keeping their respect level in check.  Not to mention the teacher was a little controlling and pressured to make sure they were fully grasping what we were teaching and what they were learning.  But it was definitely an experience to have under our belts, because it teaches you about the bigger picture of working with individuals that are not exactly on your wavelength and to have a class that is not the best behaved or controlled.  Definitely a learning experience.

Evidence of Beaver at Vedauwoo State Park.  The one on the Left Looks like a Widow Maker!

Took our 4th graders to Vedauwoo Park outside Laramie for an outdoor field trip that focused on Meteorological Tools and Concepts.  The students learned how to use their hand-made barometers, anemometers, wind vanes, thermometers, and cloud charts.  It was really cool seeing their hand-made creations work outdoors!

An Awesome Nature Find - The Tree Sees You!

On Wednesday, some of the grads were able to finish early and able to explore Laramie and the University of Wyoming Campus.  This was a great opportunity for Christy the Pika to come out and strut her stuff!  I definitely brought some entertainment to the campus!  Able to go around and do some Pika twerking and dancing around campus.  EmJ, a fellow graduate, was able to get these moments on film.  A video is sure to come soon!  So stay tuned!

Christy The Pika Meets Laramie

That night, we got to eat at the Alpine Pub and we were able to draw on the tables!  So, I made EmJ a Thank You Drawing!

Drew EmJ a Picture at Dinner!

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, I worked with Joe in the Kindergarten classes.  They were phenomenal: we adopted a tree, named Barky, explored their senses at school and at La Bonte Park, played seasonal Bingo, and read some awesome books!  I really do enjoy working with Kinders.  However, I do feel this may be a way too comfortable comfort zone, it is always a challenge!

Joe and My Kindergartener's Adopted Tree, Barky!

So Proud of Joe: His Wonderful Well-Drawn Path Map

He May Not Like The Little Ones, But they Sure Love Him!

Exploration of Their Senses - Fun With Kindergarteners

Seeing & Touch What is Under the Conifer Tree!

Watching children explore and get outside is such a valuable memory and thing.  Seeing them make connections, realizing things, and the excitement explode from within them is truly inspiring and makes every moment of being a teacher/educator worth it.

Cat-Tail Fluff Party!

The Kinders Joe and I had were awesome.  So excited!  We even got them pumped with throwing some or should I say a lot of Cat-Tail Fluff into the air for a Party!  Probably not the best thing when it got caught in our mouths and everywhere!

Exploration of Senses - Continued

It seems like every week so far, there is a high and low that I have experienced through teaching.  Whether it is how to manage a crazy class, how to handle a crazy teacher, or having some wonderful memories with an awesome group of children.  It really helps me realize and understand, that this is life.  You will not always be given the perfect class and that there will be times of struggle, deep-breathing, patience, and pushing forward.

Onto a Week Off From Teaching & a Week of Community Ecology!

Best,
TheChristyBel

Fall Teaching Practicum - Week Two: Casper

Before heading off to Casper, guess who decided to visit my cabin?!?! This family of two baby mule deer and mama just LOVE to nibble on the Wild Rose outside my cabin.  As you can see from past blog entries, I am beside myself in LOVE with my location for a cabin...I get LOTS of visitors.  Mule Deer and Moose galore!  One day, I hope to catch a bear or an elk visiting my cabin...while I am safely inside it of course!

Mule Deer Family Enjoying Breakfast

As you can see they get too close for comfort and sometimes I think they expect me to invite them in for tea and cookies! Haha.  They love being in my porch area - to the point where at times I cannot leave or enter my cabin.

 Baby Mule Deer Trying to Invite Themselves into my Cabin.

Anyways, so for this week, the Outreach Team headed to Casper, Wyoming for their second week of the Fall Teaching Practicum.  This week I will be teaching another round of Kindergarten and 3rd week for the second time!  I definitely had some high expectations for my Kinders and then since I had a very challenging group of 3rd Graders my first week, I was a little hesitant about teachign thsi age group again.

First Fish Dish Since I Left the East Coast - Fish Tacos!

When we first got into Casper, we got in around dinner time, so we went out for dinner...totally had my first fish dish since I have been out West.  Come on!  Being from the East Coast, I am very particular when it comes to my fish.  But I had to cave in and order some, I mean, I have not had fish since, let's see....MID-JULY!  So I ordered Fish Tacos for dinner.

And the Verdict is: well...it was pretty good, but no one's fish tacos can ever beat Dead President's back in DE. I can only dream, right!?!? Or at least wait until Dec. 20.

Christy in the Pika Outfit

Ok, so...the Jackson Campus has this huge adult Pika outfit that they use for when they do Pika lessons for the students.  So of course, we had to steal, I mean, borrow it for some Grad Fun!  Let me just say, if you have ever seen the Miley Cyrus 'Twerks' in a Unicorn Costume Video...well, it's gonna be upgraded to the Christy Twerks/Dances in a Pika Costume Video.  Previews Coming to a Blog Near You! TBA.

Team Banner!

On Monday and Tuesday, I was teaching Kindergarten again on Weather and Senses.  This was great because I was able to use the same lesson plan I had used for my first week of Kindergarten.  The students were great!  We were able to make a Team Banner, explore our senses, and Adopt a Tree that they could study and see the changes during their year!

My Kinder's Adopted Tree

On Wednesday and Thursday, I solo taught 3rd Grade again.  Let me just say, I was beyond terrified to teach this grade.  I had such a challenging class the week before that I was just thinking that this week would be the same.  Let me tell you, the phrase, "Don't judge a book by it's cover."  Really put my words in my mouth.  My 3rd graders were beyond PHENOMENAL.  My third graders were very well-behaved, respectful, and very, very intelligent.

Event Path Map of the Day

When I observed them for the first hour of my first day with them, I came in, and the room was quiet, only one child was talking while the rest of the class listened.  As I am watching the child pick a fellow student to answer a question and place something onto the board, I come to realize that there was no adult in sight.  She was sitting in the back at her desk.  I go up to her and say, "I don't mean to be rude, but don't you need to supervise them?"  She simply smiled and said, "They are in the middle of a student-self-taught math meeting.  The leader of the day instructs/leads the rest of the class in a lesson of math problems I have laid out on the board.  I usually step back and let them go through the lesson; I'll intervene if I need to, but they are usually pretty good with this."  I was beside myself amazed!  This was something else!  They were totally different from my last group of 3rd graders.

As we went through my Ecosystems and Energy lesson with them on the first day, they were very bright, engaged, and very active in participating and talking things out and going through my activities.  So on day two with them, I tried the Student Self Taught Lesson with them.  Creating questions on the board for a review of what we did the day before, I asked a student to be my leader and he succeeded in leading them in my "Student Led Review Science Meeting"!  So proud!

Student Led Science Meeting!

They were Brilliant!

Exploring their backyard at school, we found a Mule Deer Skeleton, still full intact!  The students were really excited to see this!

On our way home from Casper, we had to make a stop in Dubois, Wyoming due to a flat tire.  One of our vans ran over a deer carcass, and it caused a tired to deflate.  So when we were at a gas station trying to call AAA and TSS Faculty, we just so happened to stumble upon one of the biggest Jackalope's in the State!

Sarah & I on the Jackalope Outside!

Then we went inside and guess what we found, a Life-Size, REAL one...not really, just one with fur!

Sarah

Em-J

Dani

The gift shop in this gas station was so funny!  They had moose ear muffs!  I really wanted them, but refrained!

Moose Ear Muffs!!!! Love!

So yea....we made the best of it while we waited to hear what we needed to do with the Flat-Tire Van.  Turns out we had to leave it in town and travel the hour back home without it.  I went back the next day with a new tire to help one of our staff get it fixed in Dubois.  Such a process, but it's all good now!  Plus the vans got snow tired put on, so tis the season to prepare for some wintery risk-management weather and the occasional wildlife encounter!

Love,
TheChristyBel

Christy Rides a Jackalope!

Fall Teaching Practicum Outreach Team - Week One: Saratoga

For our Fall Teaching Practicum, we get to choose to join one of the two field education teams (that teach on site at the Kelly Campu)s or join the outreach team (that travels to several parts of Wyoming and teach at other schools and natural/environmental locations).

This fall, I chose and was accepted on the Outreach Team.  Super excited!  When I was with the Delaware Nature Society, I taught a dozen or so outreach opportunities at various schools, so I had a little experience; but to do this for a whole semester, is a great opportunity!  I chose to join outreach first because I have done field education for some time now and wanted to try something I had only small amounts of experience in.  Also, it is really interesting that we get to create all of our lessons and decide on how we would like to teach our programs.  Very different from my last job where most of the lessons were already prepared and all we had to do was observe and then teach them.  So being able to be in full control was really exciting and intimidating at the same time.

This past week, the seven graduate students on the outreach team traveled about 344 miles and 6 hours southeast towards Saratoga, Wyoming.  Saratoga...Wyoming, NOT New York (I wish!)  During this week, all seven of us taught two different programs for two different grade levels.  For me, Monday and Tuesday I worked with 11-Kindergarteners and on Wednesday and Thursday I worked with 17-3rd Graders.  It was a great week of firsts, challenges, a-ha's, and smiles.  I definitely learned several things that I excelled at and things I need to work on as an educator and instructor.

Saratoga Hot Springs Resort - Huge Pool and Mini Hot Tub 

Of all my fellow graduate students, I was the only one teaching solo the first two days.  I was not at all worried about going solo on my first teaching experience with TSS.  I think the main reason was because I was able to work with my favorite age group...Kindergarten.  I love the little ones, they are so engaging and curious.  Not to mention, they usually have plenty to say whether it's answering questions or talking about a story.  They are my absolute favorite.

For my first class, I was able to observe a 3-year Place Based Teacher that is part of the Teton Science School's Teacher Learning Center Program.  These teachers have worked with TSS in past years, know a lot about the Graduate Program and Outreach Program, not to mention they are very well experienced teachers and are a great role model to gain insight and experience from.

My teacher was phenomenal with the little ones: so energetic but still stern and strict with them when they needed guidance and management.  She was very inspiring to observe before I taught.  For the first hour of each new teaching program, we observe the teacher with his or her students.  This is a great opportunity to watch the students, gain ideas on how to manage the class, and how to act while teaching them.  The children were even inspiring to watch: answering questions, waiting to be called on, raising of hands, very polite, and not to mention, extremely intelligent.  It really made me impatient to start teaching.

Exploring and Drawing Our Senses in the Field with the Little Kindergarters

For their program topic, this kindergarten class chose Exploring Senses and Weather.  This was a really fun topic to create a lesson plan on, since there are so many little activities and game you can do with this particular age group.

For day one, where we were mostly at their school, I took my class outside and played games and activities with them.  After playing some name games and getting to know my students, we played a Senses Scavenger Hunt to explore how we use our senses, danced while we learned our seasons, played dress up to learn about how animals adapt and prepare for the winter season, drew what we observed outside using our senses, and played Simon Says to pretend we were animals preparing for winter.  It was super fun and not only did the class have fun, but I had a blast working with them!

Kindergarten Event Map for Day Two

On Day Two, the Kindergarten classes drove to Mirror Lake, about 5,100+ ft in elevation.  This was a great place to observe weather and use our senses in a different place!  Not to mention, the classes had been learning about Pika and well, the talus fields around there were a great place to observe them in their natural habitat!

 Not even 30 minutes into the day, we were already seeing Pika!

So before we did anything at Mirror Lake, we took the two K classes to a part of the talus field to try and observe pika in their natural habitat.  After getting them seated and prepped to be quiet, field naturalists, we started to hear the pika calling within the boulders, and then all of a sudden, we saw one start scurrying around!  The children were so excited to see one!  They knew exactly what they looked like, what they ate, and where they lived!  Such little naturalists!

You can barely see him, since they are so camouflaged!

After senses observing in the mountains, playing Seasonal Bingo, Cloud Gazing in the grass, and many rounds of Camouflage, we went back to school to recap and say goodbye.  Such a sad day, but the students I was able to work with were so amazing and inspiring!  Not to mention, they will be a tough class to top as far as determining who was the best class to work with during this outreach experience.  Way to set the bar high, Saratoga Elementary Kindergarten Class!  Well Done!

This was both mine and Dani & Joe's Kindergarten classes pretending to be pika!  Adorable!

On the way home, Joe challenged them to being a part of the Black Bear Club.  This was so funny.  You could only be initiated into the Black Bear Club if you were able to hibernate the entire way back to school.  Some of the students were so quiet, that they actually fell asleep!  So cute!

Pretending to Hibernate and Trying to Be Part of the Black Bear Club.

For Wednesday and Thursday, I was able to work with an older class, 17-3rd Graders.  This class was very different from my Kindergarteners.  Not only were they older, but they were a little more challenging.  Although, I did appreciate how excited they were to be able to be given the opportunity to be taken outside, they definitely needed some work about controlling their excitement and their respect levels for their peers and teachers.

For this third-grade class, I taught Water, Ecosystems, and Macro Invertebrates.  This was a very familiar territory since I taught Stream Ecology back in Delaware.  The cool thing was that I was able to use part of my old lesson from Delaware and tweak it for the third graders.  One challenge I am learning to face is making sure curriculum is age-appropriate.  With help from my faculty coach, I am starting to figure out where curriculum is appropriate, challenging, and advanced for my students.  This second part of the week definitely helped me get on a great track with setting curriculum to my lesson plans.

Group discussions on waterways: How it Got There and Where Does it Go?

Not only does TSS represent great science curriculum in their programs, but this organization also represents a focus on leadership and community building.  This third grade class definitely needed and benefited these great team building activities: Pass the Pulse, The Tossing Thank You Name Game, and Creating a Team Banner!

My Third Grade Teamwork Flag!

On Day Two, the third graders were taken to Encampment Campground where we talked about Erosional Factors on a Stream and were able to study and observe macro invertebrates up close and personal!

Getting a Closer Look at some Macros!

These students were not only challenging on how they controlled their excitement and team skills, but they definitely kept me on my toes and helped me learn some great lessons about teaching.  Thanks, 3rd Grade!

Frank Found a Mule Deer Antler During Camouflage!

So in our free time in between checking out our field locations, we decided to go see a very interesting sight: the Two-Story Outhouse! ... I know!

This was interesting!

This was on Doug, one of our faculty coaches, interests during the week to go see!  This was a very interesting sight to see!  Imagine using this outhouse!  The main purpose of the two-story outhouse was for the winter seasons, when snow accumulated very high and when you had to go, you had a non-snow blocked place to go do your business!

But only imagine if you were on the bottom and someone tried to go above you....GROSS!

Look and Behold...a Double Outhouse!

It even had some reading material!  The other stall had deer hide seat warmers....I know, right!

Saratoga was a great first week to start teaching.  The students were awesome to work with, the teachers were great to observe and gain advice, tips, and experience from, and the weather was great!

We Had to Go!!!