During a traditional science experiment in a science classroom, the teacher determines how the experiment should be conducted and analyzed. By providing a lab procedure, the teacher controls the learning journey of the students. In the words of John Dewey, the teacher is providing the map to the students instead of allowing students to explore for themselves. Without exploring, students do not embark on a personal journey of mapmaking, which includes discovering and experiencing the various terrain, bodies of water, weather, and much more. Even though the map provides a bird's-eye view of the world, without the journey, the personal connection with the world is absent. I share a general framework for converting traditional experiments into inquiry-based experiments. Furthermore, I share practical context on the role of the teacher during preparation and implementation.
Science Teacher, Research Assistant, Ph.D. Student, Frisco ISD, University of North Texas
I’m a high school science teacher in Frisco ISD and a doctoral student studying curriculum and instruction at UNT. I also work as a research assistant to Dr. Hoffman on his work on literacy in teacher education and a curriculum writer over the summer. Over the five years as an educator... Read More →
Tired of doing the same thing during the Explain stage of the 5E model? Switch it up and appeal to all types of learners using choice boards. Hold students accountable for their learning and have time for one on one check-ins with your students.
Want to use stations in your classroom but don't know where to start? You may be thinking, "Isn't it a lot of work?" or "Won't they be off-task all the time?" In this session, you will learn how to easily implement stations in your classroom including: how to transform your current lessons into a stations format, classroom management strategies, and free websites and apps to use for seamless technology integration.
We often hear about the evils of teaching to the test, but what does that really mean in the era of STAAR? Hear about a senior with 2 weeks left to his final administration of the Biology EOC, and the lessons we can learn when we put ourselves in the position of our most fragile learners. As we think about students in poverty and the challenges they face, prepare to challenge your own perspective on what it means to teach to the test.
The journey that is science is all too often lost on students, many of whom acquire the idea that science is recorded in its totality in textbooks. Yet the most exciting scientific adventures occur with the unexpected! Continually "rewriting the textbooks" is fundamental to the nature of science. Your scientist-guide will illuminate examples of recent and ongoing changing understanding at the frontiers of science. Examples from space science, in particular, will be used to highlight the wonder and grandeur of unexpected scientific mysteries – and the joy of simply being wrong!
Associate Professor and Dept. Head, University of Texas at Dallas
Dr. Mary Urquhart is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Science and Mathematics Education in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Texas of Dallas, and an Affiliate Associate Professor of Physics. She holds degrees in Physics and Geophysics... Read More →
When I began teaching in 1997, I was in a non-tested subject. I barely even knew what TAAS was. Today, I look at STAAR as a challenge--something to be conquered. And I believe that data is a key tool to achieve that. I will share with you my journey into looking at things through students' perspectives and share with you how I utilize data effectively.
5th Grade Science and Social Studies, Richardson ISD
I am in my 18th year of education, primarily teaching 5th grade science, though I have also taught 4th and 6th grade as well as social studies, math, reading, and writing.
Once upon a time, there was a scientist. More likely, a team of scientists, who were not just white males. This presentation will tell stories, some old, like that of Rosalind Franklin, Marie Curie, and Lise Mietner, and some new from recent Nobel Laureates. This presentation will go through a variety of different stories from history, from a variety of fields of science. It is story time!
