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Gravity Amplification Systems

By Joe Malave, Suffolk STANYS Director

The gravity of COVID-19’s effect on education in NYS and across the country is amplified by the fact most educators have never created a remote system of learning that could be done online.  When I went into education, I never imagined not teaching directly in front of a group of students.  Oh, and if you thought this article was going to be about how an unknown stable element can create gravity waves, and how those same gravity waves can be focused to bend space and time for propulsion systems, not quite.  I can say from my personal experience that the transformational shift into remote teaching feels as if space-time has been pulled towards me and I’ve been relocated to a classroom at some very distant coordinate without moving an inch. Having been given this insight into a possible future in education, I’ve gained a new foresight into digital teaching. I can’t say that I didn’t notice online programming, or digital classrooms gaining strength.  I chose not to use it.  My belief has been that science needs to be taught in a lab setting and in a classroom, but now I believe the online teaching component can be a useful part of my curriculum, and I should not be so resistant to the change.

Resources are key to preparing for teaching in the new paradigm. STANYS has provided a whole web page of resources to help with distance teaching.  Clearly, to teach like this, you need a fast computer, one that can handle video processing and digital processing software without crashing and doing it in a reasonable amount of time.  A fast internet connection is important.  Have you considered paying more for a faster internet connection?  I did, and it really does help, especially when the bandwidth on Google Classroom is being stretched to the limit.  Zoom meetings also benefit from having a faster connection. At this moment in time, I have two college sons home doing remote learning at the same time I’m doing remote teaching. That puts a further strain on my internet bandwidth and speed.  I’m actually glad to be able to spend so much time with my sons, even if we are all in separate compartments within my home.  My wife asked me if I’m planning to write off the expenses from teaching at home.  I didn’t even think about that until she asked me. So if like me, you’ve spent money on software, printer paper, video recording technology, maybe a new computer, electricity, or office furniture, I’d say that you should be able to write off a portion of that in 2020, and to keep all of your receipts.

Teachers have an amazing way of banding together when things get tough. Teacher organizations, such as STANYS are a tremendous anchor in this storm. Suffolk STANYS is working to create subject area help for distance teaching.  Do you know who your Subject Area Representative is?  The list is on the Suffolk STANYS website.  Send them an email and ask for help, or share some of your strategies or resources.  Are you using driving unit questions in your distance teaching?  How hard is it to devise online lessons using claim, evidence, and reasoning?  I know how hard it is to meet the needs of all students when all students don’t have the same resources, computer skills, and socio-economic status.  Have you contacted your technology and special education personnel to help deal with these issues?

Here’s some general topics that have been discussed this year in STANYS.  Last year saw a lower conference attendance at Rochester for the STANYS annual conference. However, the speaker quality was the best we ever had, and the statewide conference gets better and better in terms of quality each year. If you have never been to a STANYS annual conference, it’s worth the sacrifice.  I once had the belief that every minute in class, was a minute that I and my students will not get back if I’m out.  However, how well do you understand the new NYSSLS standards?  Many workshops are geared towards teaching you how to apply these standards.  Until we get out of the box we teach in, you will never know all the teachers across the state in your subject area that can not only become great friends, but wonderful colleagues as well. Most of the colleagues that I’ve met are fantastic teachers willing to share teaching strategies, lessons, curriculum, etc.  Now for the bad news, the 2020 STANYS conference is being cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.  So, after we get through this, keep checking the STANYS website for more information on conference updates.  After I attended my first conference, I can honestly say the lost time in class does not compare to the wealth of information that I brought back into the classroom.  The new teaching strategies I brought back not only made teaching more fun, but reduced the time it took to plan 3-dimensional lessons, thereby gaining back the lost time threefold.

Other STANYS discussions, if you tried CLANED this past year, it was decided that due to the inflexibility of the program during the trial period, that STANYS would not use it moving forward.  Texas Instruments is a financial supporter of STANYS, so please consider using their technology in your classrooms.  Many STANYS sections have been cancelling local conferences and activities due to the current COVID-19 situation. Suffolk STANYS had to cancel our spring conference this year too. Our current STANYS president, Kenneth Huff, has worked hard on Transforming Innovations into Reality in Science [TIRS]. His goal was/is to help individuals better implement three-dimensional learning science standards, and how STANYS should be a source for teachers to make this transition. In addition, Donna Banek, a long time STANYS dedicated volunteer in many capacities within the organization has been named a STANYS fellow.

If the gravity of COVID-19 has caused you to feel out of sync with your teaching system, then amplify your teaching through STANYS resources and participation.  STANYS as an organization can only function with an active membership.  If you know of someone in your building that is a science teacher and is not a member of STANYS, please encourage them to join STANYS, and share with them the wealth of information that STANYS has to offer.  I highly encourage any elementary science teachers to contact the Suffolk leadership, as we are trying to build resources for elementary science education as it is the foundation for all science that follows. Be well, stay healthy, and may our distance learning improve.

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A November Tradition – Annual Conference Highlights from Rochester

The STANYS 124th Annual Conference, held in Rochester in early November, 2019, paved the way for a memorable weekend. While you never know what you’ll get in terms of dicey weather in Rochester in the middle of Fall, you know you’ll walk away from the Conference with bundles of materials to sort through, and lots of information to process when you arrive home. This year’s highlights, in no particular order, include:

  • Meeting with local Suffolk members on the same flight
  • Dinosaur BBQ!
  • Excellent sessions, run by knowledgeable and energetic NYS science teachers
  • Meeting with NASA educational specialists from Goddard Space Flight Center and Langley Research Center
  • Getting tips on how to assess students in a way that incorporates traditional grading practices with the iterative, rubric-style grading that comes with NYSSLS 3D assessments
  • We saw an amazing group of pre-service teachers from Oneonta State (my alma mater!) present a variety of innovative models to explain more complex topics related to Earth and Space Sciences. Thank you Jim Ebert and Paul Bischoff for bringing a little bit of O-State to Western NY! 
  • Having students use technology on a more regular (and regulated) basis, to conduct guided research projects
  • Gathering resources, listening, absorbing and reflecting on items presented during a marathon weekend… Three days packed with information that we can use or alter for use immediately
  • T-shirt competitions – and inspiration for a new Suffolk (Suff-i-k) shirt for next year!
  • The energy exuded by the Texas Instruments team
  • And… who could forget to mention the consistency of support from Ward’s Science culminating in the memorable raffle to cap off our Sunday

There were Institutes for many major subject areas and levels of science instruction. These and the luncheons for similar groupings of educators were very well-attended. As the days progressed, I heard many complimentary comments regarding the ease-of-use of this year’s new conference Guidebook app. Kudos to Suffolk’s own Matt Christiansen, the Vice President-Elect of STANYS, and “Keeper of the STANYS Conference Apps”. 

This year, for a slightly different experience, I attended several sessions that were not directly related to my subject area of expertise. I attended a workshop led by the Director at Large of Physics, Seth Gunials-Kupperman that was excellent. It led teachers through his assessment process, and the intricacies and successes of allowing students to be regularly re-assessed to check for deeper understanding. The workshop about Soil Science, led by Deb Mabey, from Hoosick Falls, NY, was also excellent. I was excited to see a simple and powerful link between biological and geosciences on display with her building of MudWatt systems, and encouraging students to bring in soils from their own backyards to use as an alternative fuel source for energy production.

I immediately got to work on incorporating paper circuits into a unit on aerospace engineering in my astronomy elective this month. Inspired by education specialists, Dr. Barbie Buckner from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (our NY liaison from NASA Goddard) and Dr. Anne Weiss from NASA’s Langley Research Center, I was able to have my students explore the concept of X-planes, and we made several styles of paper circuits from the templates provided via Dropbox linked in the Guidebook app.

I’ll add a brief note of thanks for all who voted in the STANYS Election this Fall. I’m excited to shift roles from Subject Area Representative for our Suffolk Section to that of Director at Large for Earth Science in the near future! What an exciting time, one that I have to remind myself is more like training for the endurance required as a marathoner, rather than the rapid acceleration and rewards reaped by a sprinter.
 It was nice to connect with like-minded individuals and see all of the excellent science happening statewide in classrooms with STANYS educators at the helm. I am excited to see where STANYS takes us as we work through the organization’s 125th year at the forefront of science education in New York!–Stephanie Burns – Suffok SAR Earth Science, DAL Elect – Earth Science

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Strategies For More Effective Labs Chemistry

Too often we have students who float through lab exercises without making connections to the science content they are learning in class. Some students struggle to find meaning of the lab and just run through the motions, copying other student’s data and ideas, and then handing in the lab report without a second thought about the science they just witnessed. Many students feel lab time is just for fun and not for learning at all. As teachers, we know the lab was intended to challenge students, make students discover answers to phenomenon, and reinforce the subjects we teach in class. So why is there such a large disconnect between labs and classroom content? The execution of the labs is an essential skill which teachers need to refine over time in order to make their labs more valuable to their students. These are a few tips that teachers can use to help drive labs towards that ultimate goal.

  1. Flip Your Pre-Lab: Regardless if you are a novice or an expert in flipping, flipping your pre-lab isn’t a difficult process and can prove to be very beneficial. You can create a video just by videotaping yourself in the lab with your cellphone! I prefer to screencast my computer using screencast-o-matic and voice over a PowerPoint that contains ideas and images from my lab. I upload my videos to an online website known as EDpuzzle, which is a free website you can use to track students watching your videos (and embed questions during the video to assess the students’ understanding). Both of these sites are free and very easy to use. Other teachers upload to their personal websites or YouTube. A flipped pre-lab could include reviewing safety rules pertaining to the lab, showing how to use equipment, and practicing necessary calculations. If the students complete this pre-lab at home, they come into class ready to work, increasing the time spent on the actual wet lab. The flipped pre-lab can decrease lab misconceptions and give the students a better understanding of their goal before they start the lab. In addition, flipping the pre-lab is helpful for inquiry style labs because the students will already know how to use the equipment and account for safety issue that may arise.
  2. Class Lab Discussion for Inquiry Labs: Inquiry labs can be daunting and cumbersome. One strategy to make these labs more manageable is to have a class discussion before the lab starts. Give the students a larger, overarching problem that needs to be solved. In pairs or small groups the students should come up with variables that they can test to solve the problem. A simple example could be “What factors affect the rate of a reaction?” Students can come up with factors such as temperature, surface area, and more. Next, have a class discussion and record all of the student’s variables down on the board. In some labs, it may be overwhelming for one lab group to test all of the variables that were brainstormed. Therefore, assign each lab group one variable to test from the list. At the end of the lab, students can exchange data to solve the overall problem. For example, group one can study temperature effects and group two can measure surface area affects. If there are not a lot of variables, double up the lab groups and they can compare their answers at the end of the lab. The individual lab groups will have to brainstorm constants for their lab and come up with a plan of action. Once the teacher checks the plan and constants, the group can get started on a series of trials to test their assigned variable. In most cases, the students should have a pre-planned data table and a graph to show the relationship that they tested. At the end of the lab, each group should report about the variable they tested, constants they used, and their results to the class in a short, two minute presentation. The class should record that data to create a class master set of data that shows all variables and their effects. This method will reinforce the need for multiple trials of the same variable in an experiment, while not putting too much pressure on any one group to solve the overarching problem in a lab because the lab groups are focused on one part of the overall problem. Together as a class, they can understand the problem as a whole and witness how a group of people can work together to solve the larger problem.
  3. Lab Quizzes: In my classroom, like many others, most labs are done as a small group or pair of students. Some teachers assign roles to each student to hold them accountable for participating in the lab. Despite the effort it takes to arrange the lab and possibly assign roles, some students can still do the bare minimum and copy other students’ work. To really tie the lab in with the classroom content and ensure that every student has motivation to understand the lab, lab quizzes can be given periodically to test student understanding. The quizzes can be short, using sample data from the lab or questions that may show up on future tests. Some quizzes may have the same questions that were in the lab, but with new numbers. Other quizzes might have questions about error analysis from a lab. You can also create a mini lab practical to ensure the students have proficient lab skills. In AP classes, I often give one AP question from an old exam that relates to the lab we completed. Lab quizzes should be given soon after the lab is complete or at least by the end of the unit. The bottom line is if the students know they will be individually assessed on their lab, they will most likely put more effort into understanding the lab as it is being done. Unfortunately, many students don’t find value in work that is not graded. These individual quizzes that can take as little as five minutes can be the item that students find the most motivating factor to understanding the lab.
  4. Challenge Labs: I have changed some of my standard labs into challenge labs. Instead of having students confirm the formula of a hydrate (I am a chemistry teacher) or confirm the value of a constant, my teams compete to get the closest value to the correct answer. It doesn’t always change the makeup of the lab itself, but it adds a healthy competitive element to the lab that engages more students. Some labs did change, like my density lab. Instead of identifying if sample size affects the density of an object or confirming the makeup of a sample based on density, I gave teams a sample of aluminum metal that was pre-massed by me, and another sample of aluminum without a mass that had a different shape and size. Students could use any equipment other than a balance to find the mass of the second sample. The closer they got, they better they scored on the lab!

It is important to conduct meaningful labs in class. If the students cannot connect the content in the labs to the content in their homework, classwork, and exams the labs become a waste of time and energy. The labs need to be a driving force in the classroom and something to refer to when describing questions in class. I hope you consider trying one or more of these strategies for your labs to help connect your labs to your chemistry content.

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#STANYSchat – See What STANYS is All a Twitter About!

Did you know that STANYS has entered the 21st century?  During the school year, STANYS hosts a Twitter chat every Thursday at 8pm called #STANYSchat. Here, teachers from across the state join together to discuss a wide range of issues in science education. Past discussions have examined the implementation of the New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS), avoiding teaching burnout, and examining past professional development that STANYS has offered, such as ADI, Paul Andersen’s Deep Dives into NYSSLS, and the annual STANYS conferences. 

You might ask yourself “why should I participate”?  Well, why not? For starters, it is a fabulous way to connect with other science teachers across New York State.  Sometimes as teachers, we can have a hard time finding “our person” – somebody else who is motivated to try new things or eager to discuss the changes in education.  In #STANYSchat, participants are invested in science education. Additionally, the discussions are tailored to New York State science, so participants are aware and familiar to the struggles that New York State teachers face.  Lastly – who doesn’t want to participate in personal professional development that can be done in pajamas? Since these are Twitter chats, there is no reason to leave home – so there is no formal dress code that needs to be followed!

So, how does one participate in #STANYSchat?  It might look complicated, but it’s easier than you might think.  For starters, you will need a Twitter account, which can be made for free at Twitter.com.  After creating your account, be sure to be following STANYS official Twitter account at @STANYSorg.  Each week that a #STANYSchat will be taking place, a discussion topic and questions will be posted the Tuesday before Thursday’s chat. Think about your answers to the questions, and on Thursday at 8pm, join in the discussion.  Make sure that each of your answers to the questions includes the hashtag #STANYSchat – it will allow other participants to follow along with your answers. Don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed – everybody was once a beginner and is willing to help others join in the discussion. 

This year, step outside your comfort zone and try something different. I hope that you can join us!

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Evolution 3D Printing Hominids Fossils Phenomena

By Dan Williams  

Many of us are familiar with the famous quote from Theodosius Dobzhansky, that “nothing in Biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”  I am not alone when I state that evolution is one of my favorite topics within Biology. Whether its examining derived traits within butterflies, predator prey relationships, or how a complex molecule like the ATP synthase evolved, the topics in evolution are varied, complex, and fascinating.  

Evolution however, is often the most misunderstood topic in Biology and despite our best intentions, we perpetuate the misconceptions with our classroom examples, exercises, and labs.  Please do not misunderstand me, I am not suggesting at all that I am any different –regardless of my best efforts, I too, unknowingly, have passed on misconceptions about evolution to my students.  Luckily, there are new tools to teach evolution which will inspire students with wonder, have them question phenomena, and help uncover and address the misconceptions we have built into our teaching of evolution.   

One such tool is the three dimensional printing of fossil scans.  It is easy to use, inexpensive, powerful and works well within a New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS) environment.  Fossil scans are accurate 3D renderings made by paleontologists of real fossils within the field which can be freely downloaded from public databases for printing on common 3D printers.  At the conclusion of this article I have provided links to resources that can be used to download and 3D print fossils for your classroom.

3D Printed Fossil Crania (L-R H. Heidelbergensis, H. naledi, H. Neanderthalensis, H. Sapiens)

A few months back, I was beyond excited when I cleaned off my new fossil crania scan from the 3D printer.  It was of a new hominid that was in the news called Homo naledi.  My students were also excited, they asked lots of questions about naledi, its discovery and human evolution in general.  I decided to perform an impromptu experiment with my new fossil crania and some other 3D prints I had laying around. I placed before my students the unidentified crania of Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo erectus and the new naledi print.  I asked my students to place them in “evolutionary age order” –in other words, from the more primitive to the most advanced species.

Not surprisingly, my students placed the crania in order: small too large.  Intuitively, this made sense to them, however it was completely wrong. Homonaledi, the smallest crania, actually only dates to around 300,000 years ago –concurrent with Neanderthals and late Heidelbergensis –hardly the most ancient.  Evolution, we know is change, not progressive change, just change. My students “knew this.” We always talked about how extinction is evolution (bad change for the extinct), I even had slides showing that Neanderthal brains were larger than ours (implying they might have been more intelligent than us) but they died out and here we are.  I emphasize lots of examples of non-progressive change in my lessons. None of this mattered when my students were faced with objects they could touch, look at and observe. Obviously my “talking about evolution,” and “showing examples of evolution” was not enough to dispel the myth that evolution is progress.

Through self-reflection I realized that I had reinforced this misconception.  Whether it’s peppered moths in industrial England, the fastest cheetah catching the slowest gazelle, Hardy Weinberg with M&M’s or the beaks of finches, all of my hands on activities double down on the idea that evolution is progressive change.   

Here on the desk in front of me, however, was a phenomenon; hominid crania did not progressively get larger –what on earth was going on?

If student interest and excitement on a topic is measured in the quantity, quality, and decibel level of questions, this phenomenon was a home run!  I had to settle my students down, restore order, and respond to each question they had with questions of my own –they claimed their brains hurt after only a few enjoyable minutes.

This would be a great story if it ended there, but the 3D fossil scans provided so much more than a quick phenomenon to start teaching a unit.  We examined the fossils scans, visually observing the presence or absence of features and measuring differences between the crania with calipers.  Claims were made based on the observations, data charts, and graphs were created to examine the evidence of the crania. The reasoning of the students’ hypotheses were hotly contended between groups.

Students measuring 3D printed crania

I have now 3D printed fossil scans of mandibles, as well from all of the aforementioned species, plus Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus boisei.  These provide additional data to examine so that my students can make claims about diet and the processing of food. In some ways, the mandibles are easier than crania, as tooth diameter (buccolingual width) is a more consistent measurement for students to obtain and compare. 

Students made distant matrices of their data from the crania and the mandibles (separately).  They then sketched cladograms based on their claims of ancestral and derived traits. They have used an erectus 3D print to determine ancestral traits in crania and the boisei 3D print for ancestral traits in mandibles.  

While the discussions were valuable, the students found the cladograms difficult to generate by hand.  Most cladogram builders available today are for DNA comparisons, however I found an easy to use app developed David Dobson of Guilford College called “Simple Clade.”  It was invaluable in creating cladograms, manipulating for maximum parsimony for unbiased data analysis of the student claims. The cladograms however, did not stop the arguments that had now generated among the students.  The 3D prints provided phenomena that was not easy to explain, and fostered many claims on evolution that students actually wanted to explore. Best of all, none of the claims were based on evolution as progress.

Like most biology teachers, evolution is a major passion of mine, hominid evolution specifically.  I also find that hominids interest students as much (or almost as much) as dinosaurs. Using hominids as examples captivates students and provides ample phenomena to study.  I have read about human evolution for years, watched videos about it, examined anatomical diagrams, but until I held 3D prints of hominid skulls in my hands, I can honestly say I did not fully understand human evolution.  

The same can be said for my students, as well.  We discussed evolution, and I gave traditional examples of evolution, but until they held the 3D scans of fossils in their hands, they had misconceptions.  I never knew my traditional methods of teaching evolution led to misconceptions, working with 3D printed fossil scans not only helped uncover the students misconceptions, but also helped clear them up.

If you have any questions or are looking for the specific methods of how to download and 3D print your own fossil collection, please e-mail me at dan.williams@shelterisland.k12.ny.us

Useful Links

Fossil Databases:

African Fossils https://africanfossils.org/search

Morphosource https://www.morphosource.org/

Educational Links

iDigfossils http://www.idigfossils.org/

Human Evolution Teaching Materials Project https://www.hetmp.com/

Paleoanthropology

John Hawks YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVfaXPlLTPTjbU-ed9VMBfg

Programs Used

SimpleClade http://guilfordgeo.com/simpleclade/index.html

MeshLab http://www.meshlab.net/

MeshMixer http://www.meshmixer.com/

MakerBot https://www.makerbot.com/

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Field Trips: Making the Most of Your Experience

As a teacher, what comes to mind when you hear the words, “field trip?” Perhaps scheduling challenge, expense, permission slips, coverage, transportation, not enough time? Each of these are valid concerns, but if planned properly, field trips can be impactful experiences for students and valuable for teachers. A little effort on your part can yield great rewards.

A field trip is where classroom (formal) and out-of-school (informal) learning environments intersect. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) notes their potential in the position statement: Learning Science in Informal Environments. These experiences, “can spark student interest in science and provide opportunities to broaden and deepen students’ engagement; reinforce scientific concepts and practices introduced during the school day; and promote an appreciation for and interest in the pursuit of science in school.”

How can teachers make the most of the field trip experience? Here are a few tips:

  1. Consider the timing.  Will the field trip be used to introduce a topic or reinforce what has already been learned?  
  2. How will the trip be funded? Are there funds in the department budget? Or can you utilized BOCES or ask the PTO/PTA, do some fundraising, or will students pay?
  3. A trip looks interesting but you’re not sure if it will suit your needs. Ask to observe a program in action. Which skills, tools, methods or vocabulary would you like your students to practice? Share this information with your field trip provider.  
  4. Before the trip, set your expectations with your class and tell them your specific learning focus. During the trip, remain engaged to ensure the experience is meeting your expectations. Finally, plan for post-visit discussions and activities back in the classroom.

Consider field trip providers as partners in educating and inspiring your students. And these experiences aren’t just for students. Meeting teachers’ professional development needs is a priority for many field trip providers. If you see a student offering that piques your interest, ask to participate as a learner. Classroom teachers can gain content knowledge as well as pedagogical skills modeled by the informal science educator.

Investigate what’s out there. Reach out to a STANYS SAR for recommendations, review options at BOCES Exploratory Enrichment, and talk with your peers at conferences. Give field trips a try. The experiences support and enrich what you do in the classroom. They are an additional tool in your already fantastic toolkit! Check out the list of field trip providers and other resources below.

RESOURCES

Here’s a list to get you started:

Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Office of Educational Programs Long Island Science Center
Caumsett Outdoor and Environmental Education Center Mount Sinai Marine Environmental Stewardship Center (MESC)
Center for Environmental Education & Discovery Oceans Wide
Center for Science Teaching and Learning Quogue Wildlife Refuge
Central Pine Barrens Commission Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research & Preservation
Children’s Museum of the East End Science Museum of Long Island
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s DNA Learning Center Seatuck Association
Connetquot River State Park Preserve   Stony Brook University’s Institute for STEM Education
Cradle of Aviation Suffolk County Marine Education Center
DEC Region One Environmental Education Office Tackapausha Nature Preserve 
Fire Island National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service) Tesla Science Center
Garvies Point Museum The South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center 
Girl Scouts of Suffolk County Discovery World STEM Center Vanderbilt Museum, Mansion & Planetarium
Long Island Aquarium Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge – US Fish and Wildlife Service 
Long Island Explorium Western Suffolk BOCES Outdoor Environmental Education Program
Long Island Maritime Museum

 

 

NSTA Position Statement: Learning Science in Informal Environments

Connected Science Learning: Linking In-School and Out-of-School Learning

Field Trips are Valuable Learning Experiences

School Teacher Learning Agenda Influences Student Learning In Museums

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The Sixth Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Today, as I write this latest website submission, is the sixth anniversary of Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Post-Tropical Cyclone/Superstorm Sandy. She was a conundrum, a tropical system and a blizzard, and also an example of what wicked weather was in store for us that winter weather season. More recently, reflections and comparisons to Sandy have been made in the wake of the devastating events this year including Hurricane Florence’s landfall in the Carolinas, which lead to major flooding inland along the Mid-Atlantic, and the catastrophe left in the wake of Hurricane Michael along the Gulf Coast.

What do you remember from Sandy? What do you think you would never forget from the experiences of that time? Did the hurricane affect your life, your family, your friends, your co-workers, your students? Was the impact major or minor?

I remember having turkey dinners for days, because my husband’s family lost power, and they had turkeys frozen and waiting for Thanksgiving dinner than then had to be cooked. Ours was the only family house with power, so they made trips here for light, hot meals, and connections to the outside world via television and the Internet.

I remember taking a field trip to the Long Island Solar Farm, at Brookhaven National Lab, the day before Sandy struck. We went about our day as if everything was normal, with the high cirrus field streaming in overhead. We headed to Smith Point after the field trip, to check out the high surf from the hurricane, and to get an idea of what the beach looked like before the storm struck.

As the storm approached, I went up the road about a mile to our town beach, along the North Shore. There, the surge was apparent, as the wind fetch was out of the northeast. I decided maybe we should get more batteries, and headed to Toys R Us for the only D-cell batteries in town. Then we hunkered down for what was a long, long night, with a three-month-old, a two-year-old, and furniture holding our front door (facing east) shut. We watched as our swing-set blew end-over-end across the farm field. We listened as the roof shingles ripped off of our newly built home, and we waited for the Sun to come up so we could survey the damage.

On November 16, 2012, I went back to Smith Point beach. At this point the Army Corps of Engineers had already filled in the breaches on the east side of the beach, but the Old/New Inlet was then untouched, and has remained so to present day. It is, however, showing signs of closing naturally, as I witnessed early this October, 2018, during another trip back to the Breach, and much to the displeasure of those who live along Bellport Bay. Many have appreciated cleaner water conditions consistently occurring there since Sandy recut the inlet on Fire Island in 2012.

I have had the displeasure of riding out two nasty hurricanes at this point in my life. I was in Florida for the worst vacation of my life, when Hurricane Charley struck in 2004. Happily, I was with my grandmother, and was able to follow the news for a while, until we lost power, through her antenna television signal. The sound of the wind howling around my own home during Sandy was no less scary than during the time when tornadoes were all around us in Florida nearly a decade before.

As we look back, and as we watch the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season come to and end in another month or so, I wonder what is instore for us in the future. With oceans warming, water expanding, and storm systems becoming less “normal” like those I studied in college; with the polar and subtropical jet streams looping in exaggerated ridges and troughs, I wonder how to best share these thoughts and scientific principles with my students. Do I delve into the often-politicized topic of climate change, propose a new course on the topic at the high school? My students are currently old enough to remember Sandy, but there will come a time when they were too young to remember. How do I stress the importance of being well-prepared and well-informed?

For starters, some resources for you:

National Hurricane Center: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Weather Summary and Discussion of the Development and Dissipation of Hurricane Sandy: https://www.weather.gov/okx/HurricaneSandy

Dr. Charles Flagg and Stony Brook SoMAS site – Great South Bay Project: http://po.msrc.sunysb.edu/GSB/

Long Island Solar Farm: https://www.bnl.gov/SET/LISF.php

Hurricane Charley Service Assessment – August, 2004: https://www.weather.gov/media/publications/assessments/Charley06.pdf

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its most-recent report Global Warming of 1.5 deg C: http://www.ipcc.ch/

Download a free copy (PDF) of the book Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change at http://www.priweb.org/index.php/pubs-special/pubs-spec-5813-detail  

 

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IEP’s – Read them for an effective school year

Many general education teachers and new science teachers are being asked to teach special education students without support.  This is why I am here, to help, give tips tricks and support those who are given the difficult (but not impossible) task of teaching this diverse population of students the subject we all love.

As a science teacher, it is difficult to be on familiar terms with and understand which parts of the IEP are most important.  An IEP can be a very overwhelming document to read and dissect.  An IEP is the Individualized Education Plan that each special education student has.  No two documents are the same as no two students are the same.  The IEP became uniform in New York State 4 years ago.  This has made it much easier for students to go from school to school and the document is readily available.  Each part of the IEP is important, nevertheless some I have found to be more important in the teaching of science.

The first part of the IEP to give special attention to is the Academic Achievement, Functional Performance and Learning Characteristics often known as the (PLEPS).  This part of the IEP informs the teacher of the student’s academic strengths and weaknesses.  This part of the document will inform the teacher if the student has reading, vocabulary, mathematical or any other academic difficulties.  This is often where I find if the student can read independently or needs to be read to.

The next section to take a glance at is the Social Development section.  Due to the lab environment in many of our science classrooms it is important to discern how these students behave in social settings.  Many times, this section will let you know if the student is able or unable to work in cooperative learning groups. Below this section is the Physical Development section, which needs to be read to determine if the student requires any modifications in the lab setting.  Below Physical Development is the Management Needs section.  The section that important for the general education teacher are the Program Modifications that are located further in the IEP.

For the science teacher, the most important section to read and understand is the Supplementary Aids/Services and Program Modifications section of the IEP.  This section informs the educator what modifications the student needs on a daily, weekly or as needed basis.  Often this section explains if the student needs preferential seating, books on tape, copies of notes, refocusing and redirection, information broken into smaller parts, breaks, etc.  These modifications are imperative to the success of the student in the science classroom and the success of the student is dependent on receiving these modifications.   When on IEP direct, click the “Show details” and then the exact reason for the modification or how the modification needs to be given is shown.  This is a huge help in meeting the needs of students with disabilities because each one has their own set of needs and modifications.  What “special seating arrangements” means for one student may be different for another.  

Lastly, the section most general education teachers are familiar with is the Testing Accommodations section of the IEP.  This section explains what accommodations the student is entitled to for quizzes, tests and state assessments.  The IEP will explain how the accommodations should be given; for the example of “Extended time”, in the column “implementation recommendations” it will say 1.5X or 2.0X or Double time.  As the school year gets underway and you learn about your students if you feel that they are in need of another accommodation, do not hesitate to discuss it with the special education teacher, guidance counselor or school psychologist.  The input of the general education teacher is necessary for the success of the child and the coherent writing of an IEP.

All parts of the IEP are important to the success of each student and should be read and followed through.  For the science teacher and meeting the needs of the diverse population these I have highlighted are in my opinion the most important to help make the job a little easier and assist the students who already struggle.   If there is a part of the IEP that you do not understand, ask questions and inquire about the student.  As a special education science teacher it is always refreshing to have the general education teachers ask questions about their students, it shows you care and want to help them in any way that is possible.  Good Luck with the new school year! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

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Live the Science, Don’t Just Teach the Science

Over the years I have realized that there is more to teaching science than just sitting in a classroom.  We should live it.  The environment of Long Island has so much to offer.  There is something for each one of our disciplines, and all we have to do is look to our waters.  As a Professional Association of Diving Instructor (PADI) Dive instructor, I have been teaching students about the wonders of diving.   Being an AP Physics 2, Physics, Chemistry, and Living Environment teacher brings so much more to this activity.

My uncle Billy was an avid scuba diver.  I remember him telling me stories of all his diving adventures from around Long Island.   Because of him, I joined the diving club, Aquanuts, at the Hampton Dive Shop.  There I learned about so many other possible diving adventures to go on locally.  Often people think that scuba diving off of Long Island isn’t very good because visibility isn’t very good, but I learned that when you know where and when to dive there is so much to see and do.

As a first year AP Physics 2 teacher a lot of things dawned on me.   The unit I teach on fluids in AP physics 2 includes everything I teach in my “open water diver” and specialties of diving classes.  Once this realization hit me, I started applying many of the concepts of diving to AP physics 2.   Many of the demonstrations and discovery activities I use in the classroom where inspired by diving.  For example, my students calculate the amount of air required to generate buoyant force to lift things off the floor, they calculate the volume of a sealed bottle at different depths, and the students develop ideas about air consumption at depths.  Because of this, all summer I have been trying to develop labs where students can go on a field trip to the Dive Shop to test and discover these principles.   I want the students to learn from real life action in the pool.   I want the students to model the phenomena and discover and explain what is happening.

Educators should explore their curiosity and try something new.   Find a dive shop and experience what you teach.   The more you experience the better you will become as an educator.   For example last year I dove the Oregon wreck.  On March 14, 1886, the Oregon collided with another ship and sank to the bottom of around 100-foot depth just off the coast of Fire Island.   She was the fastest ship of her day using sails and steam engine.   Before the dive, I was told that all that was left was a three story high steam engine and boilers.   I did not think there would be much to see.   During my plunge into the Atlantic, the steam engine came into sight in all of her majesty.   Then I spent the next 3o minutes or so lost in all of the biology and wonders hidden in all of the nooks and crannies.  I was getting lost in the science and thinking of the history and people who were on that ship that fateful day.

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Another dive was of the USS San Diego.  On July 19, 1918, the Sand Diego was sunk by German Submarine U- 156 just south of Fire Island and was the only major ship lost during WW1.   She sits upside down on a sandy bottom at about 100-foot depth.  The dive was awesome and visibility was about 40 feet.   This ship has been underwater for about a 100 years and my curiosity got the best of me once again.   The holes that Mother Nature put in her gave me great areas to look inside and see the life of that now calls her home.

Shipwreck USS San Diego

Wrecks are not the only things to see locally when diving.  The Ponqugue Bridge provides a beach dive that offers so much ecology and goes a max of 30-foot depth.  Right at Shinnecock inlet, you can spend 40 minutes underwater and your wonder and amazement will grow.  Just to see how all of the creatures interact and how they hide and even the human impact of the environment and the symbiotic relationship that exist between humans and sea life.  The two bridges offer a home to the sea life.   They are attracted there for the food source and protection they offer.   Including the utility cable that lies on the floor of the canal.   You will find more and more hiding places for sea life.   The more I dive the site the more I find.

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Some of the fun is investigating the areas that you are going to explore.  There is so much history just sitting there on the sea floor.   I try to learn about the history before I dive the location.   I do this to pre plan my activity for safety, but also to learn where a ship had been, what people were on that ship and how that ship came to meet the sea floor.   If I did not dive our local stores I would never know of the German Submarines, artificial reefs and other ships that went down for various reasons.   It is so interesting to learn about the history and to compare the original diagrams of the ship to what they look like now.

What I am trying to say is that it’s great to venture out of the classroom not just in field trips but rejuvenate our love of the subject.   Try something new each summer vacation to get out of your comfort zone to feel more alive.  The more you learn and experience and the more ways you will have to provide the information to the students.  For more information please email me and if you have any ideas for labs you would like to see developed.   Also if you would like to set up an experience or get your certification please let me know.

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Looking for Some Phenomenal Phenomena & Ideas on Designing Assessments?

Here are a couple of databanks of NGSS-related phenomena that teachers from various regions of the country have put together. If you find some more, feel free to include those links in the comment section!

Georgia Science Teachers Association: GSE Phenomena Bank

San Diego Schools: #ProjectPhenomena

TJ McKenna: Phenomena for NGSS

EDUConsulting: NGSS Phenomena Resources

With the phenomena, come the assessments. Check out the NGSS Task Formats to see some ideas on how to develop NGSS-style assessments.