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Remote Learning – We didn’t see it coming!

By Brian Vorwald STANYS Past President, STANYS Special Director, STANYS Suffolk Section Awards Co-chair

 Teachers, students, and parents are approaching the end of the 2019-20 school year, a year they won’t ever forget due to COVID-19.  We have faced and continue to face, a physical and emotional health crisis that is affecting everyone in our communities.  We worry about students, colleagues, family and friends.  Many are dealing with loss, anxiety and depression. 

A paradigm shift

         Besides how the responses to the pandemic interrupted and changed home life teachers and students were forced to suddenly transition to online learning without school-wide, or for that matter district-wide plans in place.  Teachers were thrust into learning a plethora of communication and instructional platforms to use for online instruction.  Students had to learn how to access their online learning.  Parents, especially for early elementary students, had to learn these applications and assist their children in their online experiences.  And, many teachers were thrust into not only devoting time to creating and delivering their online lessons, but they had to complete online lessons with their own children.  So, they had two cohorts of students, their school students and their children as students.  I know of at least one parent who stated, “I want to transfer my son into another class.”  Another parent wanted to send her child to the principal then realized, “the principal is me!

         I have talked to teachers about their experiences with online instruction (including my own two children – one who is a middle school art teacher and the other a high school band teacher and K-12 music chair) and even around the world, via Zoom webinars in which I participated and also delivered.  A universal comment I heard was, “I feel like a first year teacher.”  Teachers were and are figuring out how to deliver meaningful online instruction, essentially reinventing themselves as teachers.  Many teachers felt as though what they were doing, especially when schools first physically closed, was to provide their students with a “band-aide” for instruction.  However, as time progressed, they received more training in various platforms and learned how these applications could increase student engagement.   For many teachers, implementing remote learning also resulted in time devoted to an extraordinary amount of emails and many virtual meetings in addition to their lesson planning and delivery.  Many of the emails involved trying to contact students who hadn’t participated in online learning and/or were missing assignments.  The transition to online instruction also presented some teachers with inequitable situations. As an example, my daughter who is a middle school art teacher has 12 classes which is an entire grade.  Consequently, if the percentage of students she has to contact is the same as for a teacher with five classes, she has many more students that have to be emailed.  The takeaway from this is that inequities such as this be addressed as schools plan for remote learning.

Loss of interpersonal interactions

         Teachers and students suffered another loss, the social and emotional interactions that occur when they are together in a classroom and in the overall school environment.  Many schools did not permit synchronous teaching so students worked in the online environment in isolation without having any interactions with their teachers and with other students.  Teachers missed their students and students missed being in school.  My five-year old granddaughter ultimately said after two months of online learning, “I want to go to school…I miss my friends.”  This was the case with students K-12.  While we often put an emphasis on academics, school is much more than that.   Kids need the social interactions they experience in the school environment.  With the stay at home rules, they were also missing these interactions outside of school.  Teachers lost the ability to interact with all of their students.  They couldn’t observe them struggling with some aspect of a curriculum and help them to move forward.

         The loss of face to face teaching also can result in teachers not being able to infuse a degree of fun into their classes.  As a result, virtual learning becomes more serious than face to face learning.  As an example, during my career one strategy I used to help engage students was to infuse humor when they didn’t expect it.  As an illustration, I’ll relate the following anecdote.  I had observed that after the Thanksgiving recess my 9th grade students often didn’t recall what we’d been doing just four days prior and some didn’t even recall their locker combinations.  So, I created “Turkey Brain Loss Syndrome,” AKA as TBLS.  Each year on the last day of class prior to the recess I advised my students to take measures to mitigate TBLS because it’s unique to Thanksgiving, as almost everyone has a turkey dinner on this holiday.  (Yes, I had to teach them the meaning of mitigate.) So I inferred, it must be the turkey that affects memory.  I suggested that eating enough cranberry sauce would help to reduce the effects of TBLS.  So, where am I going with this?   A few years before I retired I was walking through the guidance office and encountered a former student who as a college senior was just starting a guidance internship.  She had been one of the top students in my honors Earth science class.  She asked if I still try to convince my students that TBLS is a real condition (yes she remembered the acronym and what it meant).   This is what she remembered from what we did in my class.  I asked if she recalled what Bowen’s Reaction Series is.   The answer was, “I never hear of that.”  Truthfully, it’s not important many years later she recall that.  It’s these intangible connections we make with kids that are important and help them become engaged in our classes.  These can be lost in the online environment and teachers must find ways to make the virtual classroom fun as possible.

Problems encountered

  When synchronous online learning did occur teachers often had only a small number of their students in attendance.   Many students didn’t turn in assignments resulting in teachers spending an inordinate amount of time contacting their students and often not connecting with many.   As an example, my son had his high school band students record assigned parts for their instruments and then upload them so that he could use software to assemble them into a “concert.”  By the assigned due date only a small number had done so.  So he started trying to contact them, often without success.  He was working very late one night creating videos he had to upload the next day and at about 2 a.m. and decided to send several students emails.  He was surprised to get immediate replies from the students.  During the daytime they had not responded but late at night they did.  His take away was, “I guess I have to work on teenager time.”  Well, this only illustrates another challenge.  How do we get high school students to modify their behavior and “do school” on a reasonable daily schedule?  Anecdotally, I have heard this from many teachers of middle school and high school students.

         Schools must also develop a schedule for students in the virtual classroom.  If synchronous online lessons are planned, teachers who share the same students should not schedule them at the same time. Synchronous online classes that take place at the same time means that students have to select which class to attend and which class to miss.  There must be coordination when scheduling classes.  And, how much online work should students do in a day?  Previously educators and parents endeavored to reduce screen time for students.  Now, screen time has been enormously increased.  We must find the right balance.

Issues with reopening schools

          We all hope that schools will physically reopen in the fall.  But, at this time that is uncertain.  And, if they do open, what will that look like?  It’s clear that there won’t be a COVID-19 vaccine for some time, and very likely not before 2021.  So, much has to be considered in order to have students return to school buildings.  Considerations from CDC guidelines include (in no order of priority): creating strategies for social distancing; having students wear face coverings; protocols for cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces while keeping cleaning products away from students; closing shared spaces such as cafeterias, playgrounds, gyms (or possibly staggering their uses and cleaning in between each use); keeping students in small groups and keeping the groups the same; staggering arrival and drop off times (and how many kids will be on a bus…will more buses be needed which will increase costs if buses are even available?); checking staff and students, if feasible, daily for COVID-19 symptoms with health checks; preparing for when someone gets sick – isolating and getting them home or to a health care provider, informing anyone with close contact, and closing areas used by a sick person and waiting as long as possible to clean areas the sick person used (24 hours if possible).  Additionally, assemblies and field trips should be limited or eliminated.

         Clearly, the aforementioned concerns provide a real challenge to school districts in terms of logistics and likely increased cost.  Importantly, reopening presents us with three options, each which has a different level of risk.  (1) A low risk start of the school year will be virtual only classes, activities and events.  (2) A strategy that will involve more risk is a blend of online learning and attending school which would require small in person classes, groups staying together and remaining apart.  Supplies would not be able to be shared presenting a challenge for science lab activities, art classes, technology classes, and more.  (3) The highest risk would be returning to school as “business as usual.” 

         If a district develops a plan that will return students to school buildings we must be prepared to address teachers and students who are fearful of returning to school.  Additionally, there will be parents who will not want to send their children to school so districts must develop plans to address this eventuality.  Also, to be considered are the concerns for teachers who have underlying conditions and are in greater risk of contracting COVID-19.  And, what about kids who come to school sick?  Symptoms of a common cold are similar to COVID-19 symptoms.  Essentially, all students who present cold-like symptoms who would normally attend school should stay home.  This will present challenges to working parents of young children.

         Even if some schools do physically open in some way, we must be prepared for the potential of another shutdown if, as many medical experts predict, we experience a second wave of coronavirus infections later in the fall or in the winter.  Consequently, teachers must be prepared for meaningful online learning.  Hopefully, teachers will be more knowledgeable in the range and use of online learning resources and districts will develop coordinated plans to support teachers and students.

Requirements for remote learning

         We must plan for online learning because it’s unknown if students will return to school, will have only online learning experiences, or if there will a blend between face to face learning and remote learning.

         Three requirements for remote learning must be addressed, as identified by Long Island’s representative on the state’s Board of Regents, Roger Tilles, in his Newsday op-ed on May 26.  First, teachers must be able to deliver online instruction.  The online tools teachers can use must be determined and all teachers must receive training so they can integrate them into their online instruction.  Teachers must be fluent in the use of the Learning Management System used by their district and be able to use various platforms in order to deliver synchronous and asynchronous online experiences to their students.  Technical support should be provided for families.  Not only must students be provided with training in the use of online tools, but so should their parents.  This is especially important for the parents of our youngest students.

         A second requirement is that all students must have a device on which they can access online instruction.   When we suddenly transitioned to online instruction there were inequities between districts and within districts.  In some districts all students were provided with devices, others students already had devices, and in yet others students didn’t have access to devices.  Some students in schools had devices and others did not.  Some devices were not compatible with the applications some teachers used which impacted the potential for those students to complete assignments.   The bottom line is that in order for all students to have the potential to successfully engage in online instruction, they must all have devices that can interface with the application tools their teachers use.

         The third requirement is that all students must have access to internet connectivity.  Students in some communities on Long Island did not have access to the internet from home because their communities did not have the infrastructure.  To address this issue some have roving mobile internet hot spots on buses which provide sections of the community internet access for one hour and then move to another location.  Also, individual issues with connectivity have occurred and will do so again.  We’ve all experienced the loss of internet during a storm, or from an issue with our cable provider, a modem failure, router failure, or due to a problem with a device.  We must anticipate these issues and provide opportunities for students to make up missed work if the cause is that they couldn’t get online.

Planning for distance learning

         Planning for distance learning must address two very important issues.  We must develop strategies to address students who have identified special needs and those who are English language learners.  If this isn’t addressed it’s likely that these students will fall behind or even worse, become frustrated and disenfranchised with the online experience and abandon remote learning altogether.

         The second issue is how to deliver authentic learning opportunities for our science courses that engage students in critical thinking skills.   A pitfall that must be avoided is having students completing worksheets, doing test questions, just learning content, or creating presentations that are basically lectures using PowerPoint or another presentation application.  If students access a presentation that has been uploaded to the LMS and just click through slides, they will likely become bored and fade away.

         The challenge is to figure out how to use the various technology tools so that students will be able to participate in science investigations that will give them the opportunity to construct their own understandings.  While the timeline for the first administrations of assessments aligned with the New York State Science Learning Standards has been modified due to the closures caused by the pandemic, students still must complete lab activities in which they use the process skills of the various core curricula.  (You can find the NYSED timeline at: http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/science-timeline.pdf)

 Many of these skills are aligned with the three dimensional approach of the NYSSLS and many science practices and crosscutting concepts are appropriate for online applications. 

         As an example, during synchronous online teaching a document camera can be used to show students a phenomenon or part of an investigation, assuming you have the materials at home to do so.  I’ve also learned that an iPhone can be used as a document camera.  Based on students’ questions (Science and Engineering Practice or SEP – Asking Questions and defining problems) and instructions materials can be manipulated.  Student may be able to wonder about the cause of a pattern (Crosscutting Concepts – patterns and cause and effect) leading to constructing an explanation (SEP).   There are online tools that facilitate students interacting and sharing ideas and information.  This synchronous learning can be combined with related asynchronous online experiences.   

         Paul Andersen of Bozeman Science and a friend of STANYS, explored online applications in a virtual workshop during which teachers from all over the United States and the world attended.  He has already produced a video using what he learned from the experience.  The video is, “How I’m Teaching Remotely” and runs a little more than 10 minutes.  I strongly recommend that you view it if you have not already done so.  It can be found at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gMbnNUFMVM&feature=youtu.be

Final Thoughts

         I believe that the face of educating students will not return to what it was prior to COVID-19, even after the pandemic is in the rear view mirror.  However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Many online tools and strategies engage students and provide alternatives, supplements, and strategies that can be integrated into the face to face delivery of our courses.  As teachers plan to deliver online instruction they should also be considering how they’ll be able to utilize these tools once schools have reopened and remote learning is no longer necessary.  However, we should all be acutely aware that this situation could return again.  Next time, we’ll be ready, and hopefully we will see it coming.

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Teaching with and in the outdoors during a pandemic

Emily Kang and Mary Jean McCarthy

During these difficult times, we hope all of you are staying safe and healthy.  Based on conversations we’ve had with teachers, many have moved mountains to transition to online teaching.  You’ve received countless hours of professional development on resources such as Screencastify, PearDeck, Google Meets, etc. With the increase of students’ (and our) exposure to screen time, here is one more teaching resource we’d like you to consider: Mother Nature. 

Richard Louv coined the term “Nature-Deficit Disorder” (NDD) in his 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. The phrase describes the human costs of alienation from nature. An expanding body of scientific evidence suggests that nature-deficit disorder contributes to a diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, conditions of obesity, higher rates of emotional and physical illnesses, and a weaker ecological literacy of the natural world. However, NDD can be reversed! Dr. Lawrence Rosen, a renowned pediatrician, cites numerous evidence for the benefits of the outdoors: it encourages exercise, reduces anxiety, improves focus, and raises interest in the environment.

As educators during this pandemic, incorporating the outdoors into e-learning is an unprecedented opportunity to use every student’s backyard, front yard or window as a science learning tool. Here are some ideas to get you started including those to use with students who have limited access to a green space:

  • Use your phone’s camera as a hand lens. Most students have access to either their own or their parent’s phone and can go outside to zoom in on an object. Students can post their images and have classmates try to figure out what the “mystery object” is. Here is a photo Emily took of a newly hatched monarch caterpillar: 

Zoomed-in version (left) vs. actual scale (right)

  • Engage students with phenomena from the outdoors. This is the same type of NYSSLS-style instruction that many of us were practicing with prior to the pandemic, except modified to suit a virtual audience. For example, present this photo to students: (warning: graphic image so consider showing only to secondary students)

Have them notice and wonder about what they see. Support them in developing a key question to investigate and connect it to a crosscutting concept – for example, what CAUSED the caterpillar to die? Students can then develop an initial model/explanation for the phenomenon via Flipgrid. Then students can read more about this phenomenon here and revise their models. You can then connect this phenomenon to other ideas around parasitism. 

  • For elementary students, if you are recording stories for your students to listen to, consider adding a phenomena at the outset. For example The Grouchy Ladybug was chosen since the students were learning about telling time. This recording has a video of actual ladybugs eating aphids included.  Students are asked to notice and wonder before listening to the story.
  • Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings by Jessica Fries-Gaither can be posted on your website and serve as a springboard to motivate students to make journal entries. Here is a link to a read aloud version of the book (yes, teachers are allowed to read aloud books on Youtube)
  • Use The Next Time You See NSTA Kids book series to bring outside phenomena onto students’ screens and into family conversations inviting children to share what they  notice and wonder. One first grade teacher used the Seesaw app for her students to listen to Next Time You See a Seashell, followed by a simple shell sorting activity. Students could sort their own shells or complete an online assignment.  Next Time You See a Cloud encourages students to view clouds in their own backyards, relax and enjoy.
  • Record yourself doing something outside as a virtual field trip. (One teacher recorded her friend taking care of her beehive). Crossroads Farm at Grossmann’s, a NOFA certified organic non-profit farm in Malverne, provides a wonderful setting for students to visit. Their experiential programs invite all to join in the activities that make the farm grow. Mary Jean and educators from the Farm connected with a first grade teaching team to “bring” their first graders to the farm. Using Google Meets and an IPad, farm educators invited students to share what they noticed and wondered about seeds, the wide diversity of seedlings in the greenhouse and the crops growing in the fields. Students carefully observed and sketched a sweet pea plant with tendrils. On another trip, students observed bees being drawn to last year’s kale flowers and the killdeer breeding in the field. 

Photo of bee at farm and student’s drawing of bee

  • Afterwards, they will read and discuss Next Time You See a Bee.
  • Seatuck Environmental Association’s “Get Out With Seatuck” project aims to help everyone explore the natural world around their homes. Every morning they post a new nature-based activity or challenge for a daily dose of nature! See also their 2020 Wild & Scenic Film Festival where attendees will enjoy award-winning films about nature, community activism, and conservation, including many that relate to Seatuck and their work on Long Island. 
  • We work with teachers through the Greentree Foundation Teachers Ecology Workshop to support them in using nature in instruction and connecting their students to Long Island ecology. Here are some of what they have shared:
    • have students collect items from the outside (5 different kinds of leaves or rocks, a picture of a tree in bloom)
    • birdwatch outside or through a window using a set of TP roll binoculars.
    • Encourage students to sit outside, close their eyes and quietly listen for 10 minutes. 

As you can see, there are many ways to engage students with nature. Hopefully we will find that these experiences will lead students to a greater sense of connectedness with nature and increased curiosity about phenomena during these times (and always). Stay safe and well! 

*Emily Kang and Mary Jean McCarthy are professors in the College of Education and Health Sciences at Adelphi University. They work with teacher candidates and specialize in science teacher education. 

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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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NYSLSS Standards and the Crosscutting Concepts in Chemistry

Three-dimensional science education is foremost in most science educator’s minds today.  A lot of work has been done to flush out the science and engineering practices (SEPs), and the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs).   However, the crosscutting concepts (CCC) sometimes feels overshadowed.  “Crosscutting concepts have value because they provide students with connections and intellectual tools that are related across the differing areas of disciplinary content and can enrich their application of practices and their understanding of core ideas”. —Framework p. 233

There are 7 CCC’s many of which can easily be integrated into chemistry lesson plans.  The purpose of the CCC’s are to show the application of the science concept in the real world.  The following represent the concepts: 1) Patterns– are useful in organizing various phenomena and in engineering practices.  For example, HS-PS1-2 pertains to chemical reactions.  Students can identify patterns in reactions.  A lab can be preformed that will allow for the analysis of the pattern and students designs can be evaluated. 2) Cause and Effect– works well with patterns. Scientific investigations are often a mode to get to explanations of causal relationships. It is important to be intentional when using the CCC’s make the students use the correct terms to ensure understanding.  3) Scale, Proportion, and Quantity– In chemistry, we often work on the submicroscopic level however, when we consider environmental relationships it is appropriate to discuss larger scales and quantities. For example, you may use this in discussion of chemical reactions involving pollution in the air.  4) Systems and System Models – HS-PS1-6 covers Le Chatelier’s Principle it is appropriate to use these terms when discussing changes to an equilibrium system allow students to make connections and models to explore their understandings.  5) Energy and Matter- conservation of energy/matter is prevalent throughout our curriculum be purposeful in your lesson planning to discuss the relationships between energy and matter when applicable. 6) Structure and Function- the structure and function of the periodic table (for example) is essential to the chemistry curriculum.  Furthermore, on the high school level it is appropriate to push students into investigations into unfamiliar systems as well. 7) Stability and Change – the stability of various systems and changes that occur are also prevalent throughout our curriculum.  Understanding how the two terms interplay are exciting concepts to explore with your classes.

In closing, the CCC’s are very useful in the chemistry classroom.  It is important to use the terms as stated in our lessons so that the students can make meaningful connections so that they can use evidence in their scientific arguments. With a little thought and planning this 3D concept will also add to the fullness of your educational toolbox.  For more, information on CCC’s I look forward to meeting you virtually or in person at one of our upcoming STANYS events.

Dame Forbes- Suffolk County Chemistry SAR

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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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A Professional Development Experience with Paul Andersen by Alice Veyvoda

This summer, STANYS leaders, Master Teachers, and educational professionals throughout New York State were invited to experience two days of immersion in NYSSLS and Three-Dimensional Learning and Assessment   Paul Andersen joined us to facilitate the learning activities.

There were three workshop sites around the state: July 29-30 (SUNY Stony Brook); July 31-August 1 (SUNY New Paltz); and August 2-3 (Conference Center at Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES). Each workshop was designed to prepare teacher leaders to begin the work of facilitating workshops on how to transition to NYSSLS. These workshops built on those conducted during the last two summers, and teacher leaders attending this year were provided with multiple ideas and resources to share with other educators in their home schools/regions. Workshop activities included creating storylines for lessons to help further understanding regarding the shifts to the new standards and phenomenon-based learning. Learn more at Paul Andersen’s website, TheWonderOfScience

 

Paul also offered some advice to the STANYS leaders as they looked forward to sharing their understanding and providing workshops for their teacher-colleagues “back home” – a sort of “12 step plan” that began with a reminder that teachers are professionals, not students, and should be treated as such, and closed with “Have Fun !” He stressed not to argue about adoption of the new Standards: it’s done!

Day #1 we worked in groups of two or three to develop a 3D assessment. We first continued work on an assessment already started by participants from another workshop and then we chose a Performance Assessment in our subject area and began the process of developing and honing an assessment we might use in the upcoming year. To help us evaluate the assessment we were developing, Paul provided us with his “Performance Assessment Screening Tool – a “check-list” of items designed to ascertain if the assessment tool we were developing was actually doing what we wanted it to: assess 3-dimensional learning for the selected PE area.

Day #2 was devoted to developing activities for a lesson/unit for which we might utilize the assessment developed the previous day. Workshop participants observed various phenomena for introducing “sample” lessons/units, and then searched for a phenomenon suitable for introducing students to the topic they had chosen. We applied Paul’s “method” (his “ABC’s of Teaching”: Activity Before Content”) to our lesson prep. Paul was ready with help, circulating throughout the groups, asking questions and giving suggestions to further our progress. He provided a “3-Dimensional Screening Tool” with a “check-list” to guide us toward development of a truly 3-dimensional lesson. At the close of Day #2, we all felt that we had a 3-D lesson (or the strong beginning of one…) and a 3-D assessment to provide us with student feedback. Quite an accomplishment!

Some comments from attendees:

“As always, my brain hurts from thinking so much … in a good way! I am excited to take all that I learned about developing lessons and assessments and share it with other teachers. I look forward to seeing how the shift to 3D-instruction and learning helps build deeper understanding for students.” Kathi

“This workshop was particularly rewarding beause there was ample tie for discourse among colleagues and we left with a finished product to take back to my classroom!” Jeff Salerno, STANYS Western Section (JeffreySalerno@LSCSD.or)

“As a new teacher that was extensively trained in the new standards it was an insightful experience to work with other teachers and professionals to learn how to incorporate these standards into the classroom.” Riley McHugh

“Paul Andersen has been a phenomenal resource in explaining all of the information about NGSS. I am looking forward to engaging my students with inquiry based labs. See you next year! Ashley Leung

“Paul and the STANYS crew provided another high quality professional development to support the vital work to implement our new standards. They had a great mix of prompts, productive group work, and good humor.” Doug Schmid

“After participating in all three Paul Andersen workshops –this final hands-on interactive presentation really wrapped the NYSSLS into a nice package I look forward to unwrapping during the school year. My level of understanding of the new standards is finally sinking in and Ifeel like I have material to try this upcoming year. The professional development these two days was excellent and well put together by all involved.”Sonja Anderson

“The authentic scientific practices being implemented in NGSS are invaluable for scientific reasoning for all students.” Peter Rosen

“The opportunity to collaborate with colleagues of all levels of experience and all types of backgrounds made this daunting task of implementing NGSS feel totally attainable!” Seth

Paul Andersen will be a presenter at the Annual Conference November 1-4, 2019, in Rochester NY. Find more information online at STANYS.org/ConferenceMain where the full Conference Program is available.

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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/