ImagineIT Spring Update
My ImagineIT project, making chemistry visible and connect it to students’ lives, has been coming along as any new unit plan would when being implemented for the first time. I am trying new things, getting feedback from students and other teachers and making notes for adjustments for next time. I am also slowly becoming more comfortable with including concepts that may not seem directly related to chemistry or science. These new additions are helping the students make some connections to their lives while also teaching them engineering, design, and collaboration skills that come with being a scientist and being an active citizen.
My ImagineIT project, making chemistry visible and connect it to students’ lives, has been coming along as any new unit plan would when being implemented for the first time. I am trying new things, getting feedback from students and other teachers and making notes for adjustments for next time. I am also slowly becoming more comfortable with including concepts that may not seem directly related to chemistry or science. These new additions are helping the students make some connections to their lives while also teaching them engineering, design, and collaboration skills that come with being a scientist and being an active citizen.
I was able to contact the Chief Sustainability Officer of Chicago, who works closely with the mayor on issues of sustainability and resilience. Chris Wheat, Chicago's CSO, will be coming into Payton in late March to speak with our chemistry classes on the state of sustainable efforts in Chicago. Prior to his visit, students will be researching Chris's background, progress, and future goals. They can also look into various topics such as the position of CSO and what some successful CSOs have done, what other stakeholders and environmentalists are suggesting for Chicago, what other cities are doing with regards to sustainability, etc.
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The tumblr project, similar to our World of Wonder within the fellowship, is coming along well. Although only six students have posted something on the page, a few students ask me about potential ideas on a weekly basis and I can tell that they are keeping it in the back of their mind and starting to see the connections. Some students talk about music and its connection to moving air particle, bioluminescence and its connection to atomic structure, and interesting phenomena they see when traveling on a plane that can be explained by the chemistry we are learning. I am really excited to see what they come up with and will continue to push them to make connections by showing them more examples on a daily basis. |
I am still looking into opportunities for myself, and trying to stick to the goals that I made from our Leadership assignments. There are many science research opportunities in laboratories at local universities, but I believe that my love of learning lies more in the education as opposed to a focus in science. I have still been seriously considering these opportunities but I fear that they will take me away from what truly drives me, which is to fully understand young learners and eventually be able to impart that knowledge on future teachers. I have been considering the idea of an adjunct faculty member at a local university but would need to do a lot more research to figure out what I could contribute to that community at this point in my career.