This ImagineIt project has been a tremendous learning experience for me. To have the opportunity to design and execute a year-long project focused on a specific big idea to benefit my students has been a challenging, eye-opening, and rewarding experience for both me and my students!
I have learned that while the design process needs to be fluid, it also needs to remain structured so that the initial focus doesn’t get lost. As I suppose is the case with any good project, as my ImagineIt project unfolded, so many new ideas and revelations about my students’ needs and abilities became apparent. So, as result, in my efforts to move students toward taking more ownership of their learning so that they ask, “Where is the evidence?” I learned that first, we all needed to slow down and make sense of what evidence is and how and when to use it effectively. So while my students may not yet be asking the question explicitly, I am confident that they have a far greater awareness and ability to identify and make sense of the evidence or lack thereof in any given context. I have also learned that as much as I think I’m already doing it, I need to slow down. We are so hurried. This is true our personal, work and school lives. In my often rushed attempt to reach a goal, important sub-accomplishments get overlooked or neglected altogether. An example of this came to light through conversations with both my students and colleagues about how and why students struggle with using evidence to support their claims. In my mind, we had the evidence-- we collected and analyzed the data, so why were students struggling to use the evidence that we spent so much time collecting, analyzing, and discussing? Well, as it turns out, this is a far more difficult task when we don’t first take a step back to talk about what evidence is in the first place and how, why, when we should be using it. My teaching practice is forever evolving, and for that I am proud. This project has allowed me to truly experience the science and engineering practices that I teach in a meaningful and authentic way. To experience the iterative (and frustrating and exciting) design process through my own teaching has been an invaluable endeavor that will continue to impact my teaching practice for years to come. Thank you MSUrban STEM! |
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