I am looking to assemble a team to participate in the 2014 Brain War at Saint Mary's University. Check out the link for details. Think you're smart? Really smart? Then play Brain War, coming to Halifax February 21st, 2015. Brain War begins with a bang: an intensive, 6 hour, intellectual, emotional & creative marathon. Think you’ve got what it takes to win Brain War? Assemble your Army and come prepared to battle. http://brainwar.ca/
Cultural evolution changes rapidly in leaps and bounds, partly due to the influence of ever changing technology. Learning targets for 21st century learners are changing as well. Teachers, parents, and students play key roles in the evolution of our approaches to teaching and learning. For an interesting read on biology in the 21st century, check out Integrative Biology: Science for the 21st Century at http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/58/4/349.full.html The article suggests several changes to both scientific research and to science education. The main suggestion focuses on a change in attitude from an individual approach to science to a more integrative and collaborative approach. This will allow critical thinking and the generation of creative and innovative ideas which can drive science. In order for change to take place, the advantages of a collaborative approach must be clearly communicated as the driving force behind future scientific success. The article concludes by stating, "Integrative attitudes and approaches will lead to innovative, progressive, and enlightened scholars in the 21st century. Science and society will derive great benefits from their contributions to research, education, and humanity." Parents, teachers and students all have important roles to play. Check out the following link to access A Parent's Guide to 21st Century Learning at http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/guides/edutopia-parents-guide-21st-century-learning.pdf
The 21st century learning target depicted below provides a general direction towards the future of education. The 4 Cs of 21st century learning - Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Communication should be the essential components of modern lesson plans. In the high school science classroom, project based learning, open-ended questioning, student choice and collaboration can provide opportunities to reach learning targets. The traditional lecture approach coupled with fact based worksheets and textbook questions are no longer adequate to meet the needs of all learners. Technology can help facilitate learning but it is merely one tool that must be used in well designed activities. Students need to be engaged in order to learn and teachers have a responsibility to help students achieve their potential. As Socrates said, "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." As life long learners, we must embrace change in our classrooms. I can't tell you how many students have been fooled by this statement in the past couple of days. As 2014 wraps up, I want to take a few moments to reflect on this semester so far. Young people sometimes get a bad rep because they do silly, stupid things and make poor decisions but I firmly believe that they are learning and preparing to become responsible adults. I highly recommend the CBC documentary, Surviving the Teenage Brain to learn more about how the teenage brain works and why teens do the things they do. I see about 100 high school students everyday in my classes and here's what I see. I see students challenged in many different ways. They must balance their responsibilities at home, school, work and extra curricular activities. They must cope with stress but despite the challenges they persevere and rise to the challenges!
To my current students, This semester, I am proud to say that I have witnessed greatness in you. Don't get me wrong...you sometimes drive me crazy but I think it is the best kind of crazy! You attend class and arrive on time on a regular basis. You pay attention, ask intelligent questions and participate in class activities. You try your best. You show respect for yourself and others. You even tolerate my attempts at humour. You contribute to our community through your volunteer work. Here are just some of the activities you have led and participated in. You have collected food for Feed NS, you have baked goodies to empower families in need, you have created baskets and raised money for Bryony House, you have held princess tea parties for the Malala Fund, you have organized an Eco Fashion show, you have organized assemblies to honour our veterans on Remembrance day and raise awareness of human trafficking, you have served at the school breakfast program and you have assisted others at peer tutoring. You have worked at your part-time jobs while earning spending money and saving for post secondary studies. Thank you for serving me at Sobey's, Cineplex, Pro Hockey Life, Pseudio, American Eagle and many other retail and food establishments. You sing, you dance, create jewelry and celebrate the arts. You are giving 100% to your sports and extracurricular activities and modelling good practices for younger people. I wish you all a fantastic holiday break! Enjoy time with your friends and family. Be kind to your family - you are connected through your double helix. Have a family tongue rolling survey at the dinner table! Be smart and safe. Think before you act both online and in person. Get lots of rest and eat lots of great food but watch your blood glucose levels! Maintain homeostasis over the holidays and I look forward to 2015! I had a great day today with Prince Andrew High School's Free the Children group at We Day Atlantic! The theme of the day was empowerment - economic, technological, social and educational. I was particularly excited to hear Canadian astronaut, Dr. Dave Williams, speak about the importance of science and technology. To find a recap of the positive messages shared in the high energy, motivational day, check out the We Day Atlantic site. Check out this YouTube video to learn more about Craig and Mark Kielburger, the founders of Free the Children. “Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Make the moment perfect.”
As a science teacher, I recognize the value of technology in the classroom...but when it goes really wrong, a back up plan and patience is a must. I recently had a lesson set up using multiple devices - Smart Board, cell phones, IPad and Moodle to name a few. Students were asked to present information on a topic related to reproduction as part of the cell division and reproduction unit in Biology 12. I was well organized, had the students enter their name on a random name picker on the IPad, accessed student projects through the NS Virtual School and had students asking questions and providing positive feedback using Today's Meet on their personal electronic devices. Then the school computer network went down and stayed down for 45 minutes. Fortunately, I had a good old fashioned review sheet to keep the students occupied while we waited for the tech to return to action.
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Mrs. CormierScience teacher at Prince Andrew High School since 2002. Archives
November 2015
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