Scientfically Speaking

Hands-On Doesn’t Mean Brains Off! & Mastering the Middle Meeting 091925

But first a Mastering the Middle Session Reminder

Transitioning to middle school can be difficult for new 6th graders and their families. With that in mind I am presenting a Mastering the Middle session 9/25 at 6PM in the Karrer Library. During the session I'll give a brief presentation with suggestions on how best to help your students more successfully transition to middle school. The suggestions come from my 21 years of being a middle school science and math teacher. After the presentation attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions about the first few weeks of school and how to best help students, and families, master the middle.

The session is NOT an opportunity to discuss specific students or have an extra teacher conference. It's really an opportunity for a live Q&A to help make your students' science and/or math year as successful as possible. According to the parents who attended last year the session was time well spent.

Please do not bring your students. Please RSVP here.

And now back to our regularly scheduled blog:

The first science quiz about minerals is coming up. Students spent a few weeks working on a variety of assignments and with hands-on concept application. Students worked with hot water, boron, actual minerals, test equipment, computer simulations and more. I always plan to have a number of hands-on opportunities designed to reinforce content.

Talk with your students and they might describe a modern school experience with a lot more demands, a lot more pressure, and higher expectations than when you were their age. Middle school is certainly a lot different than when I was 13. So I’m not too surprised when students look at a lab and think, “Play time!”

I’m okay with structured playtime, but I need your students to think this entire phrase when approaching labs, “Play time and think time!” I will tell your students all the time that if they are just doing something, but not learning from what they are doing, then they are wasting their time. We aren’t here to do; we are here to learn.

Hands-on learning may not always be the best learning approach. Some studies bear that assertion out. For example, see this story.

Provided I give students a well-structured lab preceded, or followed, by reinforcing information students should engage their hands and their brains. Students need to reflect on how the activity connects to content. 6th graders have a tough time with this, but as they mature making connections should get easier. Why am I taking the time to write to you about this?

I’m writing this for two important reasons.

You are probably thinking “Hot water?? Is that man crazy for giving students very hot water to use?” I hope I’m not crazy. I have high expectations of your students. I need to trust that your students are mature enough to use the supplies I place around the room responsibly and safely. When students can’t act maturely and safety becomes an issue, they are removed from the lab. If it happens more than once students may not be able to participate in future labs.
Your students do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to their education. Teachers play a smaller part than the students. You are an integral part of the education team as well. When you’re talking about the day and your students mention a lab, ask them to connect the lab to concepts discussed in class. If your student isn’t able to make those connections, suggest they look over class notes, spend some time asking questions in class, and have them practice making connections during the next lab. I’ll be making those same recommendations over and over throughout the year.

Is there something you’d like to see written in the next Scientifically Speaking? Do you have questions or concerns? Don’t hesitate to contact me if you do.

I look forward to seeing you at the Mastering the Middle session.

Mastering the Middle, 50 Miles to 0 Miles, & Pictures 090525

Mastering the Middle

Good Afternoon 6th grade math parents. Welcome to my classroom blog. Feel free to read, or not, as you see fit. The blog will inform you about what’s happening in the classroom and how best to help your students master the middle.

Transitioning to middle school can be difficult for new 6th graders and their families. With that in mind I am presenting a Mastering the Middle session 9/25 at 6PM in the Karrer Library. During the session I'll give a brief presentation with suggestions on how best to help your students have a successful transition. The suggestions come from my 21 years of experience as a middle school science and math teacher. After the presentation attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions about the first few weeks of school and how to best help students, and families, master the middle.

Please do not bring your students. Please RSVP here.

50 Miles to 0 Miles

Teaching is a second career for me. That’s a nice way to say that I’m not a young guy anymore. I try to fight my advancing age by staying in decent shape. In June 2024 I challenged myself to complete a 50 mile race. I had a pretty good day, but then while training for the next race I broke a rib, then I had another setback and before I knew it I was barely running. That’s how school is for a lot of your students. Huge strides one day and then they run smack into a wall.

We all face setbacks and your students will face setbacks this year, but they will also make huge strides. I hope to help your students learn science this year, but more importantly I hope to help them to learn to persevere, to construct their own knowledge, to increase their confidence, and to realize that they don’t always need me to help them.

Additionally I’m going to try to get your students to bolster their own worth. Too many students are content to hide in the classroom, not raising their hands, never having someone cheer for them when they cross the metaphorical finish line. Many of your students are hiding in the back of the race pack. Too many teachers are content to let students cross the finish line in the dark.

Everyone of your students deserves to be seen crossing the line. Everyone of your students deserves to be heard. Everyone of your students has something to offer. Everyone of your students can benefit from becoming better at speaking in front of others. That’s why I will call on all students to speak this year even if they don’t raise their hands. I told your students that too. I hope at the end of the year I have a lot less back of the packers in class than when the year started.

What else can your students expect this year?

I survey your students anonymously two times per year. I learn a lot from your students. Rarely does a semester go by where student feedback, anonymous or not, doesn’t change what I do in the classroom.

A few years ago students told me that I needed to make sure that they were on the right track more often. Students talked about how much information they were required to learn and felt that there weren’t enough times that I checked their progress prior to a quiz. I “heard” them loud and clear.

Students will have almost weekly Temperature Checks. The Temperature Check is designed to see what your students know and what they don’t know without affecting their grades. It’s also a chance for me to check their temperatures.

What do I ask on Temperature Checks? It depends on what’s happening in the classroom. The first check will ask how they feel about 6th grade and how they feel science is going so far. However, each Temperature Check’s primary focus is content.

If your students don’t know the answers then that tells me, and more importantly, them, that they need to be asking questions, they may need to see me during study center, and/or they may need to review information outside of class.

I don’t intend to give your students a lot of homework, but they do have to prove that they are learning the curriculum. I tell your students that middle school is very different from elementary school. If your student traditionally has difficulty understanding and retaining information, they may want to spend a few minutes (5-15 minutes) each night reviewing class material. Why?

Students who review information a bit each night tend to integrate their knowledge for longer periods of time. Students who spend more time internalizing information know what they know and know what they don’t know. Students are able to ask for clarification and reinforcement when they come to school the next day. Students who keep their classroom knowledge current don’t actually have to study (cram?) for quizzes because they know the information.

Cramming doesn’t allow students to engage in higher level thinking. When students internalize information they can analyze information, critically examine information, and build on their knowledge beyond what’s taught in class. It’s learning and growing, not memorizing.

I’m going to keep listening to your students and adjust as we go. I’m going to keep taking their temperatures too. Maybe you can check to see if your student is chill or running a fever.

I will continue to send periodic Scientifically Speaking to you. This isn’t life changing or required reading, but I try to provide insight into what’s happening with your students. I include classroom pictures in some blog posts. In late fall I include a link for you to fill out an anonymous parent survey so you can provide constructively critical feedback about your students’ experiences.

If your students have me for math too, then you will get Numerical News periodically sent to your email as well.

If there is something you’d like me to write about, don’t hesitate to make suggestions.

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or concerns. It takes a team to help your back of the packers finish in the sunlight!.

Page updated

Report abuse