Our very first Summer with TLIIST was a great start to an amazing program. We started the summer out with Introductions, reflecting on how we would like to improve as a leader during the program, Inquiry Institute and a tour of some of the amazing labs on campus!
Taking part in the Inquiry institute was a great experience as we got to work through and explore some great labs that bring Inquiry into the Science classrooms. One of the most prominent sessions that the inquiry institute launched with was on Investigable questions and I believe was the most impactful for me. We also got to participate in some other great activities such as the spinning top, bungee jumping Barbie and designing a zip line!
Getting to visit some of the labs on campus was a great experience and the lectures from the researchers were amazing! These visits gave me a lot of real world research applications for a lot of the content we teach in the classroom, and the students love making these connections and learning more about what is going on in actual labs near them.
Our second summer in the program was conducted through Zoom and it was a whole new experience! Getting the opportunity to engage in the sessions virtually however gave me an entirely new virtual teaching toolkit which came in especially handy in the upcoming virtual teaching experience! Participating in these sessions prepared me for the upcoming school year by getting familiar with Zoom, breakout rooms and various online learning platforms.