STEMS^2 Unit Musings & Ideas for Community Collaboration

During our discussion today of the rubric for our STEMS^2 units, I realized that there were many more dimensions to the unit than I considered when I did my post last week and thought I would expand on a few here while my thoughts are fresh.

Community Involvement in Multiple Ways
I especially liked that my breakout group (#1) discussed in detail not only how different types of community partnerships could be and how we would also want the community to be involved in the culminating project or presentation that students would do as their summative assessment.  At our recent WASC visit, one of the areas of improvement is for us to publicize more the good things that our students are doing.  This was geared more towards the community outside of our school, but I think it is important to include students in other grade levels, families, teachers, and stake-holders such as alumni and Governing Board members as well because those are the people who represent your school and can share with others about what is being done.

Seeking and Forming Community Partnerships
One concern raised when we were writing descriptions in the STEMS^2 rubric tonight was that often it is difficult to find community partners that are appropriate for the units that we may be planning, but several people voiced great ideas of where we should look beyond the place we would usually look (community organizations and businesses), including parents of students, teachers who have interests outside of school (as we have seen within our group, we have many talents besides being great teachers), alumni, and so on.  If these stakeholders know that innovative and multidisciplinary lessons are being taught at your school, they may be more likely to offer their expertise and resources.  As mentioned during our learning journeys, we have many kupuna, who can contribute to learning in many different ways.

Ongoing Experiences with Community Partnerships
Last week I met with a UH professor who approached me two years ago with an idea to connect my 7th grade students (her daughter was my student at the time) to students at a school that she had visited on a small island in Papua New Guinea during her research on frogs there in the summer.  This was something that I had not previously thought of, but we have since formed a relationship with the teachers and students at this school and she and I met recently to discuss our plans for this year.

In the first year, we started small, with Dr. Butler doing presentations about the frogs she studies and the way of life in Papua New Guinea for my students to compare to their lives here.  The students then exchanged letters.

Letters from Papua New Guinea students to ULS students:

 

Letters to Papua New Guinea students from ULS students

Last year we did surveys of Biodiversity and compared the foods we eat here with those common in Papua New Guinea.  Below are some photos of some of the things that my students have done with Dr. Butler that contributed to the exchange between our students.

Sweep Net Sampling

Quadrat Sampling

We have even gotten her graduate students involved as well as my Research Science high school students who happen to have class right after the 7th graders who were interested in learning about sampling techniques.

Examples of insects that were captured.  Next students identified these to the level of Insect order and the researchers helped them to construct graphs that were used to compare biodiversity between several locations on campus.

   

Last Thoughts

This year we are looking to write up our curriculum so that the protocols we use can be shared with other teachers such as my new collaborator in Washington state, another teacher who is also interested in Biodiversity.  Since this is perfect timing with our STEMS^2 unit, I think that this will be my primary focus for my Plan B project and am looking forward to developing these rather isolated lessons into a cohesive unit plan and to integrate more of the other STEMS^2 layers of place into the plans.  I already have the 7th grade English teacher (who has been helping students with their letters) on board and will work on setting up meetings with the 7th grade Social Studies and Mathematics teachers to see how we can all work together and what this unit might tie-in to what they will be teaching in the Spring semester.

Criteria for a Quality STEMS^2 Unit

I have been thinking about my STEMS^2 unit since we first began our Learning Journeys in the summer, but I am still not sure which grade (7th or 9th) I want to develop it for.  I will probably modify one or more existing units for each grade to become STEMS^2 units but focus on one to teach and evaluate this year for my Plan B project because I think that it will be quite difficult to develop one high quality unit let alone two while we ourselves are still in the process of understanding how all of the parts of STEMS^2 can fit together and complement each other.  However, we will see how things go....

Qualities and Characteristics of a Strong STEMS^2 Unit

A strong STEMS^2 unit should include both elements from all of the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) as well as the S^2 disciplines (Social Sciences and Sense of Place).  Each discipline does not need to be present in each lesson of the unit, but overall, each should have a prominent focus in multiple lessons so that students can see that their "subjects" are not as distinct as they often seem and can be used together towards learning objectives.  For example, if the students are learning about how plants use sunlight for energy, they will definitely be learning about the Science of the process of photosynthesis by growing plants and making observations, but will also need to use Mathematics to make comparisons and calculations and English Language Arts when reading articles about growing plants and to write their lab reports.  Including discussions about the history of agricultural practices and the current ideas about hybrids, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and organic farming brings Social Studies into the unit.  Discussing these topics in reference to former and current practices in Hawaii and students' family practices (many students have small gardens at home or shop at farmer's markets) brings in a sense of place.  Students should be encouraged to share their own experiences and listen to others to broaden their understanding.

While there is debate about the role of National standards (Glatthorn, Carr, & Douglas, 2001), I believe that learning objectives should be aligned with the National and State Standards corresponding to the disciplines of study, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (Science and Engineering), Common Core State Standards (Mathematics and Language Arts), and NCSS National Standards for Social Studies in order make sure that the integrated unit is addressing both relevant content and practices from each discipline.  A disciplinary approach to teaching provides modeling for students of how professionals in those fields do their work and encourages students to see themselves as practitioners of that discipline rather than "students."  This along with a constructivist curriculum in which "learners construct meaning from what they experience (Glatthorn, Carr, & Douglas, 2001)," is a key component of the learning experience at ULS.

In designing the unit, assessment of students' learning must be used to gauge student understanding and progress throughout the unit, in formative assessments, as well as at the conclusion of the unit (summative assessment) to ensure that learning objectives were met.  The summative assessment does not necessarily need to be an exam or test, but should be a product that allows the student to demonstrate their understanding and mastery of the key ideas of the unit.  Offering options for key assessments throughout the unit will allow students to show what they have learned in ways that best fit their personal interests and strengths, such as making a model, composing a story, drawing a comic, or acting out a skit and encourage other students to consider different ways of explaining key concepts and ideas.

Engaging Student/Teacher Experiences

In order to provide engaging experiences for the students and teachers, the unit should be designed around just a few essential questions so as not to spread the focus too wide and allow students to integrate new knowledge and understanding into their existing framework (their sense of place) at a pace that is comfortable.  Providing a variety of learning experiences and delivery methods (demonstrations, guest speakers, lectures, inquiry investigations, peer-teaching, presentations, etc.) and assessments that address different learning styles will help to ensure that all learners needs are met.

The students and teachers involved should be wholly committed to being open to new ideas in order to fully immerse themselves in the connections between disciplines and within disciplines.  As emphasized in NGSS, cross-cutting concepts allow students to apply general information across different scientific disciplines which encourages students to recognize connections and think less in terms of separate subjects and ideas.

Unit Length

Glatthorn, Boschee, Whitehead, and Boschee (2005) define a unit as, "an organized set of related learning experiences offered as part of a course of study, usually lasting from one to three weeks" that is often "organized around a single, overarching concept (p. 18)."  I think that the STEMS^2 unit that I develop will need to be closer to three weeks or perhaps even longer to fully immerse my students in the material and include a field experience such as a Learning Journey and/or visits from professionals in the disciplines.  The length of the unit is not as important as the depth into which we explore and discuss the key ideas, so it will likely depend on the specific topic of the unit and the learning objectives that are chosen.  If growing plants or taking observations over a long period of time is involved, the unit may span a couple of months, but be integrated into a larger unit that has several subunits to accommodate the amount of time needed for a longitudinal study.

REFERENCES

Glatthorn, A. A., Boschee, F. A., Whitehead, B. M., & Boschee, B. F. (2015) The Nature of

Curriculum. Curriculum Leadership: Strategies for Development and Implementation

(pp. 3-32). Retrieved from

http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upmbinaries/6041_Chapter_1__Glatthorn_(Sage)_

I_Proof.pdf

Glatthorn, A. A., Carr, J. F., & Harris, D. E. (2001). Thinking About Curriculum. Curriculum

Handbook: Planning and Organizing for Curriculum Renewal. Retrieved from

www.ascd.org/publications/curriculum-handbook/398.aspx

Head above water "snorkeling"

20151011

With a lot on my "plate" and mind lately, I was fortunate to have a chance to slow down and smell the fresh sea breezes and spend some time exploring the expansive Ahua Reef near "Dog Beach" at Hickham AFB.

Since my 9th graders are close to a week away from finishing our Physical Oceanography unit on mapping, here is a more accurate location (also known as an absolute location rather than a relative location).

Spherical Coordinates: 21.315231, -157.958262

In Decimal Degrees: 21.31531°N, 157.958262°W

In Degrees, Minutes, Seconds: 21°18'55" N, 157°57'30" W

*Here is a nifty site that converts from decimal degrees to degrees, minutes, seconds if you don't have a teacher like me that makes my students do the actual calculations themselves to understand how each degree is broken down into minutes and seconds ;)

http://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/degrees-to-degrees-minutes-seconds.htm

This excursion was actually requested by a friend of mine whose boyfriend has recently become obsessed with collecting shells.  It also required my boyfriend to tag along so that we could get on base, so the four of us headed out around 10:00 a.m.

The water is very shallow and somewhat murky making visibility poor.  Even half a mile out from the shore, I could stand on the sandy/silty bottom and the water was only up to my chest.  First exciting sighting was black brittle stars, Class Ophiuroidea.

There were also many black collector urchins that I think are called hawa'e maoli.  Here is one of my favorite articles about them from 2009 in the Star Advertiser.  Susan Scott's column always has interesting ocean-related information. http://www.staradvertiser.com/columnists/20110214_Sea_urchins_the_perfect_janitors_to_keep_Kaneohe_coral_clean.html?id=116145179

Panoramic view from the water...  Diamond head is to the far right of the photo, a very faint outline, Nanakuli mountains on the far left.

There wasn't much besides low, dead coral beds in the middle, with the occasional footlong sea cucumber, so I headed west towards the higher reef where fishermen were standing knee deep in the water. http://www.waikikiaquarium.org/experience/animal-guide/invertebrates/echinoderms/sea-cucumbers/

Here in the more lively reef, there were beautiful but bleached coral heads which means they had recently either lost their zooxanthellae or expelled them for some reason, possibly in response to higher ocean temperatures and increased photosynthesis (see some informative readings below).

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral02_zooxanthellae.html

http://ocean.si.edu/slideshow/zooxanthellae-and-coral-bleaching

Lots more pink and pale green rock boring sea urchins and marine sponges were embedded in nooks and crannies in the reef.  http://www.waikikiaquarium.org/experience/animal-guide/invertebrates/echinoderms/rock-boring-urchin/

Having some time to myself (I was not snorkeling due to having scratched by eye the day before) I was able to practice my "kilo" while at the same time testing my memory of marine invertebrates. Teaching Marine Science has greatly increased my interest in the live versions of the organisms whose former homes and skeletons (shells and exoskeletons) I have collected on shorelines since I was little.  Matching the whole organisms to their spines, shells, and fragments is a kind of inquiry process that I really enjoy, it's like detective work.  Recalling common names, scientific names, classifications, and learning Hawaiian names is also fascinating to me.  I took pictures of everything I could recognize as well as what I could not to take back with me to help tell my stories.

Next I spotted something very unmistakably pink near a part of the reef that was exposed.  "Never turn your back to the ocean" is very wise advice, so it was difficult to get close enough without turning my back or facing the oncoming waves in the knee deep water.

The pink splotches turned out to be coral!  Cauliflower coral, also known as ko'a and Pocillopora meandrina http://www.waikikiaquarium.org/experience/animal-guide/invertebrates/coral/cauliflower-coral/

While taking the long trek back to shore, I wished that my students could come out to see this, or at least something similar.  56 students at one time would be impossible.  28 with several additional chaperones would be manageable if we were allowed to go this deep in the water.  Place-based learning is definitely more difficult to accomplish when safety is a concern.  The OPIHI project would definitely help facilitate a shoreline field study in the Spring, so I guess that's my next application!

Sense of Place

We have been discussing sense of place and trying to define it during our STEMS^2 experience thus far, but I actually began thinking about place and sense of place last December when I began my journey with the Ethnomathematics/STEM Institute "E7" ethnos.  I arrived at the Portables, knew exactly where to park, although I was dropped off that day because my fractured foot meant that my mom was driving me around, and ambled slowly up the steps to be greeted by hugs and smiles from the hui advisors and my soon-to-be E7 buddies.  Very quickly, we would later comment, we felt as if we had known each other forever.  Over the course of the next few months, we shared about where we were from through several fun activities the first of which was bringing three artifacts to show and explain about ourselves.  I brought my senior yearbook, a daruma with one eye still unpainted, and something else which now slips my mind.  We shared information with each other on the second day we had met that many of us had not uttered to any other person before.  These small items helped us to understand where each other was coming from, our senses of individual place, our perceptual dimensions of place.

In STEMS^2 we did the same when we shared who we were bringing with us to various places, our makana, and our STEMS^2 notebook organization.  Each of these things helps us to understand pieces of what make up each other which is essential for our interactions within the group.  Sensitivity to and empathy for each others' sense of place rather than complete understanding of or agreement with is essential for relationships in the group.  This extends to our classrooms, meaning that we need to ask our students to share their sense of place and to respect and acknowledge each others' places.

Through service learning, a trek up and down to Kalaupapa, and late-night stargazing, E7 formed shared memories of experiences, a collective sense of belonging, and a group mentality that is a sociological dimension of place.

In my classroom, the sociological dimension of place is defined by jobs students take on (attendance monitors, window monitors, energy monitors, paper passer-outers, erasers, praisers, and SNB monitors) to help our class run smoothly, to the point where when there is a substitute teacher, the students can almost do everything themselves.  The eraser job is new this year, suggested by students to help speed up transition time during class.  Input from students is solicited on nearly a daily basis and each class period may have a different sequence of instruction if it fits their collective learning style better or students may elect to continue to focus on a particular topic in more detail and then do the unfinished topics for homework.

I am lucky that my school is almost by definition one that welcomes experimentation in the classroom, not only in terms of students conducting experiments in their science classes to help them form knowledge (all science classes are inquiry-based), but in our teaching pedagogies.  Ideologically, a laboratory school is a working "laboratory" where experimentation and innovation is supported.  Teachers are given the opportunity to submit proposals for "research projects" which are reviewed by the administration and the entire faculty and approved or disapproved for the following school year.  Regular updates on the research and its outcomes are presented at faculty meetings which often inspire other faculty members or departments to propose research projects of their own.  This ideological dimension of place can also sometimes overlap with political and ecological dimensions of place.  ULS's physical space is actually not its own.  We pay a fee to use University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) classrooms, MPB, outdoor spaces, as well as historic buildings (Castle Memorial Hall) so we are not at liberty to do whatever we please at any given time.  Recent installations of water dispensing stations and ceiling fans in the cafeteria/MPB had to approved by UHM first and then paid for by us.  Future plans for renovation of UHS 3 will likely take many years to come to fruition, so we celebrate small achievements and gains.

Another example of the ideological, political, and ecological dimensions of ULS' place is our garden project.  Our $750 grant from Chevron is an alternative source of funding that will help ULS steer funds toward other student-directed projects and programs but is limited by the permissions we have from UHM in terms of what trees and plants we can remove or even trim in the garden courtyard.  In addition, stakeholders such as alumni have ideas about what their vision for the garden is based on what it was used for during their time at ULS (student assemblies) which are in opposition to my memories of Aunty and Uncle's lush garden of native plants.  Our intentions to improve the space and make it a learning space for not just Hawaiian studies, Hula, and Science but for the whole school have met challenges that we must first work to understand (those senses of place) and then work with rather than against to make our collective vision come true.  Collaboration will be necessary but needs a foundation of understanding of place from many different dimensions and perspectives so our first step will be to collect information through a questionnaire on what different stakeholders envision, and then to sit down and discuss our hopes to create a plan together.

Portrait of ULS

The University Laboratory School (ULS) is often confusing to people, as evidenced by the questions I am asked and comments I hear, "It's private, isn't it?  You have to be smart to go there.  How much is tuition?," and I welcome the opportunity to share about the place that I have called "home" for over 30 years, since I first stepped onto the campus at University Avenue and Dole Street on my first day of Kindergarten in August 1983.

Here is the portrait of ULS as presented on our school website, universitylaboratoryschool.org.  This photo shows the main building in which classes for grades 6-12 are held, although we have classroom space in historic Castle Memorial Hall and in the portable classrooms also used by the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa College of Education.  Our school's history has been intertwined with that of UH for many years, as we were once part of the Curriculum Research and Development Group with instructors who were employed by UH who wrote and tested curriculum while teaching students in the classroom.  Today we are a public Charter School and our teachers are highly qualified, licensed by HSTB, and pay dues to HSTA like all DOE teachers.  Now that those technical details are cleared up, let me share my school, ULS.



Below is our entire student body (grades K-12) and faculty after the first assembly of the year in 2014.  With such a small school community, it is not uncommon for students to have friends in grades six years above or below their own.  Interaction between high schoolers and elementary and all grades in between is encouraged through "Share a snack" days where students spend a time getting to know their "buddies" from grade levels as many as 12 apart from their own (Kindergarteners and Seniors) over their favorite snacks from home.

It may be a bit difficult to see, but ULS has a very diverse student population, which is "selected by lottery to create a student body evenly distributed by gender that reflects the ethnic distribution of Hawai‘i, and includes a broad range of student academic achievement and family socioeconomic levels."  The approximately 450 students from grades K-12 include (but are not limited to) the following ethnicities:

Much of an individual's culture is rooted in their ethnicity as well as where they are raised and by whom.  Last year one of the major projects my 7th graders did in Science was a "Family Food Tree" to investigate how the foods they eat at home might be connected somehow to their ethnic backgrounds and culture.  When we began our discussions of foods we eat, many students brought up their favorite foods, chips, drinks, and other snacks, which were common and recognized by most of their classmates.  During our studies of biomolecules (carbohydrates, fats/lipids, protein, etc.) to determine where most of the kilocalories (Calories) we eat and therefore our energy source comes from, students began to bring up more culturally-specific foods like pancit, gyoza, jackfruit, and goulash which provided opportunities for sharing and learning about each other.  Students for the most part at ULS are intrigued by the many cultures of their classmates and want to learn more and their classmates are usually willing and happy to share.

As a school, due to our small student population, entering Kindergarten classes of 10 students which increases to a high school graduating class size of 56 in 6th grade, most students have friends in multiple grades from being in mixed grade level classes in elementary, to music, art, extracurricular teams in middle school, sports, and electives in high school.  This feeling of "ohana" is extended to the faculty and administration as we all want to provide the best learning opportunities for our students.  Many teachers set up "early bird," "lunch crunch," or after school times for students to get extra help or to participate in activities such as Middle School Speech team, Pacific and Asian Affairs Council, Science Olympiad, Math Counts, Photography and Film, Select Choir, Robotics, and Kimono Culture.  Our students already take eight classes every day but many participate in sports after school on ULS teams after school finishes at 3:15 p.m.  They spend a lot of time with their peers and this adds to the feeling of family.

In my classroom, I try to extend the feeling of belonging in a group (in this case their grade level) to create an environment where students take ownership of their learning and work cooperatively and collaboratively during labs and other activities.  Students have classroom jobs such as Paper-passer outers, Window monitors, Attendance monitors, Energy monitors, Praisers, and SNB monitors and work in groups for nearly all labs which are inquiry-based, requiring communication, creativity, and problem-solving skills.  I am currently working with the other 7th and 9th grade teachers to collaborate on lessons that tie-in content between our classes, building upon the Omnivore's Dilemma project from the last four years with English to include more sense of place and culture with identity.  In 9th grade Modern Hawaiian History this year, we will tie-in Hokule'a's current Worldwide Voyage with the Hawaiian renaissance movement.

Edit:
While ULS is located in lower Manoa Valley, geographically, ULS students come from as close as just a five to ten minute walk down the road to as far away as Makaha, Kahuku, Waimanalo, and Kalama Valley.  This is another part of the student body population that is determined during admissions, we seek to serve and represent students from every neighborhood on Oahu.  In some ways this may adversely affect our students' connection to the community of the physical location of our campus, I feel that it deepens our understanding of our island community overall because our students (much like other private and Charter school students) come from many different neighborhoods.  Going to friends' houses (especially finding them when all I had was a Street Map of O'ahu, no GPS in those days) was always an interesting experience and I am sure that my students are exposed to similar experiences today, seeing other neighborhoods and their friends' connections to place, such as crabbing at night on Kailua beach, Morman church on Sundays, swimming in Nu'uanu Stream, getting in over your head (literally) at unfamiliar shore breaks, and boogie boarding at Walls.

As we look towards our STEMS^2 units, I feel that this lack of connection to our school's place can and should be addressed by making sure that our students know about the community that their school's place is in and identifying issues that affect our community that we can propose solutions to.  The Be Ready Manoa Fair that we participated in last year is a great example of how ULS can be more involved in its community.  We presented an activity that was supposed to help the public be more aware of what they should do in order to be prepared for natural disasters such as Hurricanes, Tsunami, and Storms.  Many students attended, but not as many as I think would have had this been in their local community, so it is difficult to have a sense of ownership and belonging in a place that you do not spend much time outdoors in, where you do not know your "neighbors."

As for cultural layers, after our discussion of ahupua'a when we were on the Big Island and how to find out which ahupua'a our schools are in, I started looking for information on Manoa and remembered receiving a booklet about the ahupua'a of Manoa a couple years ago that I have not really looked at.  I did want to incorporate information on ahupua'a with my 7th graders this year so I will try to do so with an emphasis on how changes from the traditional system to our current system have affected our connection to the land.  Looking back at historical photos of the area our school is in will hopefully help the 7th graders to think more about their personal connections to 'aina as well as to Manoa and their own places.

STEMS^2

8/31/2015

Today was a great reminder of how STEMS^2 will enhance my teaching and classes this school year. The first email in my inbox was a congratulations from Chevron Grants for Education informing me that my joint grant proposal with our 7th grade Mathematics teacher who also runs ULS Moonshot Academy, our 10th/11th English teacher who also teaches the Hula, and our Hawaiian Language teacher who also teaches Hawaiian Studies, “is one of 27 grants that has been fully or partially-funded”. Our project is a rejuvenation of our school courtyard garden, which was up for grabs at the beginning of the school year the Project Pono elective was discontinued. For all of the years I have been teaching at University Laboratory School (ULS), Project Pono students have cared for the garden and carried out projects related to sustainability and being “pono” which included beach clean-ups, service-learning, and community-outreach projects.

I have long wanted more than the small boxed in planter area that I have used for the past four years, and this year with STEMS^2 in mind, I am more motivated than ever to plant more than just black-eyed peas and corn with my students. We will also study our ahupua‘a of Manoa for the first time in order to increase our studies of biodiversity while sharing data and cultural information with students in Papua New Guinea and with a new partner school in Washington state.

Our garden plans: Hawaiian studies, Hula, and 7th grade science students will collaborate on mapping existing plants in the garden, decide what to keep and what to remove (into pots if possible to offer for home gardens), and what to put aside for compost. The elective students, 30 or so 10th through 12th graders will do the heavy lifting and digging while the 7th graders help with their (soon to be) knowledge of gardening later this semester. Moonshot Academy will continue and expand their aquaponics system, which would be a great way to test non-soil growth of native plants. By the end of the school year we hope to have plants to use for making lei for hula and graduation and other plants that can be cooked outdoors in the garden or used for other traditional Hawaiian cultural purposes. On our list are: palapaki, laua‘e, plumeria, kupukupu, mamaki, taro, and possibly maile. Any suggestions for others that would do well in the lower Manoa area?

In my other classes, this year’s 9th graders have decided to adopt a Hawaiian Monk Seal as our class mascot for the year. You can adopt your own class monk seal from the Hawaiian Monk Seal Foundation. It’s more of a foster care thing because it isn’t permanent and you are not the only adopters, but you do get a plush monk seal and a certificate! We are also following the Worldwide Voyage to track Hokule‘a’s progress through the Indian Ocean Basin and have our first field study set up to visit the NOAA Daniel K. Inouye Regional Center this month to Skype live with scientists onboard the Okeanos Explorer which is mapping the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.