I Am Learning--Intro

This blog is about my learning experience at Arizona State University this summer as a Math & Science CRESMET Fellow--and soon to evolve into my teaching experience at Casa Verde High School in Casa Grande, Arizona.

One of my goals as a teacher is to help my students learn how to think critically. I hope to guide them to a pathway to"learn how to learn" and use what knowledge they do have to make decisions (be it for their ongoing sucessful education or for a healthful and happy life). Another goal is to help my students have meaningful and hopefully enjoyable experiences in the educational process that will inspire them to become life-long learners. To achieve these goals, I have decided on strategies which are based on research and my experience as a student and educator that will help me reach my goals. Some of the strategies include increasing the following:

• Use of technology in the classroom. Since I have been a "technology idiot" and very dependent on others while using the computer or other electronics, my goal is to learn how to do something new with technology every week and continue to practice using the technology thereafter so I don't forget. This fellowship is helping me with that goal tremendously! Today we brainstormed about what kinds of computer applications that will help us in our jobs. Friday we will have 5-minute previews of these applications and decide which ones will benefit us the most as a group. We will then have mini-workshops on these applications. The great thing about being in my position is no matter which ones get voted on by the group I will definitely learn a lot!
• Use of visual aids in the classroom. I'll say more about this in a future blog.
• Use of hands-on activities. Ditto
• Use of Inquiry method. I took a PBS course last summer specifically for biology teachers to learn how to implement inquiry in the biology classroom. This course helped me a lot--of course! But I realized also that my teaching style typically is already oriented toward inquiry. My students confirm this regularly with questions like, "Why do you ask us so many questions?" and "Aren't we the ones that are supposed to ask you the questions?" I find that my students get frustrated (as evidenced by comments like "This makes my brain hurt.") So I want to find ways to help them be more comfortable with trying to help them be thinkers and not just cut & paste learners. Any suggestions?
• Helping them understand the value and real-life applications of what they are learning. More about this later too....

Tomorrow I will blog about my lab experience which is super-exciting! I would have been happy to be on any of the research projects involved with our fellowship, but I was hoping for something "body related" as my biggest interests are in biochemistry or physiology. Lucky me--and Anna Hicks from Casa Grande Union High School are with Prof. Giovanna Ghirlanda’s group using de novo protein design to obtain novel functional proteins in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Laboratory for Studies of Protein Design. Her assistant Melissa has already taught us how to use a lot of lab equipment in just two mornings! I was so excited about being in a real laboratory after more than 20 years I went back after our afternoon class to help her mix up more STBDL (solutions to be disclosed later) for research that will hopefully lead to prevention of HIV infection!! Very exciting stuff!

For now I have successfully learned how to blog! Thank you Dr. RobertCulbertson and Dr. Janet Bond-Robinson!