Free to Exceed

1. Free to Exceed An Old Idea Made New By Mary Gregory St. Lucie County School District

2. Sh-h-h-h-h-h

3. CHF (Cold Hard Fact) #1 • Student science experiences are directly proportional to the comfort level of teachers. • Many students never do a classroom based experiment.

4. CHF #2 • National Board Certified Teachers are seeking mentoring hours.

5. CHF #4 • Middle School considerations: • - students and parents “burned out” • -”researchers” have less than safe habits • - students with minimal parent support are frustrated

6. CHF #4 • Money Is a Problem • - NBCT’s are Free • - Free to Exceed materials are low cost • - Food services will help us • - Grants ???

7. CHF #5 • Support and board approval is needed • - 4 labs per year will become a requirement…in place by Jan. 05 • Elementary Expo will be on a moratorium for 3 years • Grant writing efforts will be supported

8. Galileo said that all objects fall at a uniform rate of 9.8 meters/second/second.

9. Galileo said that (in a vacuum) all objects fall at a uniform rate of 9.8 meters/second/second.

10. MG Eighteen Experts All K-5 Teachers All K-5 Students The Pyramid Plan for Free to Exceed

11. How the Free to Exceed pyramid plan works: Green • Your Curriculum Specialist for Science (Mary Gregory) facilitates efforts of eighteen (or more) National Board Certified Teachers. Blue • The NBCT’s meet as a “vertical” team of “18 Experts” to insure maximum and appropriate coverage of Sunshine State Standards for all grades K-5. • They also meet horizontally as grade level teams of 3 to select the best four activities to cover their grade’s needs. They will continue to meet both vertically and horizontally throughout the year.

12. How the Free to Exceed pyramid plan works: Orange • Each “Expert” becomes a life line to 25 or 30 K-5 teachers in a common grade to describe and assist with the four selected activities throughout the year. Teachers and NBCT “Experts” are matched based on proximity and convenience rather than zone. As a mentor-mentee relationship for these 4 activities is established…mentors help teachers exceed if they wish and can communicate these new extensions back to their other grade level NBCT horizontal partners. Yellow • The classroom teachers in every grade bring the 4 activities to all K-5 students.

13. At Each Board Microphone! Ongoing Scientific Experiment Do NOT Open

14. Quotable Quotes Students’ comprehension of text improves when they have had hands-on experiences with a science concept. Motivating and engaging students to speak, ask questions, learn new vocabulary, and write down their thoughts comes easily when they are curious, exploring and engaged in science inquiry. Asking students to record data and conclusions in a science journal or to articulate and defend their views about science-related issues provides excellent opportunities for students to clarify their thinking and develop communications skills. Kreuger, A., & Sutton, J. (2001): Edthoughts: What We Know About Science Teaching and Learning. Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, p. 52-53

15. Goals Every K-5 student will actively participate in four designated “hands-on, minds-on” science activities each year. Every K-5 teacher will actively facilitate four designated “hands-on, minds-on” science activities each year. All are Free to Exceed.

16. Timeline Timeline (summer) ambitious! • 6/8/04 8-10 am Overview • 10-12 am Organize teams • 1-2 pm Organize Eighteen Expert toolboxes • 2-3 pm Make shopping lists • 6/9/04 AM Nick Z. and NASA suggestions • Create a map of activities, using National Standards as a guide • PM Discuss troubleshooting • Complete shopping list • Design common rubric • Design common format

17. Timeline (summer) • August, 2004 Horizontal team meetings as desired • Four activities selected /grade • Materials lists completed and sent to • schools • *Aug. 14 Saturday meeting • September, 2004 Rubrics completed • Questions completed • Teacher binders ready to go • *Sept. 11 Saturday meeting to • practice and learn from each other

18. It Could Have Worked… • October, 2004 All kits ready to go • **Oct. 2 Saturday meeting to complete kits • November, 2004 Teacher training all month (especially 11/12) informal and flexible • All kits distributed to all schools • *Nov. 6 Saturday meeting to go over training • December, 2004 Present progress report to School Board • Two activities are ready to go • All teachers ready for two activities

19. More to consider for Free to Exceed Common Format We chose KWL..W..LW..LW Common method of distribution We chose good old worksheet style

20. Evaluation • Common rubric • First some questions: • What do I want the student to be able to do? • What do I want the student to know? • How can I tell when the outcome was achieved? • Common journal (or logbook) One book to follow student from K through 5. • In every journal: • One new question I have is… • The big thing I have learned is…. • One new thing I can do is… • I want to remember…

21. Following the Rubric for AssessmentFree To Exceed Design WorkshopSummer 2004

22. Behind the scenes • Whole group meetings • Free to Exceed vertical teams • NTLB (No Teacher Left Behind) grade teams • One on one mentoring/coaching/ modeling • Toolboxes • For Experts (Lifelines) • For Teachers

23. 4 Clusters of Science SSS Physical/Chemical Life/Environmental Earth/Space Scientific Thinking

24. Including all SSS Free to Exceed Design Workshop Summer 2004

25. Criteria for Selecting Free to Exceed Activities • It is student hands-on. • It fits our Free to Exceed framework. • The materials needed are very low cost. • It will generate student questions. • It connects !

26. National Board Teachers making Some Tough Choices

27. Free to Exceed Frameworks Summary

28. Reviewing Criteria for Selecting Free to Exceed Activities

29. The 24 “Square Worthy” Activities

30. Th3 24 squares (cont.)

31. Consultants from Our Scientific Community Providing Input

32. What’s Next? • Field Trips • Our research community is waiting • It is just a matter of time