August 28, 2005

Teaching teachers to do magic

A teacher can be an amazing teacher. In science workshops and seminars, I teach teachers how to do magic. I grew up in a family of professional magicians, but my 13 years in the classroom didn't involve a lot of magic other than science magic, like water floating upside down in a glass, or a ping pong ball floating on a stream of air. Teachers are aware of how important it is to teach content. Sometimes they need to stop for a moment and learn how to be a presenter of science. I teach you how to put the coin in your hand and make it disappear. It's a technique used by magicians to grab our attention. It excites us. Makes us want to know how it works. And it can be worked into the Five E's: it excites the kids, makes them want to explore, engages them in learning and experiment in the process and, finally, evaluates their learning. And it can be as simple as a little experiment with the vanishing coin. Listen to my podcast to hear how teachers can do magic in the classroom (File size is 0.8 MB) (Show length 3 minutes 20 seconds)

August 22, 2005

How to be an amazing teacher by taking the lid off the box

How to be amazing teacher? Try this! Get organized. The hardest thing is to take all the ideas we learn at conferences, workshops and seminars and put them to use. Don't put science demonstrations in a closed box - because they will stay there. Throw the lid away, so you constantly have to look at those materials. If they are staring you in the face, you are more likely to build them into your curriculum. Once you get organized, you start using your resources better. And you will be a more effective science teacher with those tools right at your fingertips. Listen to my podcast on how to be an amazing teacher by taking the lid off the box (File size is 1.1 MB) (Show length 4 minutes 4 seconds)

August 7, 2005

Teachers need learning too - say yes to staff development

I think the #1 thing an elementary teacher can do today to be a better teacher is to go to as many professional staff development opportunities as possible. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference is one of the best to prepare you to teach science. Imagine thousands of teachers in one place, all focused on one area -to help children think like a scientist. It all boils down to this. How do we prepare kids for the real world and help them to think critically, and to help make decisions that make the world a better place. Beg, plead, borrow... whatever you need to do to go to one of those conferences. You'll be hooked. You will realize how important it is to be at the cutting edge of science education. If you don't know anything about the NSTA, go to www.nsta.org for more information. Listen to my podcast on professional development for teachers (File size is 1.4 MB) (Show length 2 minutes 54 seconds)