Week 2 #NASAMgUE

For week 2 of NASA Microgravity University for Educators, we were working with a little more information.  We had had our first teacher's meeting with MgUE on Tuesday evening.  The meeting provided additional information into the requirements for the projects and NASA resources to assist in the completion of the project.

Our team, teachers and students, met today.  In fact, we have established our regular meeting time for Friday mornings.  During our team meetings, the 110 students are divided into groups.  Groups have a combination of students from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes.  Two groups are assigned to each job for the project.  Each of the four classroom teachers has six different groups in their rooms, a total of three different jobs.  As the elementary engineering teacher, I have prep and am able to circulate between the four classrooms and assist as needed.  Only a few of the jobs have work to do this early.  Below is an outline of the jobs we have established.

Mrs. Kwid
Building: Groups 10 and 2
Materials Management: Groups 19 and 20
Simulator Development: Groups 15 and 16

Ms. Nazario
Quality Assurance and Safety: Groups 4 and 5
Data Collection and Analysis: Groups 13 and 14
Time Management: Groups 17 and 18

Mrs. Gunn
Documentation: Groups 8 and 9
Final Report: Groups 21 and 22
Public Relations:  Groups 23 and 24

Mrs. Bivens
Planning for Houston: Groups 11 and 12
Launch: Groups 6 and 7
Scientific Research: Groups 1 and 3

This week when the team met, each teacher showed two videos.  One video was about becoming a NASA astronaut and the other discussed the different jobs in a successful space exploration mission.  Following the movies students were engaged with the NASA Launch a Rocket from a Spinning Planet activity.  The activity calls for a merry-go-round, but we modified the activity by using spinning chairs, wads of recycled paper, and a container:

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/launch-windows/en/

Students in the documentation group went between the four different classrooms taking pictures and writing notes about what was going on.  Teachers and students reported it went well.

2016 Global MindED Conference

After receiving a scholarship for registration and a grant from the Micron Foundation to fund the travel, I attended the Global MindED Conference for the first time.  This conference was unique in that attendees included high school students, K-12 educators, higher education, and businesses.  Topic tracks included K-12, STEM, Health, Higher Education, Global Work Skills, Students, Technology, and Policy.

During the two day conference, I had big picture and classroom level takeaways.

Big Picture:

• There is no STEM pipeline, but rather individual STEM castles with moats around each.
• Education should help bring out students' innate strengths.
• Today's students are more risk averse.
• Host a school-wide Innovation Week.
• Use 6 Good Life Habitats for the school's character traits.
• No one is exempt from having a brilliant mind.
• Grit/gumption - resilience, perseverance, determination, resourcefulness
• Grow other students and teachers.
• How do you define educational excellence?
• Capacities to be independent
• Value the diversity of students
• Different talents (human potential)
• Different motivations (where does the passion come from)
• Different opportunities
• Do you provide different opportunities, spend time nurturing, teach or coach?
• We need the different passions in our communities.
• Find a way to help students see themselves in STEM careers and doing it.

Classroom Level:

• Consider long-term projects across grade levels.
• Kerbal Space Program and Learning Blade are good ways to integrate gaming and learning.
• Capacities to build in students - communication, teaming, and collaboration.
• Implement dense instructional units
• standards
• technology
• problem-based learning (Buck Institute for resources)
• Assess novelty/creativity, efficiency, and accuracy of engineered solutions, not just whether or not it works.
• Have expert guest speakers as hook at the beginning of projects or as resources throughout the project (virtually or in-person).
• How do I come across to my students?
• Be a self advocate.
• Take risks as a professional.

2017 Global MindED Conference - June 22-23
Scholarship applications for educators
http://www.globalminded.org/