Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship - 1st Month

I am one month into my 11-month fellowship. I cannot believe how much has happened in the short time, and yet, I cannot believe that there is only 10 months left. Currently, the program is accepting applications through November 15, 2018 (https://science.energy.gov/wdts/einstein/).  I realize I do not have much time in the fellowship, but I can already say that it is a transformational experience full of amazing opportunities. Below are pictures from the past month that started off with a road trip from Idaho to Washington, D.C.  There are numerous pictures and I did that in part to emphasize how many opportunities there are during the @AEF_Program. Believe it or not, I haven't even done as much as some Fellows. #amazing #PD #STEM #valued

  

 

  

    

   

  
    
   
  
    
    
  
            
    
 

  

  

 

    
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  

i-STEM

i-STEM Summer Institutes started back in 2010 I believe. At least that was the first year my colleagues and I attended. Since that first amazing trip to North Idaho College with my grade level colleagues, I have participated in i-STEM Summer Institute as a participant or a strand provider, except for 2016 when  was finishing my dissertation. i-STEM Summer Institute is a week-long professional development that trains you on the particular materials for the strand you register for and provides you with $200 worth of those materials to take back to your classroom. So, just to recap, not only do you learn how to use the materials in your classroom, you also get to take those materials back with you.

This summer, the Idaho STEM Action Center took over the institutes and continued on the tradition of teaching educators how to use materials in their classroom and the materials.  The Idaho STEM Action Center opened up the opportunity to formal and informal educators and allowed educators from outside the state to participate. 

https://stem.idaho.gov/istem/

Below are pictures from the various years attending i-STEM at both North Idaho College and College of Western Idaho.

 

Ins and Outs of Elementary Engineering

I'm working on getting a little more organized for substitutes and such. I have started a document that gives general guidelines for different materials in the lab and classroom management techniques. My classroom setup is that of a specialist. I see 22 classes each week, 1st - 5th grades for one hour and kindergarten for a half an hour. There are four classes each of kindergarten through 3rd grade with a maximum of 24 students in each class. There are three classes each of 4th and 5th grades with a maximum of 32 students in each class. At each grade level there are approximately 96 students. This poses challenges for project storage and managing materials that are shared at a grade level and between grade levels.  Below is the link to the live document as I create it. Feel free to take a look and also check back for updates and improvements.

Elementary Engineering Notes