Feeling Lucky and Valued!

I feel so lucky to be with the Library of Congress for my Einstein Fellowship, and yet I know it's not luck I can't explain how much I enjoy my colleagues and the work the Learning and Innovation office does to connect primary sources with content areas. I felt right at home with my colleagues at the interview during the Semi-Finalist weekend back in March.  The team has done nothing but confirmed my initial impressions of them. I love my agency!

I had an experience yesterday every educator should have at least once. During our Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Consortium meeting (http://www.loc.gov/teachers/tps/consortium/), I was asked to introduce myself. I felt as if I did a good job of introducing myself and my collaborative role as an Einstein Fellow. If you do not know, my collaboration with the Learning and Innovation center focuses around connecting primary sources within the library with STEM instruction and maker experiences, as well as, as host of various STEM related outreach opportunities.
 
I highlighted the STEM emphasis to those working on connecting primary sources and STEM because there are some amazing resources out there. During the network session, I had TPS partners wanting to visit with me, share their work, and solicit my input. I felt like a STEM rockstar!

Every teacher needs to have this feeling at least once. Imagine if districts and administrations listened as intently as the TPS partners were listening to me!


I was clear that I did not have all the answers and the ideas I was sharing with them were just brainstorming ideas. Nevertheless, I felt I was able to contribute other suggestions that they maybe had not considered. I would love every educator to feel as valued and lucky as I felt yesterday.

Energize Your Passion With New Experiences

Typically in my posts, I love to share out opportunities and resources for educators.  Having fellow educators do the same for me has led to some amazing and transformational experiences.

Maven Elementary Teachers' Summit

I want to continue sharing about engaging and inspiring STEM opportunities for educators to keep the learning and passion going in the classroom. I hope to promote a great experiences for educators and students.

NASA Microgravity University for Educators

My end goal for my career in education is to provide STEM opportunities for all students by inspiring educators. Many of the opportunities I have participated in have involved applications or proposals. These can be daunting but well worth the effort.

Makerspace

Other experiences are ones I have created myself for students and educators.  I was smart enough to join the school librarian on the makerspace she started for our school. She was inspired after attend an NCCE conference.

USPTO National Summer Teacher Institute

Other opportunities have required flexibility with last minute chances to participate.














Many of the conferences, whether presenting or attending, required grant writing. After you use the funds you also have then complete the grant reports.

Space Exploration Educators Conference

SEEC Crew

There aren't any experiences that I felt were not worth the work I had to invest. Participant or provider, I have grown so much from the opportunities I have had the pleasure of being a part of.

Einstein Fellow Interview Weekend

i-STEM Summer Institutes as a participant

What is your passion that needs some energizing? Is there something new you would like to bring into your classroom? Perhaps there's a training, in-person or online, that could help with that.










I didn't start as an Einstein Fellow in D.C. I started as a first year teacher who wanted to know more and bring more into my classroom. Getting to this point was a journey. Do what works for you but do it.

i-STEM Summer Institutes as a strand provider

Look for the opportunities from this post and more in the professional development section on the main page of the blog.

STEM Connections - Idaho Science and Math Conference

During the first weekend in October, I went back to Idaho for the Idaho Science and Math Conference - STEM Connections. The conference provides an opportunity for Idaho educators to network, collaborate, and learn about skills, strategies, and resources for use in the classroom. The Idaho STEM Action Center was ever present as an exhibitor but also presenting on their work, soliciting input from educators, and sharing about opportunities offered for receiving and teaching professional development. The keynote speakers for both days were fantastic! Dr. Josh Smith shared about the power of phenomena and how we can facilitate instruction through the natural process of observation. Dr. Michelle Carney and Dr. Joe Champion shared ways to look for meaning in student data to guide instruction. We examined samples of student work, looked at creating spreadsheets that could help identify areas of need, including issues with questions, and learned about the usefulness of ISAT Interim Assessment Blocks (IAB) for determining concepts mastered and needing more instruction.

Sessions included numerous opportunities for bringing engaging math and science experiences for students. Digital tools, students challenges, and more were available for engaging students in STEM content areas. PBS Learning Media (https://idahoptv.pbslearningmedia.org/) amazed me with the fantastic digital resources available at no cost through their program.  All content areas are covered, including engineering, and all grade levels.  As an Einstein Fellow at the Library of Congress, I was excited to hear they used primary sources from the Library of Congress. I also like learning about the Army Educational Outreach Program (https://www.usaeop.com/).  They offer lessons and opportunities for students and educators. Idaho needs more teams participating in the 6th-9th grade ecybermission (https://www.usaeop.com/program/ecybermission/).  Check it out!

Things are changing for next year. The combined conference will be held in August rather than over Idaho's October days.  The conference will be held in northern Idaho giving all of us in the southwest or eastern parts of Idaho a chance to experience some cooler temperatures before September. I plan to attend and hope to see you there!

Opportunities Abound - Washington, D.C. is My Classroom

One month in to my Einstein Fellowship, I am still in awe of the opportunities that abound within the program and the Washington, D.C. area. Since traveling to the Capitol for my fellowship in August, not only have I seen "the sights" and explored various neighborhoods, I have attended briefings, lectures, symposium, Library of Congress events, and traveled to Idaho for a conference. Our cohort of fellows are placed at the National Science Foundation, NASA, Department of Energy - Office of Science, Congress, and Library of Congress.

As we each learn about new opportunities, we share them out. There are learning opportunities taking place on a daily basis, not to mention time to get together to enjoy social outings. As one fellow put it, "Sometimes this buffet puts everything out at once bu won't let you take two or three things." If you can't find something to do to grow, it's because you're not looking.  Now, a month in, I find that I am able to start making connections between what I may have heard in a symposium or lecture with a briefing on technology integration into K-12 classrooms and what I am collaborating on at the Library of Congress. Creating connections between content and transferring that learning to new situations is what we want our students to do in the classroom.  Looks like Washington, D.C. is my classroom for growing, learning, and transferring that knowledge to new projects to benefit elementary STEM education!

    

Year-Long Personal Professional Development Plan

If you view the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program (https://science.energy.gov/wdts/einstein/), you find the following program overview, "The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) Program provides a unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to serve in the national education arena. Fellows spend eleven months working in Federal agencies or in U.S. Congressional offices, applying their extensive knowledge and classroom experiences to national education program and/or education policy efforts." While this is an accurate representation of the fellowship, it doesn't delve into the amazing opportunity for educators to experience in-depth, year-long, personal. professional development. What exactly do all those adjectives really mean? They indicate an amazing opportunity for individualized professional growth.

As part of the Einstein Fellowship, educators attend a week-long orientation at the beginning of the fellowship. As the name indicates, the orientation helps to introduce fellows to the ethics and forms that are part of the program. We also experienced personal assessment of our strengths and how to develop our strengths, as well as, how to work together as a cohort. This was the first steps in the year-long process. 

Throughout the year, fellows attend monthly day-long professional development opportunities organized by the AEF Program. These days include fantastic experiences with the Smithsonian and Library of Congress to name just a couple. We also prepare a monthly half-day professional development for our cohort. Now this may already sound like something you might be interested in and too wonderful to be true, but that's not all. Each fellow creates their own professional development plan for their time in the fellowship. Have you ever thought about gaps you might have in your professional skills? Have you ever thought about what you are really passionate about in education? Thinking about these things takes time which is a rare commodity for educators. In the month that I have been with the AEF Program, I have had the time to improve my professional skills with colleagues and consider the possibilities of my educational passions and the outcomes I would like to see for all students. I now understand that even though I am collaborating with a sponsoring agency such as the Library of Congress to achieve their goals, I also have the opportunity to identify and achieve mine. I have already experienced so much transformation in some ways that I have difficulty imagining what the next 10 months will bring. I have identified my goals for the fellowship, and I have the time and resources to start achieving them. Hands-on elementary STEM education, formal and informal, should be available to all students.  I plan to examine, identify, and create elementary STEM resources and ways to provide equity in access. Can't wait!

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