Research Report 2019-2020 crescentschool.org/ccbe @CSBoysResearch
CCBE
The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education
Discovering How Boys Learn Best
CCBE
OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY The 2019-2020 school year saw the launch of a Research PLC. One opportunity had members write a brief reflection on a reading that changed their practice. This is one approach in a research culture that keeps us growing as learners.
Greg Ryerson reflects on Ambitious Science Teaching by Mark Windschitl, Jessica Thompson, and Melissa Braaten
This book was recommended during a webinar I attended on how to capture and visualize student thinking, particularly through the use and development of models. I then completed a National Geographic Education course on teaching global climate change, and 2 chapters from this book were included in the required readings. Embracing the Next Generation Science Standards and 21st Century learning skills, the book provides examples and strategies for how to incorporate these ideas into our classrooms. Teaching through the use of a model allows for students to demonstrate the growth of their understanding of a topic by
https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/
CCBE
The Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education
Discovering How Boys Learn Best
giving life to their initial ideas and then adjusting and developing those as they learn more. They are encouraged to explain their thinking, argue their ideas, and then recreate their model as their understanding grows. This process emulates the scientific method in the classroom. In my teaching I like to incorporate ideas that allow for design thinking and experiential learning, and that provide structure for my students to generate their own ideas. I am planning to incorporate the use of these modelling techniques into my future teaching in order to better help the boys demonstrate their scientific literacy and engage in the scientific method. By doing so I hope that they will gain a better understanding of that process and be better able to formulate their own robust and qualified ideas.
Natalie Vera reflects on Student Agency in the Classroom I joined Twitter in 2015. My intention was not to tweet but to use Twitter as my playground for educational resources. Don’t get me wrong, I will occasionally tweet all the great things that we do here at Crescent, but my main use for Twitter is professional development. Over the years, I have followed likeminded educators and educational technology companies. I have figured out the fine art of trolling Twitter for useful resources for me and to share with my colleagues. I came across an educator, Catlin Tucker, who shared many of my own values around education. I soon
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