Within the 14th episode of The Schoolyard Podcast, host Nancy Chung sits down with Dr. Erica Colón, founding father of Champions for Science and @NittyGrittyScience, to debate the advantages of incorporating real-life occasions into instructing. Dr. Colón and Nancy share sensible suggestions and tips for leveraging these occasions to interact college students and foster essential pondering.

The Energy of Actual-Life Occasions

By connecting classroom studying to present occasions, academics can create a dynamic and interesting studying atmosphere. College students profit from a deeper understanding of the themes and develop a curiosity that extends past the classroom.

One instance Dr. Colón shares is the upcoming photo voltaic eclipse. She encourages academics to reap the benefits of this uncommon occasion to interact college students in hands-on studying. By offering college students with photo voltaic glasses and exploring assets reminiscent of these discovered via NASA, academics can create a memorable expertise that sparks curiosity and fosters a love for science.

Overcoming Challenges

Dr. Colón acknowledges that some academics could also be cautious of hands-on studying on account of issues about planning however encourages academics to begin small. By incorporating easy experiments and actions, academics can create significant studying experiences with out overwhelming themselves or their college students.

She additionally emphasizes the significance of making an attempt new experiments and actions, even when they don’t go as deliberate. By modeling resilience and problem-solving, academics can train college students invaluable life expertise and create a secure house for exploration and studying.

Citizen Science and Expertise

Dr. Colón recommends utilizing citizen science apps that enable college students to gather real-world knowledge to be used by scientists. By taking part in these initiatives, college students not solely interact in genuine scientific analysis but in addition develop a way of possession and contribution to the scientific neighborhood.

Moreover, Dr. Colón encourages the usage of expertise to offer college students with immersive and interactive studying alternatives, whereas additionally emphasizing the significance of balancing expertise with hands-on experiences to make sure a well-rounded schooling.

Unforgettable Classes

Dr. Colón shares a private anecdote a couple of area journey to Costa Rica that reworked her perspective. Whereas the plan was an thrilling journey to see volcanoes and rainforests, it was the easy expertise of seeing squirrels for the primary time that left an enduring impression on her college students. This highlights the ability of real-life occasions, even the seemingly mundane ones, in creating unforgettable studying moments.

These real-life occasions are game-changers for each academics and college students. They create participating and related studying experiences that foster essential pondering and curiosity. Dr. Erica Colón’s insights and sensible suggestions present invaluable steering for educators trying to make studying come alive of their school rooms.

About Dr. Erica Colón

Dr. Erica Colón is a Nationwide Board Licensed Instructor with over twelve years of instructing expertise in sixth via twelfth grade secondary science, together with Bodily Science, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Marine Science. In 2008, Erica earned her Grasp’s in Academic Administration however shortly realized her ardour was working with science academics. Erica returned to earn her Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in 2011. By means of one in every of life’s surprising turns, she based Nitty Gritty Science, LLC, and has reached tens of hundreds of science academics throughout the globe!

In 2020, a world pandemic modified the course of historical past, shortly altering our day by day lives in all facets, and within the scope of schooling, it modified how academics taught and college students discovered. All over the place, educators confronted pandemic-driven distant studying that they needed to navigate on their very own virtually in a single day. On the lookout for methods to assist science academics, Dr. Colón gathered science educators, communicators, and area scientists to be taught from each other, share concepts, and assist one another persevere via the struggles of added workloads. In doing so, she introduced collectively a group of champions! Champions For Science continues as an educator’s convention sequence the place extraordinary leaders, creators, and innovators in science schooling come collectively to concentrate on an important matter—our college students—the longer term CHAMPIONS FOR SCIENCE!