Blended Learning

In the last two years, I've had some ideas about "microlearning" and "personalized learning" as well as aligning all content to "global objectives" and I'm using the technology at hand to move in the direction of implementation. But the road is rough and fraught with danger!

Based on my experience of attempting a flipped classroom last semester, this semester I'm going back towards an interactive lecture model with some new features. I had been using Poll Everywhere to assess student knowledge and then deliver minilessons according to whether it was needed or not. As I understand it, this is referred to as "Just in time teaching" or JITT. 

To deliver the content (assigned reading, interactive tools) to the palm of student's hands, I have set up the "Remind" app. The day's content and related materials are deposited into "Wakelet" and then the link to that wake is pushed out via text message and email using Remind. There are some flashcards on "Quizlet" and I hope to stream & record lectures on "Zoom."

I had the great fortune of attending the seminar of Dr. Fiorella Terenzi, FIU professor of physics and astronomy, who converted her GE science course into a performance called "Let's Get Astrophysical!" She converted light from stars into sound. Then she programmed a keyboard with all the space sounds. Her students spend the semester doing the costumes, set design and choreography for this show. That's how she gets her students active. She's on sabbatical this semester here in California and teaching the course at CSU Channel Islands. They're doing a performance the first weekend of May and you can bet I will be there.

Speaking of performances, I was reading the Drag Race board on Reddit and someone posted a link to this video. I found it particularly refreshing. Dr. Terenzi spoke about how she blended music, art and fashion with biology, chemistry, geology and astrophysics. She described how during her graduate work she took great pains to look as plain as possible. Now, late in her career, she can finally let her hair down and have the confidence to be herself. She acknowledged that she serves as a  powerful role model for the women in her physics class. She said, "they look at me - I set them free." Now she doesn't have to stress to "fit in."

Brave warriors!

Intelligent, intuitive, nurturing

Tenacious, persisting

Creative, juggling schedules

Honest, ready to elevate self and others through collaboration and reflection.

Of the most interesting nuggets of wisdom Dr. Terenzi shared with us were that she got to where she is now by consistent, slow progress over the course of 18 years. She has worked her way up to an administrator at the college level, so that helps her make changes. Also she is motivated by the fact that "If you don't engage [students] they'll leave, sleep or drop the class."

I asked her if she had anything to share about installations in museums. She advised for kindergarten age, keep it simple and beautiful. Her work was a piano like in the movie "Big" where if a kid jumped on a square it would make the sound and display an image of a pulsar for example.

For high school age, she emphasized that it is essential to help people find a "home" in science. The performance art she creates is intersectional so that a science major with artistic aspirations can feel a sense of belonging. They engage in merchandising, marketing, styling. It's instagrammable artistic expression of science. She is "promoting a collaborative mind." The stars have their own unique voice and language, so it is an activity that promotes inclusion. She tells her students, "Your Ideas Matter. Every Idea is Important. If we don't have ideas - as a society - where do we go?"