Those of you who have attended my Science Through and Inquiry Lens Series (and even those who haven’t)…materials including draft “4 pagers” (topic summaries with lots of teaching suggestions and links) are now posted on line. Please take a look and give me some feedback on what you think and suggestions for what to add.  Find it under the workshop tab above or a quicklink here.

Get Outside!

As spring comes, more and more of us want to get outside.  I’ve put together a list of PLANTS and ANIMALS to KNOW IN BURNABY …can you and your students find them all?  Some dedicated Burnaby teachers who are members of the Environmental Educators PSA have put together a blog about Place Based Learning.  You will find a lot of tips, tricks and ideas to getting outside.

Drop me an e-mail at Donna.Morgan@burnabyschools.ca if you want some advice, resources or a trained biologist (me) to come outside with you.

If you are looking for some science workshops on District Day, we have several workshops that still have space.

If you are a K-7 teacher interested in pursuing inquiry, David Barnum is offering a Hands-On/Minds-On science workshop in the afternoon.  Let’s Talk Science is a program out of SFU that offers field trips and support for science teaching–they will be showcasing their many curriculum related activities.

On the Gr 7-12 curriculum, GeneSkool is a program of Genome BC that offers workshops and kits for classrooms around the province.

Some of our colleagues are also putting on great workshops. Kent Lui, Burnaby South Department Head, is presenting a workshop on CER (Claim, Evidence and Reasoning) as used to guide classroom discussions and inquiry.  Burnaby Central Science Department Head Tara Cordy-Simpson is presenting about using social media to further your own professional growth.

Get engaged in these wonderful offerings.

Grade 3-4 students at Lakeview design containers to minimize heat loss by radiation.

I’ll be hosting a series of workshops in the new year focused on exploring the new curriculum from an inquiry lens.  You can sign up for one or for all 5.  The series kicks of with a look at Energy–and we will see how the curriculum builds from Kindergarten to Gr 7, and how you can use simple hands on experiences to get your students engaged in science and learning the curricular competencies. Here is a poster for more information Science After School Sessions Spring 2018.  Sign up on the staff development calendar.

Argument Driven Inquiry

Do you want to increase the ability of your students to read, write and discuss scientific ideas and processes? Consider using some of these Argument Driven Inquiry resources.  This is an excellent way to get more critical thinking and communication out of  lab activities.  The linked resource goes through the 8 steps of ADI, and then there are specific labs to cover all disciplines of science.

If you are interested in trying out Argument Driven Inquiry, send me an e-mail, as I have a few titles that I’m willing to lend out: donna.morgan@sd41.bc.ca