- Dynamic K12 - Quick Breaks Newsletter
- Posts
- Quick Breaks Issue #4
Quick Breaks: The fastest way to stay up to date with STEM, AI, and Education.
Table of Contents
Quote of the Week
"Be prepared to spot growth opportunities when they present themselves-because they are the key learning opportunities. You'll know because they make you uncomfortable, and your initial impulse may be that you're not ready. But remember: Growth and comfort never co-exist."
As educators, we are experts at our content, juggling multiple tasks at once, and managing a classroom full of students. However, how well do you spot growth opportunities in yourself and your students?
Nearly every teacher (especially in an interview) says that they live for that “ah-ha!” movement in their students. Yet, are we really dialed in to pick up on opportunities to capitalize on this? Maybe not as well as you think.
This week, seek out opportunities for growth. Take that leap. Push that student outside their comfort zone. Pick up that book, talk to the teacher across the hall, and be open to growth. Like Ginni states, “growth and comfort never co-exist!”
For you
Latest Dynamic Science Releases
Over the past two weeks, we’ve released 12 new resources for biology, chemistry, and physics! Shop here.
What’s new?
Everyday Biology: We heard your requests! Biology resources are in high demand, especially those you can implement quickly and easily. Our reading articles are now expanding deeper into biology with everyday applications and key concepts. Explore now.
Task Cards: We’re excited to start releasing these because they were some of our favorite resources in the classroom! These are perfect for stations, review, or even gallery walks. With digital and print options, it’s never been easier to get students talking and authentically engaged. Explore now.
Writing Topics: Y’all have been asking for writing topics to engage your students quickly, collect writing samples, or simple assess knowledge. Well, look no more! Our writing topics cover 10 highly effective prompts that will challenge students to explain their answers. We have them for biology, chemistry, and physics with more to come for MS soon! Explore now.
Unwrapping Bloom’s 2-Sigma Problem
Students in the traditional classroom setting do not receive the level of individualized help that they need. This isn’t new information for most but is something that many teachers still grapple with.
How are you meant to enhance learning experiences for students? Dr. Griffiths explains clearly how to utilize “Learner-centered practices”. These approaches allow you as an educator to spend more time with your students meeting their individualized needs.
Using resources, such as our own, you free up more time to meet your students where they are, differentiate, promote positive relationships, and engage in active learning. Shop now.
Science is Dynamic!
Shouldn’t your classroom be?
Science is never stagnant nor does it stop progressing. New things come about constantly. There are new discoveries, techniques, approaches, and resources. So, why are your teaching approaches and resources not changing?
We get it. Teaching, and life in general, is easy to fall into a cadence or a rhythm. However, when you do so, you stop asking questions, stop seeking answers, and stop changing. Remember, our quote of the week? Change and growth co-exist.
Here are a few ways you can make things dynamic again:
🪑Mix up your seating chart: Sometimes a new perspective in the room is a much needed change. Regroup students after an assessment or just for a single activity. Move.
🗣️ Start a discussion: Get them talking! Anything from a 4-corners activity on a relevant topic or even which scientist would win in a rap battle. Chat.
🥼 Perform a demo: Hook your lesson with something exciting. Drop books, bubble things over, throw something across the room! Hook them early and hanging on your every word. Experiment.
📰 Current events: Grab current events and use them as warm ups or extension activities for early finishers. Science is dynamic, so they should be aware of changes in the field and the world too. Read.
🏫 Attend a workshop or conference: Nothing beats being surrounded by peers who are eager to learn and grow together. See if there is an event that you could attend in your area or join a digital community! Search.
📚 Update your resource library: Quickly freshen things up with new resources. You could easily refresh an entire course with some of our bundles or even individual activities. Explore.
Free Resources
Self reflection is a power tool. Something that we often do not take the time to do. Take a look at this article to drive improvement in your teaching and life. Read it here.
Skills are meant to be continuously developed! Here are some webinars that are coming down the pipeline from EducationWeek! Explore here.
Looking for a tool to use in your observations or simply to help yourself grow? Look now further than our free lesson audit tool! Not only will you get a score but also actionable steps to grow. Download it here.
Speaking of individualized attention, your students crave it. Just 9 minutes is all it takes according to Lori Desautels. Learn more about the 9-minute theory. Read it here.
Announcements
Our new informational video on our membership portal is live! If you haven’t explored how easy it is to navigate the Dynamic portal and all the resources you get with a membership, watch this now.
We’re going to the TCEA Conference for Educational Coaches Oct. 9th & 10th. We will have a live in-person session in Austin, TX on October 10th at 2:00 PM. This session will cover improving teacher efficacy for student success through effective coaching. We can’t wait to see you there!
In August we partnered with the Dallas Fort Worth Science Supervisors. This is a wonderful organization and we look forward to working with them and impacting science education.
We presented at the 2024 AI for Educators Conference with TCEA. Our session “Empowering Learners with AI: Personalized Learning for ALL” was such an incredible experience. We had education professionals from all over the state of Texas, attendees from Canada, and across the field of education.
Did you miss the event? Don’t worry! You can still get a copy of the presentation and resources here.
Need Professional Development?
Bring us to your campus either virtually or in person. We’d love to run a workshop or training on all things STEM and AI!
We hope that you have a great remainder of your week and we’ll see you soon for the next quick break!
Best,
