- Dynamic K12 - Quick Breaks Newsletter
- Posts
- Quick Breaks Issue #2
Quick Breaks: The fastest way to stay up to date with STEM, AI, and Education.
Table of Contents
Quote of the Week
Trajectory is more important than position.
Every school year we start over. A fresh slate. A new group of students. Perhaps new coworkers and administration. It’s incredibly easy to get stuck into a mindset of position over trajectory - especially with how rapid the school year progresses.
Why don’t my students understand this yet? Am I losing my touch? Is this class just not cut out for this level of rigor like the ones before them?
Focus more on the idea of trajectory or the path in which we are following. If we focus on position alone, we lose sight of where we are going. You, as the leader of your classroom, school, or institution are surrounded by tools to help empower you to do so. Today, we have more data and means of communication than ever before to help us guide, influence, and lead.
Step back and look at the bigger picture. Where are you or your students headed? The trajectory shows more than the position ever will. Plus, trajectories can be changed. You’ve got this!
In the News
Are learning styles just a myth?
This is an interesting clip by Dr. Adam Grant. As educators we are always told to reach a learner with their learning style; kinesthetic, auditory, etc. However, it's true that we learn in a multitude of different ways. Limiting yourself or your students to only a particular learning style is really a disservice. Sure, there are certain cases where I student or yourself must learn or teach a certain way. However, when you employ multiple learning modalities, approaches, and techniques your ability to absorb and retain information flourishes!
Think of this in terms of STEM. In today’s modern day classes we utilize a multitude of different learning styles in our lessons and labs. There are hands-on elements of design and experimentation, data analysis filled with numbers and trends, powerful visuals in real-time, and so much more.
If you’d like to learn more you can review these great articles as well as read this book by Josh Waitzkin on, essentially, “learning how to learn”.
Roundup on Research: The myth of “learning styles” (University of Michigan)
Belief in Learning Styles Myth May Be Detrimental (American Psychological Association)
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance (Physical Book)
Top 10 tips on how to study smarter, not longer
“Many students study by reading their notes and textbooks over and over again. Research studies show there are more effective ways to use your valuable study time.”
Every year there is more and more research that comes out to disrupt the studying landscape. However, students are always in need of tips and tricks. They won’t simply wake up one day understanding how to study. It is a learned and practiced behavior. Here are 10 great tips to share with your students and fellow educators from Science News Explores. Read it now.
How can AI be used to create lesson plans?
Are you or your teachers feeling swamped by lesson planning? There's a smarter way! This video explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help you craft engaging and effective lessons in a fraction of the time. We'll use Diffit as an example, a free AI tool that generates lesson resources based on your specific needs! Diffit is free to use too which is just fantastic on our educator wallets! Explore. (Don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube too!)
Resources
Connecting families and teachers with data? This publication by the California Center for School Climate is a great free read. This brief describes strategies for sharing data and engaging in data-driven discussions with families to improve student and school outcomes. Read it here.
Constructive feedback from colleagues helps new teachers identify areas of strength and growth and develop strategies to achieve their goals. This article by Sunaina Sharma is a great read for you leaders out there! Read it 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.
Looking for a free printable poster on AI? Print off a copy of our AI in Education poster for free here.
Announcements
Register for our next webinar on Writing in Every Science Class.
We understand that not everyone will be able to attend live. All those who register will receive a copy of the resources shared and a recording of the session as well.
Session: Writing in EVERY Science Class
Date: Sept. 9th
Time: 9:00 AM CST
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!
Last month 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!