I’m all in!

Over the course of this semester, I have learned about Inquiry-Based Learning, and I have discovered that it is what my instruction has been missing! As I reflect on my projects in STEAM, I realize that some of my projects included inquiry, but not all. I have come to understand the importance of student-driven instruction. This course has given me the toolkit and skill-set that I need to implement Inquiry-Based Learning in a more intentional way.

Revamping my STEAM Curriculum

This course walked me through the process of creating an inquiry unit, and I know feel that I can apply this process by rewriting my project units to improve them. I see now how I can use an Inquiry-Based Learning approach coupled with Human-Centered Design to make my projects more student-driven, authentic and meaningful.

Discovering Daffodils

During this course, I revamped my project on daffodils to make it more rigorous by having students delve into developing their own investigations about daffodils. Last year I decided to dive into my first gardening initiative.  I deciding planting bulbs was a good way to introduce my students to gardening. I contacted our local state representative, Robert Matzie, and he agreed to donate 300 daffodil bulbs. I made arrangements with the local borough to allow us to plant the bulbs in the park near the school. The park was in need of some beautification. I spent so much time planning the logistics that I missed the opportunity to provide a meaningful learning experience for my students. Luckily, we plan to plant an additional 300 bulbs each year to expand our Daffodil Hill. This course allowed me to revamp this project, and I’m excited to put these changes into place this upcoming year.

Google Sites and I are Friends Again

I loved using the new and improved Google Sites! In the past I found Google Sites to be cumbersome and not user -friendly. I really liked creating the project website, and I would like to create project websites for all my projects! Here is the link to my Discovering Daffodils website.

Looking for Recruits!

I would love to see more schools get involved with this project by planting their own daffodils!  If you are interested please let me know in the comments!