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Author Archives: Bill Zoellick
Informal Inference: Reframing Instructional Design for Data Literacy?
We collect and analyze data in order to make inferences. Sure, there are other reasons to collect data. For example, every year I write down the date that the forsythias come into bloom in our backyard. No inferences there … … Continue reading
John Van Dis on Student Centered Science
Next week, on May 6 (3:00 PM) and 8 (1:00 PM), John Van Dis will be offering a two-part series of workshops in which he will talk about approaches he has been using to support student-centered science investigations during these … Continue reading
Making Students’ Thinking Visible While Apart
Schools in Maine shut down at the start of the third week of March. They will not reopen before the end of this school year. When the schools shut down, my teaching partner, Sarah Hooper, and I were working with … Continue reading
Transitioning to Community Science While Sheltering in Place
Whew! What a time we are in. On Thursday, March 12 Sarah Hooper (my colleague at Schoodic Institute) and I were still working with students to help them prepare for a presentation to clam harvesters. The following Monday, local schools … Continue reading
Posted in CSI-Maine, Schools and Community
Tagged Authentic Learning, Citizen Science, science teaching
1 Comment
Whereto Data Literacy?
Over the past decade, there has been increased attention to the idea that students should learn how to make sense of data and use it in decision-making. It could be the next new big thing in education, hot on the … Continue reading
Posted in Assessment, Data Literacy, Equity
Tagged Authentic Learning, Data Literacy, Standards
1 Comment
A Deeper Look at Rural High School Dropout Factors
This morning one of my many email subscriptions pointed me to an article in the new issue of Journal of Research on Rural Education that I think is unusually well-done and relevant. One of the things that makes this article special is … Continue reading
Connecting Rural Schools to Forests and Communities
My friend and colleague Korah Soll runs an organization called Rural Aspirations. She has spent the last two years developing and launching a new program called the Maine Forest Collaborative (MFC) that aims to connect deeply rural schools to their … Continue reading
A Great Day in the Mud: Seeing What is Possible
On Wednesday of last week I was reminded why I do what I do. Eighteen sixth and seventh grade students from the Edna Drinkwater School in Northport joined me in setting up experimental plots on a clam flat that will … Continue reading
Posted in Authentic Science in Schools, CSI-Maine
Tagged Authentic Learning, Citizen Science, Clams, science teaching
2 Comments
Taking the Measure
What did we find? That was the question that Sumner Memorial High School Students began to answer this past week as they analyzed the samples that they helped collect from John Small Cove on October 27.
Bringing Authentic Science to Schools
Schoodic Institute uses the word “authentic” in its work with Sumner Memorial High School to describe science learning that addresses real problems and needs, where people outside the school want the data that the students collect. It is also authentic … Continue reading
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