Houston, we have an...IDEA!

Today my observations took me to the physics classroom. I was hesitant about this because I have very little physics knowledge, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed my time with the physics teacher (who for the purposes of this blog post, I will call Mr. Henderson). 

I observed the AP Physics I and AP Physics II classes. The Physics I class was working on a research project related to circular motion and satellites. Students used the website stuffin.space and a Google Doc outline provided by Mr. Henderson to complete the project. I thought Mr. Henderson did a great job introducing the project by demonstrating where to find important documents in Schoology and providing an example. Additionally, he also gave students autonomy within the project description by asking them to choose one question out of five to answer in the application section of the project. 

While Mr. Henderson's students were mostly using this research project to solve physics equations using real-world examples, I got to thinking...

  "How could I use this website in my agriculture classes?

My preliminary research told me that there are several satellites orbiting the earth that provide agricultural data about temperature, soil moisture, location, etc. 

• LANDSAT - tracks crop production, water usage, etc.
• SMAP - tracks soil moisture
• And many different satellites are needed for GIS mapping and GPS-operated machinery

Mr. Henderson and I also discussed the restrictions and challenges science teachers face this year. During labs, students are not allowed to work in groups and equipment must be disposable or sanitized after each use, creating more set-up and clean-up work for the teacher. He also mentioned to me some unique challenges he faces as an AP teacher who is still accountable for an end of course test in May. In my mind, I am thinking about how this would compare to the NOCTI exam. How successful can we expect students to be if the material was 1) not covered because it takes so much longer to cover material in a hybrid/virtual environment or 2) they were not given hands-on scenarios to practice the skills on the exam due to lack of resources?

Below are a few more pluses (strengths) and deltas (things to change) based on my observations.

Pluses: Mr. Henderson...

• Reviewed safety information prior to letting students work independently
• Monitored student progress using a shared Google Doc
• Gave time reminders like "You have 24 minutes remaining in class" and "If you are running out of time you may want to just collect the data in class and do the calculations at home"
• Defined goals of the lab clearly and out loud to the class

Deltas: Next time, Mr. Henderson should... 

• Do a closure activity that summarizes objectives from the lab/lesson
• Keep in mind how many "things" students have to do when they work individually. The Physics II class was working on a lab using springs, students had to start and stop the timer, hold the spring at the top, and pull down on the weight - 3 things with 2 hands.

To my fellow #psuaged21 student teachers, if you are teaching hybrid, how have you handled labs? Do you do them face-to-face twice so all students have the hands-on experience or do a video demonstration for your remote learners and only the in-person students get the hands-on experience?