Summary: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) This middle school science minute is about the physics of curling. In the December, 2011 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication), there is an article entitled, "Swept Away: Exploring the Physics of Curling" by Liza Esser. In the article, Liza explains the game of curling, the physics of curling, and then she develops a 5E lesson that she uses in her unit on forces and motion. Interview with Mr. Dave Tucker School Improvement team effort What things would improve the learning of the students? Proficiency, meeting the needs of the students. Changing it from a policy group to a learning policy group. A strong indicator was the completion of homework. Started with research and reading. What should the policy be? Decided that existing ones were not the best to choose from or merge into a policy. Read stuff by Doug Reaves (sp?) (Wears a bow tie in the pictures in his research articles. Yes, it isn’t APA documentation, but will help you find it. :-) ) “No Missing Homework” policy wasn’t the best choice either. All homework would be accepted, late or not, and accepted for full credit. No Killer Zeros. A 0 is 10% below a D. Tiered intervention system. Homeroom/Advisory 30 mins. (Homework Club Time) Using Zangle, staff can pull the missing assignment list for each student. Provides a coaching role for the Advisory teacher. Level I: Student gets a pass to Homework Club from Advisory and they have to continue to go there until it is all completed. Level II: Students are pulled from an elective class of administration’s choosing and put into an elective class called Homework Club II. (Band seems to be an inoculation against Homework Club!) Level III: Intervention level that requires staying after school with the administrators (This unjustified border is driving you nuts, isn’t it?) What does homework mean? Why give it? It’s a good formative assessment. Good way to introduce a subject. Practice a skill that has been taught. We don’t want homework to be a test of academic stamina. It needed a systemic response with all of the teachers on board. It is so labor and detail intensive. Encore subjects are second to Core curriculum. Art & Science of Teaching by Marzano gischools.org Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: ISTE News: ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education. The ISTE Special Interest Group: Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 - 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island. Ohio Middle Level Association: The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference. OMLA Registration Form OMLA Presentation Proposal Form AMLE Affiliate Conferences: The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 2012 in Warren Woods, MI. MAMSE Exhibitor Form MAMSE Registration Form MAMSE Presentation Form MAMSE Conference Program Book (2011) The North Carolina Middle School Association’s Annual Conference March 13-15, 2012 Conference Brochure Presenter’s Application Who They Are . . . This year’s sessions . . . Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog: Archived content is available. Second Life: Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details. Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week. Video: Educational Uses of Second Life
