1st Grade Science Students Grow Mini Organic Gardens

Lisa Martin, lower school science teacher has been long known for her innovative approach to science education. A frequent collaborator with teachers across the divisions and at The Community Partnership School, the MicroGarden Project grew out of a conversation she had with Eric Jones of CPS. They were discussing how to integrate more scientific inquiry into their program, since they don’t have land for a raised bed organic garden and they can’t leave a standing indoor grow lab in their multipurpose rooms.  Lisa reports that

"The positive effect of school gardening programs on the science achievement of elementary students is well documented in educational research.  The role of raising edible gardens in nutrition-education programs for youth is well documented in research, as well.  But not every educator can organize, fund, and/or maintain an organic schoolyard garden.  Likewise, there might also be classroom space, time and/or budget constraints that don’t allow for a standing, indoor grow lab, either.  This prompted me to develop “Growing a Mini Edible Organic Garden in Your Classroom”.

Growing a Mini Edible Organic Garden in Your Classroom is acollection of science activities that I crafted to provide any elementary educator with a means to introduce organic agriculture, nutrition, and plant biology to their students in the context of practicing scientific skills, all within the confines of the classroom, on a shoestring budget, and within a short period of time.  For some teachers, this is the only means available to them. For others, this can be an adjunct to their wealth of science activities.

How I am using it in 1st Grade:

During the last three weeks of May, I am using microgreens in my 1st Grade science classes as an innovative way to study both seed germination and nutrition. Moreover, microgreens enable our 1st Grade students to grow a vegetable--organically and expeditiously--for consumption in their annual breakfast at the end of May. Microgreens are young seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs harvested less than 14 days after germination.  Researchers have found that microgreens can contain up to 40 times higher levels of vital nutrients than their mature counterparts, making them “super nutritious foods”. 

What We Are Reading

With over twenty books translated into thirty languages, Howard Gardner, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Senior Director of Project Zero, has been at the forefront of innovation education for decades.  His theory of multiple intelligences outlined in 1983 was groundbreaking establishing the idea that we have different ways of learning and processing.  In Five Minds for The Future he details the mindsets the future demands of students in schools today.

Game Changing App in PE

Upper School PE teacher and Varsity Field Hockey coach, Ginny Hofmann, along with many of the coaches at GA have a new assistant on the field in the form of an APP called Coaches Eye that is radically transforming real time video capture analysis of an athlete's form.  According to Hofmann who has been using this tool most recently with students in their Archery unit, "Coach’s Eye lets me film students in my PE classes and then send them clips via e-mail that they can watch. I can record a student, draw corrective form lines on the touch screen, record a voice over describing how to alter and fix form, and email it to the individual. I sent all my archery students clips of them shooting so they could see their technique with in a matter of minutes." Ginny Hoffman reports that,  "Students enjoy seeing themselves on film but also it helps them realize what they are doing. Often students think they are using correct form when in fact they are doing something completely different. It helps recognize mistakes and then provides an immediate correction with visible proof of the change."

Tiki-Toki Timelines in 6th Grade English

Web 2.0 tools have been transforming the way students learn for some time now. Each new developed product brings with it the opportunity for children to experience traditional academics in a blended learning environment.  Tiki-Toki is web based software for creating interactive timelines that you can share on the internet. Middle School Head,  Ken Rogers, is using this powerful new tool with his 6th grade students in their annual Author Study. Mary Fraser, Middle School librarian has been at the forefront of introducing these tools to the faculty and students. She has this to say about Tiki-Toki.

"Tiki Toki changes the creation of historical timelines because it handles the mechanics of timeline construction using a behind-the-scenes wysiwyg editor, allowing the teaching emphasis to be on the selection of the content students want to include in their timelines. The teaching of the how-to of this web 2.0 tool is literally about 20 minutes. Therefore energy and time can be spent on researching, evaluating & selecting dates and events for the timeline, and also on analyzing the events selected and explaining why they are important to the subject of the timeline and worthy of representation.  Tiki Toki also beautifully integrates the use of graphics into the construction of the timeline, which in an aesthetic based world is important, satisfying and fun!  Students are challenged to select images that work together to create a visual representation of their subject, as well as bringing in dates, facts, events and analysis to create a written record of their subject.  Sharing their creations with each other and constructing a gallery of timelines  within their VLE course pages is also extremely simple with this tool, as each timeline can be shared via a static web address through the Tiki Toki site.  The end result for students is a thoughtfully constructed, visually appealing product that reflects their newly acquired knowledge of their subject.   The project itself becomes a teaching tool to be shared with others, and an end-product to be proud of!"

Parents Practice Design Thinking

On Tuesday evening May 7th, parents of upper school students joined US Head, Rich Schellhas in a Design Thinking simulation called The Gift Giving Experience designed by the faculty of the Stanford d.School.  Working in pairs, parents participated in a short but intensive experience in human centered design,  which is the core process of Challenge GA - an upper school initiative slated to begin in the fall term meant to introduce the upper school faculty and student body to Design Thinking.

TED Talks Education

In cooperation with PBS, TED Talks Education will premier Weds may 7, at 10 pm. Hosted by John Legend, this one hour program "brings together a diverse group of teachers and education advocates delivering short, high-impact talks on the theme of teaching and learning." Tune in every week.  Click here for more information on the program. 

What We Are Reading

Tom Kelley is the general manager of IDEO (a design and innovation consulting firm) and author of several best sellers on thinking an innovation. His lessons on using innovation to transform a business culture and strategic thinking has found easy application to all institutional cultures including schools. When he is not crafting prose from lessons learned from IDEO's meteoric rise in the field of innovation and design,  like everyone else at IDEO, he  cuts foam core alongside clients and designers as part of the firm's brainstorming and prototyping efforts.