YOUR FUTURE

I envision implementing many of the activities we did today. I like the focus of students doing the questioning. I use FOSS kits presently, in science, and these permit a great deal of hands-on, investigative experimenting. With climate change, acid rain, pollution in the Gulf of ME, migration of animals, changes in animals' populations, upwelling currents in this area which bring an abundance of species of animals to this area, are all topics I will continue to pursue, as well as add other topics that I learn about here at GMRI and from other resources.

Problem based-learning is in my future -- I firmly believe that it is my task to help students learn how to think and work together to solve problems. What the problem will be will always change, the information needed to help the solve the problem will change; the people they work with to solve a problem will change -- but the ability to work together to problem solve will be crucial to all our futures.

Many of them. In fact, too many to list right now (especially because we're out of time).

I'd like to build a quest around lobstering and the Sheepscot River watershed.

I hope to use more of the Species investigation with my students especially as far as the Lobster Tales. Utilizing the idea to culminate the investigations with them either making a book, drawing a poster, an ABC book or any other way they could to show me what they learned from the Inquiry based program found at the Lab Venture.

In a perfect classroom I would like to think I would be able to use all the elements that I have learned and incorporate them into my classroom. What I will be focusing on is the inquiry learning and place base education. I was very hands on as a student. I needed to see and do more than read about ideas and topics. I want my students to constantly ask the questions of Why? How? etc. I also want to build my curriculum based on the location of my students whether its their hometowns or the state of Maine. My knowing more about where they are from, I believe they will invest more in their communities as an adult.

This year I hope to work with teachers grades 5 & 6 to develop interconnected units on the Sheepscot River and its resources.
We hope to plan a Sheepscot River Week in the spring!

I love working with the inquiry learning. I would want students to investigate what they do not know and what they would like to know about an topic. I would rather this be hands-on learning (because this is what I prefer) thus having events or topics that allowed me to have tools for students would work best. Thus, my classroom would need to be filled with these tools along with the necessity of getting others in with tools to share.

I will always use elements of the Vital Signs program in my classroom. The enthusiasm that surrounds the program is part of my teaching now and forever.

I foresee MORE and more hands- on activities and problem based inquiry, especially in my math classes. I feel so encouraged to take risks and continue to create an ongoing interactive class atmosphere where students feel relaxed, stimulated, and encouraged.