Equipped Science Labs

Some of you may have seen the article on the state of high school science labs in this Sunday's Boston Globe.  The article discussed the challenge that many school districts face in updating labs that are not capable of supporting high quality science instruction.  This is a major concern for schools in Massachusetts and around the US, and I wanted to share my thoughts about the situation at WHS.  To be successful in science, students need to learn the "how's" and "why's" of science, instead of just the What's".  Part of this is through the use of thought questions that ask students to take what they know and use it in new ways.  Another crucial part is through hands-on inquiry-based labs that require active thought, rather than following directions.  These types of labs require a space designed to allow proper experimentation.  The good news is that WHS has lab space that does support these types of activities.  The majority of the classrooms in the Sci/Tec department are built to allow not only classroom instruction, but also active laboratory work.  We are also fortunate to have a highly qualified staff who are capable of designing and delivering quality laboratory experiences.

The difficulty that WHS faces in delivering high quality scientific education is in support space and time.  To effectively deliver inquiry-based labs requires teachers to have the time and the space outside the classroom in which to create and prepare such labs.  Science labs are different from other instructional strategies in that they are equipment and preparation intensive.  Inquiry labs are particularly so, because they require students to carry out many of the manipulations that might otherwise be done by the teacher.  This means much more equipment and chemicals that must be organized, prepared, cleaned and stored.  Inquiry labs also contain an element of the unknown.  To truly be inquiry-based, a lab must have the potential to go in different directions, depending on the students' observations and interpretations.  This means a teacher must have a ready supply of a number of pieces of equipment and chemicals to accommodate a number of potential directions that the lab might take.

Of the nine science classrooms in use at WHS, seven are in use every period, which means that there is no opportunity for teachers to be in these rooms during the day for preparation.  The average science classroom is used by 2.4 teachers.  Because of the lack of space, teachers are often unable to prep labs during the day.  Even if they have a free period, without space in which to assemble materials and mix chemicals, teachers cannot prep for lab.  Currently there is only one true prep space in the department, but this space can only be used effectively by 2-3 teachers.  As the school has expanded, storage space (which allows for the storage of materials, but not the preparation) has been cut from science, forcing supplies to be stored in classrooms.  This also prevents teachers from preparing labs because it is not possible to access supplies during the day since in most cases, the rooms are in use every single period.

Currently WHS Sci/Tec is able to offer a very strong educational experience.  However, as the student population expands, our ability to offer such rich experience will be stressed.  Furthermore, as we look towards the future, we see the need for even more experiential and inquiry based learning.  Without adequate support space and time to use it, it will be difficult to move in this direction.  However, given the strong importance this community has always placed on education, I feel confident that the future WHS will be a place where science, as well as all the other disciplines, will be able to continue to deliver the high quality education for which WHS has always been known.

Parent's Night

Tomorrow (10/4) is parent's night.  I hope I have the opportunity to meet many of you, and that you enjoy the opportunity to see the high school and the teachers who have your children.  I thought I would share a couple of thoughts about parent's night to give you a perspective of the night from the teacher's point of view.

1.  Remember that the point of the evening is to give you an overview of what is going on in the class.  You will have about 10 minutes with each teacher.  The teacher does not have time to tell you (and every other parent) in detail about your child's performance.  If you have concerns, you should set up an appointment with the teacher, or exchange emails.  If there is time for questions, please keep them general and about the class, not about your son or daughter.

2.  Remember that we have only had your children for about a month, and we have not met them every day.  We are still developing our relationships and solidifying our grasp of names.  In the whirlwind of parent's night, it may take a moment to make the connection between the name and the face.

3.  The goal at parent's night is to provide information and give you a chance to ask questions in a civil and friendly fashion.  Please don't try and put the teacher on the spot.  If you have concerns about the program or the teacher, ask for a meeting with the teacher or with me.  A confrontational question during parent's night is unlikely to resolve anything.

4.  Parent's night occurs after teachers have worked a full day.  It is exhausting, and moves at a breakneck pace.  It is sometimes tough to remember all the people we talked to, or the details of the many conversations.  If you followup with a teacher, please remind them of who you are, and what the topic was.

I hope you enjoy parent's night, and find it useful to meet your children's teachers.

-Doug Brown

Sci/Tec Department Head

First day 2007

We made it through our first day.  Welcome to all our new and returning students and parents.  Hopefully everyone is getting settled and sorting out their schedules and assignments.  One of the things that was very noticeable to me today was that we have a very full load this year.  Nearly all our classes are at capacity.  This means there will be more stress on our resources than usual.  I ask everyone to please be patient as we sort out equipment and resources.  Some of you may be waiting for chairs or textbooks.  We are working on getting them as quickly as possible.  It is also going to be very difficult to accommodate students who wish to switch classes.  I know a number of you are disappointed that you haven't been able to switch into or even register for a class that you wanted.  I wish we could offer unlimited choice, but space, equipment and safety concerns limit the number of students we can put in a class.  To those of you unable to take the course you want, I offer my apology.  It is possible that some students may drop out of courses, so I suggest you let your guidance counselor know you want to switch so they can let you know if space becomes available.  Unfortunately, it is not likely that many spaces will open up, so it is best to focus on your current course, and strive to do your best.  All science courses at WHS offer a solid preparation in science, so even if it is not the course you want, you will still get a valuable education.

Best of luck with the new year.

Tech Ed

As you may have seen, we are looking for a new technology teacher to continue our automotive and wood technology courses.  I want to assure everyone that there is no plan to cancel tech ed. WHS is committed to having a tech ed program.  We are actively searching for a qualified teacher in time for the start of the school year so that we can offer all the regular courses.

==Update==

We were very fortunate to be able to invite James Burke, an experienced auto and wood teacher, to join our faculty.  Mr. Burke brings a great deal of teaching experience, as well as practical experience from a successful contracting career to our program.  We look forward to the enthusiasm and vision that Mr. Burke brings to our program.

Tapping into community resources

WHS is fortunate to be in a community with such a wealth of community resources.  From the perspective of the Sci/Tec Department, one of the greatest resources is the people in the community.  Wellesley is home to a number of individuals who have careers in science and technology.   Working with the Wellesley Science Committee, a community group dedicated to the support of science education at WHS, we hope to better utilize this resource, to help our students have a richer science and technology experience.  We have many ideas about how to go about this, but would love to hear other suggestions.  Feel free to email me (Doug Brown), or leave a comment to this blog.  Below are some of the ideas we hope to explore this year.

Mentoring - We are establishing a requirement for our students to carry out an independent research project.  Currently, students who take the honors curriculum in grades 9-11 spend fourth quarter working on a project.  Being able to provide mentors who could help students plan experiments, interpret data, and identify resources would greatly enhance the experience.

Guest speakers - Providing students with an opportunity to hear from individuals who are pursuing careers in a variety of scientific endeavors helps to show students relevance, and gives them a chance to hear about scientific ideas and practices in more detail.

Getting Ready for WHS 07-08

Well, it is that time again, the back-to-school flyers are out (of course they were out in June too), and it it time to start thinking about the upcoming school year.  There are a couple of items I would like to suggest for students that will make life easier in Sci/Tec, and in the school in general.  None of these items are essential, but they will make your (and your teacher's) life easier

A USB flash drive.  Throughout your courses you will be writing reports, creating presentations and doing other work on a computer both as an individual, and as part of a group.  You will probably do this work in multiple places (school, home, library, friend's houses, etc.)  Having a flash drive allows you to carry around your files, so that you can work on them in multiple places.  It also allows you to save research (rather than printing out all 100 pages of it), and it allows you to easily transfer a presentation to the classroom computer.  A 512mb can be bought for under $20.00, and should have sufficient space to hold your files.

An Email Account.  Communication with your teachers and classmates is an essential part of your education.  Email allows you to contact your teacher and your classmates outside of school.  Scheduling makeups, discussing absences, checking on missing work and assignments is much easier through email (you have a written reminder of your discussion), and often teachers are available in the evenings.  Email also allows you to exchange ideas and questions with your classmates, allowing you to work on group projects when people's schedules prevent them from getting together.  If you don't have an email address through your internet provider, you can get a free email account through yahoo (www.yahoo.com), google (www.google.com) or hotmail (www.hotmail.com).  Be sure to check with your parents first before creating an email account. 

Switching classes in third term

Recently a number of students have been asking about switching classes in the middle of third term. The requests are usually because the student is struggling in their current course. They hope that by switching to a less intensive course, they will improve their success and raise their grade. Unfortunately, switching at this point (more than half way through the academic year), poses significant challenges and difficulties.

Science classes do not follow the same order and pace. While every discipline has a set of core learning goals that are the same. The specifics and depth of these goals vary between levels. In addition, the order in which the learning goals are taught varies significantly between classes. Because of limited equipment and supplies, teacher rotate the use of things such as microscopes, mineral collections and spectrophotometers. Pacing and emphasis also vary depending on the needs of the class.

Because of this, students who switch at this point in the year often find that they repeat topics, and completely miss entire units. Because all students are expected to take the final exam for the course in which they are registered, these students need to not only follow the material being taught currently, but they must also learn the material that they missed. Often the material being covered at this point in the year is based on material learned previously. So students just joining a class may be at a significant disadvantage since they will be expected to be able to build on what was learned previously.

For a student who is struggling in their current class, switching to a different class at this point is not likely to help them find success. Instead, it will create a different set of challenges, which may be greater than what they currently face.