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