Urban Advantage Principals’ Breakfast
November 13, 2013 Welcome!
Today’s agenda:
1. Welcome
2. Successful UA Schools and Setting Goals
3. UA practices in the classroom: “look-
4.
for’s”
Reflections and next steps
Today’s agenda:
1. Welcome
• Josh Thomases
•
Deputy Chief Academic Officer for Instruction, NYC
Department of Education
Monique Darrisaw-Akil
Executive Director, Office of School Programs and
Partnerships, NYC DOE
Today’s agenda:
1. Welcome
2. Successful UA Schools and Setting Goals
– How School-Level Factors Influence Success
–
with UA
Setting Goals
Successful Schools: How School-Level Factors
Influence Success with Urban Advantage
Findings:
• School culture and structure matter
• Administrative support exists in different ways
• Good use of UA vouchers & other materials
• Other programs and partnerships
• Support for Common Core Literacy Standards
At the UA Admin Kickoff events in
September…
• …UA schools developed implementation plans
for 2013-14
We looked at our UA school reports… to see
“where we are now…”
UA Planning Tool… Science Instruction Strategies
and Activities
Where we
are now…
ELEMENTS
TIME
We hoped UA planning would help
you write parts of your
Comprehensive Education Plan
A few examples of goals schools chose…
•
Encourage all your science teachers (UA and non-UA) to
complete long-term science investigations.
•
Integrate field trips into the curriculum to extend learning
outside of the classroom.
•
Differentiate UA tools (IDD, DSET) for 6th (and 7th) grade
students
•
And many more….!
Think Pair Share…
Find an elbow partner:
• Each person shares a goal for implementing UA
this year at their school (3 minutes)
Find another elbow partner:
• Discuss the same, with your new partner (3
minutes)
Another UA goal might be…
… to spend time in the classroom to see:
• What parts of UA are your teachers
implementing…?
• How are UA teachers applying UA PD
experiences in their classrooms?
Today’s agenda:
1. UA in 2013-14… numbers
2. Some housekeeping—important info
3. Networking: share 1 element of your FY14
4.
5.
UA implementation plan
UA practices in the classroom: “look-for’s”
Reflections and next steps
Handout: Look-fors in a UA science classroom
(Pink)
Handout: Look-fors in a UA science classroom
• Read handout (3 minutes)
• Objective this morning: help you recognize UA
practices in the classroom (look-fors #1-4)
using a straw rocket investigation
Carefully observe the 2 sets of rocket
launches
• Afterwards, we will
give you a worksheet
with questions about
what you observed…
blue and green rockets
Handout: Investigating motion of 2
rockets (Yellow)
This handout will ask you to:
• Explain the “discrepant events” you observed
• Familiarize you with the rocket system
• Then begin designing an experiment to
investigate 1 of the “discrepant events”
Handout: Investigating motion of 2
rockets (Yellow)
Handout: Investigating motion of 2
rockets (Yellow)
1. In the demonstrations, how can you explain the
differences in distance the rockets traveled?
Discrepant event #1 (same rocket, 2 piston heights):
Discrepant event #2 (2 different rockets, same piston
height):
Handout: Investigating motion of 2
rockets
2. As I introduce the Straw Rocket System… Label the
parts of the rocket system in box on your handout.
Introduction to the ‘straw rocket’
system
A FEW CLARIFICATIONS:
• Before we ask you to answer questions 3-5 on
worksheet ‘Investigating motion of 2 rockets…’
A FEW CLARIFICATIONS/DEFINITIONS:
• Change in motion of an object is called “ACCELERATION”
• Distance rocket travels indicates change in motion (acceleration)
at time of launch
A
B
If the distance traveled
is larger, the change in
motion was greater
when launched (A).
If the distance traveled
is smaller, the change in
motion was smaller
when launched (B)
A FEW CLARIFICATIONS/DEFINITIONS:
Piston height (cm) indicates force
A force is a
push or pull
upon an object
• The piston compresses air at the base of the chamber, causing air
pressure which exerts a force on the rocket resulting in a launch.
• Higher piston height (cm) causes more air pressure and greater
force on the rocket.
Handout: Investigating motion of 2
rockets
Now you know more about the rocket system. Answer the
remaining questions on your worksheet (4 minutes):
3. Pick one discrepant event (#1 or #2) and identify in the
diagram(s) the variables you would investigate to
explain the different distances the rockets traveled
4. Identify the factors you would keep constant when
investigating the event you chose in question #3
5. Write a question that would guide you when
investigating the event you chose in question #3
Handout: Investigating motion of 2
rockets
Whole group share: (2 minutes)
3. Pick one discrepant event (#1 or #2) and identify in the
diagram(s) the variables you would investigate to
explain the different distances the rockets traveled:
4. Identify the factors you would keep constant when
investigating the event you chose in question #3:
5. Write a question that would guide you when
investigating the event you chose in question #3:
Handout: What Is Newton’s Second Law of
Motion? (White)
PURPOSE OF THE READING:
To help you fine tune your question (#5) by
learning more about force and motion
READING: What Is Newton’s Second Law of
Motion?
Reading strategy:
Highlight and annotate your handout
TO DO:
1. Look for science concepts that most relate to your
question (3 minutes)
2. Refine your question if you can: use vocabulary to
make it more scientific. Example: if you haven’t
already, try to use the terms… ‘applied force,’ ‘mass
of the object,’ ‘acceleration…’ (2 minutes)
3. Share…
READING: What Is Newton’s Second Law of
Motion?
UA uses background readings—prior to data
collection—to help students:
1. Connect relevant science concepts to their
question
2. Word their question using science
terms/vocabulary
3. Construct predictions (expected outcomes)
based on the science
Fine-tuning the question using UA’s
question format:
How will (independent variable) affect
(dependent variable)?)
EXAMPLE:
• How does changing the force applied to an
object (a rocket) affect its change in motion
(acceleration)?
UA’s hypothesis format:
If… (summarize independent variable being
changed) Then… (predict effect on dependent
variable) Because… (describe scientific concepts
that relate to this prediction)
UA’s hypothesis format:
Example of a UA hypothesis:
If we increase the force on the rocket, then there
will be a greater change in motion (or
acceleration) because…an object’s change in
motion depends on the size of the applied force
(Newton’s 2nd Law).
If this were a UA classroom…
• We would help students construct their own
testable questions…
• And help students design/conduct their own
investigations…
Because of limited time…
• We will give you a question to investigate, and
an investigation design to follow…
Choose one of these 2 questions…
A. How does changing the force applied to an
object (a rocket) affect its change in motion
(acceleration)? (The mass of the object is kept
constant.)
B. How does changing the mass of an object (a
rocket) affect its change in motion
(acceleration)? (The force applied to the object
is kept constant.)
Handout: Investigation Design A (blue)
Handout: Investigation Design B (blue)
TABLE GROUPS CHOOSE INVESTIGATION A or B
LOCATE DATA TABLE A or B (YELLOW)
Also: We have 2 system launcher
designs
Large
Mini
Data Collection (10 minutes)
1. Table groups stay together with your UA
partner
2. Record data on sheet: limit data collection to
non-grayed cells
3. Assign roles: recorder, launcher, spotter
(watches where rocket lands)…
4. If your launcher is a “mini” you may collect
data in this room (front)
Data analysis at tables
• Post data on chart paper
• Look at your data: What do you notice about
your data?
• As a group, chart a list of everything you notice
about your data.
• This can be a list of “statements.” (Statements
of Relationship)
• List as many statements as you can.
• This list is the beginning of your Data Analysis
Data Analysis – Sample Statements
• The ball launched by a spring compressed 5 cm pushed a cup
a distance of cm. This is an example of a simple statement.
• The ball launched by a spring compressed 1 cm pushed a cup
the shortest distance.
• The ball launched by a spring compressed 5 cm pushed a cup
a farther distance than the ball released by a spring
compressed 3 cm.
• The more a spring is compressed in a pinball launcher, the
further a ball that it launches pushes a cup placed in the ball’s
path. This is an example of a complex statement.
Reflections on UA Practices today…
THANK YOU FOR COMING
The slides below are optional
update slides on UA—we probably
won’t show them
Important Stuff for 2014
• UA Vouchers and Journals update
– All class vouchers delivered to teachers (USPS)
– All student vouchers delivered to teachers (UPS)
– All teacher and PC vouchers delivered (USPS)
– All journals delivered to teachers (UPS)
Voucher Questions: Monique mgarcia@amnh.org
Important Stuff for 2012-2013
• Events
– Expo Saturday, June 7, 2014
• AMNH
• Saturday