Window into my Classroom

Nicola Vitale

Origins:• No connection between subjects or to

student’s experience• Students lacking fundamental

understandings• No mastery of basic skills• Low motivation, interest, and

confidence

“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.”

-Leonardo DaVinci

What We Began to Do

• Hands-On Classroom Activities

• Fieldwork (River Trips)

• Scientific and Mathematical writing and Notebooks

Classroom Activities

Lab Skills• Start with simple

tasks, following directions, and working with a group

• Students are expected to use skills from simple tasks to complete a complex task

Analysis• Start with articulating

the meaning of numbers and measurements

• Students are expected to analyze data, recognize patterns and trends, and draw conclusions

Scaffolding Activities

Fieldwork

Use visits tothe Bronx River to increase student interest and provide a real context for math and science

Fieldwork

• Keep tasks simple with clear expectations

• Build a routine • Prepare materials that provide

structure but allow for flexibility• Allow time for and encourage

individual exploration• Use trip to reinforce recent classroom

concepts or give an experiential context for future learning

Math-Science Notebooks

Image from http://www.templeton-cambridge.org/fellows/vedantam/publications/2006.02.05/eden_and_evolution/

Goals of Notebooks• Moving from “Hands-

on” to “Minds-on”• Making student

thinking visible• Develop student’s

“voice” and ownership of learning

Scientists and mathematicians communicate in more than just words

Sketches and

Observations

Collecting

Predicting, Data-Gathering, & Sense-Making

Explaining and Using Diagrams

Questions and Wondering

Comparing Salinity - Graphs

Comparing

Notebook Use

Surprises

Reflective Writing

• Use writing to reflect on their learning

• Uncover student thinking

• Writing-to-learn

Differentiation

Challenge:How can we give opportunities for all students to develop - not only literacy

in mathematics and science, but also an interest and a “voice” ?