Planning out a two week science exploration trip is nothing short of invigorating.  It beats sitting in professional devleopment meetings rewriting curriculum for the 8th time or listening to a "teaching expert" who has been in the classroom for only a year.   This is real professional development, guided by a true scientific explorer who is going to capture the essence of science practice and the brutal truth of failure.  It will be documented with primary source videos, captured with live interviews and lived my the newest scientist to this field....me. 

 Failure's roll in science is more prevelant that students think.  Most of the time when exploring science, we fail.   Throughout this last year, I have seen a ton of failure in my life in all aspects.  What matters most is how we use it to become stronger and more resilient.  

Let me introduce you to my cohorts in crime (or science.)  Dr. Stacey Williams  and Travis Courtney's research facility in La Parguera will be my first stop. This will be followed by a visit to Dr. Nelson Cardona's chemical engineering research lab at University of Puerto-Rico Mayaguez.  Next is a visit with the CARICCOS team in Mayaguez to learn about their acidification buoys.  Rest up and drive to the other side of the island to meet with Dr. Jesus Gomez who has been working on drought projects in El Verde.  I will be shadowing various scientists in El Verde on their projects and then ending with Stacey's sister site in Ceiba to see the work they are doing with coral reefs. 

My mind is ready to learn from these amazing individuals who are pushing science foward.  They do it despite the damage of hurricanes and the uncertainty of supplies.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's Here

Image
  Throughout the final packing day, I have been pinching myself.  It's hard to believe that my love of science and learning is going to be turned into a field research experience.   The photo today, came from my itnerary with CARICOOS.  In the middle of the two amazing science entities is my school logo.  At the root of discovering science, we are the same.  Teaching and exploring science has always been a passion of mine but I often didn't find the right balance.  As a second career teacher, my heart has always been in the lab and field work.  When I was in the lab, I missed teaching others.  Right now, my summer has been the perfect marriage between the two:  absorbing as much science as I can from coral propagation, wolf tracking, indigenous tribal ecological knowledge, quantum physics and sea urchin restoration while generating activites for the science classroom.   After attending WINGS this summer, my focus is the cultivation the Joy and Wonder in science through sense-ma
Read more

Reflection: Nature as your teacher

Image
It's really hard to capture what my Fund for Teachers Fellowship gave me both personally and professionally over the last 2 weeks.  Every day when I finished working alongside a researcher in the ocean or in the rainforest I felt like a child who had the best day ever and couldn't wait come home and tell mom and dad.   It relit my passion for science in a way I could not imagine.   When you get to touch science and feel it from it's perspective, you understand connection.  While I was hiking 30 minutes into El Yunque to help do groundwater and debris collection for a canopy study my brain thought about all of the stimulation I was getting from nature.  As I learned plants and history along the way through Monique's team, it allowed me to be present and engulfed in the process.  Being present was a theme everyone talked about.   Speaking with so many great team members from CIROM and their reef restoration efforts helped me remember to believe in myself when everything e
Read more