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 Science
Program
The
science program at the Tesla Educational Center is unique and tailored to meet
individual needs. This science program must first provide all students with a
way to fulfill their science graduation requirements of four credits. Because
students come to the Tesla Educational Center from many differing backgrounds,
ability levels, and experiences, this is a very challenging task. Flexibility,
organization, teacher attitude, constant assessment, and creativity are
essential components.
Flexibility is important to the
science program at the Tesla Educational Center. No two students are alike and
no one approach to teaching will accommodate all students. The science courses
are set up so that the core curriculum can be covered in several ways while
providing supportive resource materials to compliment the content. Student
reading levels must be considered as the first factor. Students need to have
materials that are readable for them in order to learn independently.
Independent reading assignments are a key to success with this style. In any
classroom, students will be in many different courses, many different places in
those courses, and doing a wide variety of laboratory activities or kit style
learning centers simultaneously. This means the teacher is a facilitator of
learning on many levels and media styles. Occasional large group activities or
more often small group topic sessions can occur, but the majority of time is
spent helping students work through their individual self paced program toward
their credit. Flexibility is essential for all this to take place.
This style of program doesn't just
happen; it must be planned and incredibly organized. Courses must be organized
and materials prepared for each semester or school year before the course is
even offered. Laboratory assignments, worksheets, equipment and needed materials
prepared, videos, computer resources, basic point assessments evaluated and
assigned value, test materials readied by chapter, answer keys prepared for
daily grading, and student worksheet materials copied and organized by chapter
in a student accessible file drawer. The entire course must be ready to run.
Because courses are self-paced, this means that in a matter of weeks some
students will be way ahead of others in the same course. Multiple that times
several courses, and each offering several different reading levels, each with
their own set of different materials; and the benefits of organization can be
seen. Without prior setup organization, the student is waiting for the teacher
to do something for them in order to continue; rather than asking the teacher
for help with the task or assignment that they are actively doing. Fine-tuning
of each course and adding new or better lab activities or materials is
constantly occurring. Plans are under way for adding student video reports on
topics of their choice as a requirement for each course. The technology has to
be ready and the teacher knowing how to trouble shoot the software is critical
for smooth running. A well-oiled machine that runs well has to be built well.
Organization is a key component.
Teacher
attitude is a critical factor. Many if not most of the students at the Tesla
Educational Center have had negative, confrontational, failure oriented,
frustrating, and unpleasant experiences at their former school situations. They
arrive expecting somewhat the same experience. The teacher has to try to
establish rapport, assess ability levels, determine type and level of course
needed, communicate course expectations, and make the student feel welcome and
secure all within the first several meetings. With constant enrollment, this
means while working with the other students in class on their curriculum. Those
first sessions with new students are critical to hooking the student. They show
up and at least think they are ready to get going. So, the teacher must be ready
to have them get going. It is important for the teacher to work hard at
establishing a relationship on a personal basis immediately. There is no one
style or method to do this and each teacher must use their own bag of resources
to do this in a way that is both natural and honest for them. It is important to
have that "love" toward kids that is not a teachable quality in
education. At the heart of what makes any program work are the people. With
quality, caring teachers; any style of program can work. Without caring staff,
the best-laid plans of programs will not work. Teacher attitude? Essential!
A self-pacing style of program requires constant
assessment. If students are working individually on their own curriculum and
complete a chapter, unit or section that requires assessment; it must be done
before continuing. Often students miss key ideas or concepts while doing an
assignment, and the teacher needs to evaluate and ask them to correct these
errors prior to continuing. The window for the teachable moment doesn't exist
for long, so it is important for the teacher to assess completed student work
soon after completion. The daily advising, encouraging, clarifying and
facilitating is important to give students critical feedback. The fine-tuning
changes and the specific directions that student projects can take, require
constant monitoring. Often, students having bad days and unable to focus on book
or lab work can be channeled into other relevant multimedia outlets for their
specific chapter or section. The style of program at Tesla sometimes offers
students exciting, out of school opportunities for study that when assessed and
evaluated allow for application to their course of study. The assessments and
consequent reevaluation of course curriculum to permit substituting some content
areas can be challenging and sometimes cannot be done. The key is the ability to
constantly and consistently assess where the student is and where they need to
be heading.
The ability to be creative keeps the wheels on the
wagon. The problems of in individualized self paced, continual enrollment
program are many and very challenging for science programs. To come up with
creative solutions to these problems is not only critical, but also essential.
Daily, little glitches occur that need correcting. Alternative education
students are good at finding or being exceptions to the best-laid plans. It is
important to have many resources available to figuratively pull from the shelf
in order to patch some point of confusion together. Lab activities gone astray,
a student's program changing direction, motivational issues where students need
counseling not science today, are common occurrences. Often
publisher designed worksheets expect an answer thought through one way
and these students have found an equally correct answer thought through from a
different point of view Teachers, in asking for explanation from the student,
can be amazed. Many things have correct answers, but many seemingly correct
questions can be interpreted from different perspectives, all correctly. The
ability to keep students on task, focused, motivated, safe, smiling, learning,
stimulated, and generally doing school requires all the creativity known to
mankind. Creativity is a must have component to teaching science at Tesla.
The program is unique at the Tesla Educational Center.
The science program offered is also unique. The qualities of flexibility,
organization, teacher attitude, constant assessment, and creativity are only
some of the traits needed to make this program work. Many other components to
success are required. By discussing these few qualities, it is hoped that a
sense of the spirit of the program can be gleaned from between the lines to
provide insight.
Science
Objectives
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