All Things Class

This episode features a wonderful conversation centered around STEM, Instructional Support, and Equity. It also includes some fun activities to engage with your students for Halloween! What are your thoughts and key takeaway from the episode?

I really loved how our amazing guest, Dr. Lourdes Norman-McKay, talked about how women and underrepresented groups often hold back in fear of making mistakes. As a Biology major and science lover who always intended to go into a career in the medical field, this really stuck with me. I remember this fear of perfection holding me back so many times throughout my schooling. Can you also relate to this, or do you recognize this hesitancy in students you teach?

I also loved the Halloween activity that was shared! Lourdes' idea around this curiosity box included items such as Pumpkin guts, egg yolks, Jello, Marbles in dish soap, etc. Have your students stick their hands into the box, without being able to see the items and describe how it feels. Ask questions such as "do you like it or not like how it feels? Why do you or don't you like the way it feels?" By using just their sense of just touch, what can they explore and learn?  What conclusion can they come to?
Have them make a guess and ask them about the traits that made them come to this conclusion. "How do you know it's pumpkin guts?"
Then have the next student try and ask them if they agree or disagree with the previous student who felt these items? What can they add to the description given by the other students? 
Something Lourdes said that stuck with me is "You aren't trying to expedite an answer, you are trying to shape a process in a human being" At this early age, you want to bolster not only the process but confidence in their abilities. By exploring how to come to these hypotheses and prompting these thought processes, you're shaping the way they solve future problems!
Can you think of any other ideas for these types of curiosity boxes for Halloween? 

How can we encourage children to respect everyone's viewpoint in the classroom? So many amazing ideas were shared, do you have any to add? One I really liked was to be sure to let them know that there isn't just one answer to a question, encourage them to take risks! Their curiosity, confidence, and ability to express their ideas are skills they will need in order to be successful in their lives and future careers. 
In what other ways can we encourage children to respect all viewpoints in the classroom?