Teachers Teaching Teachers #204 - "We can't not deal with it!" says Diana Laufenberg - 1st in a series - 06.09.10

Post-Show description: 

This is the first in a series of TTT webcasts that we are doing this summer in response to BP's gushing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. We are asking teachers from all over to join us each Wednesday evening this summer to put together a curriculum that will help our students build their own responses to the human, animal, and ecological devestation that has been happening every day since April. Incredibly, this "spill" promises to continue wrecking damage into the fall and winter.

Diana Laufenberg, a teacher at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, started us in this series of shows with a the powerful, clear-eyed stance of a history teacher commited to helping her students find their own answers to "How does this go on?" Diana's descriptions of a project in which her students made infographics this spring will inspire, and her ideas for connecting her students to students in the Gulf will make you want to join us in this endeavor. We also spoke to a math teacher, Matthew, from Pennsylvania.

Diana Laufenberg ( @dlaufenberg and Living the Dream ) is a history teacher at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. On the school’s website, she is described as “a nomad.”

dlaufenberg.jpg
Diana is a true life-long learner. She currently works with 11th grade students at SLA. Experiential education is an integral part of her educational pursuits taking students from the classroom to the real world and back again. Before finding her way to Philadelphia, she was an active member of the teaching community in Flagstaff, AZ where she was named Technology Teacher of the Year for Arizona and a member of the Governor’s Master Teacher Corps.

In the second and fourth webcasts in June, podcasts of which will be available later this week, we were privilidged to have teachers from the Gulf join us. We are working to find a place for all of us to contribute resources, connections, and ideas. On this webcast we talk about the possibility of connecting in some way through the Learning Network of the New York Times. (See "The Gulf Oil Spill in the Classroom.") Another possibility is for some of us to work with Suzie Boss and the teachers who have signed up for Edutopia's Project-Based  Learning Camp, which will start in the middle of July (although it's now closed to new participants). Also Matt Montagne started this Google Doc to begin collecting our thoughts, resources and plans.

Please enjoy to this podcast. Diana gets us off to a great start on this journey! And please plan to join us this summer 9:00pm Eastern / 6:00pm Pacific USA Wednesdays / 01:00 UTC Thursdays World Times.

Click Read more to see a copy of the chat that was happening during the webcast.

20:46:25 Paul Allison: Hello.
20:55:15 SusanEttenheim: hi mike, kelly and athomas!
20:56:32 mike: Hi
20:57:11 losennom: hey does anyone know how to watch/participate iin the techers teaching teachers at 9?
20:57:34 kelly: good evening
20:58:03 kelly: this is my first time attending, does the broadcast just start up at 9:00, or do I need to be logged in somehwere else too?
20:58:08 dlaufenberg: Good evening!
20:58:15 mike: I think you just press play when the player on the right side of the screen says now streaming
20:58:21 losennom: kk
20:58:22 kelly: thanks!
20:58:25 SusanEttenheim: hi everyone!
20:58:34 SusanEttenheim: thanks for joining us tonight!
20:58:40 athomas: Good evening everyone!
20:59:03 athomas: one minute until showtime
20:59:15 KathrynClever: This is my first time doing this, hope it works!
20:59:22 athomas: me too
20:59:33 SusanEttenheim: exciting!
20:59:40 kelly: it sounds like many of us will be learning together!
20:59:40 mrsdurff: all systems go TTT
20:59:46 SusanEttenheim: I'll help you all as soon as I get it all going!
20:59:50 KathrynClever: great
20:59:51 SusanEttenheim: can you hear us now?
20:59:55 mrsdurff: yup
20:59:57 SusanEttenheim: we're just testing sound
21:00:01 SusanEttenheim: thanks durff!
21:00:06 mrsdurff: $5
21:00:52 SusanEttenheim: hi! Did you hear that everyone?
21:00:52 KathrynClever: no
21:00:57 athomas: me neither
21:00:58 cindy: no
21:00:58 mike: no
21:00:59 losennom: no
21:01:01 SusanEttenheim: A great night to jump into the conversation!
21:01:57 SusanEttenheim: ok so hi again
21:02:02 SusanEttenheim: can you all hear?
21:02:06 kelly: yes
21:02:06 SusanEttenheim: us testing?
21:02:07 cindy: no
21:02:09 mike: no
21:02:10 KathrynClever: I still can't hear anything
21:02:16 losennom: yes now i can
21:02:18 SusanEttenheim: ok cindy and mike let's fix that
21:02:22 athomas: I hear it through windows media player
21:02:39 kelly: i am using iTunes
21:02:42 KathrynClever: I can hear now!!!
21:02:52 SusanEttenheim: ok cindy and mike what kinds of computers are you using?
21:02:55 athomas: we hear you!
21:02:56 athomas: :)
21:03:01 SusanEttenheim: wow are you all from a class or a group?
21:03:02 mike: I can hear now
21:03:08 cindy: macbook
21:03:28 athomas: Wilkes class
21:03:29 mrsdurff: audio continues to be good
21:03:40 SusanEttenheim: what is wilkes class?
21:03:48 mrsdurff: Wilkes Univ
21:03:54 mike: Wilkes too
21:03:54 SusanEttenheim: ahh
21:03:58 SusanEttenheim: what is the class?
21:04:02 KathrynClever: I am from Wilkes also
21:04:03 kelly: me too
21:04:04 SusanEttenheim: glad you're here!
21:04:09 athomas: Utilizing Emerging Technology to Improve Learning
21:04:12 mike: Using Internet Tools for Teaching
21:04:21 athomas: What she said lol
21:04:24 mrsdurff: that's a mouthful
21:05:00 SusanEttenheim: at this point we usually ask everyone to introduce themselves while listening
21:05:09 SusanEttenheim: where do you live and what do you teach?
21:05:16 SusanEttenheim: please introduce yourself?
21:05:42 matthew: my name is matthew and I teach in lancaster, Pa
21:05:46 mike: Hi  I teach 7th grade science, and live in Allentown,PA
21:05:46 kelly: My name is Kelly Kidd, I am from outside of Reading Pa and I teach fifth grade
21:05:48 SusanEttenheim: ahh I see a lot of typing!
21:05:49 KathrynClever: Hello my name is Kathryn Clever, I am a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher from Hollidaysburg School District in Claysburg PA
21:05:49 athomas: I like in PA and teach 9th grade. My name is Amy.
21:06:11 losennom: Missy Losenno, 4th year pre-service elementary education student at the University of Regina
21:06:15 athomas: **live in PA
21:06:35 cindy: I'm Cindy and I teach 3rd grade in OH. I'm taking online MS courses through Wilkes, in PA.
21:06:50 SusanEttenheim: welcome losennom, kathryn, athomas, cindy!
21:07:07 athomas: Thank you!
21:07:14 KathrynClever: I am still not hearing anything, I am sorry
21:07:50 SusanEttenheim: what's happening in your schools regarding the oil spill?
21:08:03 SusanEttenheim: kathryn - what kind of computer are you using?
21:08:15 athomas: to be honest, none in my school are really talking about it :(
21:08:17 SusanEttenheim: do you see the volume icon? we are on edtechtalk A
21:08:42 SusanEttenheim: Amy what class do you teach in 9th grade?
21:08:53 athomas: English and Algebra I
21:09:12 SusanEttenheim: ahh
21:09:20 mike: At the begining of my classes I have been showing the students the live feed of the spill, obviosly its frustrating for allof us, but my students can't figure out why the oil can't be stopped
21:09:23 SusanEttenheim: can everyone hear except kathryn?
21:09:31 KathrynClever: I can hear now! Sorry!
21:09:36 kelly: yes
21:09:37 mike: It drives them nuts
21:09:39 SusanEttenheim: mike is there a url you can share here in the chat?
21:09:46 SusanEttenheim: oh great kathryn!
21:09:59 SusanEttenheim: what are you doing kelly?
21:10:37 SusanEttenheim: mike - where and what do you teach?
21:10:51 kelly: I teach fifth grade and also attend Wilkes...or do you mean how am I hearing???
21:11:17 mike: I teach 7th grade science (intro bio) in Macungie, PA
21:11:30 SusanEttenheim: oh when you said yes, I thought you meant yes you were doing something to do with the oil spill
21:11:47 dlaufenberg: http://delicious.com/dlaufenberg/oilspill
21:11:57 mike: globalwarming.house.gov/spillcam   here's a link to the live feed
21:12:04 matthew: is there video to this feed as well or will it be just audio and this chat room?
21:12:18 dlaufenberg: http://earthfirst.com/americas-top-10-worst-man-made-environmental-disas...
21:12:18 SusanEttenheim: just audio
21:12:52 SusanEttenheim: do any of you have links that you'd like to share here?
21:14:24 athomas: How easily things are forgotten...
21:14:42 SusanEttenheim: has this come up in your discussions?
21:14:46 athomas: BP is doing it's best to convince us its not that bad also
21:14:58 athomas: not in school, I just hear about it on the radio
21:15:13 SusanEttenheim: the pictures are amazing
21:15:38 SusanEttenheim: habit of mind vs pattern of behavior...
21:16:28 Paul Allison: Does anybody have anything they would like to say or ask about what is going on in the Gulf?
21:16:46 SusanEttenheim: mike are you all still watching the live feed?
21:16:57 SusanEttenheim: you and your students?
21:16:58 mike: I'm glad to say that my seventh graders are picking up on BPs current PR campaign and are not buying it
21:17:12 KathrynClever: I have heard that they think the only way to stop the oil spill is to nuc it! that is scary!
21:17:37 mike: Yeah becasue we are studying ecology
21:19:37 SusanEttenheim: hi buckles welcome!
21:19:43 SusanEttenheim: where and what do you teach?
21:20:37 SusanEttenheim: have you all done anything with infographics?
21:20:47 matthew: no
21:20:53 matthew: I have no idea what they are
21:21:17 cindy: no
21:21:44 athomas: can you define them again?
21:22:01 athomas: Thanks!
21:22:17 kelly: thank you, i was wondering as well
21:22:35 SusanEttenheim: maybe you've used this as a different name?
21:22:50 athomas: so like a visual aid?
21:23:07 SusanEttenheim: hi buckles welcome back
21:23:18 SusanEttenheim: where and what do you teach?
21:23:46 dlaufenberg: http://www.psfk.com/2010/05/infographic-the-worst-oil-spills-in-history....
21:24:41 athomas: it seems like we always live in the moment
21:27:07 SusanEttenheim: can you think of other similar in the moment times?
21:27:36 matthew: is this a similar concept to scaffolding assessments?
21:27:58 SusanEttenheim: what do you mean matthew?
21:28:40 matthew: where you may give a different levels of assessment to the different types of students in your room.
21:29:04 KathrynClever: that would be differentiated instruction  I believe
21:29:08 SusanEttenheim: you mean different students are looking into different issues?
21:29:27 matthew: yes scaffolding = differentiated instruction
21:29:55 SusanEttenheim: matthew can you remind us where and what you teach?
21:30:16 matthew: high school math in pennsylvania
21:30:51 matthew: i teach part of the day in a co-taught classroom
21:31:28 SusanEttenheim: matthew do you have skype?
21:31:33 matthew: no
21:31:42 SusanEttenheim: I'd like to get your voice in here so you can ask yourself!
21:31:51 SusanEttenheim: I could call you on a phone number
21:31:58 matthew: sorry no web cam
21:32:00 SusanEttenheim: you could private messge the number to me
21:32:13 SusanEttenheim: we don't use web cams.. just audio
21:32:35 matthew: ohh.  sorry this is my first time at this site or in this situation
21:32:48 SusanEttenheim: no prob!
21:32:51 matthew: i dont even know how to send private messages
21:32:53 SusanEttenheim: we call people in all the time
21:33:11 SusanEttenheim: double click on my name in the right bar - see it?
21:33:55 athomas: ha! Gas company be trustworthy?
21:34:04 athomas: sorry that wasn't nice
21:35:03 athomas: those are great recommendations for incorporating it into the math curriclum
21:45:17 kelly: i think that any time you take a real life issue that students can connect with and integrate it into various subject areas the learning outcomes prove to be great
21:45:43 dlaufenberg: middle school b/c I was teaming in middle school
21:45:46 kelly: these are great ideas!
21:45:55 athomas: yes I agree!
21:46:01 dlaufenberg: harder to team in high school... possible, but not as easy ;)
21:46:22 matthew: yes the high school is disjointed
21:46:47 KathrynClever: This could also be used in Family and Consumer Sciences to discuss how the oil has effected the food supply in the Gulf.
21:46:53 SusanEttenheim: kelly may I call you? do you have skype?
21:47:01 mike: Sorry I couldn't get skype to work :)
21:47:13 SusanEttenheim: wow kathryn yes = do you have skype ?
21:47:17 SusanEttenheim: that's ok mike
21:47:24 SusanEttenheim:  we can keep trying!
21:47:29 KathrynClever: I don't know, I never used it!
21:47:31 kelly: i do, but have only used the instant messaging tool once
21:47:32 SusanEttenheim: we should practice too
21:48:22 dlaufenberg: ah the grand canyon... #so good
21:50:14 SusanEttenheim: kathryn and kelly - would you like to try to join in?
21:50:29 SusanEttenheim: I can call a phone number which you can private message me or skype
21:50:30 dlaufenberg: in the midst of the city... students are largely disconnected from natural environments... and this disconnect sometimes leads to an inability for the students to connect to the devastation of env. disasters
21:50:31 kelly: im okay...thank you though
21:50:44 kelly: I am just taking everything in!
21:51:00 SusanEttenheim: ok but another time - please come back and join in!
21:51:02 SusanEttenheim: it's fun
21:51:09 kelly: i will...this is great!
21:51:16 SusanEttenheim: you don't have to stay on long!
21:51:37 SusanEttenheim: We started this just as a way to talk about our planning when we didn't have time during the day
21:51:56 SusanEttenheim: and then it became much more interesting when we made it a public conversation
21:52:48 KathrynClever: I think I will try another time, I am with Kelly and just trying to feel things out!
21:53:00 SusanEttenheim: ok :)
21:53:09 KathrynClever: Thank you though!
21:53:12 SusanEttenheim: what an interesting idea - a set of skills vs a set of facts
21:53:18 SusanEttenheim: how do you all feel about that?
21:54:34 KathrynClever: I totally agree!!! We don't have enough time to talk about the world because we so pressed for time getting ready for PSSA testing!
21:54:34 kelly: I think our set of skills provides our foundation, but the set of facts is constantly changing as we learn from our students
21:54:59 kelly: it is really about teaching to the test!
21:55:06 KathrynClever: Yes Kelly!
21:55:09 kelly: our students are really missing out
21:55:52 dlaufenberg: I have found that if you teach kids to think... they will do fine on standardized tests
21:55:54 mike: I don't feel as much pf te standardized test pressure bc at my grade level math and LA are te big stressors
21:56:24 mike: I can dedicate time to current events in science, esp somethign as signifigant as this oil spill
21:57:33 KathrynClever: You could make some good PSSA style lessons using the oil spill as your main focus
21:57:44 dlaufenberg: I have also found that students are able to grasp more difficult concepts in history, when they are able to concretely hang onto some event that impacts their life... thus making the job easier... to get them more 'learning'
21:57:56 dlaufenberg: USe the oil spill articles as reading exercises
21:58:00 dlaufenberg: use it for vocab
21:58:19 KathrynClever: I am sure there will be plently of charts to graph and read to use as wel
21:58:23 KathrynClever: well
21:58:35 kelly: compare and contrast with the top 10 article you provided
21:58:53 dlaufenberg: I often provide students with three different articles... one each from a conservative news source, a liberal news source and one out of the country.... and then look for bias
21:58:58 dlaufenberg: and viewpoint
21:59:53 dlaufenberg: buy less, not more Paul ;)
22:00:24 mike: BP ran a global footprint site
22:00:38 matthew: nice
22:00:47 mike: They did a whole BP (Beyond Petroleum) ad campaign a few years ago
22:00:49 mike: funny
22:00:51 matthew: bet the site was 100% accurate
22:01:27 matthew: i wonder if we will have more flights to the moon now?  Seems like the planet is quickly becoming unlivable.
22:02:22 mike: I also found taht my studnts were very upset ab out te news in the gulf
22:03:03 KathrynClever: I have students who yell at me if I give them to many papers in a day, they tell me I am killing trees. Some of them get it and some of them don't
22:03:10 SusanEttenheim: and what connections do you see for them mike?
22:03:21 SusanEttenheim: how true kathryn
22:03:47 matthew: a whole curriculum could be written that is multidisciplinary on the environment
22:03:50 mike: Unfourtuately its a very frustrating situation, seeing that spewing oil for 50+days has been frustrating
22:03:55 mike: for the kids
22:03:57 dlaufenberg: also things that we don't necessarily teach... courage and ethics... (not tested)
22:04:07 KathrynClever: We have started a recycling program two years ago but it was very difficult to start one in our school.
22:04:31 SusanEttenheim: we lost you matthew and mike
22:05:19 mike: By the way there are over 700 rigs in te gulf
22:05:31 SusanEttenheim: wow mik
22:05:33 SusanEttenheim: mike
22:05:57 mike: all of te spilled oil would power this country for about 2 hours
22:06:08 KathrynClever: wow
22:06:12 SusanEttenheim: wow wouldn't that be great - live blogging students to students
22:07:15 dlaufenberg: thanks to all!
22:07:32 kelly: thank you for a great first experience!
22:07:43 KathrynClever: Thank you very much!
22:07:47 mike: Have a good night, It was a good first experience
22:08:00 mike: despite my skype issues
22:08:04 SusanEttenheim: thanks mike please come back!
22:09:17 SusanEttenheim: thanks everyone - have a good evening!
22:09:40 SusanEttenheim: please join us again anytime wednesday evenings and also there are many other shows on edtechtalk.com