{"id":243,"date":"2019-06-05T23:42:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T23:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meristem.anu.edu.au\/?page_id=243"},"modified":"2021-03-08T10:51:07","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T23:51:07","slug":"a-teachers-week-with-meristem","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meristem.weblogs.anu.edu.au\/index.php\/new-to-meristem\/a-teachers-week-with-meristem\/","title":{"rendered":"A teacher’s week with meriSTEM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Week before:<\/strong>\u00a0You assign students a series of short videos and inter-video questions to complete as homework before the first class.\u00a0 You can\u00a0download the responses to see which students are having difficulty with the material, and which students\u00a0might be ready to launch into a challenge.<\/p>\n

First class:<\/strong>\u00a0You can start the class by asking students have any questions on the content of the homework.\u00a0 You already know who watched the videos, and how they went on the questions, so you can tailor responses to learners and get quickly onto activities. Students can work in small groups on meriSTEM\u00a0worksheets while you provide differentiated support to students and\u00a0 let them own their learning[4]<\/a>. The worksheet activities have some practise drill type questions and some trickier problems. You also have the solutions sheet with notes to help\u00a0 prompt students.<\/p>\n

Second class:<\/strong> Students work on a big, open-ended question that challenges students to work together to solve a\u00a0 real-world question.\u00a0 These questions connect the science back to practical, everyday situations, and develop students\u2019 ability to define and solve problems beyond just plugging in formulas.<\/p>\n

Third class:<\/strong> Students are given experiment guides.\u00a0 Some of these experimental guides are more heavily scaffolded, to develop fundamental experimental skills.\u00a0 Other experiments are more open-ended, so that students learn to create their own experiments.\u00a0 Teacher guides are provided with suggested prompts or questions, to nudge students towards sensible experimental design.<\/p>\n

Tips and tricks<\/h3>\n

There is a wealth of research on effective flipped class teaching methods.\u00a0 Furthermore, teachers have already used meriSTEM in class, and worked out effective strategies for engaging their students and motivating them to complete the out-of-class learning.\u00a0 These strategies are explained in more depth in the teacher pack, which can be accessed by emailing contact.meristem@anu.edu.au<\/a>.\u00a0 Some of the key lessons include:<\/p>\n