POINTS of PRIDE: Carlisle High's Physical Science

Carlisle Community Schools proudly proclaims:  Our mission - CHARACTER, SERVICE, and EXCELLENCE in everything we do."  All three qualities are evident as you enter the freshman physical science class conducted by Kari Murray, a finalist for the 2014 Iowa Teacher of the Year.  Kari greets her students as they enter and prepares them for what awaits in physical science.

I like to visit classrooms where the expertise in the content knowledge is well beyond what I know.  Kari's physical science class is one such place as they studied the periodic table and were busy drawing Bohr Models, displaying "a small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by electrons that travel in circular orbits around the nucleus—similar in structure to the solar system, but with attraction provided by electrostatic forces rather than gravity showing how electrons are arranged in an atom."  (Wikipedia) Whoa!  Well beyond my 8th grade literacy experiences!  The class was busy reviewing for a test with a focus on Iowa Core Essential Concept/Skill:  Understand and apply knowledge of the structure of atoms.

DEMOGRAPHICS of Carlisle High School:
HS - 625 students
Free and Reduced Lunch - 27.9%
Five communities served - PEACH - Palmyra, Easter Lake, Avon, Carlisle, and Hartford (Each spring there is a fundraiser called the "PEACH Affair" which raises Dollars for Scholars.)

Kari loves to use technology in her instruction and today was no exception.  She was using Mimio Votes and the Mimio Pad to make
learning come alive for her 21st Century students.  Kari's instructional style is interactive as she constantly moves about the room checking for understanding of concepts.  Her class began with an entry ticket asking students to reflect upon their knowledge related to today's concepts from 5 (I've got this) to 1 (I don't have a clue).  Using this information, she was able to adjust her instructional practices for the class.  Kari systematically calls upon students by

making sure she is calling on at least one person in every row.  She also employs a thumbs up/thumbs down reflection to gauge instruction for her students and to encourage them to analyze where they are in the learning process.  All of her strategies were ones that informally assess her students' learning and provides them with an opportunity to reflect upon their own leaning.

Jacques Yves Cousteau is credited with saying, "What is a scientist after all?  It is a curious man looking through a keyhole, the keyhole of nature, trying to know what's going on."   I like that idea of each scientist looking through a keyhole with curiosity and a desire to know what is going on.  Science classes such as Kari's not only provide keyholes for gazing through but instills in students a desire to open the door and enter into the world of science.