SEP Session 3, Day 1 (5-8)

Many teachers began the first day of class by playing ice breaker games to help students learn more about their classmates. After learning more about each other, teachers introduced students to the foundation of their course.

Each day, we will feature several courses. The number of courses posted about each day will vary depending on our schedule and tasks for the day. Throughout the session, we will feature as many courses as possible.

"Blueprint to You" is a class based on genetics. By the end of the session, students should understand that "genetics is a vastly complex field that holds a variety of social implications, both positive and negative." After a few activities where students got to know each other, Cat Gamboa informed her students of some of the exciting tasks they would be completing in upcoming days like working with Mr. Potato Head's genetics, studying fingerprints, solving a crime scene, and engaging in a debate. One of the students responded, "I knew this class was going to be fun!" First things first, students learned about the differences in dominant and recessive traits by playing BINGO.

Today in "Periodic Explorations," students played a Periodic Table game that involved learning about their classmates and trying to identify elements based on simple clues. After the game, students took an Element Quiz/Questionnaire to test their knowledge of all the elements. From the quiz they were tested on which elements come first and last alphabetically, would discovered Uranium, and more.

Today in "Do as Romans Do," students went on a scavenger hunt where they collected stones with roman numerals. Students then had to work in groups to "translate" their roman numerals and add up their total score.

In "So You Want to Change the World" students worked individually to write down as many problems in the world that they could think of. Students then worked in groups to sort their concerns into categories of their choosing. Finally, students each shared the problem that they are most concerned about. As students progress in the class, they will move from discussing problems to generating creative solutions.

Today in "The Energizers and Catalyzers in the BIochemical Process," SEP biochemists learned about what biochemistry is and why scientists study it. Students also learned about carbohydrates and glucose, what they are, and how they make up what we eat. The class began their first lab today, by observing six different bananas of varying ripeness. Then, students predicted and recorded their predictions about how the ripeness of the banana may influence its glucose level. 

Today in "From Hamlet to Black Panther," students took turns reading through Shakespeare's script of Hamlet, each reading the parts of different characters. As a class, they discussed the historical background of this dramatic text to further their understanding of the play. Then the class watched clips from two different movie adaptations of Hamlet and worked together to compare and contrast the two different versions paying particular attention to the representations of characters and the setting. 

Today in "Math, Statistics, Game Theory," students were introduced to coding and mini programming for games they can play themselves. Tic-Tac-Toe was the featured game of the day. The class was tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of various game strategies for Tic-Tac-Toe. Based on the precision and specificity of language used in each strategy, students determined which was better. And of course, they played the game using each of the strategies.

Today in "Engineers Can Change The World," SEP scientists worked in small groups to design and build ‘trash” chairs using recycled materials. After groups completed the design and construction process for their chairs, each group presented their chair to the whole class and talked about their design process. 

5-6 photos:

Teacher Raina Clasen tries out the chairs!

7-8 photos:

Today in "Engineering Hogwarts," students learned about the six stages of design thinking through the lens of Star Wars. Students also learned about their final project. For their final project, groups will be coming up with a fantasy play and engineering something to help one of their characters overcome an obstacle. In preparation for the final project, groups created "group norms". Groups then participated in a team building activity where they created the tallest structure possible with seven pieces of paper.

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Best,

Nicole, Olivia and Abby