Hi, I’m Katie. I teach middle school scientists and have a project-based, standards-based, and student-led classroom. Sounds like a lot, but those three work together really well. I also write, speak, and consult on all three.
LATEST POSTS
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Outliers in Educational Data Sets
An outlier is a data point that doesn’t match the rest of the pattern. In quantitative data, usually a number that is too big or too small to be part of the data set. How can this be used in schools? It’s helpful to know that some things are just not going to match up.…
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Pattern Identification and Use for Educators
A recurring sequence which happens consistently. Patterns can be seen in data, events, and behaviors. Basically, a pattern is something that repeats often enough to be predictable. Patterns can change. This might indicate a trend. Also, it is helpful to know that a data point that doesn’t fit a particular pattern is called an outlier.…
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What Data Is and How Education Can Use It
Data is information collected together, usually by observation. Data can be numerical (quantitative) or descriptive (qualitative). The type of data should fit what you are trying to study. Quantitative data Examples of quantitative data in schools include assessment results scores (classroom, district, and state), attendance, graduation rates, GPAs, some discipline records, class sizes, and survey…
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Education Needs Science
It was a decade into my career as an educator when I realized something was missing. The career path I first started down was not originally teaching. Fresh out of college with a degree in zoology, I started doing chemistry work in the corporate world. The job was interesting and wonderfully scientific, but in the…
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Breaking Silence
Today in school, I was silent. For the second year in a row, I participated in GLSEN’s Day of Silence. The Day of Silence is a student-led event that happens in schools across the country, bringing awareness to the silencing effects of anti-LGBTQ+ name-calling, bullying, and harassment. Students (and teachers) from middle school to college…
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Move to the Middle
Recently, I wrote a little about a concept I’m playing around with called Highly Responsive Teaching. Basically, it is centered around the idea that the teacher “moves to the middle”. I first heard of this phrase in Hacking Leadership by Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis, where they talk about being the link that connects people…
