I just wanted to say that it was an amazing experience and opportunity to go. The experience validated the challenges and struggles that I was starting to see with STEELS but offered amazing insights into how to handle these challenges and how to work through them as well. I went to many sessions that shared valuable ideas when it comes to STEELS.
One session I went to dealt with the what, why, and how of STEELS. This session described the shift from the old standards and dealt with the new methods of teaching STEELS Standards. This session really described the reasoning behind the shift, which is to allow students to build a deeper understanding of concepts and topics in their own way. Another session that I attended demonstrated the STEELS process by doing a hands-on lesson. I, the student, was able to work through the process and was able to ask questions about the struggles that the presenters have faced. This gave me many amazing ideas on how to implement and perform the new style of teaching.
A third session that I went to talked about how STEELS can be impacted by what students already think they know. We looked at different probing questions that allowed students to put down what they originally believe based off of their background and how we can use that to see a shift in understanding. I actually purchased the book with those probes and I plan on implementing them next year as an introduction to new topics or units.
The final session that was of great interest was STEELS Notebooking. The presenters shared how student’s notebooks were adjusted to fit STEELS and how they use composition books to keep students’ ideas organized.
Overall, this was an amazing opportunity, and I want to thank the Foundation for providing this opportunity. I have faced many challenges, and I was happy to hear I was not alone, but I learned so much from these sessions that will help me overcome those challenges.