Cathy Barthelemy is the director of professional development and community programs at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. She joined the Denton cadre on March 3, 2015 to provide a professional development seminar about student engagement and effective field trips. She modeled how to effectively engage students by sending a mystery item around the room and we, the Denton cadre, had to use our background knowledge to make a hypothesis of what the item was based on our observations. Needless to say, we were engaged in the activity! Mrs. Barthelemy had us defend our hypothesis and provide evidence. She eventually shared that the item was a bezoar. Don't know what a bezoar is? Neither did the Denton cadre students. She explained that bezoar's are a hard mass of hair and stone found in the stomachs of some animals.
Mrs. Bathelemy then emphasized the importance of having students ask questions and having the students research to find the answers. She suggests that teachers have a bulletin board or "parking lot" for questions. If a student asks a really good question, the teacher may have them write it on a post-it note and place it on the bulletin board. Then if another student finds the answer to the question, they can write the answer on the post it note and sign their name.
Mrs. Bathelemy also spoke about the importance of allowing students to work as a group with hands-on materials then allowing the students to teach the rest of the class what they learned.
Mrs. Bathelemy was extremely helpful in providing information to keep students engaged in the learning experience while also providing helpful tips and resources to make field trips effective and support student learning.
Mrs. Bathelemy then emphasized the importance of having students ask questions and having the students research to find the answers. She suggests that teachers have a bulletin board or "parking lot" for questions. If a student asks a really good question, the teacher may have them write it on a post-it note and place it on the bulletin board. Then if another student finds the answer to the question, they can write the answer on the post it note and sign their name.
Mrs. Bathelemy also spoke about the importance of allowing students to work as a group with hands-on materials then allowing the students to teach the rest of the class what they learned.
Mrs. Bathelemy was extremely helpful in providing information to keep students engaged in the learning experience while also providing helpful tips and resources to make field trips effective and support student learning.