This episode is what happens when I spend an hour chatting with a grad school friend about some of our favorite topics! I'm joined by Jess Rowell, a fellow Renaissance Woman, who teaches 6th and 8th grade science and STEM in Maryland. Jess discusses how her industry spanning career and world travels have impacted her teaching philosophy. We talk about the unique challenges the pandemic has created for her current 6th grade students and how she's connecting the dots for them during the school day. Jess shares her love of space (and not-so-secret desire to bring more space education to schools). Plus, we learn why boats are so important in her life.

Promised Show Notes Materials (take a drink):

1. Sign up for updates on my podcast and what's happening in the Renaissance People Community
2. Book the poster “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten” is based on
3. Critique of phrase “Learning Loss” and another perspective on “learning loss”
4. Knowles theory of Andragogy (adult learning theory)
5. Obituary for UW-Madison Plants and Man professor Tim Allen (yes, I’m recommending you read an obituary) and another article about him which describes the “sandbox” I was honored to be part of briefly.
6. Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
7. Sisbro Productions Main Page | Kids Stuff ("The Marvelous Musical Report of the Marine National Monuments" is a video Jess shows every year on the last day of school) | “The Riddle in a Bottle” Trailer
8. The Science of Thinking video
9. Dr. Derek Muller: The key to effective educational science videos | Veritasium Channel
10. Episode 3 Melissa Vining
11. Jenni Gritters: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
12. Episode 2 Nancy Scales Coddington
13. Next Generation Science Standards introductory video by fellow MSSE graduate, Paul Andersen
14. NASA Spinoffs Game | Main Page | Technology Transfer

Follow Jess on Social Media:

LinkedIn | Instagram (Full Circle Wins) & Instagram (STEMJourneys)

A few things Jess and I discuss:

4:23 Our virtual grad school as preparation for COVID-19 pandemic adjustments

5:57 Jess’s Venn Diagram

8:09 Science vs STEM (and other acronyms)

12:27 Integrating academic subjects across student’s school day

18:21 Unique COVID impacts on current 6th graders due to kindergarten disruption

21:37 The problem with the phrase “learning loss”

24:44 Sharing the “why” behind what students are learning to get buy in

31:18 Science integration resources

38:17 Making people curious about you

41:59 Telling stories to bring meaning to your message and work

43:40 Improv Game

44:27 Sara’s "Brain Dump" idea

48:05 Rapidish Fire Questions

53:16 Combining game development ideas with teaching/learning

Quotes from the episode:

(Jess) If you're a science teacher, you can be talking with the math teacher. You can be talking with the art teacher. You can be talking with the social studies teacher. And going at bare minimum, to see what their lessons are doing at that time. Looking at the whole day of a sixth grader and how we can be giving those bridges. I've been saying bridges, just for lack of a metaphorical term, how we can be working together to at least make that student's experience more cohesive.

(Jess) What we're seeing now is just a completely, just unpracticed group of students. So I joke that we've just spent the last four months just getting these kids ready to do school. And that's something we do in September and Shocktober and not necessarily through January. So just now seeing our students develop those basic maturities to be available to learn.

(Jess) If they're asked to write a claim, well that's a claim in one class, but a hook in a different class or vice versa. Like maybe we should just call it all claim or call it all hook. Because if we can make those things a little bit more similar, then they at least have that connection

(Sara) How do you introduce your Renaissance Woman's self to somebody new who you're maybe hoping will fund your next big, way out there, wonderfully woven, connecting-the-dots idea. How do you introduce yourself to them so that they realize that you are this like complex, multi-passionate person, but not overwhelm them and talk their head off for 45 minutes when they just ask you, so tell me a little bit about yourself?

(Jess) Oh, you always ask the hardest questions, Sara.

(Sara) You know me, I like to jab it in there.

(Jess) I've tried all sorts of different elevator speeches. I resonated with things like I help bring science and media full circle. That's one that's kind of worked for me because then that allows them to ask whatever question that they want, that they happen to get in that moment, to ask me the next question. Because if I try to push it all down somebody's throat, they're not gonna get it. So if you've got a little teaser aspect to it, then that seems to help a little bit.

(Sara) Make them curious. Inspire curiosity.

(Jess) Yeah. Make it their idea. Make curiosity their idea, not your idea.

(Jess) Just about every major life-changing decision I've made has been on a boat. With somebody who has less than average access to a boat, I'm not near a boating community. It's not part of my life. I'm feeling like there's some tie in there. And I carried an elk out of the forest by myself once.

(Sara) Wow! OK. So with the boat one, I think there's a metaphor. And I'm expecting a really well thought out blog post or LinkedIn post about that because I feel like there's gotta be some sort of metaphor going on there.

(Jess) Challenge accepted.

Follow me, Renaissance Woman Sara Kobilka, on LinkedIn, where I put most of my social media energy and Facebook.

If you're extra curious, check out Renaissance Woman Consulting to learn more about some of the many types of work I do.

And should you care to support the production of this podcast, I'd love it if you'd buy me an oat milk cappuccino, the caffeinated beverage of my choice.

This podcast is hosted and edited by Sara Kobilka.

Theme music is by Brian Skellenger

Podcast distribution support provided by K.O. Myers of Particular Media