Latin School of Chicago

Teachers and Learners To Elizabeth Denevi, director of studies and professional development, classroom innovation can inspire some of the best teaching and learning. "Innovation puts teachers in the role of learner," said Denevi. "To me, those moments, when teachers are in that position, are when things get really interesting." Introducing new ideas and methods forces teachers to take risks and be willing to fail, explained Denevi, and the impact on students is huge. If the class or project goes as planned, both students and teachers are actively engaged in the learning experience together. "As a teacher if you are really in it with your students, they will be there with you," she said. "ey want to connect in real authentic ways with their teachers." Even when a project is not successful, students are challenged to think critically about why. Meanwhile, teachers can adapt and adjust their program to student needs. Upper school history teacher Ernesto Cruz put it succinctly: "As a teacher, you can't be dynamic if you don't feel dynamic. If you feel stagnant, your students are going to feel it. ey know when you are going through the motions." With support from his department chair, Cruz has continually added new content and approaches to his curriculum. Up next? A possible interdisciplinary history and chemistry class. Students in Juliana Reese-Clausen's and Beth Manning's middle school science classes know their teachers aren't "going through the motions." e fifth and sixth graders practically glow with enthusiasm about the subject matter and how they are learning it. In Reese-Clausen's class, the sixth graders used their creativity and their science knowledge about animals to design their own fish species. Students chose a habitat for their species and the class of fish it would be part of. ey considered sensory structures, defense mechanisms and the feeding strategies their fish would use to survive. Finally, they used their imaginations to build colorful three-dimensional models of their species. en, with the help of computer science teacher Bobby Oommen, the sixth graders learned simple code to prepare recorded presentations about specific features of their fish. ey connected those featured parts to a laptop using a Makey Makey circuit board, wires and alligator clips. At the end of the unit, the sixth grade hosted a gallery walk so that their peers could admire the unique fish models; using the Makey Makey, guests could touch a certain part of the fish to hear all about it. As part of the fifth grade electricity unit, Beth Manning had students design and build their own structures and then wire them for electricity. She collaborated with Oommen and technology coordinator Andy Stone so that students could use code to program an Arduino circuit board to control the lights, doorbells and other electrical components in the homes, bakeries, stadiums and concert venues they created. roughout the project, the fifth grade science room was in a state of controlled chaos, with cardboard, scrap paper, wires and tools spread out over the floor, while doorbells buzzed and rang, lights flashed and the fifth graders hovered over their designs. As McLaine Leik contemplated the theater she and her partner built, with blinking stage lights and brightly lit exit signs, she didn't hide the pride she felt in the project. "When you see the finished product, it looks so awesome," said McLaine. "It looks like someone who is a professional could have made it, not just fifth graders. But when you learn how to wire it, piece by piece, it is actually pretty simple. "Since we did the unit, I always think about all the lights and everything around us every day and the connections behind the walls. It is so cool to realize that we learned to do that." For teachers at Latin, McLaine's response to her classroom experience is one that makes every well-thought-out simulation, cross-disciplinary collaboration and out-of-the-box idea worth it. opposite page: Fifth graders put the final touches on wiring their bakery for electricity in science class. this page: Ernesto Cruz's America (in) Theory course teamed up with first graders as they were learning about creating communities. Latin Magazine » Spring 2016 27

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