Long time no see, Splashers! We hope everyone is off to an exciting start of the new semester. This monthâs newsletter features a report from MITâs Summer HSSP, web updates, handy Google Docs and Sheets tricks to streamline program planning, as well as an all-new lesson planning resource and a column from the Pedagogy Team.
đ News From the Road
Vivian (MIT/LU) reports back from Summer HSSP at MIT ESP
This year, MIT ESP (Educational Studies Program) held online Summer HSSP, a six-week program from July to August that happened every Sunday. We had 43 teachers teach 32 classes on all kinds of topics such as algorithms, relativity, and music composition. Over 500 students from grades 7 to 12 and recently-graduated high schoolers around the country and world attended Summer HSSP, from India to other states like CA, MA, and NH.Â
Summer HSSP 2023 group photo; Summer HSSP directors (Allen, Tara, and Vidya, left to right) are in the front row.
Although ESP started holding in-person programs since fall 2022, we decided to hold Summer HSSP online for accessibility purposes. Part of this decision making came from the fact that we received emails from students outside the Boston area sharing how positive their virtual experience was and how they wanted a virtual program if possible.Â
Another major factor was that we had discussions during retreat and elections about the importance of accessibility, one of our organizationâs values as we believe that all students should have equal access to educational opportunities. After running virtual Summer HSSP from 2020 to 2022, we were able to reach a lot of students outside the Boston area, from states like California to countries like India.Â
From the online programs, we realized the power of making MIT ESP accessible to students far from MIT. Another benefit of running Summer HSSP online was that this made it possible for admins not on campus to still help out with the program via Zoom, whether it was moderating classrooms or checking-in teachers on the Discord channel. After considering these factors, we decided to hold Summer HSSP 2023 online.Â
While we are not entirely certain about the format of Summer HSSP next year, we definitely will keep in mind that online education can help us reach more students that we ever could before COVID.
đ§ Website updates from our Web Wizards
The wizards of web team updated all websites in August, which included the following new features we think youâll love:
Credit card payments now work with partial financial aid (we know a lot of you have been running into this problem lately)
Students can edit their extra cost selections đđ, even after they've paid! (plus a visual overhaul to the extra costs page)
Student self check-in (let students check themselves in via the webapp if they've already turned everything in)
Arbitrary records đ (keep track of various things like medical form submissions via email)
Themes are MUCH more customizable now đ !
A legend in the ajax scheduling app
Student and teacher pronouns (enabled by default, but there are tags to disable them)
đ» Julia (Yale/LU) shares Google Docs and Sheets Tips and Tricks that can streamline program planning
Did you know that Google Drive has a lot of project management and smart features? From tracking deliverables and action items to easily creating color-coding, here are two that will be helpful as you start to plan your programs.
#1: Building Blocks and Dropdowns in Google Docs
You can also use building blocks to insert templates that help you track projects, files, and more. In Google Docs, go to âInsertâ > âBuilding Blocks.â The âProject Roadmapâ is particularly helpful in tracking tasks and their status. For example, you might change a column to âPerson Assignedâ. The dropdown options can also be customized by changing the text, number of options, and/or colors. Learn more about building blocks and dropdowns from Google here.Â
#2: Conditional Formatting and Dropdowns in Google Sheets
Love color coding? Use conditional formatting and dropdowns in Google Sheets to make it automatic and quick! In Google Sheets, go to âInsertâ > âDropdownâ and specify a range. You can customize the number, color, and text of the dropdown options. For conditional formatting, go to âFormatâ > âConditional Formattingâ. You can specify the parameters for a specified range. For example, you can color the cell green if the text is exactly âTuesday, October 4th 8:00-9:00 PM ETâ. Or, you can color the cell purple if the comments include the term âactive learning.â Learn more about dropdowns and conditional formatting from Google.Â
đ§âđ« Strategies for Intentional Teaching
Vivian (MIT/LU) presents an all-new lesson planning worksheet
Now that classes have started, it is time for us to start planning for our Splash programs in the fall! What makes a Splash successful involves many variables, such as logistics and planning, but one key factor is ensuring that teachers teach well. While it is easy for teachers to have a rough idea of what to teach, the challenge is planning classes such that students can have the best learning experience possible. There are a lot of teaching pitfalls, with the most common ones being having too much to teach or having too little to teach.Â
As the former Director of Teaching Resources at MIT ESP, one of my responsibilities was planning for teacher orientation. In order to improve teacher orientation, I designed a lesson planning worksheet and printed these worksheets for teachers to fill out during orientation. I hoped that the worksheet activity would not only encourage teachers to start planning their classes earlier, but also consider ways to ensure that students achieve the intended learning goals.Â
Zoe (UCLA/LU) explains how activities can be used as check-points for student understanding throughout the class
This month, we continue to build on the backward design framework by introducing formative assessment: how we assess student understanding and adapt the class accordingly.
Planning an assessment strategy after determining your learning objectives may seem counterintuitive, but it is the critical component of backward design that builds in the most intention to your class. Instead of trying to cover as much material as you can and hoping that something sticks, you will first plan an assessment that will demonstrate whether the students have achieved the learning goals, then (sneak peak of the the third and last step in backward design:) teach the material in a way that will help them perform well on the assessment. That is, if students perform well on the assessment, that should be evidence that they have met the course objectives.
So, what is an assessment? In a typical semester-long class, an assessment could be a quiz or midterm exam, group project, writing assignment, etc. that take place sometime during the semester. But an assessment can be embedded into a single class, just like in a one-day Splash class: in the past, we have seen polls, Kahoot games, online discussion boards, peer activities and feedback ⊠anything can be a form of assessment, if itâs used to check in on how the students are doingânot just quizzes!
Make it count! What makes an assessment formative is that the result of the assessment should be used to subsequently adapt the remaining parts of the class. An assessment is a way for the instructor to get a peak of the studentsâ knowledge and how students are engaging with the material. Incorporating the results of an assessment into the class in some form of feedback ensures that students learn through the assessment as well.
What would this look like? In a chemistry class, a significant number of students may have responded to a question about resonance structures that they switch between their constituent structures (a common misconception). So, instead of moving onto the next topic, you might decide to spend more time explaining that they are actually simultaneously those structures (learning from mistakes stick!). Or, students in a math class could be asked to graphically represent merge sort algorithms, and give each other peer feedback (have students teach each other!). Remember that a good learning goal includes humanistic learning outcomes such as developing new interests or making new connections. So, students could be asked to find music from their own playlists with various kinds of rhythm, timbre, genre, or historical context that were reviewed in class.
Communicating the goals of an assessment can also motivate students and guide their thought processes in engaging with the assignment.
Plan in advance: Formative assessment can be challenging in a Splash class because this adaptation needs to happen on the spot. When you make your lesson plan, consider possible outcomes to an assessment (e.g., if there are common misconceptions) and prepare how you would respond to each outcome. This will become more and more intuitive and natural as you get more teaching experience, and you will be able to adapt in real-time!Â
Itâs easy to think that assessment is less important in a Splash class, since there are no grades at stake and you donât witness the results of learning once the program ends. But making formative assessments an integral part of your class is especially important to check in on whether students are learning what you intended them to learn, because there is no way to check with longer-term evaluation methods. If you donât periodically assess how students are doing in terms of both understanding of the material and engagement, students may leave the class without learning or even with misconceptions, indifference, or even negative impressions of the topic.
Next month, we finally start sharing specific teaching strategies. Share with us fun activities you have used or seen in a Splash class!
â  Weâre asking you to âŠ
Tell the Pedagogy Team what kind of resources and workshops would best help you prepare for teaching at Splash. Our first workshop will be held virtually in late Octoberâstay tuned!
