Virtual Talk - In this interaction, a teacher decides on what type of standard they would like help trying to explain to the students. They then look for a practicing scientist who would be willing to do a virtual talk with their students. This virtual talk may take place through Skype, Google Hangout, Zoom or any other type of similar software. These talks should last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and the direction of the talk can be decided by the teacher and scientist prior to the talk.
Tips for teachers:
1- Have a specific standard you would like the scientist to help you explain to your students.
2- Try out the connection at least a couple days in advance just to make sure you are comfortable with it on your end.
3- Tell the kids ahead of time so they know the expectations and can be thinking of questions to ask.
4- Have a few questions ready to get the ball rolling on the question front.
5- Be ready to practice the scientist's name so you can introduce them properly. Know whether to introduce them as a Dr. or Mr./Ms./Mrs.
6- Let the scientist tell the students they can call them by their first name or a name they prefer.
7 - Feel free to let the scientist use a Powerpoint but I have found through experience that some of the most rich and powerful talks were where it ended up being more of a conversation. Letting the kids just ask questions and seeing where the conversation goes can be very rewarding. This takes some practice and a piece of advice, have the students write down questions ahead of time about the topic and if there is a lull, have them ask one of their prepared questions. Usually that spurs the questions and it kind of snowballs from there.
Tips for scientists:
1- Talk with the teacher about what specific standard they would like to cover.
2- Have an idea of your talk but let the questions drive your conversation. These can be some of the best talks.
3- Let the kids see how excited you are about what you do.
4- Give a bit of history about why you ended up doing science for a living.
5- Feel free to have a Powerpoint but I have found through experience that some of the most rich and powerful talks were where it ended up being more of a conversation. Letting the kids just ask questions and seeing where the conversation goes can be very rewarding. If you want, have the teacher submit some questions ahead of time and then you can see where new questions will go from there.
Tips for teachers:
1- Have a specific standard you would like the scientist to help you explain to your students.
2- Try out the connection at least a couple days in advance just to make sure you are comfortable with it on your end.
3- Tell the kids ahead of time so they know the expectations and can be thinking of questions to ask.
4- Have a few questions ready to get the ball rolling on the question front.
5- Be ready to practice the scientist's name so you can introduce them properly. Know whether to introduce them as a Dr. or Mr./Ms./Mrs.
6- Let the scientist tell the students they can call them by their first name or a name they prefer.
7 - Feel free to let the scientist use a Powerpoint but I have found through experience that some of the most rich and powerful talks were where it ended up being more of a conversation. Letting the kids just ask questions and seeing where the conversation goes can be very rewarding. This takes some practice and a piece of advice, have the students write down questions ahead of time about the topic and if there is a lull, have them ask one of their prepared questions. Usually that spurs the questions and it kind of snowballs from there.
Tips for scientists:
1- Talk with the teacher about what specific standard they would like to cover.
2- Have an idea of your talk but let the questions drive your conversation. These can be some of the best talks.
3- Let the kids see how excited you are about what you do.
4- Give a bit of history about why you ended up doing science for a living.
5- Feel free to have a Powerpoint but I have found through experience that some of the most rich and powerful talks were where it ended up being more of a conversation. Letting the kids just ask questions and seeing where the conversation goes can be very rewarding. If you want, have the teacher submit some questions ahead of time and then you can see where new questions will go from there.