GCISD Science Blog

The Advanced Chemistry - Research and Design students from CHHS and GHS participated in the Fort Worth Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the University of Texas at Arlington on February 17.  Over 400 students participated from ten counties in the fair which is in its 67th year. 19 student received special awards from 18 distinguished organizations ranging from NASA to Lockheed and the US Navy. 17 students are advancing to the state competition in San Antonio on March 23-25. Three students received 5th and 6th place honorable mentions for best of show and will advance to the International Science Fair in Philadelphia. Thanks for the hard work, diligence and creativity for all of these students, the support of their families and the outstanding instructional leadership provided by CHHS science teacher Sonya Loughran and GHS Science teacher Erin Smith.

Non-traditional way to assess student understanding and readiness in any content Teachers make countless on-the-spot decisions daily that change the course of the day's lesson plans, let's face it. They monitor and adjust to meet the needs of the students in their classrooms. Teachers who know their students can react and intervene quickly. A slight tweak to the way students turn in work might be a simple solution to unlocking student understanding...and it begins at a bargain store. When teachers assign a task, imagine having students reflect on how comfortable they are with the content upon completion before turning in their work. Dream about how, according to how they perceive their level of understanding, students select the appropriate basket to leave their work. (Of course, this requires a classroom culture of risk-taking, growth, and safety.) There is a great deal of power in student reflection and being a self-regulated learner! One small adjustment that teachers