At the beginning of summer, I was already thinking about next school year and how to make the science I teach more real, more personable, more relateable (I know, not the highest quality word choice) for my students. Through the last two years, I have been able to incorporate a variety of scientists through Skype or similar video conferences which have always been fantastic. These talks allow the students to interact with an #actuallivingscientist so they can see who is doing the science, ask questions and listen to some fascinating science talks. The only issue I have is that I will not ask anyone to do four talks a day as I know the scientists still have work to do and I do not want them to feel put upon or as if they are a babysitter for my class. I want these talks to be helpful, informative and enjoyable for all parties involved. I can honestly say, each year when I do one of the video-conferences at least one student will say they didn’t think a person like them could do science (race, gender, background) which makes me sad. I also have multiple students say after that they thought it was cool and would like to explore that science more in depth.

With that in mind, I was thinking how can I bring more scientists into my classroom to share with my students what they do and why it is awesome. The idea was to ask as many of my scientist friends (cool to think how many friends I have made now in the science community) if they would be willing to make a short video explaining “Why My Science is Awesome”.  I think this would be a cool way to show at the beginning of class 2 or 3 days of school each week. We would be able to show one to each class and have a short discussion about what they saw. It would be a great way to show a variety of science and a variety of scientists.

As for the videos, I am thinking for a length that is anywhere from 1-3 minutes but that is not set in stone (maybe no more than 5 minutes). I would think the videos could be as simple as filming yourself using your iPhone and just talking about “Why My Science is Awesome”maybe showing some of the equipment you use or the area you research to as complicated as using a professional video camera and integrating images.  The videos would be uploaded to a YouTube Channel so multiple classrooms could use them as long as the scientist making the video is good with that idea.

If you have never done a video like this before, I will get a couple examples soon to put up for you to model after. I really think this could be a great way to introduce your science and yourself to many school kids while talking “Why My Science is Awesome.”

Feel free to send your video to patrick.goff@fayette.kyschools.us and I am looking forward to your submission. Also, if you know anyone who would be great for this project, please send this link to them. My motto on this project is, the more the merrier. Any science is welcome so we can showcase as many different disciplines as possible.

Lastly, thank you. Thank you for being willing to participate and help show everyone “Why My Science is Awesome.”

Sincerely,

Patrick Goff