Science Bus Orientation 1. General Info on EPACS and Science Bus 2. How Science Bus is Structured 3. Behavior Management 4. The Science Bus Wiki

1. General Info on EPACs and Science Bus

EPACS is the East Palo Alto Charter School What is a charter school? -A public school that has more freedom from state regulation and bureaucracy -School is accountable for student achievement & fiscal solvency -Do not charge tuition or have admission requirements

EPACS Mission Statement ■Equip students with the skills necessary to read, write, speak, and calculate clearly, correctly and confidently ■Hold our students to the highest academic and behavioral standards ■Provide a student-centered, culturally sensitive learning environment ■Seek parental, community and volunteer partners that support and enrich our goals

Science Bus is an Afterschool Program to Teach Science We focus on hands on experiments!

2. How Science Bus is Structured

People Science Bus Leadership Co-Presidents: Steve Connor, Vivian Ericson Treasurer: Alex Sugarbaker Wiki Manager: Jay Vowles EPACS Contacts After-School Program Manager: Mike Nagy Teacher/Advisor: Hillary Mills

Age Groups: Tuesdays: 2nd/3rd Grade Wednesdays: 4th/5th Grade First Thursday of the Month: 6th/7th Grade Time Commitment: -The after-school program is from 4:45-5:45pm We Meet at Cedar Hall at 4:05pm -We get back a little after 6pm

Monday Meetings: -Meet at Bytes at 12:30pm to go over lesson -If you are unable to attend, read the lesson and worksheet prior to coming (generally 2-4 pages)

Overview of Our Year Fall: Water! Exploratorium Field Trip Winter: The Science Olympics Field Trip to Stanford Spring: TBA Science Fair

Lead Tutor Students You Teaching Aid

Basic Set Up of Lessons Students pick up name tag, lab coat, and worksheet Tutors work with students to go over worksheet for about 5 minutes Lead tutor goes over worksheet and experiment planned for that day Tutors lead the students through the experiment Discuss conclusions as a group Clean-Up

What’s on the worksheets? 1. Review of previous lesson 2. Questions to get them thinking about the current day’s lesson 3. Place to write down their hypothesis 4. Observation Section 5. Conclusion Section

Interested in Lesson Planning or Leading Lessons? -The themes and lessons are planned the quarter before they are executed -We will be going over the drafts for the last four lessons within the next two weeks -We will plan the Science Olympics Lessons sometime in late November

3. Behavior Management

Some Key Points: % of students in a classroom will have behavioral problems -Part of what you have to teach is behavior: our first lesson was focused on this -One part of management is to build up trusting relationships with the students -Always use the name of the student you are addressing -Be consistent and clear about your expectations

Three Basic Rules: 1. Eyes on Me 2. No Talking when the Tutor is Talking 3. Hands to Yourself

System of Reinforcement Positive ReinforcementNegative Reinforcement 1. Students Get a Sticker on Their Name Tag at the End of the Lesson for Behaving Well 2. Positive Referrals-For Exceptionally Good Behavior 1. Warning 2. Loss of Sticker 3. Negative Referral 4. Sent to Mr. Nagy’s Office

Don’t Give Vague Directions Vague DirectionClear Direction “Pay Attention”“Eyes on Me” “No talking”“Behave Appropriately” Check for Understanding After Giving Directions

Use the Technique of Behavioral Narration Focus on students that are following directions by running a commentary: Example. “Susan’s eyes are on me” “George is working on his worksheet” “Briana is not talking” After using behavioral narration, wait for students to behave before trying to enforce directions. Key Point: The Commentary is not a Judgement or Praise, it’s a way to repeat the Directions.

What if the Students still aren’t Following Directions? Correct the students that aren´t following instructions using our management system: Example. In very calm voice: “This is a warning, the next time you talk while the lead tutor is speaking you will lose your sticker for the day.” “It´s the 3 rd time we had to ask you to follow directions, the next time you will be sent to Mr. Nagy’s office.”

Use a 3:1 Ratio After correcting a student, look for three opportunities to mention when they are behaving properly. It is often more effective to use behavioral narration with students who have a tendency to misbehave.

4. The Science Bus Wiki

1. Signing up for Lessons 2. Organizing events: i.e trainings, BBQs, field-trips 3. Making lesson materials and other resources easily available 4. Posting questions or discussions related to Science Bus What we’ll be using the Wiki for: