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I'm Michael and I currently teach at a small private semester school in Idaho, called the Alzar School. I'm taking this course to improve my teaching and to make it easier to get a teaching job elsewhere sometime in the future, perhaps a public school.

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Science and Math & Media Coordinator

Michael grew up in the Boston area. He was first introduced to the outdoors at a summer camp in the Northwoods area when he was in third grade, and from then on, he was hooked on wilderness travel. He returned to the same camp for six summers as a camper and three summers as staff. Michael went on to lead rafting and backpacking expeditions, and he has worked as a river guide and kayak instructor. He graduated from Whitman College and taught math and science for three years prior to joining Alzar School in 2017. Michael is a Wilderness EMT, and he is passionate about education and the outdoors. He likes to learn about local, natural, and human history, reads avidly, and enjoys kayaking, mountain biking, and trail running. Email Michael Jorgensen or call at +1(833) 862-5927 x 718.

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Michael grew up in the Boston area. He was first introduced to the outdoors at a summer camp in the Northwoods area when he was in third grade, and from then on, he was hooked on wilderness travel. He returned to the same camp for six summers as a camper and three summers as staff.

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I'm in the back in teal.

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boats and boating equipment and supplies

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The used bookstore in Cascade is open 11-2pm Thu-Saturday, and I bike there once a week. Books are 50 cents, and I usually get as many as fit into my backpack. I enjoy any outdoor activity I do without getting into a car first. Over the summer I work as a raft guide rowing boats on three to five day trips. Its my favorite part of the year. I'm also an ok runner (as a PE teacher) and like whitewater kayaking.

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Looking dorky.

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1) I’d like to understand the science and studies from which best practices for instruction are devised. .

2) I often feel that I teach in a bubble (there is one other science teacher and one other math teacher at my school, Alzar) so I’d like to learn other’s perspectives on teaching STEM to high schoolers.

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This is a draft...

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What are you most looking forward to learning about in this course?

I hope that I can take much of what I’m learning in this course week to week and turn around and apply it one of the three classes I’m teaching. (Physics, Geometry, and Calculus.) I’m especially interested in interactive instruction and best practices for labs or projects.

What is your biggest concern about taking this course?

I’m worried I’ll get lost in various technology platforms and different ways to submit work. I’m also somewhat concerned about overall workload while teaching full time, but that is a decision I’ve made and is entering up to me.

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Here is a short story partly about teaching.

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The most concrete effective learning experience I've had would be taking 20th Century Physics at Whitman. This was the first challenging science class I took. The class was effective in covering new physics and really using the math that had previously been swept under the carpet. The class also connected concepts to real laboratory experiences that although often frustrating let me see the chalk board theory play out in the real world. All that said I think the most effective part of the class was working in groups on long, hard, and intricate problem sets.

Many of these themes carried through my physics class at Whitman. They also tended to be small, and I felt a personal obligation to the teacher to do quality work.

I'd say good design includes a personal connection to teachers, real world problems, and working with others to solve those problems.

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This is a short video I made about our student's experience in Chile last semester. (I tried to upload it from my desktop, but that requires padlet-pro)