Meet the LEARNS Cycle, a simple way to situate AI tools in evidence-based instructional strategies and activities.

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Maybe we’ll all be investing in this accessory for our short-haired cats.

Note: This article was generated by AI from a Facebook post. Remember to laugh. That aside, it’s all true.

A Story for You (True)

Hey fellow science teachers! I’ve got a story for you that’s sure to grab your students' attention while perfectly illustrating the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) model baked into the new Texas science TEKS.

It involves an 11-year-old boy, some non-toxic lipstick, and a very important question: Does your cat’s butthole really touch all the surfaces in your home? Yes, you read that right. Let’s dive into the delightfully disgusting details.

The Claim

Our young scientist, Kaeden Griffin, made the claim that cat anuses make contact with various household surfaces, leaving…evidence…behind. A bold hypothesis to be sure!

The Evidence

To test his claim, Kaeden employed a simple yet brilliant method - he painted his cats' buttholes with non-toxic lipstick to see where colored…smudges…would appear around the house.

The results were enlightening:

• Cats with medium and long hair didn’t make contact with hard or soft surfaces (their fluffiness acted as a barrier)
• Cats with short hair avoided hard surfaces too
• But those short-haired kitties did indeed leave lipstick marks on soft surfaces like bedding and furniture cushions

As a colleague, the proud owner of a shorthair cat affectionately nicknamed “Skidmark,” said to me, “I can’t say I’m surprised by that last finding!”

The Reasoning

What can we learn from Kaeden’s admittedly crude but incredibly creative experiment?

First, it perfectly encapsulates the CER model. Kaeden made a claim, gathered evidence through hands-on investigation, and used that evidence to reason about the validity of his original hypothesis.

Second, it shows that science doesn’t have to be boring or overly serious. The best experiments often come from asking silly or unexpected questions - the kind kids excel at!

Finally, it highlights how education technology can enhance science instruction. You could easily have students:

• Create video presentations explaining their own CER projects
• Use a shared online whiteboard to map out their claims, evidence, and reasoning
• Collaborate on data analysis using a cloud-based spreadsheet
• Design virtual reality simulations to test hypotheses without…painting cat buttholes

The possibilities are endless when you combine core science practices like CER with powerful edtech tools.

So let’s take a page from Kaeden’s book and get our students excited about hands-on science! Who knows, maybe their weird questions and wacky experiments will lead to the next big breakthrough.

As Kaeden’s mom said, “Science is the best tool we have to learn about the natural world (including cat butts)…And we definitely need more young people in science!!!”

At TCEA’s ETC event, I had a chance to sit in on a presentation about Amira Reading Assistant. As I listened to the presenters, I realized it reminded me of Microsoft Reading Coach. The presenters in the District had heard about Amira in Spring, 2023. They wanted to use it to address reading gaps due to COVID-19.

Amira handles:

• Running record
• Fluency Rates
• Lexile levels

One benefit the presenters cited? “Teachers don’t have to train someone on how to manage a table or classroom of kids AND do running record. Amira handles that [reading record]”.

Defining Reading Record (AI-Provided definition)

In Texas classrooms, a “Reading Record” is a tool used to document and track students' reading activities and progress. It typically includes the following elements:

1. Title and Author: Space for students to record the title and author of each book they read.
2. Star Rating: A section where students can rate how much they enjoyed the book.
3. Reading Charts: Visual aids such as charts with images of fiction subject stickers, multicultural stickers, and other relevant categories to help students organize their reading.
4. Integration with Notebooks: Reading Records are often pasted into students' Reader/Writer Notebooks or Interactive Notebooks, which are used in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies classes.
5. Special Collections: Some Reading Records include special collections of books, such as those focusing on multicultural characters or specific genres, to promote diverse reading options.
6. Dual-Use for Multiple Subjects: In some cases, Reading Records are designed to be used across different subjects, allowing students to enter the same books for both ELA and Social Studies classes.

In the case of this district, teachers conduct reading records, using Amira Reading Assistant to record students reading it, then Amira does the analysis that teachers did.

View Presentation

Here’s the presentation from a K-12 School district in Texas - https://bit.ly/CISDAmira

Resistance

Some of the resistance they encountered in implementing Amira in their District, they “navigated” in this way:

• Provide all necessary security protections/information (Amira doesn’t retain information after analysis)
• Identify early adopters and empower them
• Monitor usage and provide support
• Address technical issues immediately
• Don’t add-Replace
• Provide feedback to Amira
• Be willing to go into the classroom
• Time management

Comparison Feature Chart

This Perplexity AI generated chart compares Amira Reading Assistant with Microsoft Reading Coach:

Both Amira Reading Assistant and Microsoft Reading Coach offer robust features for improving reading fluency and comprehension, but they differ in cost, device compatibility, and specific functionalities. Amira requires a subscription, while Microsoft Reading Coach is free for users with a Microsoft account.

Citations:

[1] www.amiralearning.com/reading-g… [2] www.hmhco.com/programs/… [3] www.amiralearning.com [4] amiralearning.com/reading-g… [5] techcrunch.com/2024/01/1… [6] educationblog.microsoft.com/en-us/202… [7] www.microsoft.com/en-us/edu… [8] support.microsoft.com/en-us/top…