Greetings! My name is Nick Weiss, and I am the Director of Innovative Teaching and Learning at Prince of Peace Christian School in Carrollton, TX. I also teach AP Environmental Science and two video production courses, one in the middle school and one in the high school. I grew up on a farm in Michigan where experimentation ruled. Whether it was dissecting a cow or building medieval catapults with friends, I was always captivated by learning. The work ethic I gained through working on a farm and the desire to learn continues to drive my growth as a teacher. Technology has always been an interest of mine, namely video technology. My passion for video started at my alma mater Concordia University Wisconsin. A campus ministry called The Haven needed someone to produce videos for them. Even though my expertise was minimal at the time, I gave it a shot. Starting with Windows Movie Maker, a small DV camera, and a couple friends who were mass communication majors, I began learning. That simple decision to buy a camera and take on the challenge of making videos for The Haven would eventually lead to me becoming a video production leader in education.
Two years after I picked up my first video camera in 2004, I graduated and moved 1200 miles south to TX where I have been teaching ever since. My path is marked with growth in classroom management at first, then teaching strategy, and most recently, leadership and innovation. Early on with the help of some wonderful cooperating teachers, I quickly grew past the rookie stages of teaching and learned to be an excellent classroom manager. In 2009, I was given an opportunity to co-teach a new elective called DigiMedia that encouraged creativity, collaboration, and service work among students and the community through the use of technology. Two years later, I picked up a high school section of Video Production that did much the same. In these classes, students became skilled video producers but also used these skills to serve others. To this day I continue to teach DigiMedia and Video Production. After students finish these classes, I often see them taking the lead in creating videos for group projects, and their churches, and families.
In addition to teaching video production, I also taught science using the inquiry-based science method. Lab work and collaborative activities were used regularly, and I dabbled in project-based learning, which led to "Serving With Solar," a project in which students engineered a solar cooking device for a developing country. In 2012, I flipped my science classroom for the first time. I recorded 60 videos that year and mastered the app Explain Everything. With lecture content being watched by students for homework, I enjoyed being off the stage three times a day and delving deeper into discussions, one-on-one conversations, and more lab time. Two years later, I remade all of my videos to make them clearer, more polished, and more concise. I also began to utilize more online resources as I realized that many other great science teachers in the world were doing the same thing as me; in many cases, they were doing it better. Expanding to online communities through Edmodo, Twitter, and YouTube, as well as connecting with industry professionals through Skype greatly enriched my science classroom more than I could have ever done.
In early 2013, I started to feel a desire to lead other teachers. I began conducting various workshops at conferences and met with a number of teachers face to face and online. In 2015, I stepped up into more of an administrative role at Prince of Peace Christian School as the Director of Innovative Teaching and Learning. Most of my time was spent helping teachers develop personal learning goals, collecting evidence of meeting them, and then posting them on a website with reflection. In the end, about half of our teachers participated and grew a great deal. Here are links to a few: Mrs. Stark, Mrs. Krause, and Mrs. Weiss. Through the experience, I learned that voice and choice is necessary in staff PD just as much as it is in student learning environments. I was very rigid about the tool that teachers were to use to build their digital portfolios (Weebly.com). Giving teachers more flexibility would have increased buy-in. Additionally, I learned that a public audience for teachers is just as powerful as it is for students. Our portfolio exhibition in 2016 was powerful. Teachers were motivated to clean up their websites before the big day. Each of them was more in touch with what they had learned that year because they spent the time to articulate it on a website as well as share it to a number of teachers and administrators at exhibition.
In early 2013, I started to feel a desire to lead other teachers. I began conducting various workshops at conferences and met with a number of teachers face to face and online. In 2015, I stepped up into more of an administrative role at Prince of Peace Christian School as the Director of Innovative Teaching and Learning. Most of my time was spent helping teachers develop personal learning goals, collecting evidence of meeting them, and then posting them on a website with reflection. In the end, about half of our teachers participated and grew a great deal. Here are links to a few: Mrs. Stark, Mrs. Krause, and Mrs. Weiss. Through the experience, I learned that voice and choice is necessary in staff PD just as much as it is in student learning environments. I was very rigid about the tool that teachers were to use to build their digital portfolios (Weebly.com). Giving teachers more flexibility would have increased buy-in. Additionally, I learned that a public audience for teachers is just as powerful as it is for students. Our portfolio exhibition in 2016 was powerful. Teachers were motivated to clean up their websites before the big day. Each of them was more in touch with what they had learned that year because they spent the time to articulate it on a website as well as share it to a number of teachers and administrators at exhibition.
In the 2016-17 school year, I worked hard to understand Project-Based Learning more deeply. Many of the PBL units I had done in the past were lacking much needed alignment to standards, authenticity, or opportunities for critique and revision. Additionally, I had no experience teaching PBL in the elementary. In response, I went to work reading PBL in the Elementary, PBL for 21st Century Success, PBL Starter Kit, and a number of blogs, Twitter posts, and YouTube videos. I revised some of my own PBLs to the Gold Standard as the Buck Institute of Education has defined. After coming to a fairly solid understanding of the Gold Standard, I shared what I learned with a small team of teachers in a half day workshop. During the workshop, they worked on revising one of their existing PBLs to bring it up to the Gold Standard. The team made a great deal of progress and to this day, a few of us collaborate and give each other feedback on projects. After our half day training in the fall, our school shifted it's PD focus and resources to learning how to teach in a block schedule and PBL training became less of a priority.
In 2017-18, I took on a larger teaching load. I still occasionally met with teachers and did a little coaching but for the most part, my time was spent teaching two new classes I hadn't taught before: HS Environmental Science and Intro to Computer Applications. The computer class lent itself to a project-based approach. I connected with authors, video game designers, iOS engineers, accountants, and more to develop relevant projects that served our community. We formatted a book for an author, designed an app to encourage reading in Kindergarten, re-organized accounting spreadsheets to solve some problems for our summer program, 3D printed a variety of useful objects, and more. I didn't develop any projects in Environmental Science, but I came to a level of comfort with the content so that I could start envisioning what that might look like. Two projects are spinning in my head, which involve charging students with a sustainable way to grow food and determining what kinds of renewable energy could work at POPCS. Both my MS and HS video production classes became increasingly connected to the community and service-based. Of all the Gold Standard PBL design elements, I really improved upon inviting authentic audiences to participate in student learning and growth. We had an audience of 60+ community members for Stories Worth Telling and another 60 for two projects we did with senior adults: Faith Stories and Joining Generations. The culture around these projects is growing nicely.
In 2017-18, I took on a larger teaching load. I still occasionally met with teachers and did a little coaching but for the most part, my time was spent teaching two new classes I hadn't taught before: HS Environmental Science and Intro to Computer Applications. The computer class lent itself to a project-based approach. I connected with authors, video game designers, iOS engineers, accountants, and more to develop relevant projects that served our community. We formatted a book for an author, designed an app to encourage reading in Kindergarten, re-organized accounting spreadsheets to solve some problems for our summer program, 3D printed a variety of useful objects, and more. I didn't develop any projects in Environmental Science, but I came to a level of comfort with the content so that I could start envisioning what that might look like. Two projects are spinning in my head, which involve charging students with a sustainable way to grow food and determining what kinds of renewable energy could work at POPCS. Both my MS and HS video production classes became increasingly connected to the community and service-based. Of all the Gold Standard PBL design elements, I really improved upon inviting authentic audiences to participate in student learning and growth. We had an audience of 60+ community members for Stories Worth Telling and another 60 for two projects we did with senior adults: Faith Stories and Joining Generations. The culture around these projects is growing nicely.
As of August 2018, I'm teaching two sections of AP environmental science, one section of regular environmental science, and two video production courses, one middle school and one high. A good amount of my time is spent learning the content and designing curriculum for AP Enviro, which isn't project based (yet). I generally think of PBLs after I teach the content through the first time. We recently visited a wastewater treatment plant, which led me to a couple wastewater treatment experts. Talking to them gave me an idea for a PBL next year relating to "defending our drains," a campaign they started a few years back. The wastewater treatment plant here has a problem with material flushed down the drain that isn't biodegradable. A well-designed PBL could educate a number of people on how to take better care of their drains. I hope to do my first Environmental Science PBL in January. Students will be introduced to food deserts and urban sprawl. After learning about the future challenges of providing nutritious food to the masses, they'll have to design a sustainable hydroponics or aquaponics system to grow food. Video production projects continue to grow and thrive. As I approach the end of first semester, I have an exhibition scheduled every other day leading up to finals. My professional development duties as Director of Innovative Teaching and Learning have been mostly put on hold as I'm needed in the classroom. I coach teachers when they ask or when I have extra time, but the majority of my time this year is spent in the classroom. Looking forward to the remainder of 2018 and the projects it brings.