Hello

Hello, and welcome to my webpage.

My name is Kevin Knodl, and I’m a High School Physics teacher. I’m currently in the Initial Teaching Licensure and M.Ed. program at the University of Minnesota in the College of Education and Human Development. I have just finished the first year of the program which included student teaching. In the fall , I was student teaching at a small charter middle school in St Paul, and in the spring I was in a high school in the northern suburbs.

I used to have a lovely career in the arts, and you can click the tab above for more info about that. To see more of my work around technology integration in teaching, you can click that above too. To see my teaching philosophy or plans around integrating technology into my teaching just scroll down.

I live in Saint Paul with my wife and daughter. We are all life learners and makers. My favorite media includes steel, wood, and electronics. You can check me out more or contact me with the links below.

My Teaching Philosophy

At the heart of education is the teacher-student relationship. My philosophy of teaching begins there. Building a relationship with a student allows them to trust you and ultimately leads them to better understand the world around them. I want students to know I will be open and honest with them. I will give them tools to learn new subjects in class and continue learning long after our time together. These tools are centered around a culture of inquiry by encouraging students to ask tough questions (even ones I cannot quickly answer) and showing them how to use inquiry to solve new and more significant problems themselves. In my classes, students will be presented with examples of inquiry to follow and countless opportunities to create their methods of inquiry.

I believe that students should be met where they are developmentally by using effective evidence-based teaching methods. In addition, one should remember that students are individuals, not a stereotype or a monolith. They should be observed and collaborated with to see what best works for their learning, including students with disabilities.

To achieve these primary goals, the classroom needs to be a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space, and the teacher needs to maintain the elements that make the classroom safe for all students. This can be done through various means; modeling and encouraging respect for all students, actively stopping disrespect or micro-aggressions, and working to improve relationships with all students and among students. It requires going beyond the old "color-blind" model to one that is knowledgeable of issues my students face beyond academics to their social and cultural challenges and understanding the context of these issues to offer empathy and compassion when needed. Teaching science does not mean you turn your heart off.

Science education should be rigorous and meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Its three-dimensional model (Practices / Core Ideas / Crosscutting Concepts) provides an excellent evidence-based framework for learning, understanding, and teaching science in K-12 schools. Its wide acceptance across the country gives it an authority that makes it more resistant to less biased criticism while providing a method for revision as science continues to develop.

At the same time, science education must be relevant, engaging, and at times fun for students. Teaching subjects with such a high level of abstraction requires taking the time to connect the material to students’ day-to-day lives as much as possible to aid in their understanding. The use of discrepants to keep things exciting and fun while helping them question their prior knowledge on the way to constructing new knowledge will be a frequently used technique for my classes as well.

As a science teacher, I am cognizant of the fact that more experience will continue to shape my philosophy, but I believe the core elements (all students deserve equal respect regardless of race / class / age / gender / disability / etc. meet them where they’re at, and give them the best evidence-based teaching possible.) will stay the same much like the core tenets of science have stayed the same.

Technology Plan

TECHNOLOGY’S PLACE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

We are almost a quarter of the way through the 21st century, and the debate over what our location in time has to do with education continues. Regardless of the debate, teachers need to decide what the state of their communities and schools means to how they either teach about and/or incorporate technology into their classrooms. I resonate with Karen Cator’s view that one of the most important things we teach students is how to learn.

“Success in the 21st century requires knowing how to learn…[Students] must develop strong critical thinking and interpersonal communication skills in order to be successful in an increasingly fluid, interconnected, and complex world. . . Technology should be used to re-imagine 21st-century education focusing on preparing students to be learners for life.” (Cator 2010)

Mixing science and technology is a great way to accomplish it. My philosophy is that technology should be incorporated into science classrooms. It provides more support in helping students construct new scientific knowledge than it diminishes their attention. It can level the playing field for schools that can’t afford elaborate lab equipment by allowing students to do labs in simulated environments at much less cost. Being able to visualize things that human vision and/or words alone fail is a great tool for teaching many aspects of science. Also, technology provides better access to culturally relevant information and views with global perspectives.

Regarding 21st-century tech/skills that aren’t directly related to teaching science content, there is room for science teachers to share teaching some of those skills (As listed in the ISTE profiles for technology-literate students). This would be coordinated with other content areas so overlap is consciously planned and/or avoided. For instance, one of the most important skills to teach students (and is ideal for science teachers) is how to engage with/ utilize Google. As more and more content exists online (over five exabytes every two days) students must be savvy to distinguish biased results.

PLANS FOR SUCCESS.

Successful technology integration requires careful planning, ongoing support, and a willingness to adapt to evolving needs. By addressing challenges in advance, I plan to create an inclusive and equitable classroom environment. Technology will be strategically planned to support the current research-based science teaching pedagogy to ensure positive student outcomes.