Andrea's Portfolio

What is an Ignite Talk?    

An Ignite Talk is a presentation where speakers get 20 slides and 5 minutes to speak about a topic. It challenges the speaker to make their point quickly, and allows the audience to hear several different talks over the course of an hour. In April 2015, I was invited to give an Ignite talk by a coworker for a Colorado ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) Gallery Gathering event in Loveland, Colorado. In my talk, “NOAA Teacher at Sea: Bringing Real Life Science Into the Classroom”, I discuss my passions, my experience with the NOAA Teacher at Sea program, and how I’ve incorporated real-life science and experiential learning into my classroom.

This presentation is a piece that ties my educational philosophy, my experience as a Teacher at Sea and my expertise in embedding science in my classroom. At this point in my career as an educator, I have fine-tuned my craft, and am continuously learning new ways to engage my students through my varied experiences. I have found students love hearing about my Teacher at Sea trips, especially seeing their teacher kissing an ugly fish!

Why an Ignite Talk?

It was not until the night before the Ignite presentations that I truly got nervous about giving my talk. The rapid pace and 5 minute time limit didn’t leave much room to make a mistake. However, the more I practiced my talk, the more energized and excited I became. After giving the Ignite talks, we had a chance to talk to the individuals who gave the talks, ask questions, and reflect on our learning from each presenter. During each talk, we also had a Twitter backchannel to post questions, comments, or inspirations. Both these components allowed us to make connections and expand our learning outside of the room.  

Being a veteran Teacher at Sea, I am seeking opportunities to share the experience with others, to inspire them to apply for the program, or to incorporate real-world science into their classrooms. Professionally, the Ignite talk was an important step in doing this. Personally, it challenged me to speak in front of a different audience than my day-to-day elementary students.

Further "Ignite"-ing

In order to make this talk even better, I would change a few things. I would keep my pictures more generic so the timing of my talk wouldn’t be as crucial. While I practiced quite a bit for the presentation, I’d like to give the presentation again, as I think it will get better each time I present.

Looking forward, I would like to host an Ignite event with our staff. This will be a powerful opportunity for us to learn from one another, share our strengths and talents, and reflect on ways to best utilize our strengths.