Skype from the Cockpit
I have been privileged to enjoy a great deal of access throughout my life, and I am always interested in finding ways to share my wide network of people and resources with my students. Thus, when one of my closest friends from childhood mentioned that his Coast Guard base in New Orleans was trying to start an educational outreach program, I was eager to partner with them. A number of my students are considering military careers, but most are not even aware that the Coast Guard is a branch of the armed services. Moreover, all of my students can benefit from exposure to real-world applications of the math and science that they learn in school.
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My friend (Lieutenant Andrew Breen) is a rescue helicopter pilot, and he and I spent months designing a lesson to help students review ratios and proportional relationships by presenting them with problems about helicopter air speed and fuel levels. We selected this topic after careful consideration of all of the material that my students learn over the course of the year.
Brainstorming spreadsheet with an outline of my curriculum and Lieutenant Breen's suggestions about how different topics relate to flying helicopters. We decided to focus on ratios and proportional relationships so that the virtual visit would benefit two of my classes: both my sixth- and seventh-grade students begin the year by studying ratio relationships. The goal, after all, is to expand access for as many scholars as possible.
Based on my extensive conversations with Lieutenant Breen, I designed a worksheet to guide students through the call. It began and ended with reflections about their learning but also contained a number of problems based on real-life information about the Coast Guard's MH-65 Dolphin helicopters. Lieutenant Breen gave students a physical tour of one such helicopter, answered questions about his job and experiences, and even led students through some of the problems on the worksheet. He was joined on the sixth-grade call by fellow Lieutenant Josh Wofford but did the seventh-grade call solo.
Students meet U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenants Andrew Breen and Josh Wofford via Skype. Scholars took notes about what they were learning and what questions they wanted to ask during the officers' initial presentation so that they were prepared to engage in conversation immediately afterwards. To the left is the view from the screen at the Coast Guard base in New Orleans, Louisiana. To the right is the view from the back of my classroom in Washington, D.C.
Samples of student worksheets. I designed these based on my conversations with Lieutenant Breen and my students' curricula. The information about the helicopter's speed, fuel capacity, etc. is all accurate, so scholars were performing the same sorts of calculations that Lieutentants Breen and Wofford do while they are in the air. Students took notes about the presentation on the first page of the worksheet and reflected on what they had learned on the back. We did a couple of problems from the sheet in class, but the rest were assigned for homework.
Samples of student thank-you letters for Lieutenants Breen and Wofford. I frequently emphasize the importance of expressing gratitude explicitly with my scholars, so they are used to writing appreciative notes to teachers, guests, and one another. I was particularly excited about how many students expressed an interest in saving lives with the Coast Guard through these letters (see pages 3, 4, and 7). Many of my students know that military jobs are stable career options but do not realize that plenty of non-combat roles exist within the armed services. Thus, this virtual visit helped to increase their knowledge of job opportunities (which is a central component of access).
Students mailing a care package to Lieutenants Breen and Wofford. In addition to the letters of gratitude, my scholars sent the officers West T-shirts as a physical memento of their virtual visit to our classroom.
