VIDEO: Foxborough Teachers Mix Science with Pop Culture to Teach Students About Density

Editor's note: The following Foxborough Teaching and Learning Highlight was submitted by Assistant Superintendent of Schools Amy Berdos.

Students at the Ahern Middle School most likely will not forget how to calculate density thanks to the creative and engaging instruction of their grade 8 science teachers, Ms. Diane McDonough and Ms. Tara Tetreault, also known as the 'dynamic duo.'

The energy and efforts that teachers do every day in classrooms were this week's Teaching and Learning Highlight around Foxborough Public Schools. The way these two middle school teachers go about reaching kids is fun and entertaining as demonstrated through one of the videos they created and shared to help students better understand the concept of density.

(Watch the music video in the photo gallery above).

"Call it Density," is the second video they have created for the purpose of introducing a new science concept. Complete with props and singing a catchy tune, the two teachers illustrated how density is measured reiterating that the "math is easy ..."

Students find the videos engaging and fun, Ms. McDonough explained, saying  the students are finding the videos not only educational but helpful as measured by class quizzes and their request to have the videos shared online.

The video is a great way to capture students’ interest, develop a topic, and provide a good introduction to the work students will do throughout the course of study.

Following the viewing of the video, Ms. McDonough also showed students using Vernier probes to capture and graph minimum and maximum temperatures. The video and hands on learning with the probes are just two of the many technologies available to support student learning.

Superintendent of Schools Debra Spinelli said these two teachers illustrate the lengths that our teachers will go to help students remember, understand and love science.