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| STEMming the Gap |
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Professional Development Workshop Series 2008Funded by the Maine State Department of EducationProject Goals:We understand how the teachers of today are charged with the difficult task of preparing their students to be both scientifically literate and technologically advanced in order to become productive and responsible citizens. This project will provide rigorous, inquiry-based teacher training and assistance in improving classroom instruction in science and math. In addition, participating teachers will gain a deeper knowledge of how students learn and how to probe and address student misconceptions. Teachers will gain significant skills in the use and interpretation of a variety of learning assessment strategies. The project will establish a community of teachers to share ideas and interests in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and monitor their own progress of reform. The project will share the considerable resources for STEM education offered by the Educator Resource Center at the Challenger Learning Center. By pulling in other organizations and institutions offering training in the STEM fields, the project will work to establish a regional consortium to build and strengthen professional development opportunities.Project Plan:Eighteen middle/high school science teachers will meet for a series of 5 workshops at the Challenger Learning Center in Bangor. The first two single-day sessions will take place this April and May, followed in August by a three-day summer institute. The remaining two single-day sessions will take place during the 2008/09 school year in November and January. Substitute reimbursement will be provided to the school system for each of the 4 professional release days required.Teachers must agree to participate in the entire series. Each session will build upon the discussions and activities of the previous session, concluding with the follow-up workshops to allow continuing discussions on reform strategies and progress. The culminating workshop will include invited professional development providers and curriculum coordinators, working to establish a forum for exchange in the STEM community. Participants who complete all of the requirements will receive a $350 stipend and 5.0 CEU’s (50 hours). Schedule of events:Monday, April 7, 2008, 8:30-3:30 Building and Not Building upon Misconceptions Working from the cognitive research of Dr. Phil Sadler at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, we’ll begin investigating why students may perform well on your assessment instruments, yet say things in class which leave you wondering if they really understand the underlying concepts. Learn how to unveil student misconceptions and lead them through inquiry-based experiences to make the right connections between prior knowledge and new knowledge. Look for the qualities of a well-designed activity that will reveal those misconceptions and work to change those underlying ideas. Sandra has worked with scientists and teachers nationwide, looking at what teaching inquiry in the classroom really means. Workshop activities will provide participants with an overview of the research base behind inquiry teaching and learning and some hands-on examples of the many different ways inquiry can look in the classroom. (+ one evening) During this three-day institute, participants will explore the education research literature and resources that support curriculum development. Review a wide variety of curriculum materials and activities, develop a set of criteria to evaluate the quality of any given curricular activity, and the know-how to modify an activity to create the desired outcome. Time will be spent connecting the new content to individual classroom curricula and specifically developing/modifying a fall activity or unit. As determined, based on needs established in the prior sessions, participants will share and reflect on what they’ve used in their classrooms thus far, discuss the process of reforming and enriching classroom practices and the value of various forms of assessment. Details TBD. A conference of teachers, education administrators, and professional developers working to establish an open forum for sharing and building upon STEM education in the State of Maine. |