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Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin
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This Week's Topics:
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| The value of mentoring in developing the scientists of the future was at front and center with the latest Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), a program supported and administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The winners of the 2006 competition -- comprising ten individuals and one organization, and representing a number of scientific disciplines -- were announced at the White House on November 16. Since 1996, these awards have been made annually to recognize the critical importance of mentors in the academic and personal development of students and colleagues who are underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Each year's awardees add to a widening network of outstanding mentors in the United States, so that tomorrow's scientists and engineers can better reflect the nation's diverse population. Awards are made to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding and sustained mentoring and guidance to a significant number of underrepresented students at the K-12, undergraduate, or graduate education level; or organizations that, through their programming, have enabled a substantial number of students who are traditionally underrepresented in the STEM fields to pursue and complete relevant degree programs. Nominations are made by colleagues, administrators and students from the nominee's organization, which must be eligible to be a NSF award grantee. Beyond being honored at a White House ceremony, awardees receive a grant of $10,000 to continue and advance their mentoring work. To date, 178 individuals and organizations have been recognized through PAESMEM. A list of the 2006 winners follows and more details are online. . |
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The Biotechnology Institute, the national biotechnology education organization, is conducting "Genome: The Secret of How Life Works," a free professional development session for teachers sponsored by Pfizer, in Atlanta, GA on November 28, and St. Louis, MO on November 30. Participants learn hands-on, low-cost labs they can use with their students from the Institute's new curriculum about the genome. The Institute also produces a resource guide, "Genome: The Secret of How Life Works," which is full of hands-on activities that have been welcomed for their simplicity and for using low-cost, easily found equipment and materials. . |
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| Triangle Coalition member, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is presenting a Regional Conference and Exposition in Houston, November 28-30. Presenters during the three-day conference will be given by educators from throughout the United States. Topics range from developing algebraic thinking to linking research to practice, and high-stakes testing, to the uncertainty of extreme weather patterns. The regional conference and exposition, "Energizing Mathematics," will bring together math educators from preschool through university levels to examine different methods for evaluating students' understanding of mathematics. The ability to analyze what students do and do not understand about mathematics gives teachers the power to help all students grow mathematically. Local hosts have organized a conference offering more than 300 sessions and workshops covering all levels, pre-K-grade 12, and challenging educators to add to their math knowledge and increase their instructional skills. In the era of balancing No Child Left Behind with state and district accountability, the conference offers solutions and help teachers plan lessons that motivate students to become better math thinkers. On Friday, a full day of "Learn and Reflect" sessions will allow participants to make an in-depth study of data analysis and probability in prekindergarten though grade 12. Click here to learn more about the sessions, workshops, and other offerings of the conference. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has 100,000 members and more than 230 Affiliates in the United States and Canada. It is the world's largest organization dedicated to improving mathematics education for all students from pre-K through grade 12. The Council's "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" provides guidelines for excellence in mathematics education. Its recently released "Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics" identifies the most important mathematical topics for each grade level. More details are at www.nctm.org. . |
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The non-profit Alliance for Science is seeking students to participate in their annual National High School Essay Contest. This year's theme is "Climate, Agriculture, and Evolution." Students are encouraged to submit essays of up to 1,000 words on one of two topics: "Climate and Evolution" or "Agriculture and Evolution." Essays will be judged for their scientific focus, and correctness, quality of analysis and interpretation, personal voice and interest, and clarity and style of writing. Cash prizes will be given to the top four students, with $300.00 for first place. Sponsoring teachers of the top two students will receive cash for purchase of educational materials. Additional prizes include educational DVDs and books. . |
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| "Ready, Set, Science!" is a new publication from the National Research Council explaining how the latest research on learning and teaching can be put into practice in K-8 science classrooms. Using extensive examples and case studies, the book guides teachers and science specialists in applying the findings in the Research Council's 2006 report, "Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8." "Ready, Set, Science!" guides the way with a comprehensive synthesis of research into teaching and learning science in kindergarten through eighth grade. Based on the recently released National Research Council report, "Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8," this book summarizes a rich body of findings from the learning sciences and builds detailed cases of science educators at work to make the implications of research clear, accessible, and stimulating for a broad range of science educators. "Ready, Set, Science!" is filled with classroom case studies that bring to life the research findings and help readers to replicate success. Most of these stories are based on real classroom experiences that illustrate the complexities that teachers grapple with every day. They show how teachers work to select and design rigorous and engaging instructional tasks, manage classrooms, orchestrate productive discussions with culturally and linguistically diverse groups of students, and help students make their thinking visible using a variety of representational tools. The report is available for purchase, but may also be read online. . |
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| Triangle Coalition member, Carus Corporation, observed National Chemistry Week (NCW) 2007 in late October with a variety of events, including visits to schools in LaSalle County. This annual event gives Carus the opportunity to communicate the benefits of chemistry and the necessity of chemicals to our quality of life. Junior High students at area schools had fun learning basic chemistry principles by watching and participating in practical demonstrations on how chemistry works. The 2007 theme of NCW was "The Many Faces of Chemistry." It gave Carus volunteers a chance to highlight the many different types of chemistry careers available locally as well as explain principles often seen on television shows such as Crime Scene Investigation (CSI). Other events during NCW included a presentation at a meeting of the LaSalle/Peru/Utica Community Advisory Panel as well as a presentation to the IVCC Chemistry Club. During this presentation, Carus expanded even more on the "The Many Faces of Chemistry" to explain the different types of jobs and employment opportunities available at a chemical company, many of which don't require chemistry degrees but are vitally important to the company. This year marked the 20th anniversary of NCW, a program of Triangle Coalition member, the American Chemical Society (ACS). Each year, NCW informs millions of people about the positive contributions of chemistry to everyday life and the nation's economy. ACS local sections, industries, educators, and promoters of chemistry awareness celebrate NCW nationwide. Carus, a long-standing member of ACS, has been celebrating NCW for many years. Carus Corporation, founded in LaSalle, IL, in 1915, is the world's leading manufacturer of permanganates. Permanganate, and all the other chemicals Carus produces, are used mainly for environmental applications: to improve the quality of drinking water, to treat municipal and industrial wastewater, to clean up contaminated sites, and in air purification systems. More details are at www.caruscorporation.com. . |
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| Amgen is currently encouraging applications for its 17th annual Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence (AASTE). The award is designed to recognize and honor extraordinary science teachers at the K-12 level who significantly impact their students through exemplary science teaching, and who achieve demonstrated results in student learning in communities where Amgen operates. With a longstanding commitment to science education, Amgen established the teacher awards program to promote and encourage science excellence in public and private schools. Since the program's inception in 1992, Amgen has awarded more than $1.7 million to educators who have made exceptional science-teaching contributions and who have significantly impacted the lives of their students. Amgen is expanding its program this year, and will honor a total of 32 teachers in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Washington, and Canada (British Columbia and Ontario). Applicants are also required to submit an innovative lesson plan that they have successfully incorporated into their classroom and can be shared with other teachers. A panel of independent judges will select the winners based on the following criteria: creativity of teaching methods; innovative lesson plan; effectiveness in the classroom; and the plan for the use of grant money to improve science education resources in their schools. A select number of the lesson plans submitted by 2008 AASTE Award winners will be posted to Amgen's website, with the intent that other teachers will benefit from these innovative materials. Select lesson plans from 2007 AASTE Award winners are available for download at no cost; educators are encouraged to review and implement any of these plans into their own curriculum. More details are online. . |
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| Exxon Mobil Corporation recently announced it is expanding its partnership with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation by sponsoring the first Hispanic Heritage Award for Math and Science, increasing the corporation's support for the Foundation to $1.2 million. Receiving the inaugural award is seismologist and science education advocate, Dr. Ines Cifuentes. "To be named as the Hispanic Heritage Award Winner for Math and Science is a deep honor and a testament to the power of education, hard work, and the support of my family and friends. I would also like to commend ExxonMobil for its commitment to enhancing and improving math and science education as well as its progressive Hispanic outreach," said Cifuentes, who has dedicated much of her professional life to advancing scientific study on seismology. More recently she has been working to improve the teaching of math and science in Washington, D.C. public schools. Also being honored during the 21st Hispanic Heritage Awards Gala is Keone Hon, the 2007 National Hispanic Heritage Youth Award recipient in Engineering and Mathematics, an award also sponsored by ExxonMobil. Hon is a freshman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is interested in pursuing a degree in mathematics and chemical engineering. ExxonMobil supports organizations such as the Hispanic Heritage Foundation that help promote and create opportunities for minorities in the math and science fields as a way to improve math and science education. Recently the corporation has intensified its math and science outreach by contributing $125 million to the National Math and Science Initiative, which focuses on improvements in these areas from pre-school through higher education. More details are at online. . |
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TCEB Sponsors
This issue of the TCEB is made possible by grants from: To find out how your organization can sponsor the TCEB or support the Triangle Coalition in other ways, visit www.trianglecoalition.org/support.htm __________________________________________________________________________ |
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