.
|
Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This Week's Topics:
. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Many of us remember a science class where we first had opportunities to conduct experiments. It may have been our first exposure to the scientific method, as we investigated phenomena, presented hypotheses, and shared results. The National Science Foundation (NSF) helps make research experiences accessible to students at all levels, and supports classroom math and science teachers through a number of programs encompassing teacher preparation, professional development, and partnering and mentoring opportunities with higher education faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In addition, a select group of teachers has an opportunity to serve at NSF through the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program. Cherlyn Anderson is one of eight Einstein Fellows spending this academic year at NSF. In her other life, Anderson is an eighth-grade science teacher in South Carolina. She has used an experiment involving Mentos candy and Diet Coke as a teaching tool. A video is currently available on the NSF website that offers a demonstration of the experiment, and discusses its benefits for eighth-grade science students. The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program offers current public or private elementary and secondary mathematics, technology, and science classroom teachers with demonstrated excellence in teaching an opportunity to serve in the national public policy arena. Fellows provide practical insight in establishing and operating education programs. Fellowships increase understanding, communication, and cooperation between legislative and executive branches and the science, mathematics, and technology education community. The Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education has been authorized to assist in the administration of the Einstein Fellowship program. The Triangle Coalition, in coordination with the Department of Energy - Office of Science, handles the recruitment of teachers, the application process, the selection process, and the placement and orientation of the Fellows. Find out more at www.trianglecoalition.org/ein.htm. . |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently released a new multimedia elementary educational program, "Nautical Charts." Designed in cooperation with NOAA's Office of Coast Survey for students at the third through fifth grade level, the media rich activity teaches young people about charting and navigation. The activity uses animation to teach chart symbols, safe boating, and why nautical charts are important. Students have access to movies, sounds, pictures, and links to other resources. The multimedia offering is interactive and challenges students to solve a mystery as they encounter a message in a bottle that includes a scrap of nautical chart from Cape Hatteras. The mystery deepens through the message's reference to a gold ring. Students follow a series of questions and a scavenger hunt to uncover nautical chart basics and find the location of the ring. The activity concludes with participants learning about the history and artifacts of the U.S.S. Monitor shipwreck, now part of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. A gold ring, from a crew member, was found in the Monitor's gun turret and now resides at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, VA. This activity uses the same characters and methodology employed in a similar multimedia tool, Sea Floor Mapping, launched last year online. “NOAA is delighted to be able to make available another marine science elementary educational tool,” said Louisa Koch, director of NOAA's Office of Education. “We are working hard at expanding our offerings so that marine science activities can become an increasing part of our nation's science educational efforts at all levels.” Triangle Coalition member, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. . |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The U.S. faces a critical shortage of qualified physics and physical science teachers. Two-thirds of new physics teachers lack a physics degree and the necessary content knowledge to be highly effective in the classroom. In order to address the crisis in physics and physical science education, the American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and Triangle Coalition member, the American Institute of Physics (AIP) have developed the Physics Teacher Education Coalition, also known as PhysTEC. The mission of PhysTEC is to improve and promote the education of future physics and physical science teachers. Since its launch in 2001, PhysTEC funded institutions have achieved a number of significant successes, including: . |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "The Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs: Findings After the First Year of Implementation (NCEE 2008-4021)." The evaluation reports on the impacts on student achievement of two academic programs -- one for reading and one for mathematics in grades 2-5. Compared to students attending regular after-school program activities, the students selected for the after-school math program received, on average, an additional 49 hours of instruction; students selected for the reading program received 48 hours of additional instruction, on average. The evaluation found a statistically significant difference in student math achievement, favoring students in the math after-school program compared with those in the regular after-school activities. There was no statistically significant difference in reading achievement between students in the reading after-school program and those in the regular after-school activities. The original design of the Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs called for studying one year of program implementation. However, the study was expanded to include a second year of implementation and data collection using a sample of 15 math centers and 12 reading centers. This sample includes students who were part of the study in the first year and students who were new to the study in the second year, allowing the new wave of data collection to shed light both on the cumulative impact of the enhanced after-school program on returning students and on the impact of a more mature program on new students. Those results will be presented in the final report of the evaluation. The current report is available online. . |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Educators say they don't feel adequately prepared to integrate instructional software into their classrooms and are not receiving the technical support needed to fully impact student achievement, according to a new joint study by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. "Access, Adequacy, and Equity in Education Technology" examines the state of resources and the support provided for education technology in public schools and classrooms nationwide as reported directly by classroom teachers and instructional assistants. The report explores the disparities in technology access found in different community types and school levels, and also provides suggestions to help guide policymakers toward ensuring that educators and students have opportunities to use technology as an effective instructional tool. Teachers say that although they may have access to computers and the Internet, they don't feel adequately prepared to use the technology to enhance their lessons. In addition to a lack of training and technical support, teachers in urban schools cite insufficient and outdated equipment and software. "Teachers and students should have the same level of technology in schools that is being used outside of schools. How can we expect our teachers to provide kids with the education they need to join today's high-tech workforce without the necessary equipment and training? " said NEA President Reg Weaver. . |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The winners of NASA's 50th Anniversary Essay Competition have been selected. The international competition challenged middle school and junior high students to discuss, in an essay of 500 words or less, one of two topics: how they have benefited in their everyday lives from aerospace technologies built by NASA during the past 50 years, or, how their lives may be different 50 years in the future because of NASA technology. Jackson Warley of the Renaissance Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, took first prize. The seventh grader will receive a $5,000 college scholarship and a trip to view a space shuttle launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In his essay, Jackson wrote "the underlying spirit and principles of NASA ... heeds the basic human calling to explore the unknown and in doing so, gives people motivation." Second prize and a $2,500 college scholarship went to Grace Nowadly, a student at Berkeley Middle School in Williamsburg, VA. Megha Subramanian of Hershey Middle School in Hershey, PA., won third prize and a $1,000 college scholarship. Click here to read the winning essays and see a list of regional winners. More than 1,000 submissions from 37 states and 15 countries were entered into the competition. NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program and NASA's Office of Education conducted the competition. To learn more about NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program and the benefits of NASA-derived technology, visit http://ipp.nasa.gov. Triangle Coalition member, NASA, offers a wide range of educational programs and materials at http://education.nasa.gov. . |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TCEB Sponsors
To find out how your organization can sponsor the TCEB or support the Triangle Coalition in other ways, visit www.trianglecoalition.org/support.htm __________________________________________________________________________ |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||