The Friday Institute is pleased to announce the schedule for the Brown Bag Seminar Series for Fall 2009. The seminars will all take place every Wednesday at 9am in the Collaboratory Commons at the Friday Institute on NC State’s Centennial Campus, with refreshments served at 8:30am.
Filling the pipeline with the next generation of chemists, engineers and rocket scientists isn’t easy. New research at North Carolina State University hopes to drive U.S. students to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM.
Dr. Eric Wiebe, Senior Research Fellow at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and associate professor of Math, Science and Technology Education was given a $15,000 Faculty Award gift from IBM to support his work researching how cloud computing technologies can be used to further K-12 education in North Carolina and nationally.
The Friday Institute for Education Innovation was pleased to be the location of the second annual Graphic Enhanced Elementary Science (GEES) teacher workshops. The workshops are part of ongoing research into ways to enhance learning for elementary science students. The participants were 2nd-4th grade elementary teachers from four Wake County elementary schools, Bugg, Olds, Jeffereys Grove, and Hunter.
The project Multimodal Science: Graphic Enhanced Elementary Science recently received a $37,000 supplemental grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their work in elementary science education. The project aims to improve teachers’ understanding of and capacity to use graphic communications with grades 2-5 students within the context of science notebooks and inquiry-based activities. They are creating professional development modules that help teachers better understand the role of graphics in science and science education. Additional materials will provide teachers with specific strategies for supporting student production of and learning through scientific graphics.
The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation was pleased to present the first Voices of Innovation Seminar of the semester on Monday, August 24, 2009. The presenter was Dr. William Sandoval of the University of California, Los Angeles. His topic was Studying Children’s Ideas About Knowledge in Science Classrooms.
The project Diagnostic E-Learning Trajectories Approach (DELTA) applied to Rational Number Reasoning for Grades 3-8 recently received a supplemental grant of $350,000 to their previously funded 5-year, $1.65 million grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their work in rational number reasoning.
The Friday Institute was pleased to be the host location for a Conference on National Math Standards. The conference was hosted by the Diagnostic E-Learning Trajectories Approach (DELTA) research group led by Dr. Jere Confrey and Dr. Alan Maloney, in collaboration with the Center on Continuous Instructional Improvement of the Center for Policy, Research and Evaluation at Teacher’s College.
For two weeks in August, teachers from across North Carolina and Michigan converged on the Friday Institute for an intensive workshop as part of the MINDSET Project. MINDSET stands for Mathematics INstruction using Decision Science and Engineering Tools and focuses on designing, implementing and evaluating a 4th year mathematics curriculum based upon operations research and industrial engineering. The idea is to teach math with a focus on decision making in business that will improve a student’s attitude toward math, especially in underserved populations.
The curriculum that has been created is being showcased to the teachers who will then pilot chapters of it in their classroom. The feedback received from teachers and students helps to revise and improve the curriculum being developed. The goal is to have an alternative math option for students after Algebra II. In both North Carolina and Michigan, as well as other states, a fourth year mathematics course is now required for graduation and not all students are inclined to take Pre-Calculus/Calculus.
Feedback from the teachers has been very positive and most are returning to the project for the second year. Participants from the previous year have said that the skills they learned at this workshop helped them teach all of their classes not just the ones associated with the project.
For more information about the MINDSET Project, visit their website.
This post is part of the series Project NewsThe Friday Institute for Educational Innovation has recently updated a list of the schools and districts that are part of the North Carolina Learning Technology Initiative (NCLTI). These schools and districts are recognized as leaders in the use of technology for teaching and learning.
The list includes schools that are part of the 1:1 Pilot and its expansion, Golden LEAF Coaching Initiative schools, locally supported 1:1 schools, and IMPACT III and IV schools.
NCLTI is a public-private partnership designed to address:
Equity, providing all students access to 21st century teaching, learning, and technology;
Engagement, involving students in active learning and thereby improving student achievement and reducing dropout rates;
Economic development, providing all students with workplace skills such as communication, problem solving, and collaboration, along with content expertise, to make each region of the state more attractive to businesses.
The NCLTI builds upon the successful planning and implementation of the School Connectivity Initiative (SCI), the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS), Learn & Earn Online (LEO), NCDPI IMPACT Model Schools, and the NC New Schools Project (NCNSP).
Go here, to review the list of future-ready schools.
