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1.  Currently, I am assigned as an administrator at Post Oak Middle School in Spotsylvania County.  I decided to look over the science SOL data for the last three years and see if there were any areas of weakness when compared with district averages during the same three year stretch.  One item that stood out involved a 6.6% decrease in scores in the Earth and Space Systems category of instruction.  This is taught in 6th grade science and I decided to look for something to help with this weakness.

2.  The National Science Teacher Association had put out an article by Randy Bell and Lara Smetana called “Using Computer Simulations to Enhance Science Teaching and Learning”.  This article outlines four best practices for science instruction.  These four best practices include using computer simulations as a supplemental material, keeping the focus of instruction on students, allowing time for students to discuss flaws in the computer simulations, and most importantly making science concepts the focus of instruction and not technology.  This article also highlighted Starry Night curriculum software as a  resource.   Based on several phone calls to colleagues and the Spotsylvania County Science Coordinator, no one has ever used this resource before. 

3.  The American Institute of Aeronautics (www.aiaa.org) offers a $200 grant for “inspiring future generations to continue the quest for broad and profound understanding” in astronomy.  I signed up as an education associate for free after finding this grant.  This grant is offered several times a year and up to 5 teachers can apply for this grant per school.  The grant application is available online, but the website has been recently updated and is experience some technical difficulties.  I was able to email and correspond with Lisa Bacon, the Program Manager of Pre-College Programs at AIAA.  She has recently informed me that they will still accept grant proposals in August.  My hope is to submit this grant by the end of July.

4.  Following the grant guidlines outlined by AIAA, I have written the following 1 page grant proposal:

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Starry Night Grant

          When analyzing the 8^th grade state testing data from the last three academic school years, students at Post Oak Middle School performed 6.6% lower than their peers on the Earth and Space Systems category of the state standardized tests.  Influencing this score is the fact that students learn about Earth and Space Systems in 6^th grade and are expected to demonstrate proficiency in this area at the end of 8^th grade.  The following data table highlights specific concept areas this grant will address.

          Recognizing a need to change how students at Post Oak experience Astronomy, our teachers set out to find innovative resources.  Starry Night Middle School curriculum software seems to have such innovative qualities and costs $199.  The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) specifically highlights that this technology can prove beneficial when used with best practices. 

          The NSTA recommends four best practices for using technology in the classroom and these will be incorporated into the Earth and Space Systems instruction.  First, Starry Night technology will be used as a supplement to hands on activities and not as a replacement of such activities.  Second, students will get to manipulate and use the Starry Night software.  Third, through a Socratic seminar, students will discuss the limitations of the models they discover from this software.  Fourth and most importantly, the concepts highlighted in the data table above will remain the focus of instruction, not the technology.  Our goal is to improve our Earth and Space Systems scores by 10-15% over the next three years.  We wish to make this a strength of our students.

          Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius once reflected that “the entire Earth is but a point, and the place of our own habitation but a minute corner of it.”   To many of the students at Post Oak, this vision is difficult to understand because they have rarely traveled outside of Spotsylvania county.  This Starry Night Software is designed to help children like this see that Earth is but a small part of a galaxy and universe much larger than their imaginations have traveled.  

          This proposal is for 1 Starry Night Middle School curriculum software package for $199.  By funding this proposal, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) can help us stretch our children’s imagination thus inspiring future generations to continue searching for understanding.  This vision is documented in AIAA’s 2009-2013 Stategic Plan and shared by Post Oak’s 6^th grade science teachers.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Jeremy J. Siefker

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5.  My experience with this process has been positive and I have high expectations that this resource will increase student interest in Astronomy.  If AIAA decides to not fund this proposal, then this proposal can be easily adapted to the Spotsylvania County IDEA grant as well as school level PTO grants.

This chapter really highlights the fact that our technology availability in Spotsylvania County shouldn’t be taken for granted.  We are able to offer our students an outstanding opportunity to develop technology skills needed for jobs that currently may not exist. 

Chapter 9 highlights some possible solutions for urban schools.  The development of corporate partnerships may be able to supplement the lack of local revenue for technology.  The traps and landmines section was very relevant and informative.  I agree with the first bulleted highlight of the school and business partnership integrity pledge:  “Any business program should have real educational value…” 

My previous school had an excellent initial set of business partners with the school.  For the most part, they donated coupons, and other prizes for character education lessons.  The partnerships were very new, and the connection to contributing to valuable curricular material was to be the next step.  A recent example of this is 3 of our science teachers working with a company called coasterdynamix on developing a new educational model roller coaster.

One interesting partnership that I have yet to strongly persue was with a local bank.  Meeting with a couple of the executives, they had mentioned an opportunity of students opening savings accounts and keeping track of their money.  The bank would come into the school once or twice a month to collect funds for depositing.  Students would help to conduct the transactions, fill out deposit tickets, work as tellers, calculate interest, etc… 

Activities:     

A.  Read Galapagos: An Inquiry into Biological Evolution  (Student Field Log)  pgs 1-12.  Record reflective notes in column spaces provided.

 B.  Take Tortoise Tutorial virtual tour on Disc 1 Galapagos:  An Inquiry into  Biological Evolution.  (This is 1 of 3 cd’s that come with the student field log.) 

C.  Choose 1 project from www.darwinfoundation.org and answer 3 questions on pg. 12.

Assessments:  a.  Reflective notes in Student Field Log.

                        b.  Print out of Tortoise measurements.

                        c.  Reflective answers to 3 questions.

Stage 1:  Desired Results

Goals-

Refer to SOL.  LS.14 The student will investigate and understand that organisms change over time. Key conceptsinclude

a) the relationships of mutation, adaptation, natural selection, and extinction;

b) evidence of evolution of different species in the fossil record; and

c) how environmental influences, as well as genetic variation, can lead to diversity of organisms.

Understandings: 

Students will understand that each of the 6 tortoise pictures taken represent different a unique species.  The traits of these tortoises have evolved based on the unique environmental influences found on the Galapagos Islands. 

Essential Questions: 

1.  Which measured features of the tortoises are more similar?  Which are more different?

2.  How are the environmental influences on each island similar?  Different?

3.  How can this be evidence of evolution?

Stage 2:  Assessment Evidence

Performance Task= 

1.  Write 3-5 reflective notes in the provided column of each page in the student field log.  These can be questions, statements, or any notable observation made from the text.

2.  Using the CD, take measurements of tortoise leg height, overall height, body width, and color.  These will be recorded in your virtual log.  Save a copy of this log onto your thumb drive.  Do the same for the virtual graph that you create.

3.  Write a 3 paragraph essay answering the 3 questions found on page 12.  This will be graded using the 8^th grade writing rubric.

Stage 3:  Learning Plan

1.  Read and write reflections on pgs 1-6 in student field log.

2.  Follow directions on pg 7 to take virtual tour of Galapagos Islands.  Use CD #1

3.  Take 6 tortoise pictures on virtual tour.  Use hand tools to record measurements and create graph.

4.  Read and reflect on pgs 8-12 in student field log.

5.  Visit Charles Darwin Research Station online and answer 3 questions found on pg 12 , at least 1 paragraph each.

Reflection on how viable this resource is:  Students found that the reading from the student field log was very scientific.  1 student felt motivated to research more specifically the piracy history surrounding the Galapagos Islands.  The CD was difficult to navigate and record measurements.  Students found that if you clicked too many times, the CD would freeze up.  Once the data was collected, it was difficult to go back and access this information.  The group had to go back several times to achieve the end result.

I agree with the students on this assessment and have experienced similar problems.  The student field log comes accross as an excellent resource, but the quality and ease of navigating the virtual world on the cd is far from user friendly.   I do not recommend wide spread classroom use of this resource.

The criteria goals are also very supportive with collaborative learning.  Having “understanding goals” incorporated into varied assessments would be difficult for some teachers to effectively use.  Most teachers will initially create the multiple choice assessment because this is the easiest to make.  The challenge will be to have a collaborative team develop a product other than multiple choice testing.

Having the assessments public, frequent, and from multiple sources would be challenging to tackle all at once.  The first step would be to get a team of teachers to go over an entire unit that was designed by teachers that have mastered the teaching by understanding process.  This could be done during the first 9 weeks and then teachers could begin to develop their own after this.

Reflection is a key component to learning, and educators often forget about this as time becomes precious.  Technology can free up some of this time, but it will take a leap of faith from teachers.  After reading these two chapters from Wiske, it would take 2-3 years of school focus to begin to really incorporate these ideas into effective daily practice. 

The discussion started with Davina asking for a definition of “sexting”.   A few minutes later, Davina provided the following definition:  “the act of text messaging someone in the hopes of having a sexual encounter with them later; initially casual, transitioning into highly suggestive and even sexually explicit”

Davina’s second question was:  What is the problem with sexting?  Most people felt it is illegal, but we learned that it is not always illegal.  It becomes illegal under 2 options:  1= underage students/child pornography or 2= harassment.

After these initial 2 questions were posed, the conversation began to spin in several directions.  A mute button would have been an effective tool for some participants that wanted to use this session as a platform for their own personal feelings.  These personal soap boxes included removing cell phones from the school completely and poor parenting.  Davina and BJ attempted to redirect the conversation back to the topic on several occasions.  Again, it would have been effective to mute a couple of participants for 5 minute intervals.

There were several resources mentioned including:  http://www.ndaa.org/apri/programs/ncpca/ncpca_home.html.  I didn’t have a chance to view this one completely, but it seems to list some state statutes related to cyberbullying, harassment, etc…

Another resouce is the “way back machine” http://www.archive.org/index.php in which you can put in your favorite websites and take a look back at how the website looked years ago.  The point here is that anything digital put on the internet stays on the internet.  Forever.  Delete does not remove it from history.

Overall, the course was very worthwhile.  It is clear from this experience that the topic is very new and complex.  The solutions I agreed with included educating children on the very real dangers of sexting.

Many of the first participants were from the Fredericksburg area, and we were all wondering if we were in the right place.  By 9:00, I logged off as the discussion lacked any substance or direction.

Overall, I learned that it is extremely important to have a leader direct the conversation of the group.  Otherwise, this resource is a waste of time.

I’ll be attending the cyber safety session Monday night, and I’m hoping for a more positive experience.

This concept is described as “Stage 1:  developing the shared vision of curriculum”.  I see this vision more on the line of subject area planning.  For example, when the math 6 teachers meet during their 90 minute collaborative planning session, an administrator needs to be present.  The first goal of this meeting is to develop this shared vision.  I imagine that the group could develop “norms” or a set of guidelines for how to spend this meeting time.  Developing themes for teaching, creating common assessments, analyzing the results of the assessments, incorporating new technology such as smartboards into lessons, etc…  There should be no time for griping and the administrator can help those that don’t collaborate well with others.    

I personally think that stage 6:  evaluating and assessing results, needs to be done within the first couple of weeks of school.  This can be done by harvesting data from Business Objects: a database that houses a wide array of student data including grades, benchmark testing, sol results, discipline reports, etc…  Administrators are the only ones that have access to this database, and the information does not perfectly align with the data from the state, but broad conclusions can be obtained from this information.  My first instructional goal for this upcoming school year is to have an analysis report ready for teachers to look at even before students come into the building.  Do student grades correlate with SOL test results?  Data that points to this answer could help to improve assessment practices by teachers.  On another note, if the team develops a collaborative assessment, then an administrator can help facilitate the analysis of this data.  How did students perform?  Did some groups do better than others?  Based on my previous experience, this type of collaborative planning does not occur often enough.  It should be done more than once a week.

Chapter 4 also looks at some very broad concepts involving motivation and lesson planning.  I do agree that the malleability of technology allows for it to bend into the various motivations of unique students.  It’s the concept differentiation at its finest.  I also agree with the benefits of thematic instruction, but the example provided in the book is unclear.  Since this article was written prior to standards based instruction, it seems that the minimum proficiencies or concepts that students will be expected to master are missing.  The trick is to be able to incorporate several proficiencies into one thematic lesson.  Some courses, such as math, make this very difficult.

The purpose of this grant will be to evaluate a space science curriculum entitled “Starry Night”.  See the following website for a description:  http://www.starrynighteducation.com/product_5-8.html.  Cost= $199.99

Reasons to focus on this grant: 

1.  Personal reasons:  I am scheduled to teach 6^th grade general science during the 2^nd semester and the resources available for teaching abstract concepts of astronomy are few. 

2.  Professional Development Reasoning:  Most teachers rely on their textbook for information, but I would rather students get to experience science rather than read about it.  When searching for resources related to Astronomy, I came across a resource called “StarLab”.  See this website for details:  http://www.starlab.com/.  This resource includes a dome that can hold up to 60 students.  In this dome, students can learn Astronomy by seeing digital images projected above.  The cost of such an item is extremely high:  $50,000.   The Starry Night software is used in the StarLab, so purchasing this smaller and much cheaper version will help me to evaluate the potential of the StarLab.

3.  Summer Enrichment:  For the last 2 summers, I have been the administrator for the summer enrichment program.  Based on a student survey at the end of last year, Astronomy is an area of interest for many students. 

4.  Teacher Knowledge:  For some 6^th grade science teachers, content knowledge of Astronomy is weak.

5.  Data:  SOL testing results from the 8^th grade Science Test reveals that modeling is a weak area.  Visualizing abstract concepts of space should be easier with this tool.

This grant will be evaluated by Battlefield Middle School’s instructional coordinator.   

Funding Sources:

2 sources are currently available: 

            Source 1:  Spotsylvania Education Foundation Grant.  Very simple grant application.  1                                        page application.

            Source 2:  American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics:   Has $200                                      Classroom Aid Grants for K-12 teachers, and Undergraduate and                                      Graduate Fellowships. Contact: AIAA, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite                         500, Reston, VA 20191 (1-800-NEW-AIAA); http://www.aiaa.org

The evaluation form for the grant is provided below.  The actual Grant Application is currently unavailable. 

The AIAA Mission

AIAA’s basic mission is to address the professional needs and interests of the past, current, and future aerospace workforce and to advance the state of aerospace science, engineering, technology, operations, and policy to benefit our global society.

One of our Strategic Imperatives is to sustain a Robust Aerospace Workforce and Develop Next-Generation Professionals. The AIAA Foundation Classroom Grant Program supports the mission by providing students with hands-on opportunities to explore STEM foundations at lower grades and aerospace and engineering applications at higher grade levels. This exposure could lead an exploration of aerospace sciences and engineering at the collegiate level.

Grant Evaluation Criteria

The project description is clear and complete. (25 points) The main body of the proposal should be a clear statement of the lesson plan and objectives that will be supported by resources purchased with this grant. Consideration will be given to the number of students impacted by this proposal. The description must clearly detail impact on enhancing student learning of STEM principles.

The project has a clear connection to aerospace (25 points) The proposal must describe how the lesson plans enhance student awareness of aerospace commensurate with grade level. For example, an elementary school program should at least be tied into learning science, whereas a high school program should demonstrate clear ties to aerospace applications.

The proposal clearly articulates the educational goals to be accomplished (15 points) The proposal must list those goals which the grant funding will accomplish. These goals should focus on inspiring student interest in aerospace. The goals should be realistic

Originality (10 points) The proposal describes an original activity. For example, multiple entries from the same school will carry less weight if they are all for the same activity.

Repeatability (10 points) The proposal describes an activity that can be continued or repeated in the future. Details include the number of students impacted by the lesson each year and reusability of materials.

The budget is clearly outlined, justifies the amount requested and includes a description of other sources of support for this project. (15 points) Each proposal must include a budget that documents and justifies the amounts requested and sources of material. The budget request should be realistic for the activity and reflect the goals of the activity. Other sources of institutional support are clearly articulated and specific.

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 500, Reston, VA 20191-4344

Phone: 703.264.7558 Fax: 703.264.7551 www.aiaa.org

This style of student learning can be difficult for a teacher to incorporate into a math lesson plan. Sources of difficulty include:

• Time: A project based learning assignment requires significant class time.
o Pacing Guides= these are designed during weekly curriculum meetings. These pacing guides spread out the learning goals during 9 week grading periods. Many teachers will ignore projects because they get behind in teaching the curriculum.
o Benchmark Tests= these are given for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 9 weeks. These often take 2 to 3 hours of instructional time already.

• Teaching to the SOL test.
o The multiple choice questioning used on the actual SOL test does not correlate well with the skills learned in project based learning. Teachers, especially in schools that have not made AYP, will focus on specific weak concepts. Teachers will expose their students to as many types of SOL questions and ideas as possible.
o Even test taking strategies will become part of the curriculum.

• Budgets: Project based learning requires resources that we currently don’t have.
o Money to purchase materials.

• Teacher Knowledge of Math Content: An understanding of the content at a high level.
o Many math teachers do not have a math background. Many teachers are scrambling to understand the curriculum themselves.
o Turnover for math teachers is higher than for other subject areas.

• Teacher Knowledge of Technology: If a teacher doesn’t understand the content, then asking them to understand a new technology is even farther away from reality.

With all of these difficulties in mind, the chances of project based learning being integrated into a lesson plan is low. What would be helpful is an actual “canned” lesson plan for teachers to use. One that is already developed related to specific content. Wiske goes into great detail on a “global art project”, but the pressures of an elective course are different from the pressures of a math teacher. Wiske’s short explanation of the “Elevator Physics” lesson is interesting, but is almost added as an afterthought.

It would be more helpful for teachers to see the exact lesson plan, samples of work, teacher and student reflections, assessments that are graded, etc… Based on the difficulties previously stated, unless this is provided, teachers are only going to read about it.

I personally believe that project based learning is an excellent concept. I have used it in my 7th grade life science course, a course that isn’t tested until the 8th grade and subsequently doesn’t have the same academic pressures as math. These projects involved growing Wisconsin Fast Plants from seed to seed. Learning goals incorporated many numerous SOL objectives including plant needs, plant cells, germination, pollination, symbiosis, and classification. These students got to experience the SOL’s instead of learning isolated facts. Science lends itself into this type of learning.

Math on the other hand is more of a challenge. How do you combine dividing fractions, scientific notation, solving expressions, and graphing ordered pairs? This isn’t as easy or at least as obvious to do.