Summer Professional Development
K- 12 Math and Science Professional Development Opportunities were provided July 12-16, 2004 to all educators in regional service agencies 6 and 7. Daily stipends ($75/day) for all opportunities were paid to the participants with some events include housing, meals, and reduced tuition graduate credit.
Originally 11 sessions were offered evenly divided between science and math with adequate offerings for elementary, middle school, and high school educators in these fields. Because of the short timelines and the time of year, we were not able to notify many of the teachers about the event prior to the end of the school year. Thus, we had a total of 55 participants sign up with a total of 51 attending 5 sessions. Of the 5 sessions, three were strictly math, one was science, and one was a combination of math and science. Content crossed all grade levels to accommodate all levels of instruction.
Comments from the attendees included: “I would love to do more workshops on other math concepts and inquiry based instruction,” “I liked the instruction and the way it was presented. I was interested the entire time!” and “Please offer more hands on and follow up sessions. This 2 ½ day class is only a beginning.”
For overall evaluation results of the summer institute, please visit the evaluation link to the left.
Information about the AIMS Summer Opportunities:
AIMS leaders collaborated with leaders of other math and science initiatives
in the area to provide a more coherent set of professional development
experiences for educators across the region. In particular, leadership
was provided by the BLHAST and PRIME projects. Thus, the summer events
included three potential resources for math and science professional development:
- AIMS Summer Institute scheduled for July 12 – 16 at BHSU
- BLAHST workshops with available openings
- PRIME workshops with available openings
AIMS Summer Institute Opportunities:
Black Hills State University and TIE partnered to provide K-12 educators
the opportunity to build their capacity in using effective, research-based
methods for teaching mathematics and science with an emphasis on strategies
supported by technology. Participants in this event were eligible for
a daily stipend ($75/day). Housing and food was provided for interested
participants on the BHSU campus.
2 ½ day tracks included:
- Improving Math Instruction in the Area of Geometry
- Teaching Inquiry-based Science in the Primary Grades
- Fraction Investigations
5 day tracks included:
- Adventures in Math and Science
- Cognitively Guided Instruction to Improve Mathematics Achievement
BLAHST Opportunities:
The goal of BLAHST (Black Hills Science
Teaching Project) is to provide all
K-8 teachers involved in science education with professional development.
Educators in the ESA 6 and 7 schools who were not original participants
in the BLAHST Project were given the opportunity to participate in the
summer events offered by CAMSE. (www.camse.org
)
Some of the events included:
- Physics for Elementary Teachers
- CAMSE Institute for Inquiry
- Geology of the Black Hills and Badlands
- Ecosystems of the Central Black Hills
- Diversity of Life
- Inquiry in Science and Language Arts
- Integrating Science and Math in Primary Grades/Upper Elementary and Middle School Grades
- The Nature of Light
PRIME Opportunities:
Project PRIME (Promoting Reflective
Inquiry in Mathematics Education)
is a five-year project aimed at improving the academic achievement of
all students in the Rapid City Area Schools. The summer events offered
through PRIME were also made available in limited in seating to the AIMS
grant instructors. The PRIME website (http://www.primeproject.org/profdev/default.htm).
Some of the events included:
- Cognitively Guided Instruction in Mathematics
- Inquiry-based Statistics and Probability
- Prentice Hall Technology Training
- McDougal Littell Technology Training
- Foundations of Effective mathematical Practices (K-8)
- Investigations Summer Camp
- TI 83 Graphing Calculators II
- Teaching with Geometers’ Sketchpad