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These are certainly challenging times as we all work
to provide a quality science education experience for
our students. This makes it even more important to
appreciate the success of the activities and people
connected to the Washington State LASER network.
Featured in this issue are some of our LASER team
members and LASER partners. We hope these stories will
provide some added energy to continue your planning
for the coming year.
Dennis and Jeff
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LASER Statewide Symposium to Advance Science Education
Reform |
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In May, the Washington State LASER Statewide Middle
School Administrators Symposium will be an incredible
opportunity for administrators to
focus on increasing
student learning in science. These school leaders
will:
- Network to build statewide capacity for science
education reform
- Identify and promote research-based strategies
for effective science instruction
- Develop a skill set that will enable them to
identify and promote effective science instruction
in their own context
- To build awareness for science education reform
We are excited to bring several key leaders from
the science community as speakers:
 Dr.
Francis Eberle is the Executive Director of
the National Science Teachers Association. A renowned
researcher in the science education community, Dr.
Eberle is the lead or co-lead on numerous research
projects underwritten by the National Science
Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education on a
host of collaborative science and math education
reform initiatives.
Dr. Philip Bell, Director University
of Washington (UW) Institute for Science and
Mathematics Education, and Dr. Andrew Shouse,
Associate
 Director
UW Institute for Science and Mathematics Education,
will share the results of current research,
translating research into practice, and several case
studies.
(Dr. Shouse
pictured)
 Caroline
Kiehle has merged her expertise in
science research and education to become a regional
and national leader in science education reform. She
directs several projects at the Center for Inquiry
Science.
 Jeanne
Harmon is the Executive Director of the
Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession, an
independent nonprofit organization focused on
improving teaching quality in Washington State. Most
recently, she directed the Washington Initiative for
National Board Certification at OSPI.
This symposium will bring together administrators
who are in charge of the time and resources of their
schools. Informed administrators will be able to
advance science education reform in our state because
they understand the key elements of reform that need
to be implemented to support student science learning.
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LASER Partners Honored |
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George "Pinky" Nelson to be inducted into the
Astronaut Hall of Fame.
 Congratulations,
Pinky! (Pinky is one of our Washington
State LASER Steering Committee members.) The Western
Washington press release tells it all:
"Western Washington University's George 'Pinky'
Nelson, director of the University's Science, Math and
Technology Education program, will be inducted into the
Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center in
Cape Canaveral, Fla., on May 2.
"Nelson, a mission specialist on three Space Shuttle
launches including the missions immediately before and
after the Challenger disaster, will be inducted into the
Hall along with fellow astronauts Bill Sheperd and Jim
Wetherbee.
"'It's a special honor because the voting is done by
our peers, the astronauts who have already been
inducted,' Nelson said. 'We are being recognized not
only for our work in space, but just as much for the
things we did on the ground to support the program. It's
very gratifying.'
"Nelson will join the ranks of legendary Apollo,
Gemini, Skylab, Space Shuttle and Mercury astronauts
such as John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Alan Shepard and
Sally Ride."
For more information from Kennedy Space Center,
click here.
Lee Hood selected as one of Rolling Stone's 2009
Top 100 Agents for Change.
 Congratulations
to Lee Hood, MD, PhD, and Institute for
Systems Biology (ISB) President (ISB is a Washington
State LASER partner) for being selected by Rolling Stone
magazine as one of its top 100 agents for change for
2009!
For more information about Dr. Hood's work at ISB,
click here.
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More Honors for LASER Leader |
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On Tuesday, April 7, Washington State Senator Jeanne
Kohl-Welles and Representative Reuven Carlyle
sponsored a resolution in the state legislature
commending Dennis Schatz, Co-Director
of Washington State LASER, for receiving the Faraday
Science Communication award from the National Science
Teachers Association (NSTA) and for his "outstanding
efforts in making science accessible to all." This is
the second time Dennis has been the recipient of such
an honor. In 2005 he was recognized by the legislature
for receiving NSTA's "Lifetime Achievement"
recognition, the Distinguished Service to Science
Education Award. A huge congratulation goes out to
Dennis for such noteworthy accomplishments .
 Dennis
receiving the award from Page Kelley (right),
President of the National Science Teachers
Association (NSTA), and Elsa Bailey, Informal
Science Education Board member for NSTA.
For more information about the Faraday Award and
Dennis' accomplishments,
click here.
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LASER Supports Workshops for Professional Development
Providers |
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 With
funding from Washington State LASER,
the Center for Inquiry Science (a small group of
science educators) at the Institute for Systems
Biology (a not-for-profit center for biomedical
research located in Seattle), hosted four three-day
workshops designed to support experienced professional
development facilitators. Over the past two years,
these workshops, hosted in four locations across
Washington state (supporting seven LASER Alliances),
have enhanced 53 facilitators' abilities to help other
teachers teach inquiry-centered and research-based
instructional materials.
 "This
workshop helped me understand how I can do a better
job of focusing teachers on learning in the module as
we introduce the materials." Reflection of Cohort
One Participant
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LASER Partner's Program Produces Results |
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Observing for Evidence of Learning (OEL) is the program
behind the workshops in the previous article. OEL is a
four-year educational research study of a new professional
development model for science teachers. This research is a
collaborative effort with funding from the National
Science Foundation, staffing from the Institute for
Systems Biology (ISB) and from the University of
Washington, research from the RMC Corporation, and the
participation of the four Seattle area school districts
involved (Bellevue, Highline, Seattle, and Shoreline).
Teachers and facilitators work together to determine and
then implement classroom strategies that have the greatest
impact on students' learning of the fundamental concepts
and skills in the middle grade science curriculum. The
goal is to have 95% participation of the science teachers
in the 27 middle schools in the four school districts
involved. The student WASL improvement scores are
encouraging: Cohort 1 schools show a 10% gain from 2006 to
2008. Cohort 2 schools show about a 5% gain from 2007 to
2008. Both groups are above state averages. See the chart
below.
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