|
|
|
LASER
eNewsletter September
2011
|
|
Welcome to our
Fall eNewsletter!
Our science
education community continues to come together in times of challenge
and need. Though last year had its challenges, we could not be
more proud of our collective perseverance. As you read the
stories below you will see the enthusiasm administrators and
teachers have for effective science education.
Jeff and Sonia
|
|
Did You Know?
|
|
|
During the 2010-2011 school year, LASER Alliances provided
more than 27,000 hours of professional development to 3,686 educators.
|
|
Science Partnership Academy Report
|
|
|
For the past two years, the Washington State LASER Science
Partnership Academy has brought together science leaders representing
all regions of Washington State. These leaders -- Alliance
Directors, ESD Science Coordinators, and representatives from Higher
Education, Washington State Mathematics, Engineering Science
Achievement (MESA), Washington Science Teacher Association (WSTA), and
local school districts -- have met for a total of 15 days, using
the Washington State
Logic Model for Professional Development as a cornerstone for more
clearly defining the knowledge and abilities necessary for teachers to
support student learning and the application of science.
RMC Research
Corporation was hired to provide the evaluation of this project.
Participants from the 2010-2011 academies were given a pre and post
survey. Significant gains were seen under several topics including
Understanding the Washington Logic Model, Capacity to Support
Professional Development, and Knowledge and Skills. For a summary
of the evaluation click here and to
see the individual questions click here.
The next Science
Partnership Academy, March 6-8, 2012, will continue the work of the
first five Academies. The upcoming Academy will focus on
building the expertise of its attendees to expand and develop robust
science partnerships with community stakeholders. This Academy was made
possible through a $47,000 grant from Battelle.
|
|
Jeff Estes and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Honored
|
|
|
Jeff Estes, Co-Director for Washington State LASER and
Manager for the Office of Science and Engineering Education (SEE) at
the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), operated by Battelle
for the U.S. Department of Energy, was awarded the Golden Gavel Award
by the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) in
recognition of exceptional service contributing to the enhancement of
public education in Washington. His key efforts included the LASER
Regional partnership, a collaborative model for catalyzing and
sustaining science education reform. Using Battelle and Department of
Energy resources, Jeff manages a set of professional development,
outreach, and technical assistance activities, provided by PNNL, that
enable LASER efforts to improve learning and teaching of K-12 science.
Jeff has also played a leading role in launching Delta High School, a
STEM-focus high school in the Tri-Cities, which opened on September
1st, 2009. Working with Jeff in these efforts is Peggy Willcuts,
Program Lead - STEM Education Leadership, Outreach and Program Research
for PNNL.
 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory also received the 2011 AWSP President's Award
in recognition of their partnership with Association of Washington
School Principals (AWSP) and its Foundation in STEM Leadership Training
for School Administrators and Teachers in Washington State. Through
this partnership, more than 100 staff members, principals and teachers
have participated in this program. "Sitting down with other
principals, teachers, and actual scientists has been a pinnacle of my
professional development experience", commented Ben Talbert,
Principal at Rainer Middle School in the Auburn School District.
Pictured above right with Jeff Estes and Peggy
Willcuts is John Westerman, President of the Washington
Association of School Administrators.
Click here to learn
more about the science education work of the Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory.
|
|
STEM Principal Leadership Retreat
|
|
|
Principals from more than forty districts spent part of
the third week in July at the Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth
learning about the key components of science, technology, engineering
and math (STEM) from the administrator's perspective.
 Washington State LASER partnered with The
Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP), the Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Washington State University, and
Pacific Science Center to lead this important retreat for
Washington administrators. The STEM retreat is Part One of three in the
STEM Principal Leadership Training Series. During the school year, two
additional sessions complete the series.
"The training gave me a deeper understanding of STEM
and what I needed to do to get my staff involved" commented Jan
McCrimmon, Principal of Steilacoom High School. Lisa Heamon, Principal
of P-8 STEM Academy in the Bremerton School District added, "I
walked away feeling empowered to champion the vision of STEM back
home."
By participating in inquiry science lessons, principals
learned firsthand how the integration of science content with other
disciplines can help establish a culture of questioning and
creativity. This four day program was developed and primarliy lead
by Peggy Willcuts, PNNL and Sonia Siegel Vexler, Washington State LASER
Acting Co-Director.
Support for these sessions was provided by OSPI Title II
money with additional contributions from Battelle, School Employees
Credit Union and PEMCO.
If you would like more information about the STEM Summer
Leadership Retreat, contact Sonia Siegel Vexler at Washington State
LASER, 206-443-2903 or ssiegelvexler@pacsci.org
|
|
Deepening Science Content Knowledge Through e-PD
|
|
 We
all recognize the need for K-12 teachers to possess a strong science
content knowledge. As instruction becomes more intentionally aligned to
the standards, a deep understanding of the core ideas in science is
critical. To meet these needs, the Mountain to Harbor LASER Alliance is
offering an e-PD program designed specifically for their K-5 teachers.
The program combines face-to-face, online, and electronic collaboration
to build science knowledge and understanding. Key objectives will
include understanding a big idea in science, such as Energy, how the
core idea appears in our standards and how the core idea plays out in
commonly used elementary science materials.
During this one year in-depth professional development,
participants will have complete access to the NSTA Learning Center
(learningcenter.nsta.org) until September 30, 2012, 20 hours of
professional development around at least one big idea in science, and
support and opportunities to participate in online discussions of the
learning.
To learn more about this program, contact Dr. Craig
Gabler, LASER Alliance Director, cgabler@esd113.org.
|
|
Western Washington University Receives Science Grant
|
|
|
 Congratulations
to Western Washington University's George "Pinky" Nelson,
director of the Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Program
at WWU for receiving a $2.9 million grant from the National Science
Foundation to fund a five-year study on the university's elementary
science education program. "This grant is a great example of the
deep collaboration between the College of Sciences and Technology and
Woodring College of Education," said Dr. Nelson. "Our unique
structure enables us to innovate beyond the cutting edge of current
thinking in teacher preparation and do the careful research necessary
to create new knowledge that can inform the nation."
The long-term study will follow science-education students
as they complete their coursework at Western and begin their first
year of teaching. Researchers will use the data to continue to make
refinements in the science education program, which is currently a
model for other universities across the country.
Dr. George "Pinky" Nelson is a member of the
Washington State LASER Steering Committee.
|
|
NSTA Regional Conference in Seattle - Save the Date!
|
|
|
Seattle will again be hosting a regional NSTA conference,
December 8-10, 2011. The theme for the conference is Science For Now,
For All, Forever. For additional information and to register,
visit:
http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2011sea/?lid=tnavhp
|
|
The work of
Washington State LASER would not be possible without the major support
and funding of Pacific Science Center, Battelle, Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory, the Washington State Legislature, Office
of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Boeing, The Paul G. Allen
Family Foundation and K2 Communications.
|
|
|
|
|
