Goal Three Frame

<body background="_themes/ricepapr/ricebk.jpg" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#666633" vlink="#333366" alink="#990000"><font face="Times New Roman, Times"> <p align="center"><i>This page uses frames, but your browser doesn't support them.  Therefore the information has been arranged for your viewing in a generic format.  Sorry for any inconvenience.</i></p> <p align="center"><img src="_themes/ricepapr/aricerul.gif" width="600" height="10"></p> <p align="center"><img src="_derived/Goal3Frame.htm_cmp_ricepapr010_bnr.gif" width="600" height="60" border="0" alt="Goal Three"> </p> <font size="3"><b><i>To deliver innovative approaches in interdisciplinary studies and provide fair assessment.</i><br> <br> </b></font> </font><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="_themes/ricepapr/aricebu1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><font face="Times New Roman, Times">Provide students with cross-curricular lessons to enhance their educational experience;</font></td></tr> <tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="_themes/ricepapr/aricebu1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><font face="Times New Roman, Times">Select and apply appropriate assessment strategies to evaluate student work; and,</font></td></tr> <tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="_themes/ricepapr/aricebu1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><font face="Times New Roman, Times">Increase communication opportunities between the school environment and parent/student.</font></td></tr> </table><font face="Times New Roman, Times"> <p style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5 in; margin-right: .5 in" align="justify">One of the goals at the Dover Air Force Base Middle School for the 2001-2002 academic year is to increase student achievement through data analysis and the implementation of team-teaching.  Currently serving in my fifth year as an active teacher representative on our School's Improvement Plan (SIP) committee, I am well aware of the importance of providing students with an atmosphere that promotes as well as enhances learning for all, and generating interest in education throughout the community.  With recent discussion and implementation of Delaware's  <i>Accountability</i> program, schools statewide, are revisiting their ability to produce students who excel <b> across the curriculum</b> ... and, on the DSTP (Delaware State Testing Program).  Focusing on Reading, Writing, and Math assessments in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10, schools will be evaluated, ranked, and rewarded according to their overall delivery of instruction and their demonstration of quality assessment programs.  Thought to be solely responsible for educating students in their respective subjects, teachers within these core areas (Social Studies and Science to follow) are being pressured to ensure that no child is 'left behind' and that the majority of students within a school meet or exceed the state standards.  However, within the Air Base Middle School walls, it is not just these 'select few' who have responded to educating our children, but every member of the instructional staff.</p> <p style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5 in; margin-right: .5 in" align="justify">By delivering cross-curricular enhancements and interdisciplinary connections to providing fair assessment and remediation services, all teachers are responsible for the child's total educational experience.  Having received excellent guidance and encouragement in the delivery of interdisciplinary lessons during my Art Education studies at Westminster College coupled with my personal experiences in the business sector, this imperative connection has always been present in my Visual Art and later, my Technology Education lessons.  Nevertheless, the University of Delaware's Master of Instruction program has refined my individual strengths, extracted my program weaknesses, and built upon a foundation to provide me with opportunities for delivering innovative, instructional approaches in my classrooms as well as others' through the team-teaching concept. </p> <p style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5 in; margin-right: .5 in" align="justify">Deeply rooted in the first Project UPDATE course, TCED 581: <i>Technology Education Workshop</i>, the idea of teaching inventions and innovations through an integrated science, math, and technology curriculum was presented to our Delaware team of teachers.  These teacher training sessions enabled kindergarten through middle school teachers to establish real-world connections to their students' environment through enhanced <i>Design and Make Activities</i>; each activity would be based upon some interdisciplinary concept.  A child's favorite story, a significant event in American history, or a travel-oriented theme served as possible springboards for the three levels (K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) of Contextual Learning Units (CLUs).  Developed by teachers for teachers, each and every lesson provided a practical rationale for the delivery of science, math, and technology integrated education, and further aided in my interest for an improved and enhanced educational experience for every one of my students. </p> <p style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5 in; margin-right: .5 in" align="justify">Prior to my M.I. experience, the CLU <i>An American History Theme Park</i> afforded me the opportunity to teach simple machines, structural models, mechanisms, visual brochure design, electricity, needs assessment, alternative energy, cooking and preservation techniques, forces and motion, and communication systems.  The aforementioned list identifies a select few, yet nearly forty more related concepts exist.  Embedded within each technical lesson were numerous moments for addressing the historical contributions of political movements and individuals as well as the necessity for writing, drawing, and documentation.  Participation in the remaining UPDATE courses, <font face="Wingdings"><a href="CurriculumConstruction.htm" target="_self">&</a></font> <b>TCED 592: </b><i>Curriculum Construction - Extended Theory and Practice</i> and <font face="Wingdings"><a href="Eval%20in%20Tech%20Ed.htm" target="_self">&</a></font> <b>TCED 691: </b><i>Evaluation in Technology Education - Assessing Student Capability, </i>coupled with the task of developing curriculum for ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) forced me to view not only the structure of curricular tools from the vantage points of a teacher, student, and community member, but also encouraged me to reflect upon the implementation of appropriate/meaningful assessment strategies that would benefit all .. student, educator, and community (business sector). </p> <p style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5 in; margin-right: .5 in" align="justify">Building upon recommendations from engineers nationwide, lessons were developed that emphasized the critical importance of providing community involvement, especially from the business sector, in exposing middle school students to possible career pathways.  Supporting efforts and beliefs to create lessons addressing multiple skill levels while emphasizing the importance of mathematic connections to the real world, the ASME <a href="http://www.asme.org/educate/k12/ideas/index.htm" target="_blank"><b>IDEAS</b></a> series evolved and was made available to teachers as a resource via the World Wide Web.  However, it was during the Summer of 2000 that I had the distinct opportunity to learn from two individuals who would demonstrate ways to assess a child's needs in Mathematics as well as provide for the infusion of educational technology strategies to satisfy these needs and others. </p> <p style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5 in; margin-right: .5 in" align="justify">Martha Wilson and Marti McCormick team-taught <font face="Wingdings"><a href="TechMSmath.htm" target="_self">&</a></font> <b>EDUC 667: </b> <i>Introduction to Technology in Middle School Mathematics.</i>  Beginning with basic concepts and building to elaborate, and oftentimes, confusing concepts, this duo addressed National and State Mathematic Standards throughout our two-week, hands-on lab.  I immediately wished to share my experience of the UPDATE theme park unit so as to create an expanded, yet tailored program of study for my Technology Education students.  My hopes were to develop a semester-long course that would begin with the introduction of elementary concepts in science, math, and technology, and then blossom into a simplified study of physics and trigonometry ... all the while, completely engaging all students!  </p> <p style="text-indent: .5in; line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5 in; margin-right: .5 in" align="justify">Nothing short of a mini-miracle, both Marti and Martha introduced me to websites, contacts, software, and equipment that provided aid as I pursued my intense quest.  They further recommended opportunities for my evaluation of software programs and possible websites so as not to teach down to the students, but to allow them to rise to my high standards while achieving their individual, student goals.  Since my encounter with these two professionals, and the countless other experiences that I have had as a result of my studies at the University of Delaware, my Amusement Park Physics unit (PRISM) has evolved into a grant receiving program, a frequently requested module within the Technology Education course, and a year-long exploration for a group of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in my Technology Student Advisory.  During our culminating physics lab at HersheyPark later this school year, my students will have the opportunity to utilize some of the software and equipment that Marti and Martha helped me locate and implement into my dream for the development of a completely integrated course addressing all core academic and essential arts curricular areas.  Their insight and guided experience permits me <i>to deliver innovative approaches in interdisciplinary studies and provide fair assessment</i> for all of my students. </p> </font></body>