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2008 Collaboration Event |
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Second Annual Educator Collaboration Event
The goal of the Collaboration Event is to continue to create a "community of educators" in the Rochester region with educators involved math, science and technology education at all levels — from kindergarten through college. |
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Wednesday, October 1, 2008 - 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Rochester Plaza Hotel
70 State Street Rochester, NY |
Conference Flyer
Program
Registration
Workshops
Speaker Biographies
Vendor Information
Professional Development Credit/Poster Instructions
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Barb Bancroft, "The Teenage Brain – an Oxymoron"
Barb Bancroft RN, MSN, PNP is a widely acclaimed national speaker, noted for her humorous, entertaining and information packed seminars. She is author of the books Medical Minutiae, An Apple a Day—the ABCs of Diet and Disease and Live a Little, Laugh a Lot.
She has provided more than 2000 educational and motivational seminars to healthcare professionals and corporations throughout the US and Canada. She has provided keynote/plenary speeches for the Association for Practitioners for Infection Control, The National Association of Biology Teachers, The Emergency Nurses' Association, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the Pacific Coast Dental Association, the Washington State Dental Association, and more.
Barb has held faculty positions at the University of Virginia, the University of Arkansas, Loyola University of Chicago, St. Xavier University of Chicago. She has provided courses on Advanced Pathophysiology, Pharmacology and Physical Assessment to both graduate and undergraduate students. She is currently the Executive Director and President of CPP Associates, Inc., a continuing education firm for corporations and healthcare professionals based in Chicago, Illinois. |
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Workshop session A |
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5:00-6:00PM Wednesday, October 1
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A-1 Using the Outdoor Environment to Conduct Inquiry-based Science Education
Sheila Myers and Ann Lyon
Finger Lakes Institute and South Seneca High School
Science
Using a lesson plan developed by Ann Lyon, a teacher at South Seneca High School, the Finger Lakes Institute coordinated an exploratory, inquiry-based science program for middle school youth during the summer of 2008. Working in teams, the youth developed questions and designed methods to conduct research in the field. During this presentation participants will be guided through the lesson plan process and learn how to initiate a brainstorming session with students in order to conduct their own field-based inquiry activity in the outdoor environment. (This lesson can be replicated in any outdoor environment, including the schoolyard). |
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A-2 Institutions of Informal and Formal Learning: What We Can Learn From Each Other
Deborah Massey and Jim Alexander
Rochester Museum and Science Center
Community Resources
Let's create some creative synergy by exchanging approaches from the arenas of formal- and informal-learning. In this hands-on inquiry workshop we'll explore how to introduce a topic with a "sparker" and see what sparks fly. We will practice the art of questioning: how to pose open-ended questions and how to draw-out testable questions from the student. Come prepared to have fun. |
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A-3 Numeracy Across the Curriculum
Eric Gaze, Ph.D.
Alfred University
Mathematics
This presentation/workshop will give a brief history of numeracy/quantitative literacy, why it is so critical for our students, and then introduce how numeracy can be incorporated across the curriculum. Hand-outs will allow participants to test their own numeracy and explore which topics are critical for how we communicate with numbers. |
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A-4 Introduction to Thinkfinity
Candy Bower and Karen Finter
Genesee Region Teachers Center and West Irondequoit Teaching & Learning Center
Instructional Technology
"Thinkfinity" (supported by the Verizon Corp.)-Improving student achievement by enhancing classroom instruction with lesson plans, interactive activities & other online resources from partners like National Geographic, National Council of Teachers of Math, American Assoc. for the advancement of Science, Smithsonian and 7 other websites. During this 60-minute workshop, we will provide a broad overview of Thinkfinity and demonstrate its diverse capabilities. A more in-depth ninety-minute workshop will follow (D-5, Thinkfinity Intensive). |
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A-5 Rochester Area Colleges' Center for Excellence in Math and Science Strategy Discussion
Charles S. Brown, Jr.
RAC-CEMS
STEM Education
An open discussion to follow-up on the update of the Center's strategy and activities. Share our vision of the Rochester, New York, region as nationally recognized for innovative and effective education of young scientists, engineers, and mathematicians and their teachers. How do we get from here to there? What are our challenges and successes? Lets talk about how we, as a community, can move the vision closer to reality. |
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A-6 Inquiry: When do I find the time?
Donna Olsen
Albion CSD, Retired
STEM Education
Inquiry-based teaching/learning can be infused into lessons on a regular basis. Teachers struggle with the idea of teaching in an inquiry-based classroom. "I would love to let my students have more time to wonder, experiment, question, design, research, interpret and report their findings but WHEN do I teach content? When do I assess? WHEN do I incorporate inquiry-based learning?" This workshop will assist teachers in recognizing when inquiry is appropriate and how often it can actually be utilized effectively. | (top)
Workshop session B
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8:00-9:30 AM Thursday, October 2
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B-1 Differentiated Inquiry for grades 3-9
Doug Llewellyn
St. John Fisher College
Science
Scientific inquiry takes many forms from structured inquiry to more open inquiry. This session will describe the different levels of scientific inquiry and provide sample explorations at each level. Participants will engage in a hands-on investigation involving potential and kinetic energy to illustrate various approaches to inquiry. |
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B-2 Flying WILD: the National Program and the Rochester City Partnership
David Semple and June Summers
Bird Coalition of Rochester (BirdCOR) and Genesee Valley Audubon Society
Community Resources
BirdCOR's Flying WILD program will include explanation of goals and philosophy, examples of community resources, and sample activity from the national Flying WILD curriculum. Participants will be introduced to innovative, cross-curricular learning activities which are correlated with New York State Learning Standards for Science, Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies. |
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B-3 Computer Science Unplugged: Active Learning in grades 4-8
Joan Lucas, Ph.D.
SUNY Brockport
Mathematics
This workshop will demonstrate a number of fun, hands-on activities that illustrate some of the basic concepts from the field of Computer Science, Computer Science, like Mathematics, is about problem-solving. These activities focus on problem-solving strategies, and do not require an actual computer. Just as using a telescope is not the goal of astronomy, so using a computer is not the goal of Computer Science. These activities are designed for children from 8-14 years old, and will exercise their mathematical skills, as well as introduce them to the exciting field of Computer Science. These activities were developed by the CS Unplugged team led by Tim Bell of the University of Canterbury. |
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B-4 Hands-on STEM Projects for Middle and High School Students
Karen Iglesia
Iglesia Educational Centers
Technology Education
Ms. Iglesia will share her insights regarding providing effective academic programming in the areas of Science and Math, as well as the need to successfully engage more middle and high school students in these areas. Practical hands-on learning activities, using readily available, inexpensive materials will be demonstrated, and participants will experience first-hand some of the fun and engaging learning projects that Ms. Inglesia uses to actively involve students in their own learning process. |
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SESSION FULL
B-5 Tech Savvy: 21st Century Tools for Teachers
Beverly Brown, Ph.D. and
Robin Heyden
Nazareth College & Educational Consultant
Instructional Technology
Web 2.0 literacy is a requirement for all teachers. In order to make sensible use of new, online tools and bend them to meet the needs of the individual science classroom, teachers have to first be aware and knowledgeable themselves. Our students will learn appropriate and positive technology tool use when teachers can model it for them. In this workshop, we will introduce teachers to Web 2.0 tools – blogging, wikis, VoiceThread, UStream, Google Maps, podcasting, Second Life, and real-time virtual classrooms. Teachers will expand their network literacy and explore the potential with these tools in their science classrooms. Everyone will try their hand at something new and each participant will leave the session with a set of links and tips to use with their students. |
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B-6 Using Creative Problem-solving to Increase Group Outcomes
Sandra Fink
RCSD, Retired, ThinkFink Solutions
Why is it that some groups can move forward with finding solutions to a problem and others seem to go round and round in circles? Creative problem solving preferences may be the key factor that allows a group/team to work together and be successful or cause major delays and distractions. Come and learn through hands-on experiences about the breakthrough thinking process. Learn how to spot potential team conflicts and possible solutions. This information is useful in classroom and work environments. |
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Workshop session C |
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11:00 AM-12:30 PM Thursday, October 2
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C-1 Enviroboxes: Integrating All Subjects Through Science
Lynn Gatto
RCSD, Retired
Science
Is Kentucky Bluegrass Blue? Will Hawaiian coral soften in salt water? These are just a few of the questions children asked and investigated after opening the five enviroboxes they received from all over the United States. This workshop is designed to share with the participants a unique project based in science that will also integrate math, language arts, technology and social studies standards. Participants will learn how to plan and prepare the enviroboxes, develop inquiry based investigations using their contents and connect other disciplines in a meaningful and comprehensive way. Teachers will be eager to implement the Envirobox Project after exploring how effective it is in engaging and motivating students in authentic learning! |
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C-2 Moving to Inquiry in Mathematics
Barney Ricca, Ph.D. and Diane Barrett, Ph.D.
St. John Fisher College
Mathematics
This hands-on workshop will help participants use inquiry in the mathematics classroom. Activities and discussions will focus on how to transform "cookbook" lessons into inquiry based learning. Participants will also gain access to online inquiry based activities. |
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C-3 Tools for Attracting Students to Computer Science
Daniel Rogers, Ph.D.
SUNY Brockport
Technology Education
In order to reverse the trend of declining enrollments in Computer Science programs, many new tools have been developed to spur student interest in the discipline in ways that are less threatening than learning a programming language. These tools include media applications, interactive graphics programming and case studies. This workshop presents an introduction to some of these tools: Alice, Scratch, Media Computation and the AP GridWorld case study.
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C-4 The D-I-G-I-T-A-L Classroom: Creating Technology Enhanced Learning Environments
Richard Colosi
Canandaigua Primary School
Instructional Technology
This past school year was a landmark year in terms of technology education for teacher Richard Colosi and his First Grade students. Yearning to possess the newest classroom technology, Colosi's class created videos promoting the use of technology education in schools among both boy and girl students. This message of empowerment spread through the media, receiving attention on local television and in The Wall Street Journal and helped the class win two national video contests. Learn about this message, as well as some ways to enrich curriculum through successfully integrating classroom technology with your students. Participants in this workshop will also have opportunities to practice using technology such as iPods, Peer Response Systems, SMART Notebook software and more. |
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C-5 The Making of Lava Lamps: An interdisciplinary project addressing National Science and
Technology Education Standards
Diane DiGravio and Keith Auinger
Spry Middle School, Webster CSD
Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Learning
A demonstration workshop explaining collaborative efforts of a project designed/developed by a science and a technology teacher. This project, in which 160 students take part in yearly, incorporates math, science and technology skills while deepening their understandings of various Earth and Physical Science principles.
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Workshop Session D |
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1:45-3:15 PM Thursday, October 2
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D-1 Moving to Inquiry in Science
Diane Barrett, Ph.D. and Barney Ricca, Ph.D.
St. John Fisher College
Science
This hands-on workshop will help participants use inquiry in the science classroom. Activities and discussions will focus on how to transform "cookbook" lessons into inquiry based learning. Participants will also gain access to online inquiry based activities. |
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D-2 Introduction to Professional Learning Communities
Christine Richter
Midwest Regional Support Services Center
Community Resources
Professional learning communities are teams of educators systematically working together to improve teaching practice and student learning. In this workshop, participants will become familiar with the 6 essential characteristics of a PLC, and begin to work together to focus thinking on steps to vercome barriers to getting started with PLCs in your institution. |
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D-3 Exploring Geometric Concepts in the Middle/Secondary Classroom
Mary Bellini and Cynthia Callard, Ed.D.
University of Rochester, Graduate School of Education
Mathematics
This professional development experience for teachers of mathematics at the middle and secondary level encourages participants to explore their own understanding of geometric concepts and relationships in order to deepen the understandings of their students, and to increase their skill in determining the level of geometric thinking their students are developing. |
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D-4 Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching in the High School
Ed Darling, Mike Dowdle and John Wright
Bloomfield High School
Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Learning
A demonstration workshop explaining collaborative efforts of a project designed/developed by a science and a technology teacher. This project, in which 160 students take part in yearly, incorporates math, science and technology skills while deepening their understandings of various Earth and Physical Science principles. |
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D-5 Thinkfinity Intensive
Candy Bower and Karen Finter
Genesee Region Teachers Center and West Irondequoit Teaching & Learning Center
Instructional Technology
"Thinkfinity" (supported by the Verizon Corp.)-Improving student achievement by enhancing classroom instruction with lesson plans, interactive activities & other online resources from partners like National Geographic, National Council of Teachers of Math, American Assoc. for the advancement of Science, Smithsonian and 7 other websites. During this 90-minute workshop, participants will have an in-depth opportunity to work with some of the free online resources available through Thinkfinity and to discuss using them in their own teaching practice. It is recommended that participants bring a laptop with wireless web capability. (See also D-5, Introduction to Thinkfinity). |
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D-6 Two Million Minutes, Video and Discussion
Doug Llewellyn
St. John Fisher College
STEM Education
As soon as a student starts ninth grade, he/she has just two million minutes to prepare for college and ultimately a life-long career. For some American students, high school is little more than a necessary rite of passage - the backdrop for prom nights, tailgate parties, and teenage rebellion. But for college-bound students in China and India, these two million minutes are spent with tutors and textbooks as they sharpen their minds for the "new knowledge economy". This controversial video and follow-up discussion may infuriate you or leave you wondering: What lies ahead for the American education system and our competitive edge in STEM? | (top)
Recognition Dinner
At this dinner we celebrate excellence in and commitment to STEM Education. We will recognize volunteers in the community who have made our work possible and the nominees and winners of the Excellence in STEM Teaching Award. We will also announce the winner of the $10,000 classroom makeover! Learn more.
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Same Day Registration
We will accept purchase orders or checks for same-day registration at the conference. Attendees must have a copy of the PO in order to register. Make checks payable to: RAC-CEMS, 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618.
Registration for October 1st includes dinner and nationally acclaimed speaker Barb Bancroft. Registration for October 2nd includes continental breakfast and lunch.
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Wednesday, October 1 |
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$85 |
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Thursday, October 2 |
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$85 |
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Full conference |
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$170 |
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