Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education

2000-2001 Annual Report

The Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, has offices in the Copper Country Intermediate School District and on Michigan Technological University’s campus. The center provides services to 21 school districts and their communities in Baraga, Keweenaw, Houghton, Ontonagon and Gogebic counties. The center strives to develop scientifically literate and environmentally committed citizens, scientists and community leaders for the 21st century by providing innovative and quality programming for students, teachers and the community.

Overview of the Year’s Accomplishments

Ø 13,547 students participated in the center’s programming.

Ø 428 teachers participated in 6423 hours of professional development offered by the center.

Ø Conducted a 3 day Lake Superior Youth Symposium for 400 teachers and students in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Ontario.

Ø Implemented a School Forest Teacher Training Initiative, which provided knowledge and resources to integrate the school forest into the curriculum.

Ø 200 students in grades 4-9 participated in the Western UP Science Fair.

Ø 2380 students and parents participated in Family Science and Math Night Programs

Ø Implemented the Educator’s Science and Mathematics Institute Series to help teacher s develop standards based classroom teaching units.

Ø 115 classroom presentations, assemblies and field trips involved 5350 students.

Ø Placement and training of 13 graduate students in 11 school districts to assist teachers in curriculum alignment and development.

Organization of the Report

This report is organized around the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education Three-Year Strategic Plan for 2000-2003. The Strategic Plan identifies six service areas: Leadership, Professional Development, Student Services, Curriculum Support, Community Involvement, and Resource Clearinghouse. In each service area—the goals and quality indicators are described. Descriptions of strategies used to accomplish these goals and indicators of the effectiveness of the work are also presented.

Educational Leadership

Focus of Leadership Services for 2000-2001

1. The center will influence policy for mathematics and science education in the region, state and nation, by actively participating in the Michigan Mathematics and Science Centers Network.

2. The center will exert leadership in coordinating educational activities in the CCISD and GOISD and provide services that meet the needs of teachers and students in the service area.

3. The center will provide leadership for schools in the CCISD and GOISD by participating in State Wide Initiatives to improve mathematics and science education.

Strategies:

Ø Center staff gathered input and assess needs of school districts using many strategies both formal and informal.

Ø Center staff worked collaboratively with community organizations, various departments at Michigan Technological University and school districts to coordinate programming and leverage resources.

Evidence:

· Information from the formal needs assessment was used to develop the three year strategic plan for center programming · The center was able to obtain funding and resources to enhance programming.

Professional development programs addressed a need for strategies to engage students in inquiry-based activities using higher order thinking skills that provide connections to the real world. Student programming engaged students in inquiry based activities, and explored careers in math and science related fields. Family Science and Math Night Programs addressed a need for encouraging family participation in the education of their children. Established a resource clearinghouse to address the need for access to standards based science and mathematics curriculum. The center obtained National Science Foundation funding and recruited MTU students to conduct Family Science and Math Night Programs and after school science classes. The center worked collaboratively with MTU Education Department to fund and implement the Educator’s Science and Mathematics Institute Series.

In addition to the leadership activities above, the Western Upper Peninsula Center provides leadership by maintaining expertise in state and national initiatives in mathematics and science education, by helping districts implement mathematics and science curricula, and by sharing important information with local schools. To promote the improvement of mathematics and science education both regionally and state wide, Center staff have also participated in the following committees and task forces or presented at the following meetings.

Committees

Michigan Rural Systemic Initiative Advisory Board

Michigan Mathematics and Science Centers Executive Board

Michigan State University’s Extension Advisory Board

Keweenaw Community Foundation Advisory Board

Copper Country Americorps Advisory Board

Regional Principals’ and Superintendents’ Meetings

MTU Education Department Chair Search Committee

Regional School Improvement Committees

Presentations

National Science Teacher Association’s National Conference

Michigan Science Teacher Association’s Conference

Michigan Association of School Boards’ Annual Conference

Professional Development

Focus of Professional Development Programming for 2000-2001

1. The center will support teacher participation in selected professional development programs by leveraging Eisenhower Consortium Funds and assist teachers to become facilitators for such programs.

2. The center will provide high quality professional development opportunities that help teachers implement the state and national standards and model effective teaching.

Strategies:

Ø Development and implementation of programs to address the need for strategies to engage students in inquiry-based activities using higher order thinking skills, and provide connections to the real world.

Ø Development and implementation of programs that give teachers tools to integrate science and mathematics into other content areas.

Ø Development and implementation of programs that focus on the development of standards based classroom-teaching units and encourage teachers to share innovative ideas with other teachers.

Professional development was delivered in many ways, depending on the identified needs in the center’s service area. Two primary formats included: (1) single events, lasting from a portion of one day to several consecutive days, focused on a particular topic, skill, or issue, and (2) multiple session events, either a series of sessions with a single focus or a sequence of sessions, one building on the previous one, conducted periodically over a several week/month period.

Table 1: Participants Receiving Professional Development

			Reported Gender**		Position
Participants	# of Indiv.	Total Hours	Males	Females	Admin	Math Tchrs.	Science Tchrs.	Tech Tchrs.	Combined Subject	Other or Unknown*
Pre-K	4	21.5	1	3	1				1	2
Elementary	164	1682.4	30	134	4	1	2	1	150	6
Middle/Jr. High	44	545	17	27	1	6	11	3	5	18
High School	101	2180.1	49	52	4	14	30	5	1	47
Others*	115	1994	49	66	7	7	41	3	14	43
Total	428	6423	146	282	17	28	84	12	171	116

* Other includes persons who work across levels, are not teachers or administrators, or did not indicate position.

** All individuals did not indicate Gender.

Table 2: Professional Development Activities

		Math	Science	Technology	Integrated M/S/T	Other	Total
	Events
Pre-K	Hours
	# Participants
	Events		6		2	2	10
Elementary	Hours		23		13	6	42
	# Participants		116		44	16	176
Elementary	Events		0		3		3
&	Hours