E.N.V.I.S.I.O.N.S. Educational Network Venture into Science/Math Instruction, Outreach, and North Carolina Standards Ken Reddic, Grant Director Michael.

E.N.V.I.S.I.O.N.S.E.N.V.I.S.I.O.N.S.Educational Network Venture into Science/Math

Instruction, Outreach, and North Carolina Standards

Ken Reddic, Grant DirectorMichael Elder, Teacher-Coach

NC State University --- Onslow County Public Schools East Main Educational Consulting --- NC Department of Public Instruction

ENVISIONS History• Conducted Needs’ Assessments

– Used school and district data as well as surveys of individual teachers

– Specific Items noted:• In grades 5-8, twenty math and science teachers were

not “highly qualified.” These teachers were charged with teaching over 1100 students.

• The majority of teachers did not feel comfortable teaching any science strand and they have not updated their content training in some time.

• 30% of teachers felt the least comfortable teaching physical science.

• 67% reported science equipment availability as “Poor.”• 77% of teachers indicated that there was no science

safety plan in place.• 89% had not attended a science lab safety workshop in

the past 5 years and 78% indicated a lack of basic safety equipment.

– ENVISIONS is a 3-Year, $1.1 million grant

ENVISIONS Key Features• Courses with NC State Faculty

– Face-to-face and On-line sessions

• Partnerships– Between and among teachers, county level

personnel, and NC State University faculty

• Teacher led Educator Inquiry Groups (EIGs)– Groups that evaluate instructional needs and

build content knowledge– Creating professional learning communities– An atmosphere of collaborative learning and

planning

PartnershipPartnershipCoursework• Face to Face and On-Line Formats

• 2007: Physical Science

• 2008: Earth/Environmental Science

• 2009: Possible Life Science

University Partner – The Science House at North Carolina State University

Evaluation Partner – East Main Educational Consulting

Quarterly Meetings

• Include all partners

•Evaluation Team

•NC State

•Central Office Administration

•Coach and Director

Kick-Off Sessions and Sharing Sessions

•Partners help in planning and sharing information

University PartnershipUniversity Partnership

• Variety of viewpoints

• Key to planning

• Sharing of resources– Personnel resources- faculty– Material resources-

Science House technology (Vernier)

Course FeedbackCourse Feedback

Most valuable aspect of the course

Discuss and Teach Physical Science (including forces, motion, light, and sound)

I am now better prepared to…

Now I plan to…

Best part of the course…

The content and deeper thinking

Learning the content and increased knowledge

Use more activities that are hands-on; Do more learning labs

Self-Efficacy ReportingSelf-Efficacy Reporting

Face to Face Delivery

On-Line Delivery

The course stimulated my

thinking about the content in Physical

Science.

4.73 3.76

Interaction with classmates assisted my

learning.

4.73 3.06

I was encouraged to take

responsibility for my own learning.

4.60 4.24

Teacher Content Knowledge GrowthTeacher Content Knowledge GrowthPhysical SciencePhysical Science

0

10

20

30

Raw

Sco

re

Delivery Method

Physical Science Course

Pre-Test

Post-Test

Pre-Test 21.8 20.1

Post-Test 26.9 27.1

Face to Face On Line

Teacher Content Growth: Notebooks

Teacher Content Growth: Notebooks

Student GrowthStudent Growth

State Science

Test Scores

Documenting Student Growth

TEXT

ObservationsReformed Observation

Teaching Protocol (RTOP)

Teacher Reports of

Student Performance

PLCs (EIGs)Educator Inquiry Groups

PLCs (EIGs)Educator Inquiry Groups

Self Efficacy Survey Data (most agreed upon statements from Likert Scale survey)

• “Efforts were made to combine 5th grade teachers with middle school teachers in your EIG.”

• “The ENVISIONS coach modeled how to conduct an Educator Inquiry Session in the first meeting, teaching our EIG how to run sessions in the future.”

• “Combining 5th grade teachers with middle school teachers helped in my understanding of K-12 mathematics and science curriculum.”

Open-ended responses indicated that respondents planned to continue with ENVISIONS due to the project’s ability to:

• improve teaching styles and knowledge• generate student interest in science• encourage professional growth and networking

Contact InformationContact Information• Ken Reddic, Grant Director

[email protected]• Michael Elder, Teacher-Coach

[email protected]• Sharon Schulze,

Director- NC State Science [email protected]

• Shawn Reintjes, Outreach Coordinator, NC State Science [email protected]

• Barbara Heath and Aaron PerlmutterEast Main Educational [email protected]@bizec.rr.com

• Betty Brummett, Educational ConsultantNC Department of Public [email protected]

DisclaimerDisclaimer

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in this presentation are not intended as an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education.