Re: first time caller...
Jack Lochhead (Jack_Lochhead@TERC.EDU <Jack_Lochhead@TERC.EDU>)
27 Sep 1995 09:21:41 -0400
Tom, you raise some interesting questions which as far as I know have not yet
received adequate attention. In a case such as this one where the prime
objective is to increase teacher awareness and understanding for a particular
topic HOW does one measure the impact on students? You make some
suggestions: I wonder what other ideas are out there? Let me take my usual
role as the devil (I am not too keen on advocates) and ask "does it really
matter if teachers understand the material? What evidence do we have that it
does matter? How could we collect information that would support or reject
the popular myth that teachers need to know what they are talking about?"
Jack_Lochhead@terc.edu <Jack_Lochhead@terc.edu>
--------------------------------------
Date: 9/26/95 6:41 PM
To: Jack Lochhead
From: TEECH-Workshop@hub.terc.edu <TEECH-Workshop@hub.terc.edu>
Hi, I am Tom Repine, PI for RockCamp - an earth science project. We
like to see our mission as one of not only trying to enhance the ability of
West Virginia K-12 teachers to teach earth science but also to increase
their desire to want to teach earth science within the context of their
existing curriculum. Co-PI's are Phyllis Barnhart and Bob Behling.
RockCamp provides two-week summer residency institutes for 20
teachers at the West Virginia Geological Survey. To date, we have
provided materials, ideas, and encouragement to 166 teachers. Earth
science has not been routinely taught in West Virginia but this will
change as the new State Science Framework is implemented. Hence, our
broad mission parameters. Also, and maybe geologists tend to think
fuzzily alike, I agree with the comment of Greg McHone on Sept. 20
when he said " ...our real strength is to improve a teachers personal
knowledge of these topic areas, rather than putting most of our effort
into telling teachers how to teach." RockCamp participants are inundated
with content-relevant hands-on classroom and field experiences which we
insist be modified for use in their own unique classroom situation. Short
term follow-up requires participants to submit for internal publication a
classroom tested acitivity write-up which has been modified by their
RockCamp experience and a reflective narrative of their RockCamp
experience. It's a start...
We also provide a RockCamp II one-week leadership session. These
particpants become Outreach Specialists with the assigned task of
developing and conducting locally funded earth science workshops and
fieldtrips for colleagues. They provide us with a good deal of "grape
vine" information.
In a very general way our follow-up is linked to our noting how
dramatically earth science awareness among West Virginia teachers has
increased since RockCamp began in 1992. One outgrowth of this has
been funding approved by State Legislators which will allow us to
continue RockCamp once NSF funding expires. At one time, there were
few if any earth science activity presentations or workshops conducted at
the West Virginia Science Teachers Association meetings - now
RockCamp participants routinely share their project acquired ideas with
100's of colleagues. Follow-up between colleagues sure sounds good to
me! I think our approach of concentrating on ideas, not strictly content,
has been one of our strengths...and this probably makes follow-up a little
different. The W.V. Geological Survey's toll-free telephone line for
participants is now used by non-RockCamp teachers...so obviously the
word is out there. Post-institute activty write-ups, mass mailings, an
implementation notebook, professional outreach opportunities, discounts
on Survey publications, and a lots of other little things make them active
part of the Survey family. Third party evaluators provide statistical stuff
about the participants classroom use and value of project material. But I
am still looking for a way for me to really judge how they are growing
over time and how to RockCamp can evolve to meet the teachers
needs...It's not part of our current program, but I would really like to
see a classroom teacher, their principal, and a few students form a
RockCamp team which would meet several times a year to review
progress.
Tom Repine, W.V. Geological Survey, Morgantown, WV.
repine@gandalf.wvgs.wvnet.edu <repine@gandalf.wvgs.wvnet.edu>
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From: repine@gandalf.wvgs.wvnet.edu <repine@gandalf.wvgs.wvnet.edu> (Tom Repine)
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To: teech-workshop@hub.terc.edu <teech-workshop@hub.terc.edu>
Subject: first time caller...
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