|
LASER eNewsletter October 2009 |
Many LASER-related schools have
wonderful success stories to share. We've featured these
up-front in our first newsletter of the new school year.
As we all deal with the challenges of the economic
downturn, we hope this can allow for some time to
celebrate the accomplishments of the last year.
Dennis and Jeff
|
|
Outstanding Growth in Science Achievement at Ahtanum Valley |
|
Ahtanum Valley Elementary School in the West Valley School
District, Yakima, has seen some remarkable results in its
5th grade Washington Assessment for Student Learning
scores over the past four years.
Ahtanum Elementary School is a Title I school with 44.9%
of students being eligible for free/reduced lunch. Peter
Finch, Assistant Superintendent, states "The great thing
about student achievement is that we have had very little
turn-over of staff at Ahtanum Valley Elementary. The same
teachers are getting better results through instructional
improvements, increased student engagement, and
high-quality instructional materials. I think we are
seeing a systems effect as, each year, more students have
had experience with hands-on science and authentic
writing."
West Valley School District is a member of the South
Central LASER Alliance.
|
|
Puyallup Students Improve Science Scores |
|
|
Puyallup School District has plenty to celebrate this fall
as students return to school. Results of the spring
Washington Assessment for Student Learning testing showed
significant increases in the 5th and 8th grade science
scores (see graph below), with as much as a 20% point gain
over that last two years in one elementary school.
Andrew Schwebke, Director of Student Learning, offered, "As
I have been thinking about the factors that make a
difference, it is the intersection of curriculum,
professional development, and assessment." He continues,
"None of these factors, in and of themselves, are
sufficient. Our teachers have continued to work at refining
their practice, understanding the state assessment as well
as designing formative assessments, and teaching the
curriculum effectively. Another factor is the time the
curriculum has been in place. At the elementary, we phased
in our STC kits over 3 years. The first full year of
implementation was 2007-08 and we saw gains in the 5th grade
that year. 2008-09 was the second full year of program
implementation, and we saw even greater gains. Students are
getting a stronger foundation and this is reflected in our
improved scores."
Andrew Schwebke served as LASER Co-Director for the South
Sound LASER Alliance from 2007-2009.
Puyallup School District is a member of the South Sound
LASER Alliance.
|
|
Promising Results |
|
|
Students in treatment classrooms show greater improvement in
understanding science concepts compared to control
classrooms. This is the bottom-line results of the two-year
ASK-IT Project (Assessing Science Knowledge - Implementation
Through Teacher Research). The "treatment" group of
teachers: 1) received professional development in the use of
specific assessment tools used to monitor and improve
science instruction, 2) participated in grade-level
Professional Learning Communities (PLC's), and 3) worked to
increase science teaching time by integrating it with math
and language arts.
Students in the study completed three FOSS modules. Each
student completed a pretest and a posttest on the content
of the unit. Treatment students outperformed the control
students on the posttest for every module. In the graph
below, you see the posttest results for the Human Body
Module, a 4th grade module.
 At
the end of each school year, participating school teams
were invited to share their work and learning at a
Showcase. Student work was displayed as each team
described their challenges and successes. At left,
teacher Chantelle Henry of Daybreak Elementary in the
Battleground SD presents the team's work.
Participants in the program offered these comments:
"I've done a much better job of teaching the kit with
intention. Before I would just pick and choose the parts
of the investigations that I thought the kids would enjoy
and that didn't take too long. After teaching the kit as
it was meant to be taught, I see that each investigation
part has real merit."
"I have felt more successful at my 'quality' of science
teaching this past year. In past years, I felt that since
I didn't know much about science I did not teach to the
extent that needed to be done. With ASK-IT, I've been more
guided/focused and truly use teachable moments. Plus I
have more fun."
The ASK-IT research project is an effort of the South West
Alliance worked in partnership with 6 school districts,
ESD 112, Kathy Long - Assessment Developer for FOSS -
Lawrence Hall of Science, and Cathleen Kennedy - Research
and Evaluator to design and implement this two-year LASER
School-Wide grant. The project director was Gloria
Ferguson from ESD 112.
To read the full report and learn about the ASK-IT
findings, click
here.
|
|
Georgia Boatman Recieves Recognition from President Obama |
|
 The
Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science
Teaching (PAEMST) has been awarded to Georgia Boatman,
Regional Science Coordinator for ESD 123. Awardees are
recognized for their contributions to teaching and learning
and their ability to help students make progress in
mathematics and science. In addition to honoring individual
achievement, the goal of the award program is to exemplify the
highest standards of mathematics and science teaching.
Enacted by Congress in 1983, this program authorizes the
President to bestow up to 108 awards each year. This award is
the highest recognition that any K-12 math or science teacher
may receive for outstanding teaching in the U.S. "Science,
well taught, is a vital and necessary part of a successful
elementary school experience", Boatman states. "We can no
longer approach the teaching of science in the way we did 30
years ago. Instead of reading about science that has already
happened, we need to allow elementary children, even at the
youngest ages, to do science."
In addition to her work as an ESD Science Coordinator, Georgia
has also served as a LASER Strategic Planning Institute
Faculty member for two years. Congratulations Georgia!
More information about the PAEMST awards can be found
here.
|
|
New LASER School Districts and Alliance News |
|
Welcome to the following districts that
attended the LASER Strategic Planning Institute, June 22-27
in Vancouver, Washington. Granite Falls, Adna, Brewster,
Freeman, Granger, Kiona-Benton City, Lind, Marysville,
Monroe, Northshore, Snohomish, and Tenino.
Alliance Increases Membership - The
Mountain to Harbor LASER Alliance, in just its third year,
is adding two new districts, bringing their membership total
to twelve. Adna and Tenino school districts attended the
LASER Strategic Planning Institute in June. District teams
established goals for this coming year to provide students
access to inquiry-based science materials that are aligned
to the state standards and to provide staff with the ongoing
professional development needed in order to utilize
effective science instruction. "It was the first time
individuals from our districts have come together to really
focus on what needs to change and discuss how the changes
would be implemented," Amy Dunagan, Adna teacher, said.
For more information about the Mountain to Harbor LASER
Alliance visit their
website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Special thanks to the Pacific Science Center, Battelle/Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory, OSPI, and Boeing for their
ongoing support of Washington State LASER.
|
|
|
|
|
