World Year of Physics—2005

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Introductory Note

This is the second NISMEC newsletter: our mission is to publicize important events and news in the world of inquiry based learning in science, mathematics and engineering at all grade levels K-12, college and graduate work. A principal focus is on news and events most relevant to educators and friends of educators in Northern Indiana; relevant national and international news, programs, and other internet publications will also be included.

News

The principal news this month is the announced funding by the State of Indiana for the Mishawaka School City initiative for Guided Inquiry in Science learning for grades K-6 (see directly below). The collaboration with NISMEC was described in the last newsletter, and we are grateful for the success in funding this first joint project between one of our local school districts and NISMEC. The funding leads us to a busy few summers (and school-year around) in professional development for our teachers.
NISMEC had a large presence at HASTI : The Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, Inc meeting in Indianapolis at the end of January 2005: a double-sized joint booth housed NISMEC, Quarknet and JINA; several presentations from NISMEC associates were given, and we held a well-attended panel discusssion about NISMEC and the goals of guided inquiry learning.

On Monday, March 7, NISMEC gave a presentation of guided inquiry learning to the K-6 teachers of the Southern Wells School Corporation. (Wells County is east of Rochester and south of Fort Wayne, and has only two rural school districts, one north, one south). Joe Bellina and Karen Morris led the presentation and hands-on activities for the 27 teachers and administrators in the beautiful media center:


The wall paintings seen in the pictures are by a parent of the Southern Wells schools.


The urns of 5 Ball brothers held high at Ball State University
On Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12, Drs. Bellina and Berry attended the National Annual Meeting of PhysTEC, with its focus on "Building the Coalition: A Conference on the Preparation of Physics and Physical Science Teachers" at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. PhysTEC comprises 6 Universities nationwide with the goal of "improving teacher preparation" and is facilitated by three of the most prominent national physics societies, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), American Institute of Physics (AIP), and American Physical Society (APS). Ball State and Western Michigan Universities are two of the six. A collaboration/association of NISMEC (Saint Marys and Notre Dame) with PhysTEC is under consideration.

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SUCCESS for Mishawaka Schools and NISMEC!

The State of Indiana Education Department awarded the School City of Mishawaka $420,000 for professional development of all their K-6 teachers as part of their ongoing collaboration with NISMEC to bring guided inquiry science to all their class-rooms. The proposal, funded by the "NCLB - Title II, part B, Mathematics and Science Partnership Program Indiana K-6 Initiative" which was funded in full, is in two main parts: professional development workshops in the summers at Saint Marys, led by Professor Joe Bellina; plus dissemination and implementation support during the school year, led by Karen Morris of the University of Notre Dame.

A key part of this development is the adoption by Mishawaka School City of guided inquiry-based science materials to replace standard text-books in all science learning classes of grades K to 6: these modular science materials will initially come from FOSS, (a Full Option Science System published by Delta Education.)

Initial assessment and other preparatory activities are already underway - we wish the Mishawaka school system and the teachers every success in this exciting endeavor.

Here follows the April 11, 2005 press release from Mishawaka:
School City of Mishawaka Captures $420,000 Grant for Science Education from the Indiana Department of Education Project Partners: Saint Mary's College, primary partner University of Notre Dame. secondary partner The Indiana Department of Education and the Math and Science Partnership Team has named School City of Mishawaka as a recipient of a Math and Science Partnership grant. The grant will total over $420,000 in its three year term. The grant entitled 'Inquiry Learning for Students and Teachers' will center on science instruction in the elementary classrooms, from kindergarten through sixth grade. Guided inquiry instruction takes advantage of the students' natural curiosity and thinking ability to focus their learning. The students learn from thinking about their own experiences, using research-based materials and teacher guidance, rather than only from reading and memorizing explanations provided by the textbook. About 130 elementary teachers will develop expertise in guided inquiry-based learning in the summer workshops and with additional support throughout the school year.

School City of Mishawaka is joined by Saint Mary's College, the primary partner, and the University of Notre Dame, the secondary partner, for this project. Dr. Joseph J. Bellina, Jr. of Saint Mary's will direct the Teacher Science Institutes [TSI] during the summers of 2005, 2006 and 2007. The one-week summer workshops on the Saint Mary's campus will immerse Mishawaka elementary teachers in the strategies and practices of guided inquiry science instruction. University of Notre Dame instructor Karen M. Morris will coordinate the Dissemination and Implementation Workshops [DIW]. These sessions will be held at various elementary schools throughout the school year to provide ongoing support and assistance for the teachers who were trained the previous summer.

Superintendent of Schools R. Steven Mills explains, "School City of Mishawaka is committed to providing highly skilled professional staff for all students who are able to challenge the imagination and meet the needs of each and every student whom they teach. We accomplish that by working hand in hand with our professional staff through an ongoing professional development program based on collaboration, cooperation, and coaching. School City of Mishawaka has consistently utilized not only our own highly skilled people in this process, but we have worked diligently to align ourselves with nationally recognized professional developers as well as many leading schools of higher education such as St. Mary's and Notre Dame. Other schools that we have utilized include Teacher's College, Columbia University, The Ohio State University, and Purdue University."

This competitive grant program, Mathematics and Science Partnership [MSP] is authorized through Title II, Part B of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The program was designed to encourage colleges and universities, local school districts, and individual schools to participate in professional development activities that increase the subject matter knowledge and teaching skills of mathematics and science teachers. In Indiana, the funds must be used to promote and enhance inquiry-based learning in science for elementary students. Inquiry-based science is not new in School City of Mishawaka, but the grant will bring these cutting edge techniques to all of the elementary schools. In August of 2004, 24 teachers from Beiger Elementary and Twin Branch Model Schools attended a week-long seminar at Saint Mary's with Dr. Bellina, an innovative leader in the learning of science by guided inquiry. With the grant funds, every Mishawaka elementary teacher will have the opportunity to participate in the workshops and classroom implementation activities during each of the three years that the grant is in effect. "The Teacher Science Institute was developed by science faculty at Saint Mary's College in collaboration with master elementary teachers to help those teachers understand, by their own experience, how well science is learned by guided inquiry," says Dr. Joseph J. Bellina, Jr., professor of physics at Saint Mary's College. "We look forward to supporting teachers as they create communities of learners in each elementary school using their new research-based, student centered curriculum."

In March of 2004 the Northern Indiana Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Collaborative [NISMEC] was created through a partnership of eight Indiana school districts, Indiana University South Bend, the University of Notre Dame, and Saint Mary's. From this group emerged the partnership of Saint Mary's, the University of Notre Dame, and School City of Mishawaka. Primary grant writer Caryn Ellison [Twin Branch teacher, Project DEEP 5th & 6th grades] added, "'Inquiry Learning for Students and Teachers' will bring together the university-level resources, Mishawaka elementary teachers, and the students themselves into a collaborative group that will find all three groups worked side-by-side, 'doing the work of scientists'."

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The successful collaborators

The plan for the grant was presented by Superintendent Steven Mills and approved at the Board meeting of the School City of Mishawaka, April 12, 2005.

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Summer Programs at Notre Dame and Saint Marys

Research Experiences for High School Teachers at Notre Dame (RET)
In 2005, the University of Notre Dame is expanding its RET program to bring research opportunities in many science areas, including physics, chemistry, biological sciences and mathematics. The projects vary in duration from 4 to 8 weeks and the stipends for participating teachers range from $1,500 to $5,000. The RET program is supported through the National Science Foundation and the University of Notre Dame. It has operated very successfully at Quarknet for several years in high energy and other experimental physics projects. More information about the program can be found at the RET website.
Teacher Science Institutes (TSI) at Saint Marys (K-8th grade)
Professor Bellina will be conducting 6 to 8 week-long TSI's this summer 2005 for K-6 teachers. They will take place most weeks (Mondays to Fridays), starting on June 13th. The Institutes focus on the introduction of guided inquiry learning into the classroom. They introduce participants to the well-established, research-based curriculum (Physics by Inquiry, by L.C. McDermott and the PER group at the University of Washington). Further information can be found on the NISMEC website.
Each workshop has an enrollment of 12 to 24 participants. With the introduction of "guided inquiry" into the Mishawaka K-8 curriculum, many workshops will be filled with Mishawaka K-8 teachers. However, funds will be available for additional spaces in the TSI workshops on a "first-come, first-served" basis.
Teachers are paid a stipend ($500) for the one week of attendance. Please contact Professor Joseph Bellina (jbellina@saintmarys.edu) or Karen Morris (kmorris@nd.edu) for further details.
Summer program for Middle school teachers at Notre Dame
With the support of the Siemens Foundation, the University of Notre Dame is holding a 4-week summer 2005 workshop for 7th and 8th grade middle school science and mathematics teachers: the program (from June 15 to July 14th, 2005) will focus on how to use guided inquiry in the classroom in both science and mathematics; part of the professional development program is modeled after the very successful TSIs of Saint Marys (see above), and will utilize the research-based curriculum of the Lillian McDermott group (Seattle, Washington). Other parts include development of the associated mathematics needs, led by Professor Mario Borelli, introduction to Space Science, led by Dr. Phil Sakimoto, plus participation in other physics laboratories. There is a stipend of $2500 for attending teachers.
Contact Gordon Berry at 574-631-4012 or by e-mail hgberry@nd.edu for further information.
History and Philosophy of Science Course at Notre Dame for High School Teachers
Two intensive two-week classes are being offered June 13-24, 2005 by the University of Notre Dame Department of History and Philosophy of Science (HPS). The courses are entitled "The Copernican Revolution" and "Genetics and Genomics in the 21st Century." Application forms and other information about this program can be found at the HPS website for the program

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Other Programs

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Local Events
Einstein's Miraculous Year - 1905 - Centenary

Many events will be taking place locally and internationally throughout the year as part of "The Year of Physics" - we will try to publicize them in further newsletters.
The next upcoming event is on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. A Free public lecture "Einstein's Biggest Blunder? A Cosmic Mystery Story" by Dr. Lawrence Krauss, Chair of the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University, to take place in room 131 of DeBartolo Hall at the University of Notre Dame.


On the same day is an all-day conference on the related topic of Cosmology: Physics and Philosophical Perspectives. It takes place on Aril 20, 2005 in room 100 of the Center for Continuing Education at the University of Notre Dame; it starts at 9 a.m. and is open to the public.
Details are listed below:

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Arcadia, is/are a play and a conference on the intersections of Nature, Science and Art

The play by Tom Stoppard will run from Tuesday, April 12, to Saturday, April 23, as part of the inaugural season of the new University of Notre Dame Center for the Performing Arts
The 3-day conference, April 21 to 23rd entitled Nature, Science and Art coincides with the last days of the play. The Friday (April 22nd) meetings entitled Nature and Science: The Changing Scientific Picture of the World will be of particular interest: the principal speakers are Jeremy Butterfield of All Souls College, Oxford, Bas van Frassen of Princeton University and Tony Leggett of the University of Illinois
More information can be found at the Arcadia website

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Recent Articles of Interest

John Glenn Schools take virtual technology trips! An article in USA Today, describing how easy it is to visit the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis (and other places) - cheaper than a trip there by bus...

Which was your favorite summer professional development program and why?
Here is one teacher's response to a survey looking for worthwhile National Science Foundation funded programs...
One of the best summers of my life was the physics program at PHYSLab run Lowell Herr at the Catlin-Gabel School in Portland, Oregon.
This program, funded by NSF, was one of the few teacher education programs ever that was run exclusively by high school teachers with no university professors acting as our guides.
PHYSLab's concept was that many physics teachers would like to do more labs, but that they didn't know their equipment that well -- or didn't have any -- and so would spend most of their time lecturing.
So, the program was simply three weeks of doing labs, like we were students, using Pasco and Vernier and home-built probes. We changed lab partners every day, so that as Ken Appel, one of the instructors said, we wouldn't always be with the same brain dead ones. We wrote up descriptions of what we did, how we could modify the labs and equipment, and how we should incorporate them into our class. We learned good lab technique, and how to care for what we bought.
Dave Vernier came to speak with us and we saw the plant outside of Portland. We had representatives from Pasco as well.
We also brought checks for $1000 from our schools that were matched by NSF to buy equipment. NSF paid for our housing and a stipend. We could get graduate credit.
In addition to all of this, though, the program helped us become colleagues. We cooked breakfast together each morning. We ate together over most lunches. We bunked together in a fleabag hotel which we more or less took over. We cooked dinner together one night a week. Lowell arranged weekend field trips to Mt. St. Helen's and other sites relatively nearby. We also made many trips into town to go to Powell's Books.
I have run into other graduates of other years, and they still recall the time fondly. I have even worked with another graduate. It's pretty cool.
Lowell won AAPT's teaching award a few years ago.
I'd love to try to do the program myself here in San Francisco. All I need is someone else to lead the hikes.
Marc "Zeke" Kossover, The Jewish Community High School of the Bay

An essay on Equity and Justice for Diverse children in poverty from Education News.
Note: visit the home page of this journal for up-to-date education news.

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Editorial information, etc.


The NISMEC electronic newsletter will be published at regular intervals throughout the school year. If you wish to be a subscriber (it's free), write to the editor, Gordon Berry, at the address: nismec@nd.edu

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.........mathematics, engineering and the other sciences too!

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