Kick Off Event For Two Of Our Math Science Partnerships Projects
Kick-off Event for two of our Math Science Partnerships projects
The Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, in partnership with the University of Maine Farmington, recently held an exciting kick-off event for two of our Math Science Partnerships projects. The day and a half long retreat style workshop took place at Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center in Northport, Maine on September 23rd and 24th.
Teacher participants came together from the Bangor area project (called LEARN Mathematics!) which includes United Technologies Center, Old Town High School, Orono High School, Brewer High School and Bangor Christian Schools; and the Rockland area project (called M4CTE) which includes Midcoast School of Technology, Thomaston Grammar School, Rockland and Medomak Valley Middle Schools, and Oceanside High School East and West campuses.
The opening activity Friday evening was an engineering design challenge. Teams of two or three teachers explored the generation of wind power using found objects to design, create, and test windmills. Test data was collected and presented, along with conclusions and critiques of the process, as the activity continued on Saturday morning.
Saturday afternoon consisted of two break out sessions: One designed to better acquaint new participants with the goals, expectations and outcomes of projects and the other tailored for returning teacher-leaders who will be mentoring the newcomers throughout the year.
As we move in to the school year middle, high, and career technical education teachers in each project will meet monthly in regional Professional Learning Communities. These dine-and-discuss sessions will allow pairs, triads, or even teams of four teachers to collaboratively plan multi-day lessons that integrate mathematical concepts and theory with practical, hands-on applications. Based on the level of excitement generated by Friday evening’s activity, we expect innovative design challenges to be an integral part of this year’s lesson plans. As a way to demonstrate achievement, these lessons will provide students with opportunities to carry out investigations, collect and present data as evidence for their conclusions, and even engage in expeditionary or service learning projects.
After the first of the year, teachers will begin bringing their respective students together to co-teach the lessons. Typically these multi-day lessons include direct instruction in the classroom, hands-on instruction in a workshop setting, and off-site fieldwork or studies.
A key aspect of the professional development model used in both these projects is the use of self-reflection and feedback from colleagues to help teachers refine and improve their lessons as they make sustained improvements to their practice. Experienced teacher-leader participants, trained in earlier projects, will mentor and guide new participants.
A final monograph collection of lesson plans, ideas, and activities will be published by MMSA and disseminated throughout Maine next year.
