FCAT Science » Teacher Training

Teachers Conduct Hands-On-Minds-On Inquiry-Based Investigations During Teacher Training Workshop

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:16:27 +0000

Teachers were actively engaged in the learning process as they conducted hands-on-minds-on, inquiry-based investigations to explore FCAT science content and concepts. I began the workshop with having teachers discuss how they help to develop and strengthen critical thinking skills in their students. Teachers conducted investigations to explore the nature of matter, physical science, earth and life science concepts. It was a great group of teachers, and fantastic Central Florida school. I expect great strides in the science classroom from this group of motivated teachers and their students.

FCAT Science Teacher Training Workshops

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:42:51 +0000

Just back from conducting 10 days of teacher training workshops throughout the state of Florida. As always it’s a pleasure to share my expertise and enthusiasm for science with the teachers I meet. The 2011–2012 school year is no different than the previous years, school districts and schools want for their students to do well on the FCAT. For students to do well on the science component of the FCAT it’s essential that the students have had the opportunity to conduct hands-on-minds-on, inquiry-based science investigations throughout the school year. The students must be able to comprehend science concepts. If they have been taught science concepts through route memorization and paper and pencil activities, they are sure to do poorly on the FCAT. The FCAT requires students to be able to think critically, including extrapolating information from extended questions, as well as interpreting data from graphs. During two recent FCAT science teacher training workshops teachers explored a wide-array of science concepts from the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. Teachers conducted hands-on investigations to explore Nature of Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, and Life Science concepts. Conducting investigations that allow the student to see the connections to the Big Ideas is essential. The following photos are from recent FCAT science teacher training workshops. I’m wishing all the Florida students and teachers a great year ahead, to ask questions, develop critical thinking skills, as they actively explore all the wonders of science.

FCAT Testing 2011

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:11:35 +0000

Students across the state of Florida are taking the FCAT 2.0 this week. The FCAT 2.0 will help to assess students under the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSS) which were implemented in 2007. The FCAT 2.0 will include NGSS in reading and math. New science standards will be tested in 2012. The FCAT testing was scheduled later in the school year compared to previous years, which allows for more time to cover content. More important, more time to actually comprehend the content versus drilling irrelevant and fragmented facts into students heads. The Next Generation Sunshine State Standards are designed to make connections, favor quality over quantity. Students will cover fewer concepts in math, reading, and science but the concepts will be covered in greater depth. There is a lot of pressure on teachers this year because beginning next year, FCAT scores will affect teacher pay. Half of the teacher evaluations will be based on how their students performed in the FCAT and other exams over a three-year period. I’m definitely one for teacher accountable but not based primarily on test scores. There is no question that teacher evaluation and continued contracts need to be re-evaluated and revamped nationwide. In any private business or government position individuals are assessed yearly. If you are not performing up to standards, you are out. It’s quite difficult with the power of unions to fire a teacher who is incompetent. And unfortunately, it is the students who suffer. Long-term our nation suffers when students are not being given the opportunity for a quality K-12 education. I’d be in favor of teacher evaluation based on the teacher as a whole. Look at the dedication of the teacher, motivation, classroom environment, the relationship the teacher has with their students and their parents. Lastly, look at test scores over a several year period. Wishing all the Florida students and teachers a positive FCAT testing experience this week.

Project Lead the Way Biomedical Science Class In Full Gear At Mariner School Lee County, Florida

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 23:31:11 +0000

Biomedical Science Class is being offered at Mariner School in Lee County, Florida. The Biomedical Class is part of the the first Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Biomedical ScienceProgram. It’s the first PLTW class that Lee County has offered. Project Lead the Way is a nationally-approved method of increasing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts and explorations within schools. STEM education classes help to achieve the goals set forth in the Race to the Top grant program. Michelle Hellman is the instructor for the Biomedical Science class at Mariner School. She completed two weeks of intensive training provided by PLTW this past summer to become certified to teach the class. Hellman states that “she is more of a facilitator, she hardly lectures.” Students are in charge of most of their own research and labs. Project Lead the Way philosophy and curriculum encourages the development of problem-solving skills, critical thinking, creative and innovative reasoning, and a love for learning. To read more about the Biomedical Science class at Mariner check out the following article in News-Press.com by Mae Yousif-Bashi. To find out more about Project Lead the Way programs and teacher training opportunities check out the Project Lead the Way website.

A Coastal Science Program Helps Mayport Middle Boost Its Enrollment

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:47:41 +0000

Mayport Middle School has added a coastal sciences magnet program to its curriculum. The addition of the Coastal Sciences magnet program has helped to increase student enrollment at Mayport Middle School by nearly 100 students. The Coastal Sciences magnet program is the the first of its kind in Duval county, and the first middle –school magnet in the Beaches and intracoastal area. The school’s enrollment had declined in recent years due to the departure of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy from Mayport and the closing of numerous mobile home parks and apartment complexes in the surrounding area. In addition to taking the traditional sixth-grade science class. Students enrolled in the Coastal Sciences magnet program take another science class divided into four nine-week areas: microbiology, oceanography, marine environments, and living coastal zones. Students conduct hands-on labs such as using dip nets to collect marine specimens within a pond located on the campus. Additionally, Mayport Middle School has a new lab, outfitted with laptops, aquariums, microscopes, and other equipment. The new lab was paid for with a federal grant. Perhaps other Florida school districts facing a decline in student enrollment should consider revamping schools with declining enrollment with science and/or STEM magnet programs. Check out The Florida Times-Union article Marine Biologists: The Next Generation by Mary Kelli Palka.

Implementing The Next Generation Sunshine State Science Standards Teacher Training Workshop

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:01:28 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of conducting a full-day teacher training workshop for a charter school in Florida. Thirteen teachers were actively engaged in inquiry-based investigations that tie directly to the Next Generation Sunshine State Science Standards. Teachers conducted numerous hands-on-minds-on explorations to investigate:

Nature of Science;
Earth and Space Science;
Physical Science; and
Life Science concepts.

The administrator of the school requested that I reinforce the importance of writing and journals within the science classroom, as well as across the disciplines. Thus, a major focus of the teacher training workshop involved the teachers maintaining a journal throughout the session. We spent the early part of the morning exploring the school yard. Making observations, collecting leaves, seeds, soil samples, insect exoskeletons, and more… While outside the teachers recorded their observations in their student notebooks. When we returned to the classrooms teachers were given time to reflect on their observations within their journals, observe specimens with eye loupes and microscopes. Teachers then attached specimens inside of their journals. Additionally, were introduced:

To effective strategies to differentiate between weathering and erosion;
How living things interact with their environment via designing and constructing a bottle biology ecosystem;
Botanical concepts;
States of Matter;
Differences between chemical and physical changes; and
Differences between mixtures and solutions.

At the end of the teacher training session, the teachers left the session with their arms filled with models they had constructed, references, manuals, and an interactive student notebook/ journal from the session. I’m quite certain that these teachers will incorporate many of the strategies they were introduced to as they implement the Next Generation Sunshine State Science Standards (NGSSS) in their classrooms.

Florida Named A Winner In Phase II Of Race To The Top

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:34:24 +0000

The District of Columbia, Florida and eight other states were announced winners in the second round of Race to the Top Grants on August 24th, 2010. Race to the Top state competition is designed to reward states that are leading the way in comprehensive, coherent, statewide education reform. Winning states receive funds to be used in four key areas:

Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace;
Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals how to improve instruction;
Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
Turning around their lowest performing schools.

As a science education consultant that provides hands-on-minds-on inquiry-based science professional staff development teacher training workshops, I’m hoping that Florida school districts will seek out quality and effective professional staff development teacher training opportunities for their teachers. Not “one shot in the arm” training, but long-term training where teachers receive continual training and advice when needed throughout the year from a designated provider who has been proven to provide quality and effective professional staff development teacher training workshops. The training opportunities should be directly connected with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, hands-on-minds-on, and inquiry-based. Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski has been providing quality and effective professional staff development teacher training workshops since 1987 throughout the entire state of Florida and nation. Check out the teacher training workshops Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski offers here. Dr. Diana Wehrell-Grabowski looks forward to working with Florida school district in their efforts to implement education reform.

For further details of Governor Crist announcement see the following press release.

Florida Elementary Teachers Attend Teaching Science Through Children’s Literature Workshop

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:16:43 +0000

Thirty elementary teachers attended a full-day hands-on-minds-on, inquiry-based teacher training workshop entitled Teaching Science Through Children’s Literature. Teachers were introduced to a wide-array of children’s literature that can be incorporated into the science classroom to teach intermediate level science concepts covering the New World-Class Sunshine State Science Standards. Teachers conducted a wide-array of hands-on-minds-on investigations to explore nature of science, earth and space, physical science, and life science concepts. Investigations undertaken by the teachers were directly connected to the Big Ideas within the New World-Class Sunshine State Science Standards. Teachers explored the states of matter with a unique non-Newtonian substance called . They also were introduced to how to use Oobleck to teach numerous earth and space science concepts. Teachers designed and constructed bottle biology ecosystems to reinforce a wide-array of life science concepts including: food chains, food webs, interdependence, limiting factors, oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle, carbon-dioxide cycle, photosynthesis, and the water cycle. Teachers were introduced to many of Leonardo daVinci’s innovations and inventions by exploring the book Who Was Leonardo daVinci by Roberta Edwards. Teachers constructed simple parachutes and helicopters, and compared bird feathers to airplane wing design to explore force, motion, and energy concepts as well as make connections to the contributions of Leonardo daVinci to society. Teachers explored weathering and erosion concepts and the rock cycle by conducting hands-on investigations with Coquina Rock. Lastly, teachers observed and studied mangrove seedlings to reinforce numerous life science concepts. Each hands-on-minds-on investigation was directly related to selected children’s literature. All investigations undertaken during the teacher training workshop are directly related to FCAT Science annually assessed benchmarks. A sample of children’s authors included: Lynn Cherry, John Himmelman, Dr. Seuss, Ellen Prager, Kristine and Robert Thorson,Cherie Mason, Jean Craighead George, Carl Hiassen, and many others. All of the children’s literature introduced to the teachers and used within the teacher training workshop can be found and ordered from the following site.

Florida Students Rank Fifth Nationwide in Taking, Passing Advancement Placement Tests

Diana Wehrell-Grabowski — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:42:06 +0000

The number of Florida students taking Advanced Placement tests hit a record high in 2009, however the number of students who fail the exams is rising, particularly in the South. No longer are AP classes for an elite group of students, there has been a major push in the state of Florida to get more students enrolled in Advanced Placement classes. The new Florida high school grade system will take into account participation and performance on the AP exams, adding another incentive for schools to encourage participation in AP classes. Florida was fifth in the list of states with the greatest percentage of high school seniors doing well on AP exams. In 2009 21.3 percent of Florida students did well on the AP exams, up from 16.3 percent in 2004. However, data shows that Florida students did not do well when compared to their national counterparts on some AP exams, specifically those in math and science. On the AP Biology exam only 32 percent of Florida students did well, earning at least a 3 on the five-level test, compared to about 49 percent nationally. Kristen Klopfenstein, a senior researcher at the Texas Schools Project and a professor on leave from Texas Christian University, who conducts research on AP has found that students who take AP often do well in college. However, Klopfenstein’s research shows that it’s other rigorous courses, especially in math and science that lead to that success. To see viewpoints of parents and administrators in regards to the push to take AP courses see the following article by Leslie Postal in Orlando Sentinel on February 10, 2010.