November 1998

Addressing state frameworks through inquiry was the focus of November's Teacher Partner meeting at the Marshall University Resource Collaborative. Presenters were University of Kentucky Resource Collaborative Curriculum Specialists Ron Pelfrey and Steve Henderson. Facilitators modeled high quality teaching that involved participants in higher order thinking skills and then Teacher Partners planned how to best share those activities with faculty.
 

The saga of a crane on the verge of toppling over a bridge provided the background for an exploration of principles of physics.  Wayne is explaining his idea to Linda, Nancy and Jo.

Teacher Partners test many theories to determine why the crane up-ended.

Anne and Carolyn used deductive reasoning to determine the source of ground water contamination as presented in the SEPUP kit - "Fruitvale".

Testing water samples gave clues to the source of the problem posed in the it vignette.

Glenn and Susan designed a model to show how electricity can be conducted during a storm.

Groups were assigned a topic/event and then asked to build a model to demonstrate that. This group built a model of an electrical fuse.

Science teachers and their toys!

Math teachers and their toys!

After a busy day of facilitating training, UK Science Curriculum Specialist, Steve Henderson, caught a well deserved break.

UK Math Curriculum Specialist, Ron Pelfrey, introduced Teacher Partners to reflectors for use in geometry investigations. Linda used the reflector to disect a line.

Lewis County Junior High Principal, Kevin Duff, and guest, Kenny Scott, reviewed the procedures for trisecting an angle.

Linda and Carolyn found the greatest challenge in using the cubes was getting them snapped together. Push hard, Linda!

Teacher Partners were engaged in many investigations of number patterns.

One task was to model fractions.

Teacher Partner meetings give teachers an opportunity to share ideas and concerns.

Aligning the activities presented during the training with state curriculum framework requirements provided plenty of discussion.

After two long days of activities, discussions and sharing, Teacher Partners pack up to head back home to share their new knowlege, strategies and materials with other teachers.