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Austin ISD PER Workshop - January 24, 2004
On January 24th we conducted the seventh in a series of Austin-based PER workshops. We invited the in service teachers who have been involved with our PT3 grant and previous PER workshops.
Participants and Schedule of Events
| Teachers spent the day completing or nearing completion on their LEGACY cycles. Cherie McCollough assisted all the teachers with curriculum design using the How People Learn concepts (Bransford, 1999), Understanding by Design (McTighe and Wiggins, 1999), and LEGACY cycle curriculum scaffolding (Schwartz et al., 1999). Our new teachers began to flesh out the content targets and scaffolding components, and completed a large portion of their curriculum design. Carol Lee and Hao Chen helped all with technical issues as they used Netscape Composer to edit their work which will eventually be uploaded and accessible on the world-wide-web. |
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At
the end of the day, several teachers presented their work for
revision and constructive feedback. A workshop scheduled in
March will provide final instruction in curriculum design for
those that have not completed their units. However, some teachers
will be implementing their units in the next few weeks and will
provide information regarding their implementation in March.
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| Leyla
Cohlmia, Honors Chemistry Instructor, Austin High School: Students
will be investigating both the qualitative and quantitative
approaches to energy exchange. By explaining “What is
Happening in the Beaker”, students will give their qualitative
and quantitative analyses to different physical examples of
energy exchange in chemistry. Planned implementation date: April. |
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| Carolyn McCormick,
12 Grade Anatomy and Physiology Instructor, Bowie High School:
After students have completed their first LEGACY cycle that teaches
them about nutrients in food, they will extend that study in the
next challenge. “In Search of the Perfect Diet”, Challenge
Two is where students will research and report on several popular
diets and diet myths. This will be followed by a third challenge
covering eating disorders and will culminate in the final challenge:
the construction of the “Bowie Healthy Lifestyle Handbook”,
and on-line resource for all students. Planned implementation
dates: Challenge Two will begin in the next two weeks.
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Angie
Seckar-Martinez, 9th Grade Algebra I Honors Instructor, McCallum
High School: LEGACY cycle uses exponential growth of the Starbucks
corporation as an example for teaching exponential growth and
decay. Students will investigate several exponential models
while researching data and trends that are specific to Starbucks.
They will use their research to participate in a debate with
they assume either pro- or anti-Starbucks in the community stance.
Planned implementation: March 29 – April 2nd. |
| Shelly Rodriguez, Biology Instructor, Crockett High School: Students will research the Hydrilla Problem in Austin’s Town Lake. They will find proposed solutions to the problem and discuss the pro’s and con’s of each. Concepts that will be covered include those in ecology and plant anatomy and physiology. Planned implementation dates: March 22nd – 29th. |
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Jesus Gonzales, High School Geometry Instructor, McCallum High School: “In Search of Proof” LEGACY cycle teaches the basics of what a mathematical proof is and uses the Pythagorean Theorem as it’s main example. Students will explore many proofs of this famous theorem and ultimately present a mathematical proof to the class. The major content objectives include being able to work with manipulating radicals, working with special right triangles, and understanding the Pythagorean proof. |
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