Bangor science-math workshop set for Friday

BANGOR – A group of Maine educators dedicated to improving education in science, technology, engineering and math, in kindergarten to 12th grade, will hold a workshop 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at the Challenger Learning Center of Maine on Venture Way.

The meeting, the last of five-part series, “STEMming the Gap,” developed by center professional development staff and supported by the state Department of Education, will be open to the broader education community. Topics will include curriculum reform, the new Maine Learning Results and recruitment of next year’s “STEMming the Gap” class.

The workshop takes place little more than a week after the statewide STEM Summit at which Gov. John Baldacci and former Gov. Angus King, among others, spoke to more than 350 people about the importance of STEM education to Maine’s economic future.

During the past year, 14 middle and high school science and math teachers have committed themselves to becoming better teachers and advocates for education reform by participating in four professional development workshops over six days at the Challenger Center.

“Hopefully, they have gained a deeper knowledge of how students learn, how to probe and address science misconceptions, how to deepen the inquiry-based learning of an activity, and how to utilize education research to reform their teaching,” said center professional development director Annette Brickley. “Feedback has been very positive and we are lucky enough to be able to extend these workshops to a new cohort of teachers over the course of the next year.”

Brickley said the project was designed to establish a community of teachers who value time to reflect on teaching and student learning, the sharing of ideas and an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. In coordination with broad-based education reform, repeating this sort of intensive work at the micro level has the potential to change the educational culture in Maine for the better.

The Challenger Learning Center is best known for its simulated space trips, which are integrated with middle school curriculum and designed to provide students with a hands-on educational experience which teaches as much as it does about communication and teamwork as astronomy and math.

However, the center also is involved in a great deal of teacher professional development work and STEM outreach and education, Brickley said.

The center is Maine’s only official NASA Educator Resource Center, offering a wealth of NASA curriculum and education materials to teachers throughout the state.

In addition, the center will partner with university researchers to disseminate the results of high-level research to schools and community organizations through the newly established Center for Earth and Space Science Outreach and Education.

Friday’s meeting is designed to provide a forum for this community of teachers to share their newly gained insights and discuss with the greater education community how their experience can be extended. The forum will be an opportunity for other members of the education community to discuss resources for curriculum reform, ideas for in-service workshops, working with the new learning results and the opportunity to participate in the next series. Time will be available for participants to share the needs of their school system or organization and to collaborate with others who have common goals.

Educators interested in attending the forum should call Annette Brickley at 990-2900 or e-mail abrickley@clcofme.org.