Institute for Inquiry

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN ELEMENTARY SCIENCE
A Graduate seminar with Wynne Harlen

March 20-24, 2001

Participant Biographies

ASSET Inc., PA

Bud Adler, ASSET Resource Teacher
balder@assetinc.org

 

No bio available.

Jean Grossman, ASSET Resource Teacher
mgross0528@aol.com


I am an ASSET Resource Teacher (ART) on special assignment from Mt. Lebanon School District. The mission of ASSET Inc. is to achieve a self-sustaining exemplary science and technology education program in the elementary grades by promoting professional development, teacher support, collaboration, and quality hands-on materials. For the past ten years, I have been a classroom teacher in third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms. Within the Mt. Lebanon School District I have served on various committees represented the faculty in the PTA and Elementary Instructional Cabinet, and served as the secretary of the local professional organization. The primary responsibilities of my current position are to transmit information between ASSET and the thirty-one school districts involved in the project, to create buy-in for planned reforms, to create on-going planning and professional development structures, to consult classroom teachers, and to mentor building lead teachers. I hold a BA in English from Grove City College and a MA in Teaching from University of Pittsburgh.

Karen Levitt, Science Education Specialist
levitt@duq.edu


Currently, I serve as the science education specialist for the ASSET program. My responsibilities in this role include:

  • Coordinating a learning group of lead teachers on Constructivist Learning Theory and its relationship to inquiry.
  • Facilitating the integration of preservice teachers into ASSET.
  • Providing resources in science education to the ASSET Resource Teachers.
  • Coordinating Project DAISE (Duquesne University/ASSEST Institute for Science Education,) an effort to partner science faculty and science educators to integrate science content knowledge and the use of inquiry strategies.
  • Integrating ASSET Resources into the elementary science methods courses.

When not working at ASSET, I am an assistant professor in the School of Education at Duquesne University, one of ASSETıs founding partners. At Dusquesne, I teach the elementary science methods courses, advise doctoral students in a program for instructional leadership in education, and teach a course called Teaching Science with Toys.

Joe Sciulli, ASSET Resource Teacher
jsdw@workdnet.att.net


I am an ASSET Resource Teacher (ART) on professional leave from Avonworth School District. During my twenty-eight year teaching career, I have taught fifth, fourth, and second grades. In addition, I have been an instructional support teacher for seven hundred students, have served as president of my local professional association, have served as acting principal, and am a member of my superintendentıs advisory council. In my current role as research teacher, I have many and varied responsibilities. I am the liaison between the ASSET office disseminating information to thirty-one school districts. I design and deliver professional development sessions in cooperation with cross-district leadership teams. As a change agent, I try to create buy-ins for reform through on-going planning and professional development structures. I am a consultant to building lead teachers and classroom teachers. I serve as a mentor too. Thus, I play an integral role on the ASSET team. My academic training includes a BS in Behavioral Sciences from Point Park College, an MEd in Elementary Education from Duquesne University, and an MSIS in Information Systems from the University of Pittsburgh. I am currently pursuing application to a doctoral program.

 

 

BASEE

Lindy Mateas, Science Resource Teacher
lmateas@basee.org

I am presently employed by Santa Clara Unified School District as a Teacher on Special Assignment. As a Teacher on Special Assignment my current role is as a Science Resources Teacher (SRT) for the BASEE Collaborative National Science Foundation Grant. Bay Area Schools for Excellence in Education consists of 8 Bay Area school districts and the Hewlett Packard Company. Our goal is to provide quality staff development for teachers over a five year period. The past two years I have worked with a district science assessment team creating performance based assessments at grades 2, 5, and 8 to provide evaluation of our science curriculum and materials.

Lynn Moorehead,
Science Resource Teacher, 5th Grade Classroom Teacher
lmoorehe@ricochet.net

My name is Lynn Moorehead and I am currently working in the Mountain View School District. I work 50% as a 5th grade classroom teacher and 50% as the district science resource teacher. Our district is part of an eight district collaborative that is implementing a five year, NSF grant to improve the teaching of science in our elementary schools. The grant is for staff development only. My job is to work with the other districts and my own to provide staff development opportunities for teachers in the area of science. We hope to create a structure that will continue beyond the life of the grant. I either provide the training or help create training opportunities within other districts. We are currently working on a series of summer science institutes for content and inquiry.

 

Louise Wiest, Science Resource Teacher

As one of two Science Resource Teachers in Cupertino Union School District, I am a science and health curriculum resource teacher for 19 elementary and 4 junior high schools. My major responsibilities include developing and coordinating science and health curriculum. Another aspect of my duties is to oversee our science kit materials center (Kit Stop). As part of BASEE (Bay Area Schools for Excellence in Education) other duties include developing electronic communication and tracking and reporting progress of Teacher Staff Development. Facilitation and planning for the Science Lead Teacher Network is one more aspect of my role as the Science Resource Teacher.

 


Beckman@Science

Jacqueline Rojas, Beckman Science Education Fellow

I am an active Beckman Science Teacher leader. I served as a Science Fellow for one year, where my primary responsibilities were the coordination of monthly workshops for teacher leaders. I now continue working with a new cadre of teachers as a presenter and planner of professional development. I have served on the faculty of Orange County LASER Strategic Planning Institute and present many other seminars. I am currently enrolled in Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia, where I am working toward my doctoral degree in science education.

Patricia Romero, Teacher on Special Assignment
promero@beckmanscience.org

I have been active in the area of science reform over the last several years. I was our districtıs science mentor for seven years during which time I helped implement a science program using the hands-on FOSS kits. This process involved kit training, and training on assessment and inquiry for all district teachers. I developed a quarterly replacement system for refurbishment of science materials. I served as our districtıs team leader at the LASER Strategic Planning Institute in Irvine, California in April, 1999, and have been the chair of the science committee of our Curriculum and Advisory Committee.

I am currently on leave from Brea as a teacher on special assignment. I am working full time as the Beckman Science Education Fellow. In this capacity, I am planning and providing professional development in the area of science to teacher leaders throughout the county of Orange and providing technical support to districts who are in the process of implementing science reform programs. I graduated this past May with a Master of Arts in Teaching Science Degree from California State University, Fullerton. I am continuing my education by pursuing a second bachelors degree in the field of geology, with my course work beginning this fall.

Crossroads Elementary (St. Paul)

Lee Schmitt, Director, Teacher Education
schmitt@smm.org

Lee Schmitt, Director of Teacher Education at the Science Museum of Minnesota, is responsible for the development and delivery of contracted professional-development programs for the Minneapolis Public Schools ScienceWorks! reform initiative. SMM Teacher Programs, in partnership with Minneapolis Schools, provides grade-level-specific 5-day ScienceWorks! Teacher Institutes each summer that focus on the science content relevant to the FOSS kits assigned to each grade. These institutes model inquiry approaches in the classroom, raise teacher confidence in science, and review formative and standards-based performance assessments. The Science Museum also provides a host of custom-designed topic workshops, outreach programs, and presentations for individual Minneapolis schools.

GEMS-NET

Pauline Lisi, Curriculum Leader/Teacher In Residence
plisi001@aol.com

I helped develop and write the common science curriculum for the seven GEMS-NET districts. I have worked as a science kit trainer two of the third grade kits and continue to serve on the GEMS-NET Steering Committee. During the 2000-2001school year I will be half-time GEMS-NET Teacher in Residence (TIR). For the other half of my job I will be a Curriculum Leader in my district doing curriculum development and coaching in the areas of reading and writing standards-based curricula. As a TIR I will be extending my training skills and responsibilities by providing many different professional development sessions, designing and planning for sessions led by others, and learning all aspects of the kit-based science program, especially the professional support that must accompany a quality program. The TIRs will also be doing some classroom level coaching and organizing "Science Circles" to support teachers as they implement the science kits and work to increase the amount of inquiry using the kits as a starting point. My participation in the Exploratorium sessions will provide me with models of approaching the PD sessions, especially in the area of assessment. When I return to my district next year, I will continue to support professional development and to offer summer/after school institutes in inquiry through GEMS-NET project.

Betty Young, Project Director
byoung@uri.edu

I am an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Rhode Island, working in areas of curriculum and assessment reform with a special focus on elementary science and mathematics. As the principal investigator in the Guiding Education in Math & Science Network (GEMS-NET) project, I work with seven Rhode Island school districts, providing professional development for nearly 500 teachers at 51 schools and assisting in the implementation of a kit-based science curriculum in K-8. GEMS-NET works with 44 teacher leaders and over 50 scientists and engineers in building science content knowledge and developing inquiry pedagogy. My research interests relate to gender issues in technology/science/math, teacher education reform, math/science preparation of elementary/middle teachers, and professional development for school reform. Before coming to Rhode Island, I taught in the Teacher Education Lab at UCLA and, for 15 years, was a teacher (kindergarten, 3rd-6th Special Education, 6th, 2nd-3rd bilingual, 7th-8th math & science) and mathematics curriculum coordinator in grades K-8 in the Watts District of Los Angeles.
 

KITES Project

Christine DeCosta, K.I.T.E.S. Writing Specialist
ride0824@ride.ri.net

Major responsibilities:

  • Director of KITES Writing Project to develop writing prompts to address science and writing standards for the KITES Kits K-6
  • Facilitate workshops for teachers K-6 ­ Writing: The Science Connection
  • Facilitate professional conversations about student work using the writing resource prompts developed for grade K-6
  • Provide teacher training in continuous assessment

Lynn D. Perrault, Reading Specialist
ride3320@ride.ri.net

I helped develop and write the common science curriculum for the seven GEMS-NET districts. I have worked as a science kit trainer two of the third grade kits and continue to serve on the GEMS-NET Steering Committee. During the 2000-2001school year I will be half-time GEMS-NET Teacher in Residence (TIR). For the other half of my job I will be a Curriculum Leader in my district doing curriculum development and coaching in the areas of reading and writing standards-based curricula. As a TIR I will be extending my training skills and responsibilities by providing many different professional development sessions, designing and planning for sessions led by others, and learning all aspects of the kit-based science program, especially the professional support that must accompany a quality program. The TIRs will also be doing some classroom level coaching and organizing "Science Circles" to support teachers as they implement the science kits and work to increase the amount of inquiry using the kits as a starting point. My participation in the Exploratorium sessions will provide me with models of approaching the PD sessions, especially in the area of assessment. When I return to my district next year, I will continue to support professional development and to offer summer/after school institutes in inquiry through GEMS-NET project.

LASERS - Life Lab Science Program

Scott Hays,
LASERS Staff Developer; Project Director, LASERS Middle School
shays@telis.org

I currently am employed as a staff developer for the NSF/CSP funded science reform program Language Acquisition in Science Education for Rural Schools (LASERS). I work closely with schools in two districts with large migrant populations and/or LEP student populations, supporting teachers developing effective content-based programs for their students. Additionally, I work with three other staff developers to provide training and inservice support for all teachers in the seven districts we serve. Previous to my employment by LASERS, I taught for 20 years in a self-contained 4-8th grade classroom in a rural, two-room school. I have been active in state and national science reform efforts since 1985 and have been a Presidential Awards Finalist two times.

Petra Martinez, Staff Developer
pattioo-01@aol.com

I am a Staff Developer for the Life Lab LASERS project. My objective in the efforts to reform science education is to assist teachers in integrating science into their daily curriculum through the learning and use of effective teaching strategies. These include inquiry and assessment-based, hands-on science instruction. I also assist teachers in making their science instruction accessible to all students including their English Language Learners. My role requires varied duties such as providing support to science resource teachers and staff in their efforts to move toward school wide and district wide science goals. I also may serve as a peer coach, a core team meeting facilitator, and a liaison between LASERS and school district personnel. In addition, I assist school site core teams in planning, problem solving, and resource development. Other duties as a staff developer include keeping accurate records, and planning and presenting teacher training workshops.

Marin Country Day School

Alice Moore
alicem@mcds.pvt.k12.ca.us

 

No bio available.


MASE II (Clark County)

Lori Fulton, Teacher On Special Assignment
grumpyguss@aol.com

I am a Teacher on Special Assignment for the science component of the mathematics and Science Enhancement (MASE) II Project. My responsibilities on the project include designing professional development sessions for teachers in twenty-one MASE II Project Schools. I also work closely with colleagues in developing offerings for Teacher Leaders within the project and in the six Area Professional Development Centers. I am a liaison for the Northeast Area Professional Development Center and am responsible for coordinating science and mathematics professional development opportunities for the twenty-one schools in that area.

Wendy Roselinsky, Principal
wendyroselinsky@interact.ccsd.net

I am the principal of a PreK-5 elementary school. The school is in an urban setting ­ 56% Hispanic, 29% African American, 13% Caucasian, 2% Asian. As the principal, I have facilitated the purchase and implementation of FOSS kits K-5. The Full Option Science systems have assisted teachers in teaching science in a hands-on and developmentally appropriate manner. Classrooms buzz with children engaged in activities that keep them on task. We use Investigations as a school wide mathematics program. I have worked with my staff for 4 years to teach through cooperative learning, hands-on, developmentally appropriate activities that are sequential and objective based.

MCPS Science Connections

Brian Campbell, Teacher, 2nd Grade
brian_t_campbell@interact.ccsd.net

My current position is as a second grade teacher in the Clark County School District. In addition I am a Teacher Leader with the K-5 Mathematics and Science Enhancement (MASE) II program, a Local Systemic Change (LSC) project. In this role I provide leadership and support at my school site and lead MASE professional development sessions for other colleagues in the district. My responsibilities include planning and implementing an inquiry-based science program in my classroom to serve as a model MASE classroom for CCSD teachers, a model of standard-based instruction and reflective practice. I collaborate with Teachers on Special Assignment to desing, implement, and evaluate professional development sessions for elementary teachers in our district. I also participate in on-going professional development sessions with the project, as well as in a professional study group to look at important science ideas and to enhance my own planning and instructional practices.

Metro-Nashville LSC

Angela McCormick, NSF Professional Development/Project Manager
mccormick@coe.tsuniv.edu

Angela appoints NSF funded positions; meets NSF reporting requirements; mentors teachers-in-residence, plans and conducts learning activities for teachers-in-residence and school facilitators; gives general supervision to all project enhancement activities; manages day-to-day operations; and plans monthly meetings with districtıs Elementary Directors.

Barbara Nye, Principal Investigator
BNYE@coe.tsuniu.edu

This LSC is a partnership between four school districts (Metro-Nashville, Rutherford, Sumner and Williamson Counties) and Tennessee State University (TSU). TSU is the fiscal agent and manages the Teacher Enhancement and Material Management (TEMM) Center. The districts have 3,000 elementary teachers and 129 schools. Our consortium partners have worked together since 1991 to begin the transition from text-based to inquiry-based science. We received our National Science Foundation grant in 1996. As Principal Investigator at the University my key roles include:

  1. Working with districts on district/consortium policies to promote and sustain systemic change in curriculum and professional development policies/practices resource allocation, etc.
  2. Assuring and providing the necessary quality professional development including building district infrastructure of teacher and principal leadership.
  3. Identifying new and promoting the use of current resources (University, NSF, District Community) to support and sustain change.
  4. Facilitating community involvement.
  5. Working on K-6 change and transition.
  6. Assessing best practice research and information for decision making.
  7. Supporting formative and summative evaluation, etc.


Minneapolis Public Schools: Science Works!

 

Joe Alfano, Teacher on Special Assignmemt--Science Liaison
jalfano@mpls.k12.mn.us

I'm a classroom teacher on special assignment who spends a majority of my time mentoring K-6 teachers in their classrooms on how to teach science. The rest of my time is spent planning and leading district-wide staff development and co-managing our district science curriculum distribution centers.

Susan Townsend, Teacher on Special Assignment--Science Liaison
susan.townsend@mlps.k12.mn.us

Currently I am a teacher on special assignment with the Minneapolis Public School NSF-LSI project "ScienceWorks." My responsibilities are to give elementary teachers in Minneapolis the knowledge and skills to provide our students with standards-based science. I work with individual as well as groups of teachers. I plan and present staff-development opportunities which will meet the goals of our project, which is to provide all students in Minneapolis Public Schools with high-quality science instruction.

 

Pine Bush Central School District

Edward Duncanson, Science Coordinator
sequoia@warwick.net

Working as the school district science coordinator, I co-chair the Science and Technology Curriculum/Instruction Review (CIR) Team. For my part, I oversee curriculum development, materials acquisition, supervision of the Science Materials Center, K-6 teacher training, and long term financial planning to support the program. Scheduling kit training for teachers as well as training in Project Learning Tree, Project Wild, and Wild School Sites is all part of the job. Science teachers have benefited from my contacts with business, governmental agencies, and educational institutions. Business representatives are part of our CIR Team and frequently supply staff members with instructional materials and information. Teacher education has been delivered by employees of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District. Currently, we are building a relationship with the Physics Department at the USMA. West Point instructors and Pine Bush secondary science teachers are sharing their experiences using inquiry teaching.

Bernadette Reichle, Principal
bunniereichle@hotmail.com

I am currently in my seventh year as Principal of the Edward J. Russell Elementary School, a K-5 school with an enrollment of almost 700 students. I have become a member of the district-wide Science Curriculum and Instructional Review Team with responsibility for scheduling training for teachers, working with the teachers-trainers in preparing for their workshops and monitoring the inclusion of assessment tools in the development of our science kits. I also assume other district-wide responsibilities including the Gifted and Talented Curriculum and Instructional Review Team, Facilities Planning Committee, Standardized Test Selection Committee, Upper Elementary Task Force and the Social Studies Curriculum and Instructional Review Team.

Project Inquiry

Gina Boyd, Science Resource Teacher
ginaboyd@berkeley.k12.sc.us

To provide staff development for elementary teachers and administrators. Serve as a liaison between schools, districts, and teachers. Chair school leadership teams along with mentoring and coaching classroom teachers. Provide leadership training for classroom and lead teachers.

 

Ellen Mintz, Science Resource Teacher
emintz1@home.com

I have recently become a Science Resource Teacher for the Charleston County School District. This position is one of seven created through Project Inquiry awarded to Charlston and Berkeley Counties by NSF. My responsibilities include working with teachers in grades 3-8 by providing assistance in the classroom and mentoring so that best practices in science instruction can be implemented. Along with the rest of my team, I will be designing professional development courses and workshops.


Seattle/Middle School Science LSC Partnership

Betsy Fulwiler, Science Resource Teacher
bfulwiler@is.ssd.K12.wa.us

I am a Science Resource Teacher in the Seattle School Districtıs Inquiry-Based Science Program, an LSC that is funded in part by NSF. As an SRT, I am responsible for providing instructional support in the pedagogy and units that will help our teachers meet the stateıs Essential Academic Learning Requirements for Science. This includes week-long institutes in the summer and three- to six-hour sessions throughout the school year. Seattle SRTs also work in teams to provide support at the building level for individual teachers, grade level teams, and/or whole staffs. Because I was an editor before I became a teacher, I also am responsible for creating and leading workshops to develop expository writing skills through the use of science notebooks. In addition, I am a reading specialist and work with Wanda Lofton, another SRT, to develop a pilot reading program in which informational reading strategies are taught to students through the use of science tradebooks that enrich what students have discovered in their investigations. Before becoming an SRT, I was a lead teacher in this program and in that position had a supportive role in the workshops and benefited from ongoing professional development with SRTs.

Wanda Lofton, Science Resource Teacher
wlofton@is.ssd.k12.wa.us

I am a veteran teacher in the Seattle Public School System with experience at the elementary level in schools with significant economic and ethnic diversity. Currently, I serve as a Science Resource Teacher in the Seattle LSC initiative, funded in part by the NSF. This project serves 57 of 71 elementary schools and programs in the district. In the capacity of Science Resource Teacher I am primarily responsible for providing professional development for teachers at the third grade level and supporting teachers in grades K-5 in the 15 schools that I serve. This professional development begins with a weeklong summer institute focusing on pedagogy and content in inquiry-based science instruction and continues in 3-6 hour workshops during the school year. On-site support to teachers include: planning, modeling, and debriefing lessons in the units, assisting with the development of Science Focus Groups, and workshops designed to address specific building needs. On-going support to teachers also include developing and presenting workshops on topics or isssues related to science education, such as inquiry, questioning, insightful science in reading, writing, and mathematics. Betsy Fulwiler, another SRT, and I are coordinating a reading pilot that will focus on the correlation between non-fiction reading using science tradebooks and the units taught in our elementary science program.

Kathryn Show, Science Resource Teacher
kshow@is.ssd.k12.wa.us

This is the first year of Seattle School Districtıs 5-year NSF Local Systemic Initiative for Elementary Science Reform. I am one of five Science Resource Teachers who, along with our project manager, are responsible for providing professional development opportunities in science for K-5 classroom teachers. The various components of our responsibilities include: providing cognitive coaching and classroom support for teachers, linking science to other learning goals, facilitating learning communities, working with a Family Science Team to implement Family Science Celebrations, teaming with scientists and high school teachers to develop inquiry-based content modules in life, physical and earth sciences for elementary teachers, facilitating the development of site based plans in science with principals and school teams, providing 100 hours of professional development in inquiry science for each classroom teacher through summer institutes, after school inservice sessions and individual sessions during and after school hours a two year period.

 

 

TEAM 2000

Judy Fix, Teacher - Pre-K
fixie@aol.com

I am an elementary education teacher for the Buffalo Public Schools at the Bennett Park Montessori Magnet School. I am working with a team of teachers responsible for developing an inquiry approach to teaching and learning at both the Buffalo Board of Education and Project TEAM 2000/Buffalo Museum of Science.

Trish Glynn
syha2@aol.com

 

No bio available.

Troy School District

 

Janet L. Keeling, Principal
jank_bemis@mail.com

While my actual job title is "Elementary Principal", I share significant responsibilities for elementary science education reform in our district with fellow Elementary Principal (and Institute for Inquiry participant), Janet Keeling. Our primary areas of responsibility lie in:

  1. elementary science curriculum development and revision
  2. alignment of elementary science curriculum with MEGOSE (Michigan Essential Goals and Objectives in Science Education)
  3. acquisition and scheduling of all science kits and materials
  4. planning the content of professional development in science
  5. chairing the Elementary District Science Committee.

Yet another emerging area of responsibility is tied to assessment. We recognize the need for assessment to become more authentic, more embedded in the curriculum and more meaningful.

Claudia Kulnis, Principal
ckulnis@mediaone.net

While my actual job title is "Elementary Principal", I share significant responsibilities for elementary science education reform in our district with fellow Elementary Principal (and Institute for Inquiry participant), Janet Keeling. Our primary areas of responsibility lie in:

  1. elementary science curriculum development and revision
  2. alignment of elementary science curriculum with MEGOSE (Michigan Essential Goals and Objectives in Science Education)
  3. acquisition and scheduling of all science kits and materials
  4. planning the content of professional development in science
  5. chairing the Elementary District Science Committee.

Yet another emerging area of responsibility is tied to assessment. We recognize the need for assessment to become more authentic, more embedded in the curriculum and more meaningful.


 

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