News from Science Education
This post goes out to all of our 2015 graduates in Mathematics Education, Instructional Technology, and Science Education, as well as the many students in the College of Education whose lives we have touched through our numerous service courses. We are so proud of your accomplishments. Congratulations and best wishes in all of your future endeavors.
Dr. Sharon Schleigh, Science Education faculty in the MSITE program, has received recognition from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The book she co-authored with Victor Sampson, Scientific Argumentation in Biology: 30 Classroom Activities, was recognized as an outstanding science book in the category of life science, and listed in the AAAS 2014 Best Science Books & Films List. This National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) Press, 2013 book, is also a top selling NSTA book for middle school and high school teachers across the nation.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of all people, with a mission to promote science literacy to help ensure that all students receive a high-quality science education. AAAS was the first permanent organization formed to promote the development of science and engineering at the national level and to represent the interests of all its disciplines. The AAAS Science Books & Films (SB&F) Best Books Lists are published annually each January. SB&F Best Books Lists are a comprehensive list of highly recommended books, DVDs, and software for children and young adults reviewed over the previous year. Educators and scientists have come to rely on these lists as a definitive guide to the best science resources available for the library and classroom.
Being recognized by this leading international organization for supporting their mission is certainly a great honor for Dr. Sharon Schleigh and for the MSITE Department! We hear that she has another book in the works and we are looking forward to reading it as well. Congratulations to Dr. Sharon Schleigh of the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Instructional Technology Education for this recognition. And thank you Dr. Schleigh, for your impact on science education in our community!
Ms. Tammy Lee, beloved Science Education instructor, has just completed all of the necessary requirements to earn her PhD in Science Education from NC State University. Her dissertation entitled, “Science Teachers’ Representational Competency and Systems Thinking,” is complete and has been accepted by her committee. It is now most appropriate to congratulate Tammy Lee and from this day forward address her as, Dr. Tammy Lee. Our best regards to you, Dr. Lee!!
On Saturday, February 21st, 2015, the Center for STEM Education hosted the annual Science Olympiad Tournament for northeastern North Carolina middle and high school students. North Carolina Science Olympiad is a nonprofit organization with the mission to attract and retain the pool of K-12 students entering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees and careers in North Carolina. These tournaments are rigorous academic interscholastic competitions that consist of a series of different hands-on, interactive, challenging and inquiry-based events that are well balanced between the various disciplines of biology, earth science, environmental science, chemistry, physics, engineering and technology. Notwithstanding the icy weather, this year we hosted 426 students (209 middle school & 217 high school) from 25 schools in the northeast region. There were also over 150 volunteers involved in the day’s activities from overseeing events/competitions, to managing registration. Faculty and students of the MSITE Department were well represented. Drs. Carmen Woodhall and Liz Doster were event leaders for Simple and Compound Machines, while Ms. Tammy Lee and a plethora of her Elementary Science students created and ran the competition for Experimental Design. Ms. Bonnie Glass was the event leader for It Matters, where students display their knowledge of the properties and behaviors of different states of matter. Dr. Rhea Miles represented the MSITE Department by promoting program and certificate opportunities to the in-service teachers/team coaches and future MSITE students. The staff of the Center for STEM Education was the backbone of the tournament: Nancy Evans and Cheryl Miller, Allison Everett (photographer) and all the student workers at the Center! AWESOME job everyone!!! It was truly a remarkable day for STEM!
On Thursday, November 13, Descriptive Astronomy students had the pleasure of meeting with local scientist, Ryan Danell. Although, as this Greenville resident says, he is not a “rocket scientist,” he does work for NASA. Ryan shared his background as a chemist and his work on a spectrometer that will be used on a Mars rover to be launched in 2018. He provided background information on NASA and explained his personal involvement with the Mars exploration program and how this program has evolved. Students learned of the myriad of ways scientists are involved in space exploration, as well as the long-range planning and vision required for such programs. His first-hand knowledge of the program and personal work experiences interested students and presented them with a unique perspective on space exploration. It was great to learn more about this program from someone with such a personal connection!
The Science Education Against Drug Abuse Partnership (SEADAP) Program recently invited educators and administrators from Pitt and Martin county public schools to participate in four professional development sessions. The participants were provided information to implement lessons based on the research of Dr. Scott Rawls from Temple university related to drug addiction and withdrawal on planaria. Dr. Rhea Miles, SEADAP key personnel and guest speakers from the local community came to East Carolina University to educate and encourage these middle school teachers to implement a curriculum to affect student knowledge about biomedical research.
At the North Carolina Professional Development Institute this weekend in Winston-Salem, Science Education faculty set up a stylish booth where they could disseminate information about our degrees and certificate programs. Brochures, candy and a slideshow showcasing the programs were an effective means of advertising the great work in Science Education at ECU. It also helped that an ECU pirate, Abby Colley, won the Outstanding Student Teacher award and that so many Science Education faculty were present at the gathering.
On November 6, 2014 at the NCSTA conference in Winston-Salem Abby Colley received the Outstanding Student Teacher Award. Abby is a well-deserving graduate from the Elementary Science Concentration and is currently teaching 4th grade at Ayden Elementary in Pitt County. When she was a student at ECU her clinical teacher stated, “She excelled in the classroom with her passion, creativity, and willingness to collaborate with other teachers… I have seen her dedication for this field in her lesson planning, success of implementation of goals taught, and her responses to questions asked by her students…She is deserving of this award.” Congratulations, Abby. We are proud to have you as one of our pirates!
In a recent interview, senior Elementary Education (with a concentration in Science) major, Beth Wantz, credits COE and MSITE faculty with having a profound influence on her life. She feels that they “truly care” about their students and go above and beyond to help them succeed. She gives particular credit to Tammy Lee, explaining that, “Ms. Tammy Lee has inspired me in so many different ways. She has pushed me with my assignments and lessons throughout my college career because she knows what I am capable of doing. Mrs. Lee has given me many opportunities outside of school that will greatly benefit me as a teacher, such as taking me to the National Science Teacher Association Conference in the fall of 2013. With doing this, Mrs. Lee has given me the confidence that every effective teacher must have in order to benefit their students. Mrs. Lee has also taken the time to teach me how to be a good teacher and a good person. She is my biggest influence and my role model.”
Teachers teaching teachers–clearly a step in the right direction.
It’s official! The Science Education Club has completed all the requirements and workshops to be officially registered as a student organization at East Carolina University. This has been a two year project that was finalized by the work of graduate student Megan Garner, and undergraduate elementary science concentration students: Beth Wantz, KC Hart, Kayla Sager, and Lauren Brewington. The club is under the direction of faculty adviser, Tammy D. Lee who speaks with pride of the student’s accomplishment, “We are very excited to have this recognition at the university level so we can now apply for national recognition at the National Science Teacher’s Association. The students have been diligent in their work and pursuit of this recognition which demonstrates their dedication and desire to be a part of science education and to have others participate in a student organization of a collected interest, Science! I am honored to be a part of this journey with these students.” For more information about the Science Education Club visit them at their website or contact Tammy D. Lee at leeta@ecu.edu.
