TEA Collaborative Learning Group
Overview of Plan

Cheuvront

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Team Members:
April Cheuvront Sandra Hager Doni Angell Frances Strother

What is your role within your team?
TEA teacher- facilitator of the group

What professional growth goals do you and your team members hope to reach through this partnership?
Design lessons to teach science by the inquiry method. Integrate Arctic/Antarctic lessons into curriculum. Integrate TEA experience into the classroom.

How will you and your team reflect on these goals and on learning and classroom practice (e.g., pedagogy, the use of technology, content, the process of science)?
Reflect on successful and unsuccessful lessons in the classroom. Use of email to collaborate with each other.

Mentoring Plan (Revised from Orientation)
Table Rock Middle School consists of approximately 1000 students in grades 6-8. The students are from diverse backgrounds representing Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian and African-American cultures. Students are also from a wide variety of economic backgrounds. Over half of the student population parcticipates in the free or reduced lunch program. Due to testing requirements and emphasis from the state, there has been increased stress on mathematics and reading in the classroom. The students are required to pass these state mandated tests or they will be placed in retention or remediation programs. This emphasis on state tests has required the school to place more time in mathematics and reading. Therefore, science and social studies receive half of the time with the students as do mathematics and reading. I currently teach 8th grade Science. I receive 75 students for 70 minutes a day for one semester (18 weeks). I then receive 75 more students for the next semester (18 weeks).

Burke County Public Schools serves children from grades K-12. It serves approximately 14,000 students. There are 17 elementary, 4 middle schools and 2 large high schools. Many of the Burke County schools have received recognition and rewards for their outstanding achievements in the state tests. This emphasis on these tests has lead to less time and emphasis on Science, especially in the grades K-8. Emphasis on Science begins in the high school as these classes also have state tests.

My mentoring plan is to use my TEA experience to bring polar science into the classroom and to emphasize the importance of scientific inquiry. I believe our county has a strong need for this in the elementary and middle school classrooms. I have recruited two elementary teachers and one middle school teacher to mentor. The elementary teachers are from different schools. The middle school science teacher is located in a separate school from my own. Our group will act as a collaborative team to bring back the focus on science in the classroom. We will meet in person, and use email to interact with one another. We will place focus on bringing scientific inquiry into the classroom using the polar experience. We will also develop classroom activities for the elementary and middle school classrooms. A goal is to demonstrate that science enhances mathematics and reading skills. We as teachers will also educate ourselves and colleagues on scientific topics. The students will be involved in authentic research in the classroom before, during and after the TEA experience. The teachers will also involve their classes and schools into the research by using the daily journal arcticles posted on the Internet. The teachers will also become a TEA associate to be part of the polar community.

Cheuvront - Update from October 25, 2001 My mentoring has gone extremely well so far! I have two very dedicated teachers on board with a couple that are substituting in for my third position. We have been meeting in my classroom weekly for an hour and half for the past month. Things are going very well. I have signed two of them up for TEA associates. I am sorry for not giving you their names sooner. Here they are:

Sandra Hager - 2nd grade teacher Oak Hill Elementary School email: shager@burke.k12.nc.us

Doni Angell 8th grade Heritage Middle School email: doniabenton@yahoo.com

Michelle McCurry 4th grade Glen Alpine Elementary Madeline McClosky 5th grade Glen Alpine Elementary Susan Shriver WA Young Elementary

Our goals for the first year of the mentoring team:

1) To have students recognize the importance of scientific research in the Arctic and the Antarctic

2) To have students follow my Arctic research experience via email journals.

3) To form a communication network with the Alaskan village school children so that education may incur about both cultures and lifestyles.

4) To integrate Arctic research into the curriculum with the implementation of scientific inquiry activities.

We have been and currently working on these goals. Our meeting times have worked well so far. It works well to have a set time each week so it can not be easily cancelled.