Department of Engineering

 
Department of Mathematics

Department of Psychology

Department of Exercise and Sport Science 

Project Newsletter

Issue 4

April 2007

The plans for summer are progressing as details are beginning to be finalized. March and April were very busy months with a lot of planning taking place. Included in the list of activities were:

1) Contacting guidance counselors and administrators about beginning to look at selection process for their high school students. This process should allow for the orientation session for selected students to be scheduled in May. Information for students will be sent to counselors once the orientation sessions are scheduled. Included in the orientation packet will be various forms/information sheets that students and their parents will need to sign for students to participate in the summer program.

2) The parents’ symposiums were conducted beginning in March and continuing into April. The last parent symposium concluded on April 16th. A lot of positive comments were received from parents about the ITEST summer project. Data was collected from those parents in attendance and will help with plans for summer as well as the fall symposiums. Mark Lesperance and his team from Building Hope put a great deal of work and time in making sure these meetings addressed the questions/concerns of parents and in communicating the goals of our project.

3) Scheduling of rooms to accommodate the summer program is ongoing. Rooms in Flanagan, Science and Technology building, and Joyner Library are being assessed for use.

4) A new draft of the ITAS/ITAT summer schedule was developed and we are close to finalizing the schedule.

5) A survey of teachers indicated that all participants but those in Duplin County would prefer to commute during the summer workshop. Options for lodging in the Greenville will be explored. Letters were sent to administrators to inform them of this decision and reimbursement procedures. Interviews were conducted, and the hiring for RA Director was completed. Joe Hurst was hired as the RA Director. He has a background as a police officer which is a real plus given that the primary concern of many parents in the survey was safety. Welcome Joe!

6) Virginia Carraway, grant coordinator, met with Michael Bosse, Curriculum Development, to review areas that still needed to be addressed during summer program. One area that remained open and needed to be covered was Excel. Kimberly Scott has come on board to assist with this part of project during the summer. Welcome Kimberly!

7) Dana Espinosa worked out CEU credits for teacher participation. CEU credits and part of stipend will be distributed to teachers for upon completion of two-week program. The remaining stipend will be distributed end of fall.

8) The assessment component was reviewed and missing teacher surveys were mailed to those teachers who were unable to attend the initial orientation meeting. The need to identify a control group of teachers and survey them was also put into plan.

9) New IRB approval to allow tracking of students and parents throughout their high school experience was put into progress.

Curriculum development is ongoing and projected dates for objective completions have been developed. The timelines and specific responsibilities for each group is presented below:

Curriculum Development Milestones: 

ITAT solid modeling, biomechanics, and robotics curricular teams: 

·         Develop 12 example lesson plans with a mathematics and science basis.  At least one must be adaptable for algebra I, II, geometry, advanced functions and modeling, and physics.  These will be included in the final project workbook and formatted for web availability (Moodle). 

·         Select and prepare materials to be presented and used during ITAT (approximately 18 hours of instruction per ITAT schedule).  Materials selected to provide participating faculty the foundation for delivering, using, and building upon the workbook lesson plans. 

·         Presentation time above includes two days of oversight and guidance as teachers present materials for the student practicum. 

·         Summary and feedback discussion with teachers on last day of ITAT.  Two hours in review of ITAT and teaching practicum. 

·         Revise lesson plans as needed and revise future ITAT content and plans based on lessons learned in this first ITAT. 

·         Develop and document a plan for the equivalent of 8 hours of follow up support to monitor teacher’s progress and resolve problems as material is introduced in the classroom over the fall and spring semesters.  This can include global classroom broadcast but should include at least one site visit. 

ITAS solid modeling, biomechanics, and robotics curricular teams:

·         Use 12 modules developed for ITAT workbook to provide instruction of approximately two hours per day (approximately 24 instructional hours) of materials for student learning in science and math exploration.  

·         Support delivery of the materials to three cohorts of twenty students. 

·         Integrate contest or competition for creative activity and innovation for remainder of hours available. 

·         Revise workbook materials and compile into a summary workbook for delivery in future years. 

 ITAT Excel Curriculum:

·         Develop a total of ten Excel based lesson modules: one each for algebra I, II, geometry, advanced functions and modeling, and physics.  These will be included in the final workbook for the project and formatted for web availability. 

·         Employ lesson plans to develop four-hour overview for teachers on Excel basics for afternoon of first day (July 9).   

·         Revise materials and develop updated lesson plans based on lessons learned in the ITAT. 

·         Develop and implement a plan for the equivalent of 4 hours of follow up for each site to support and monitor teacher’s progress in using Excel in the class room. 

·         Identify problems as material is introduced in the classroom over the fall and spring semesters.  Develop updates for second year.  

 ITAS Excel curriculum:

·         Use Excel modules to deliver ten ITAS instruction modules per ITAS schedule for student learning in science and math exploration using Excel. 

·         Support delivery of the materials to three cohorts of twenty students. 

·         Revise materials and compile into a summary workbook for distribution and web site access.