Lessons from Successful GK12 Programs Management Issues and Structure

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Lessons from Successful GK-12 ProgramsManagement
Issues and Structure
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Management Issues
General Suggestions

• Provide incoming Fellows and Lead Teachers with a
  clear understanding of the GK12 Program goals or
  objectives.

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Management Issues
General Suggestions

• GK12 Program goals or objectives cont

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Management Issues
General Suggestions

• Provide incoming Fellows and Lead Teachers with
  a clear understanding of what will be required of
  them (the amount of time it will take, number of
  hours in the classroom, what their weekly or
  monthly routine will be like, etc.)

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http//peer.tamu.edu
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Weekly Responsibilities of Fellows (RS/RM)

• 10 hours of Direct Interaction in the Schools
• 8 hours interacting with Students
• 1-2 hours planning with Lead Teachers
• 0-1 hours involved in the DLC (really done
  outside the schools)
• 5 additional hours of Related Activities
• 1 hour for weekly, group meeting
• 4 hours activity lesson plans, demos, etc.
  completion of journals, activity logs, and
  schedules out-of-class planning with
  teachers

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Weekly Responsibilities of RS/RM

• Completion of online Schedules

• Completion of online Journals
• Completion of online Activity Logs

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Weekly Responsibilities of LT

• Completion of online Journals
• Mentoring of and coordinating with your RS (10
  hours per week)
• Planning with RS for future weeks activities.

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Management Issues
General Suggestions

• Have incoming Fellows shadow a current Fellow in
  a couple of different schools or classrooms.
• Have incoming Fellows make an Introductory Video
  that Lead Teachers will show prior to the
  entrance of the Grad Fellow into their class.

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Graduate Fellows Introductory Videos
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Management Issues
General Suggestions

• During the school year, have a weekly meeting for
  Fellows to share their experiences (have the
  Fellows rotate in Chairing these Meetings).
• During weekly Fellow Meetings, have one Fellow
  demonstrate an activity they used in their
  school. Have the other Fellows participate in the
  activity.
• Likewise, have a monthly
• meeting for Lead Teachers
• to share their experiences.

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Teachers Group Meetings

• Meet once per month
• These meetings are valued at 107 each
• Questions submitted in journals will direct the
  discussions or agenda
• This is the place to talk about successes
  frustrations, pose questions, and talk about
  future projects
• Teachers receive professional development credit
  from TAMU for attendance.

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Management Issues
General Suggestions

• Have a knowledgeable person (like a teacher)
  periodically observe Fellows in the classroom,
  and provide mentoring for the Fellows.
• Have an All Hands retreat where each Lead
  Teacher- Fellow pair does an activity with the
  rest of
• the group. Invite Academic
• Advisors to attend.
• Tie Lead Teacher Payments
• to specific Activities that they do.

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Lead Teacher payment calculation

• Teachers meeting (107 each)
• Base pay each month (40 each month)
• Weekly journals (80 each)

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Fellow - Teacher Training

• Have Fellows and Lead Teachers spend a lot of
  time
• together during the training
• Encourage both Teachers and Fellows to always be
  candid with each other and willing and able to
  communicate and work out problems.
• Program management does not want to hear of any
  Fellow Teacher problems prior to the Fellow and
  Teacher attempting to
• work out or solve the
• problems
• themselves.

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What Resident Scientists and Resident
Mathematicians Are

• Full-time graduate students in math, science, or
  engineering
• Taking 9-12 graduate credits, researching (or
  both)
• Working toward Masters or Ph.D. degrees
• Parents, spouses, siblings

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What Resident Scientists and Resident
Mathematicians Are NOT

• Most Resident Scientists and Resident
  Mathematicians have no formal training in working
  with children, nor is it a goal of this program
  to make them teachers.
• RS/RM are not just an extra set of hands in the
  classroom.
• RS/RM are not supposed to take over a class as
  a student teacher might they must be partners
  with the teacher or teachers.

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What Does a RS/MS DO?
Varies by School provides content
expertise provides demonstrations/presentations pr
ovides materials and resources provides a walking
example of scientific thinking serves as a role
model and representative of someone who enjoys
science, technology engineering, and mathematics
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Lead Teachers Are

• Facilitators
• Organizers
• Mentors
• Communicators

Lead teachers help make the RS/RM a school-wide
resources
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Lead Teachers Expectations.

• Facilitate how will the RS/RM best help meet
  your schools needs?
• Organize what resources will be necessary and
  where can they be obtained?
• Mentor what is the culture in your school like?
• Communicate what does project management need
  to know about how things are going in YOUR school?

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What is it Like to Be a Math or Science Teacher?

• Exceptional versatility required
• Varied school responsibilities
• Often working on advanced degree or other
  professional development
• Parents, spouses, siblings

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What is it Like to Be a Math or Science Teacher?

• Work week does not actually end up being 40
  hours
• District meetings
• Building meetings
• Parent meetings
• Extra tasks
• playground duty
• lunch duty
• bus duty

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What is it Like to Be a Math or Science Teacher?

• Must treat every student as an individual
• Teachers never have enough time
• Teachers are on tight schedules therefore, they
  rely on keeping to the plan
• Many teachers teach other subjects as well
• Science requires more planning, logistics, and
  materials than other subjects.

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Topics for one week formal training

• Psychology of the Adolescent How do adolescents
  think and learn?
• Inquiry-based Learning How to teach by
  inquiry-based approaches?
• Campus Culture How do I fit into the campus
  environment?
• Classroom Culture How do I enrich and enhance
  the existing classroom?
• State Standards What should students be
  learning in my specific content area?
• Teaching and Learning Resources What exists to
  enhance the learning experience?

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Between Now and August 16th

• Teachers give your RS/RM a tour of your school
  building
• Explain emergency procedures fire, tornado,
  other
• Explain how to sign in and out
• Explain any specific policies of your school
• Talk about the specific culture of your school.

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Between Now and August 16th

• RS/RM give your teacher a tour of your lab or
  office
• Introduce your mentor if possible
• Explain what you study and why you are interested
  in studying it.
• Give them an idea of what your typical day is
  like.

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Make Sure Teachers Know
They will be required to provide NSF or Macro
International with demographic and other
information towards the end of the school
year. That the design of this GK12 Program IS
NOT intended to turn science, technology,
engineering, and math students into public school
teachers.

• They will be unable to have any student teachers
  in addition to a Fellow in their classroom.

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Make Sure Teachers Know

• GK12 Fellows
• are NOT student teachers.
• are NOT just an extra set of hands in the
  classroom.
• are NOT supposed to take over a class.
• are NOT certified by the state and cannot be left
  with students unless there is a state-certified
  teacher present.
• ARE to be a content resource in the classroom.
• ARE to be given time to present and interact with
  students.

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Make sure Graduate Fellows Know

• Their Fellowship position is a real job!!
• That they must maintain the status of a Full Time
  Graduate Student to remain in the program.
• They are expected to be available to go into
  Schools when the Schools are in session
  (regardless of whether the University is in
  session or not).
• They are required to inform their
• Teacher(s), well in advance, if they
• know they must be absent.

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Make sure Graduate Fellows Know

• They are guests in the schools.
• They are to teach and give application to the
  standards the schools must teach.
• They will be required to provide NSF or Macro
  International with demographic, classroom and
  other information towards the end of the
• school year.
• They ARE to be PUCTUAL in arriving
• to their classrooms on time.

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MOST COMMON PROBLEMS
Problems with Graduate Fellows

• 1. Not establishing a solid communication base
  with your teacher.
• 2. Promising too much and delivering too
  little.
• 3. Talking down to teachers.
• 4. Not paying attention to common
  courtesies.
• 5. Not treating GK-12 as a job.

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MOST COMMON PROBLEMS
Problems with Graduate Fellows cont.

• 6. Not submitting journals, activity logs, etc.
  on time.
• 7. Taking over the classroom.
• 8. Getting off on tangents.
• 9. Forgetting that youre
• teaching for all.

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MOST COMMON PROBLEMS
Problems with Teachers

• 1. Not allowing the RS/RM enough opportunity to
  interact with students
• 2. Waiting until a problem gets unbearable
  before telling PEER GK-12 management about a
  problem
• 3. Relinquishing your classroom

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MOST COMMON PROBLEMS
Problems with Teachers cont

• 4. Not turning in journals, schedule, etc. on
  time
• 5. Letting the RS/RM essentially become a student
  teacher
• 6. Not sharing the RS/RM
• with other teachers.
• 7. Not planning.

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Management Issues
General Suggestions

• Have a knowledgeable person (like a teacher)
  periodically observe Fellows in the classroom,
  and provide mentoring for the Fellows.

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Positive Classroom Practices(taken from
observation notes)

• High quality power point presentations with
  appealing and appropriate graphics
• Attention grabbing introduction to lesson/activity

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Positive Classroom Practices(taken from
observation notes)

• Review of previously taught skills needed for
  successful participation
• Showing a relationship of
• lesson/activity to real life
• situations

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Positive Classroom Practices

• Demonstrating a caring and personal interest in
  students and their lives outside the classroom,
• for example attending a sporting event students
  are participating in or helping with an after
  school activity such as science club or Math
  Counts
• Demonstrating fairness in calling on students for
  responses
• Planning hands-on lessons to actively involve
  students

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Positive Classroom Practices

• Allowing students a glimpse into ones own
• personal life (hobbies, wife/husband, children,
  research towards degree, special interests)
• Recognizing that certain days/weeks arent prime
  times for instruction/learning and gearing the
  lesson accordingly, for example days right before
  holidays
• and Friday afternoons
• Showing enthusiasm for
• the subject and the lesson

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Positive Classroom Practices

• Monitoring activities to ensure success for
  everyone
• Providing clear and concise instructions
• GK-12 Fellow makes certain that he/she has
  practiced the activity before having classes do it

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Positive Classroom Practices

• Establishing a comfortable rapport
• and working relationship with the
• classroom teacher students are
• quick to pick up on any animosity
• between adults
• Having all materials ready before
• each class period

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Positive Classroom Practices

• Closing the lesson rather than ending abruptly
• when bell rings

The End
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When All Goes Wrong

• My experiments do not work,
• my submitted publications are rejected,
• my grant applications are not funded,
• and my teaching is not appreciated
• I reach down into my lower desk drawer and pull
• out something I received from second graders.

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Thank You Note
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PEER NSF GK-12 Program in Action
PEER NSF GK-12 Program in Action