T C E B TRIANGLE COALITION ELECTRONIC BULLETIN MARCH 15, 2001 VOL. 7, NO. 11 _____________________________________________________ Published by the TRIANGLE COALITION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION _____________________________________________________ THIS WEEK'S TOPICS: BUSINESS COALITION TO GO TO BAT FOR MCAS TEST CHICAGO TO ADD THOUSANDS MORE TO SUMMER ROSTERS TRIANGLE COALITION BOARD MEMBER PROFILE: JAMES STITH THINKQUEST INTERNET CHALLENGE 2001 WILL CALIFORNIA LEAD WAY TO A POST-SAT ERA? NEA BOARD APPROVES AFT 'PARTNERSHIP' PACT PRESIDENT HONORS NATION'S LEADING MATH AND SCIENCE TEACHERS AEP TO LEAD EXPEDITION OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO BOLIVIAN RAIN FOREST ____________________________________________________ BUSINESS COALITION TO GO TO BAT FOR MCAS TEST (Source: The Boston Globe, February 27, 2001) Gearing up for a legislative fight, business leaders have launched a new group dedicated to preserving the MCAS graduation requirement. The high school class of 2003, which will take the test this spring, is the first that will have to pass the math and English sections of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System in order to graduate. But there is mounting pressure to delay or scrap that requirement: About 40 anti-MCAS bills are pending on Beacon Hill. With the first legislative hearings slated, the Business for Better Schools Coalition wants to make sure that pro-MCAS arguments are heard, using lobbying and a radio campaign. Many in the state's business community have long complained about the lackluster skills of high school graduates, and they believe that the MCAS will push students and schools to reach higher standards. Members of the Business for Better Schools Coalition include Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the North Central Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, and the Massachusetts High Technology Council. However, Business for Better Schools isn't the first to jump into the MCAS fray with ads. Late last year, the Massachusetts Teachers' Association spent $600,000 on an anti-MCAS television campaign. ************************************ CHICAGO TO ADD THOUSANDS MORE TO SUMMER ROSTERS (Source: Education Week, February 28, 2001) Chicago school officials announced that the district's policy on summer school, which is already one of the nation's toughest, is about to get tougher. Beginning in June, students in grades 3, 6, and 8 who are not at grade level in reading and arithmetic will be required to attend summer school. Previously, students could score at least one grade below their current level and still avoid mandatory summer programs. The change will add an estimated 33,000 new students to the summer school rosters, which last year reached about 200,000. It will also raise the cost of the district's summer programs by $10 million, to a total of about $44 million. Leaders of the 434,000-student district, the nation's third-largest, also announced that some 200 of the lowest-achieving elementary schools will be required to pick their curricula from five or six models to be selected by the district. Options being studied for use beginning next fall include programs that use "scripted" lessons, such as the Direct Instruction approach, as well as the less prescriptive Everyday Math. The schools will receive additional teacher training and textbook money, as well as closer monitoring. In addition, incoming high school freshmen will be evaluated in reading and arithmetic. Those who need additional instruction will receive double periods of English/language arts and algebra. Special support will continue in the sophomore year if necessary. Meanwhile, a new body of research on the Chicago schools by the Consortium on Chicago School Research and the Chicago Annenberg Research Project could raise some red flags about requiring schools to choose from a set menu of curricula. The researchers found that students show the strongest gains when teachers guide them through coursework in a hands-on, interactive way, rather than when the students are lectured to or taught with other highly didactic techniques. In at least two of the curriculum models being studied by the district, teachers could be bound to scripted lesson plans that leave little room for innovation. ************************************ TRIANGLE COALITION BOARD MEMBER PROFILE: JAMES STITH James H. Stith is the Director of the Physics Resources Center for the American Institute of Physics. His Doctorate in physics was earned from The Pennsylvania State University, and his Master's and Bachelor's degrees in physics were received from Virginia State University. A physics education researcher, his primary interests are in Program Evaluation and Teacher Preparation and Enhancement. He was formerly a Professor of Physics at The Ohio State University and Professor of Physics at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has also been a visiting Associate Professor at the United Air Force Academy, a Visiting Scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a Visiting Scientist at the University of Washington, and an Associate Engineer at the Radio Cooperation of America. He is a past president of the American Association of Physics Teachers, past president of the National Society of Black Physicists, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Chartered Fellow of the National Society of Black Physicists, and a member of the Ohio Academy of Science. Triangle Coalition members may contact James Stith at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************ THINKQUEST INTERNET CHALLENGE 2001 The ThinkQuest Internet Challenge 2001 is an international program for students ages 12 through 19 that encourages them to use the Internet to create information-rich web-based educational tools and materials. Students form teams with their colleagues from around the world and are mentored by teachers or other adult coaches. In the running for scholarships and awards totaling more than $1 million, student participants learn collaboration, leadership, and critical thinking skills that help raise their level of education and technological expertise. Awards are given in five categories: Arts & Literature, Science & Mathematics, Social Sciences, Sports & Health, and Interdisciplinary. Finalists travel to the ThinkQuest Awards Weekend where they compete for the challenge's top prizes. ThinkQuest has established three separate competitions: ThinkQuest Internet Challenge; ThinkQuest Junior; and ThinkQuest for Tomorrow's Teachers (a pilot project). There are no fees to participate in any of the ThinkQuest contests. The ThinkQuest Internet Challenge is an annual international contest open to pre-college students, aged 12-19. The purpose of the contest is to promote the Internet Style of Learning -- an interactive, participatory approach that encourages students to take advantage of the Internet as a source of information and a powerful collaborative tool. Students are encouraged to work in teams of two or three -- from different schools and even different countries -- to build web sites used as learning tools by other students. Awards total over $100,000 and can include college scholarships or cash awards of $5000 for each student member of a winning team. ThinkQuest Junior encourages girls and boys in grades 4 through 6 to take an active interest in computers and the Internet. Usually working in their classrooms, students form teams of two to six members and are led by their teachers creating web sites on educational topics of interest to them. More than $100,000 in cash, computers, and networking resources are awarded to winning students, coaches, and their schools. For more information visit www.thinkquest.com. ************************************ WILL CALIFORNIA LEAD WAY TO A POST-SAT ERA? (Source: The Christian Science Monitor, February 27, 2001) It has become a rite of passage, the three-hour marathon that sends chills through high school students as they sit down with No. 2 pencils: the dreaded SAT. Two million students take the SAT each year. Nine out of 10 colleges and universities require it from applicants. Most admissions officers say the SAT and high-school grade-point averages, taken together, are the best predictors of college success. But don't tell that to Richard Atkinson. The president of the University of California says he wants to dump the SAT as an admissions requirement. His pointed proposal at a recent national meeting of college presidents has intensified the drumbeat of debate over the SAT's value. Critics have long claimed the test discriminates against women and minorities. But the test has also been lauded for acting as a useful reference point in an era when applicants have dramatically varied academic backgrounds and grades are often inflated. Many schools have been left wondering: Can institutions assure student quality without the SAT? Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, which owns the SAT, says he respects Atkinson but disagrees with his proposal. "I can't understand at all why he wants to eliminate the SAT I. It's a very good test, a fair test. It asks you to critically think, which is an essential part of learning and cognitive ability." It's too early to know if California's proposal will spread -- or if it will be implemented. The faculty senate and other hurdles await. Some are concerned about the costs of greatly expanding admissions offices to read applications in more detail. ************************************ NEA BOARD APPROVES AFT 'PARTNERSHIP' PACT (Source: Education Week, February 21, 2001) A plan to forge closer working relationships between the nation's two largest teachers' unions falls far short of the merger that leaders of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have been working toward for nearly a decade. Drafted after months of pulse-taking, negotiations, and mediation by an outside firm, the partnership agreement won the endorsement of the NEA board of directors this month. If the "NEAFT Partnership" goes on to be approved this summer by a majority of the delegates to the NEA's annual meeting -- and by the AFT -- the pact could yield jointly sponsored projects ranging from political-action campaigns to training workshops and school improvement conferences. "It brings the opportunity for the NEA and the AFT to work in a coordinated way to a new level," NEA President Bob Chase said. In 1998, leaders of the two unions hashed out "Principles of Unity" designed to guide the proposed merger. While delegates to the AFT's convention overwhelmingly approved them, their counterparts at the NEA's annual meeting rejected them. Mr. Chase announced last summer that negotiations with the AFT would resume with mediation help from ThoughtBridge. The Cambridge, MA-based firm surveyed union members and facilitated meetings of the two unions. Participants say that by December, they realized they didn't have enough time to draft a merger plan that was likely to pass at the 2001 NEA convention. Instead, the two sides drafted the partnership agreement as a way to increase cooperation. If it receives final approval, the partnership will be directed by 15 union members from each organization. Among other measures, the panel would help state and local affiliates form joint activities that pool resources and give members of each group exposure to the other. ************************************ PRESIDENT HONORS NATION'S LEADING MATH AND SCIENCE TEACHERS President Bush has announced that 203 educators received the annual Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for 2000. The award was established in 1983. Each year, the White House recognizes the best of the nation's K-12 mathematics and science teachers with this high honor in four categories: elementary mathematics, elementary science, secondary mathematics, and secondary science. The awardees represent the 50 states, U.S. territories, and Department of Defense Schools. The awards are administered by the National Science Foundation. Two million science and math teachers across the country are eligible for this singular honor. After an initial selection process at the state or territorial level, a national panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, and educators recommends teachers to receive the Presidential Awards. Awardees receive a $7,500 educational grant for their schools and a trip to Washington, DC to accept a certificate. The teachers were in the Nation's capital March 6-10, to receive the award and participate in a variety of educational and celebratory events. During the trip, they met with members of Congress and the Administration, discussed the latest issues in mathematics and science teaching, and shared their expertise and viewpoints with their colleagues. For a complete listing of the awardees visit www.nsf.gov/pa. ************************************ AEP TO LEAD EXPEDITION OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO BOLIVIAN RAIN FOREST American Electric Power (AEP) will lead students and teachers from Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio to a South American rain forest this summer in AEP's Environmental Learning and Adventure in Bolivia (E-LAB) program. Leading E-LAB 2001 on its 10-day expedition in June in the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park will be Jay Pruett, AEP manager of environmental stewardship. "Students and teachers were selected by their schools on the basis of a keen interest in and commitment to the environment. Each submitted an essay describing environmental sustainability," Pruett said. "During and after the trip, students and teachers will use their observations to develop a learning plan for their school curriculum on tropical forest ecology, climate change, development that can be sustained in the future, and the diversity of plants and animals that flourish in tropical habitats," Pruett said. Participants' learning plans will be posted to the E-LAB web site at http://elab.aep.com. _____________________________________________________ This TCEB is made possible by a grant from E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Please visit their web site at www.dupont.com for more information about their educational support programs. The TCEB is a newsletter provided to members of the Triangle Coalition. Members may forward individual articles or the issue in its entirety providing that credit is given to the Triangle Coalition, and all of the following contact information is included in any republication. For TCEB subscription or membership information, contact: Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 phone: 800-582-0115 fax: 202-289-1303 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.triangle-coalition.org To submit information for possible inclusion in TCEB, contact: Joanne Van Voorhis, Target Marketing, Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************ THE MISSION OF THE TRIANGLE COALITION IS TO FOSTER COLLABORATION AMONG LEADERS IN EDUCATION, BUSINESS, AND GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION. The Triangle Coalition membership includes business, labor, education, science, mathematics, technology and engineering organizations, and community and state-based alliances. ************************************ -- This is the CPS Science Teacher List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. 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