To increase students’ understanding of technology and commitment to the community, Mr. Querry and Mr. Porter implement a school documentary project. Students research and gather artifacts, describe and document the present, and plan and anticipate the future ... more »

Mr. Beckham and Mr. Walker implement a guitar project to expose students to fine arts, new technology, and career choices in the music and technology industries. Students learn basic guitar skills and research music genres and music history. Applying this knowledge, ... more »

To integrate technology into the curriculum and help students view themselves as members of a worldwide society, Ms. Lindauer and Ms. Stafford establish a connection with the Beatrix Potter School in London, England. Students at both schools work in integrated ... more »

Working with a special educator from Johns Hopkins University, Mrs. Grandin and her partners form a study group to learn about effective co-teaching models for inclusion classrooms in which a regular educator and paraeducator are providing instruction. To address ... more »

To meet the needs of diverse learners in her classes, Ms. Blakeslee attends the University of Connecticut’s Confratute. She studies differentiated instruction, high-end learning, and enrichment teaching. With the goal of motivating and challenging both ... more »

To inform the development of culturally relevant curriculum for her diverse students, Ms. Bremer attends a summer seminar for teachers on South East Asian history and culture run by the University of Hawaii’s East-West Center. Ms. Bremer travels to Vietnam, ... more »

To improve students’ writing skills, Mrs. Williams participates in an internship at the Center for Teaching and Learning, a kindergarten to eighth grade non-profit demonstration school in Maine that emphasizes literacy across the curriculum. Mrs. Williams ... more »

Ms. Merrill and her partners implement an interdisciplinary unit on watersheds. Students examine topographical maps, write letters to local companies and government agencies, conduct animal field studies and classifications, collect and graph data, and create a ... more »

Ms. Vaughan and Mr. Freeze implement the “Greenhouse Ecosystem Project” to provide students with an understanding of the complexities of ecosystems and to expose them to a real-world entrepreneurial venture. Students learn basic engineering principals ... more »

Mr. Tillett, Mrs. Creed, and Ms. Visinaiz implement an interdisciplinary, problem-based learning project to help students become autonomous learners, view the world as changeable, and increase their connection to the community. Students construct a problem statement ... more »

Through “Music in the 21st Century,” Mr. Birmingham, Mr. Christopher, and Ms. Konopacki expand students’ music skills and exposure to technology careers. Students use technology to compose, arrange, and perform several digital music pieces including ... more »

Ms. Stevens and her partners implement an interdisciplinary project that examines the geographical and cultural development of Asia through the study of biomes. While studying the organisms and climates of each biome and the way climate affects biodiversity, ... more »

Mr. Garwood and Ms. Flores combine advanced technology skills and hands-on science learning through the development of “Science Buddy” teams. Cooperative learning groups of first and sixth grade students use handheld computers and light, temperature, and ... more »

Develop teaching strategies for band and orchestra through participation in the Midwest International Band Clinic.

Complete course required to earn National Board Certification.

Take three classes to become a Certified School Nutrition Specialist.

Students will investigate systems of the human body through interactive exploration (i.e., cell structures, bodily functions).

Students will demonstrate a variety of proven hands-on methods to simulate real world application of literacy improvement as based on English instructional standards.

Students will demonstrate math principles by designing and producing two products which must perform and/or represent specified geometric applications.

Students will participate in “Voices for the Borderlands~

a multicultural curriculum project based on the literacy framework and integrate personal and family narratives and home and community outreach.

Students will experience the intricacies of money and finance by opening a series of mock bank accounts and managing their assets through a series of predetermined expenditures.

To enhance a spiral science curriculum and involve students through exploration and inquiry, Mr. Walsh attends the FLINN Scientific Foundation Summer Chemistry Workshop and the Rhode Island School of the Future Robotics Workshop. Through the chemistry workshop, Mr. ... more »

To gather resources on the foundations of educational practice and strategies for differentiating instruction for exceptional students and English language learners, Ms. Smith attends the First International Conference on Teacher Education in Brussels, Belgium. At ... more »

Ms. Regner and her fourth through eighth grade teaching partners form a study group to research methods of incorporating technology into instruction to improve students’ 21st century literacy skills. After attending the National Educational Computing ... more »

Through “Show Me the Money,” Mr. Smith and Ms. Klingensmith use numismatics to introduce science and social studies students to both the ancient and modern worlds. Students clean, classify, and create a timeline for bronze coinage of ancient Imperial ... more »

To develop a deeper understanding of infectious diseases, where they are found, how they are transferred, and how they can be controlled, students engage in a school-wide research activity. Students create a plan for tracking and identifying common sources of ... more »

Ms. Lesher and Ms. Gividen convert their science classroom into an interactive planetarium to provide students with hands-on learning experiences. Students apply mathematical concepts to design and build a planetarium and create star shows. Using models and ... more »

Ms. Ohito and Ms. Sims develop a project that allows fifth and eighth grade students to develop advanced research skills and explore historical events through fiction. Students use museum trips and print and media resources to research an event in history while also ... more »

Recognizing the importance of cross-curricular and experiential learning, Mr. Meyer and Mr. Wilson supervise the design and creation of a twenty-four hole miniature golf course by their eighth grade students. Each hole of the course represents one decade of United ... more »

To encourage students to consider a career in health care, Ms. Hale and Ms. Walukiewicz design a mock hospital and doctor’s office environment in which students experience the physical sense of health professions. In preparation for an existing high school ... more »

To help at-risk students begin working toward a college degree, Mr. Arrizon and Mr. Silva partner with a local community college to offer college level mathematics courses to middle school students whose socioeconomic status might otherwise prevent them from ... more »

River Rangers: Combining academics, conservation and community service
7th grade Science classes

Located in Alaska's fastest growing region and along the banks of the Little Susitna River, Wasilla is home to the Teeland Middle School River Rangers Project, an innovative ... more »

Mr. Rosenberg and Mr. Scott establish a collaborative study group focused on using instructional technology to improve student achievement in science. The group generates student data from learning activities using wireless audience response systems and electronic ... more »

To improve the achievement of their middle school students, Mr. Sanders and Mr. Gilbertson work with colleagues to develop a common understanding of effective pedagogy, integrate technology tools, and improve student discourse. The team uses a combination of case ... more »

Teachers and education support professionals participate in study groups to learn how to better support students at risk of dropping out of school. Ms. Webb, Ms. Meckel, and their colleagues study how to build stronger personal relationships with students within ... more »

Ms. Allen participates in a three-week seminar on the Holocaust and Jewish resistance to genocide, through which she and other U.S. secondary school teachers are learning about the effects of prejudice, stereotyping, and racism. The seminar also explores ways to ... more »

To increase her Spanish language fluency and gain insight into Latin culture, Ms. Coleman attends the Institute of Modern Spanish in Merida, Mexico. As part of the institute, Ms. Coleman attends language classes for teachers, participates in a practicum at a local ... more »

Motivated by a student interest survey, Ms. Lark and Ms. Guyton seek to improve mathematics and reading comprehension skills by teaching these unpopular subjects through science inquiries. Students plan and implement investigations, collect and interpret data, and ... more »

Recognizing that middle school students especially need experiential education to improve academic achievement and build confidence, Ms. Rombalski and Ms. Peterson organize an interdisciplinary boat building project. Eighth grade students, under the training of ... more »

With “How Things Fly,” Mr. Brooks and Ms. Coomer allow students to use their sense of adventure and discovery to understand the basic physics of flight. To begin to understand aerodynamics and aviation, students construct and test kites, hot air ... more »

To increase their reading comprehension and technology skills, students in Ms. Dysart and Ms. Stephens’ language arts class engage in a multidisciplinary study of robotics. Students read Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot and examine literary allusion and the ... more »

To provide students with the opportunity to address authentic audiences and improve their writing skills, Mr. Brightman and Ms. Furtado implement a project focused on community publishing. Students critically analyze professional publications to identify content and ... more »

Using the magic of movie making to motivate their sixth grade students to work beyond what is required simply for standardized testing, Ms. Law and Mr. Poulos expose students to classic literature with “Macbeth Is on my Bus.” Students read a translation of ... more »

To improve students’ technology awareness and science knowledge, Ms. Smith and Ms. Stringer create a virtual science laboratory. Avoiding the prohibitive expenses and time consumption of a traditional laboratory, students are able to run their own virtual ... more »

As part of a Character Education Initiative, Mrs. Hewins and a study group will participate in a two-day intensive bullying prevention program. They will use the knowledge gained to implement a whole-school prevention program and train the entire staff.

Project "Diversity in Giftedness" will develop teaching strategies and methods of curriculum differentiation that will promote retention of gifted students from underserved populations, and enhance the learning of diverse gifted students in the regular classroom.

Partnering with Lehigh University and the Bethlehem Recycling Center, students will research threats to the environment and design and test solutions to encourage their school and community to become better environmental stewards.

Mrs. Nix and Ms. Eichhorst will assist students in designing an online interactive school newspaper in an exploratory Journalism class. Students will visit a local newspaper for guidance, and create a web-based school newspaper that will allow the student body to ... more »

More than 150 low-performing students will receive counseling focused on community service. Students will utilize critical thinking, inquiry, reading comprehension, writing, and math skills to research and design a nature trail and outdoor classroom.

Hands-on manipulatives will be used to explore the relationship between the Earth and its place in the solar system. Students will interact with each other and instructors as they simulate the experience of being an astronaut or a mission control specialist at the ... more »