CULLOWHEE ─ Fifty top-notch teachers from across North Carolina have begun their year-long journey to discover how the science and math they teach their students is applied in a variety of STEM professions.Partnered with university researchers and industry experts, the teachers are interning for five weeks this summer at various local sites including labs, farms, manufacturing facilities, electrical plants, etc. They are gaining practical experience that will help them develop curricula that their students find relevant.
To help guide the Kenan Fellows in the creation of these new teaching strategies, the Kenan Fellows Program provides 80 hours of professional development and leadership training for the teachers. The training is divided into three Professional Advancement Institutes over the course of their year-long formal participation in the fellowship program.
Lifelong Learners
The 2014-15 Kenan Fellows completed the first institute on June 23-27 at the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching in Cullowhee. The five-day institute included a variety of sessions focused on instructional technology, citizen science, community engagement, and other topics that prepare them to share their new knowledge with their students and peers.
“This was one of the best professional experiences I have ever attended,” said Andrew Kaufman, a teacher at Moore Square Magnet Middle School who is interning at the FREEDM Systems Center with Dr. Penny Shumaker Jeffrey of NC State University. “The things I have learned will transform my classroom environment through the inclusion of many new educational technologies.”
Visit our Facebook page to see pictures from the institute.
Workshop facilitators included Kenan Fellows from previous cohorts. Presenters and their topics were:
- Eric Rowles, a nationally recognized trainer, speaker and consultant: “Leading to Change,” guiding teachers to understand how young people use social networking and how they can utilize the same tools
- Erica Speaks, 2012-13 Kenan Fellow and teacher at Durant Road Middle in Wake: “Simplifying a Teacher’s Llife: Free Tools for Assessments” and “Every Teacher a Literacy Teacher via Technology”
- Jason Lineberger, secondary curriculum and technology coordinator, Clevenland County Schools: “Augmented Reality”
- Vance Kite, 2012-13 Kenan Fellow and teacher at City of Medicine Academy in Durham: “Get it Together,” project management software for educators and “Beautiful Data,” teaching through infographics
- Kirk Kennedy, 2012-13 Kenan Fellow and teacher at East Duplin High: “Flipping the Classroom”
- Mike Wood, 2013-14 Kenan Fellow and teacher at Athens Drive High in Wake: “Using Google Apps to Enhance Your Web Presence”
- Erin Lawrence, 2013-14 Kenan Fellow and teacher at Wake Forest Rolesville Middle: “Learning Should Not Stop When the Bell Rings” and “A Catalyst for Change”
- Paul Cancellieri, 2011-12 Kenan Fellow and Data Literacy Program Manager at NCCAT: “Evernote: Capture it When You See it, Find It When You Need It”
- Sam Morris, Lenovo WW Education Segment Executive: “Rapid Fire: Getting the Most of Windows 8
- Justin Osterstrom, 2009-11 Kenan Fellow and teacher at Martin Middle in Wake: “Engineering in the Middle School Classroom”
- Kelly Hines, 2013-14 Kenan Fellow and Discovery Education Guru: “Diving Into Discovery Education”
- LaTanya Patillo and Jennifer Spivey, 2013-14 Kenan Fellows and teachers with Columbus County Schools: “Engaging with and Utilizing Community Resources”
- Dacia Jones, Elementary Area Instructional Facilitator, Durham County: “Engage, Inspire, Expect, Inform, Oh!,” planning and designing exciting, authentic and standards-based experiences for K-12 students
- Amy Bradley, 2012-13 Kenan Fellows and director of the Patterson Science Center, Caldwell County: “A Short Story of Science: Integrating Literacy into the Science Classroom”
- Dr. Holly Menninger, director of Public Science Your Wildlife, NC State: “Citizen Science with Students”