August 23, 2016

Local Catholic school teachers attend STEM workshops at Elms

Regional
Staff report

CHICOPEE – On Aug. 16 and 17, approximately 30 educators from the Dioceses of Springfield and Worcester, and public school districts in the region, participated in a two-day professional development workshop for kindergarten through 12^th grade teachers on Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Framework (STE). 

Held at Elms College’s Center for Natural and Health Sciences new state-of-the-art facility, the event marked the completion of a year-long series of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) workshops prepared and presented by the Springfield Diocese in collaboration with Elms College, and made possible by the Sister Bette Gould, SSJ, Endowment Fund.

Working with kindergarten through 12^th grade Springfield Diocese STEM Professional Development Steering Committee members, consultant Lamis Jarvinen, Partners in Science Inquiry science program director, developed the workshop focus: the integration of NGSS practices with social justice.

On Day One, participants worked in groups engineering a humanitarian drop box. The activity incorporated questioning, defining problems, developing and using models, designing solutions, using technology to collect and analyze data, and an introduction to visual tools to present data.

Jill Bigos, Elms College natural sciences faculty member and a member of the professional development workshop steering committee, said, “For me, it is nice to see a mix of teachers work together; to bring back inquiry-based experiences to their classrooms.” 

Melanie Joy-Cooper, also on the natural sciences faculty and steering committee, agreed. “We really enjoy doing (the workshop),” she said.

Goose Berkowitz-Gosselin, chair of the Division of Natural Science, Mathematics, and Technology, and associate professor and director of computer information technology at Elms, serves on the steering committee. He said the workshop offered a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved. There was “fantastic engagement with a diverse population,” he said. “Elms College is happy to host the event and hopes to do so in the future.”

Day Two of the workshop focused on water quality and its importance to daily life. Participants’ assignment was to build a better water filter. Groups determined how their water filters would be used, how the design will meet the application needs, what problems could arise, and how to measure the efficacy of the filters. 

Both days’ projects provided the teachers with a hands-on STEM experience that they can modify for any grade level, integrate with English/language arts, and achieve learning goals for all students. Teachers commented on the fact that they have already used the methods with their students and one teacher looks forward to having parents engage in an NGSS activity to experience a sense of the three dimensional aspect of learning that students will be doing.

“This workshop is a very successful culmination of a year’s worth of work: a lot of planning and cooperation among the [steering] committee,” said Mary Reed, who is both a participant and a steering committee member. The fifth grade teacher from St. Mary’s Parish School in Westfield, added, “I’m having fun with it.”

Diocesan schools have adopted NGSS in the STEM curriculum. Professional development opportunities and coaching will continue.  For more information, contact Lise LeTellier, K-12 Springfield Diocese STEM Professional Development Steering Committee Chair, atspringfield.dio.ngss@gmail.com.