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"Our summer school is rocketing to success - kids are going home telling parents they need to change their light bulbs.  One Dad reported that his son wanted him to go out and buy litmus paper so they could test the water in their house."

eesmarts™ Summer 2009

Energy Education Workshops for Connecticut Teachers at Wesleyan University

Over 100 Connecticut teachers attended five workshops held during June and July at Wesleyan. The workshops are designed to improve the science teaching skills of teachers of Pre-k through 9th grade students. The workshops are funded by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund and hosted by PIMMS, Connecticut Light and Power and United Illuminating.

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September 10 - PIMMS eesmarts Train the Trainer Workshop - Usdan Center, Wesleyan University

October 6 - New Haven Public Schools - Grades K - 3 eesmarts Professional Development - Wilbur Cross High School

October 17 - CT Science Educators Association - Professional Development and Conference - Hamden Middle School

November 3 - Fairfield Schools Professional Development Day - Fairfield - TBD

November 30 - ATOMIC Conference - Mohegan Sun

International Year of Astronomy "Field Trips"

2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy in celebration of Galileo's first observations with a telescope and the publication of Kepler's Astronomia Nova.

For teachers, this provides an opportunity to expose students to an integrated unit in astronomy, mathematics, history and literature.

PIMMS is offering a program which will allow your students to visit a planetarium in your school. We will bring a portable planetarium to you and make presentations to as many as five classes in day.

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New Cohort of PIMMS Fellows Inducted

A new cohort of seventeen participants in the three year Leadership Academy in Middle School Science were added to the ranks of PIMMS Fellows on May 16th.

The new PIMMS Fellows represented the New Britain Consolidated School District, Stratford Public Schools, Waterbury Public Schools, Thomas Edison Middle School in Meriden and Sacred Heart School in New Britain.

The Leadership Academy was funded by the Mathematics and Science Partnership Program of the Connecticut State Department of Education. The three year program involved some 350 hours of training for each participant. Participants were required to take graduate courses in Life, Earth and Physical Science as well as in Language Arts and Science Inquiry.

Click Here to View Bob Rosenbaum's Comments to the New PIMMS Fellows
Commentary from Bob Rosenbaum, Chair of PIMMS at the May 16th Graduation Ceremony

PIMMS Fellows Represent U.S. at International Conference

Two PIMMS Fellows, Mari Muri and Mary Santilli, were honored to be invited to represent U.S. mathematics educators at a recent conference held in Newport Beach, California. Thirty-five delegates from the Peoples Republic of China and the United States participated in the Teacher Development Continuum in the United States and China from July 31 through August 2. The conference was sponsored by the China and U.S. National Academies.

Science Choreography at Wesleyan

Workshop explored bridges between dance and science as a way to nurture interest in biology.

Over thirty teachers participated in the innovative choreography in science workshop held on July 14 at Wesleyan.   The workshop free and provided continuing education units and a honorarium for attending teachers.  The workshop was hosted by the Wesleyan Hughes Program in the Life Science, in collaboration with PIMMS.  

As part of a collaboration with choreographer Liz Lerman of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (http://www.danceexchange.org/), we are exploring the use of dance choreography as a (surprisingly) effective way to encourage interest in science by students from middle school through college.  Over several years, Liz Lerman worked with scientists to develop a piece called Ferocious Beauty: Genome that premiered at Wesleyan in 2006 (http://www.danceexchange.org/performance/ferociousbeautygenome.html)

The one-day workshop, explored using dance and Ferocious Beauty: Genome as a bridge for science outreach and public understanding of science.  The workshop brought divergent thinking groups together -- university researchers, professional dancers/choreographers, school educators, advanced students -- as a means of developing new ideas and as a way of charging each other to return to our own classrooms and laboratories with fresh thinking.

Recent Study Supports PIMMS Approach to Professional Development

A recent study published by the Council of Chief State School Officers concludes that professional development programs with significant effects involved:

•  50 or more hours of professional development, and

• Had a content focus PLUS training and follow-up pedagogical content knowledge.

The PIMMS Approach: 

• Mathematics and Science Content Workshops

• Consultant Services

• Coaching & Mentoring

For more information contact:

• Mike Zebarth (Director)

• Bob Borello (Science)

What's Your Choice for Twelfth Grade Mathematics?
Commentary from Bob Rosenbaum, Chair of PIMMS

Contact PIMMS if you wish to be included on one of our e-mail lists.
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Newsletter

The latest edition of our newsletter including "Musings on Factoring of Polynomials" by Bob Rosenbaum is available by clicking here: Download Spring 08 Newsletter/a>

The Science Teaching as a Profession (STP) project is working to elevate the status of secondary school science teachers. Funded by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, STP is co-directed by Sheila Tobias, an educational consultant, former Wesleyan staff member and long-time friend of PIMMS and Anne Baffert, a high school science department chair and chemistry teacher. Tobias and Baffert have co-authored Science Teaching as a Profession based on their interviews with science teachers throughout the U.S. The book is available as a free PDF download at:  http://rescorp.org.

Robert Rosenbaum, University Mathematics Professor at Wesleyan University, established the Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science (PIMMS) at Wesleyan in 1979. In 1984, the first of a series of two-year, multi-week, Fellowship Institutes (PIMMS professional development programs) began. Since then, approximately 700 teachers, K-12, have become Fellows. Many now serve as school, district and state leaders in mathematics and science education. Through outreach activities with their colleagues and educators statewide, they impact 12,000 -15,000 teachers each year. Annually, 1,500 teachers attend one or more of PIMMS 50 high-quality professional development programs.