Think Like A Scientist

I wonder how many educators can say they have attended a teacher training workshop on a Friday evening? Well on Friday, January 22nd forty early childhood educators from Marion County, Florida participated in a two hour hands-on-minds-on science teacher training workshop. Participants made ramps out of race car tracks and blocks to study force, motion, and energy concepts. Then it was onto exploring the natural world by observing and analyzing a wide-assortment of objects from nature. Participants were given plenty of opportunities to explore and discover on their own and in small groups, much like what should take place within all classrooms. The workshop came to a close, and as I looked around the room I knew that these teachers would go back to their classrooms eager to explore science with their students.

Nationwide school districts have been busy preparing their applications for phase 1 of the Race to the Top Grant. On January 19th, 40 states and the District of Columbia had submitted their applications for what is the largest-ever federal competitive investment in school reform, at $4.35 billion. Over the next several months the applications will be reviewed. The Department of Education will announce the winners of phase 1 funding by April 2010. Funding will be used for school reform in four key areas:

Adopting curriculum standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace;

Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals, especially in schools that are struggling;

Fine-tuning the data-crunching statewide in order to effectively measure student success. This data will be used by teachers and principals in evaluating instructional practices; and

Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

A handful of states chose not to “jump on the Race to the Top band wagon” for various reasons, often legitimate concerns. From the costs of implementing the reforms to the school districts, to new rules that link teacher pay and tenure to student performance. To see the list of states that submitted Race to the Top applications see jreeves post in the U.S. Department of Education Blog.