Newsclippings and Press Releases

By Ann Weber
Publication: SchoolLine -- A Publication of the Toledo Public Schools Volume 4, Issue 14, December 7, 1998

Mild-mannered teacher Doreen Younts has assumed a new identity this year -- Science Lady, action hero to students at McKinley, Patterson, Nathan Hale, and Fulton schools.

"They see me in the hall and say 'There's the Science Lady!' They ask me, 'Are we doing science today?' They love it," Mrs. Younts says. "I have never gone into a classroom where even one child has acted up, because they're so interested."

To hear colleagues, 'Science Lady' is better known as one of the 15 support teachers in a new program called TAPESTRIES (Toledo Area Partnership in Education: Support Teachers as Resources to Improve Elementary Science). Members of the partnership are Toledo Public Schools, Springfield Local Schools, the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University.

The program, funded in part with a five-year, $5.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation, as well as contributions from all the partners, provides professional development in science for elementary teachers and assistance in implementing the K-6 science kits that were adopted two years ago.

"This is primarily to help the teachers develop their science teaching skills -- not only their knowledge base but how to teach it, in hopes that proficiency scores will increase," explains Connie Black-Postl, TAPESTRIES program coordinator. Ms. Black-Postl works closely with TPS teacher coordinator Kip Bisignano and with the UT and BGSU educators who are involved in the program.

Elements of the project include:

• A two-week summer institute in which K-6 teachers study the new science curriculum for their grade level and conduct the hands-on activities in the kits. Each participant is paid a stipend of $500 and earns four graduate credit hours. The first summer institute, held last summer, attracted 250 teachers, nearly all of them from the Toledo schools.

• A cadre of 15 support teachers who have been released from their teaching duties full-time for two years to help classroom teachers use the kits. Each support teacher works with two to four schools, concentrating on those that had the highest number of staff attend the summer institute. The support teachers also take a university class that deals with such topics as building leadership skills and helping peers adjust to new ideas in teaching for which they earn three graduate credit hours.

• Monthly school meetings of the support teachers and classroom teachers who participated in the summer institute, at which they formulate an action plan for improving science education in their building. The participants are paid at the hourly negotiated rate, and earn two more graduate credit hours.

Mrs. Younts is enthusiastic about the new approach to science education, but acknowledges that it's more demanding and sometimes intimidating for the teacher. "These kits are much different from what we used in the past, and I think many of the teachers are a little leery about it. Probably 80% of the kits are hands-on experiments," she says.

As a support teacher, her role is to do whatever is needed to make using the kits easier and less time-consuming for the classroom teacher -- ordering supplies, setting up demonstrations, teaching part of the class, or simply providing an extra set of hands.

For the kit on earth materials, for example, the support teacher may help by making the 'mock rocks' that the students will examine and test for various properties. For the kit that sixth graders use to grow seeds under various conditions, the support teacher may set up the elaborate light system that is required and help make sure the seeds are planted correctly and fertilized. As the plants grow, the students conduct experiments -- for example, a chemical process to determine starch content -- and record results.

Mrs. Younts points out that grading students on this kind of learning also presents challenges, and that the support teacher can suggest ways for the classroom teacher to evaluate students' work. "All the teachers really appreciate the help," she says.

Mrs. Diane Albring, a kindergarten teacher at Fall-Meyer School, agrees, pointing out that the support teacher helps address the biggest obstacle for many teachers -- the amount of time required for science exploration. "Our support teacher is very handy if we need something, or need more hands in the room" she says.

Mrs. Albring says she also got a lot out of the summer institute. "The sharing of ideas was marvelous, the moral support, doing the hands-on yourself. It makes it easier to use with the class."

Fall-Meyer had the highest percentage of teachers attend the TAPESTRIES summer institute. "The building staff talked about it and thought it would help us improve," Mrs. Albring says. "There's always room for that".

Recruiting will begin in January for the 1999 TAPESTRIES summer institute. For more information, call Connie Black-Postl at 530-2060.