March 2013

Page 2-3STEM Electives at the high school level

Page 4-6STEM in the Elmira City School District

Page 7Summer of Innovation plans continue

Page 8 STEM team presents at state conference

In this issue...

A Message from the GST BOCES STEM Staff Development Coordinator

Vision: Our region will be a model in generating math, science, technology and engineering interest, excitement and marketable skills.

The GST STEM regional program continues to provide strong instructional leadership to the region. The six members of the GST BOCES STEM Team offer training and support through monthly full-day professional development sessions for hundreds of K-12 teachers in the region. The professional development sessions focus on many instructional components, including:•inquiry-basedscienceinstructionutilizingFOSS Science Curriculum•literacyandsciencenotebookingtomeettheELA Common Core standards•writingandcommunicatingevidentiary arguments from investigations and text•formativeassessment•questioningstrategies•strategiesfordevelopingstudents’abilityto collaborate and solve problems in context to real- worldquestionsandproblems. TheGSTSTEMprogram’sregionaleffortisfocusedonwell-conceivedanddeliveredactivi-tiesthathavedefinableoutcomesthatwillhaveapositivelongtermimpactatthedistrictandtheregionallevels.Tosustaintheprogram,carefulplanningandexecution,andwidespreadsustained support from our partners and districts is essential. Agreatdealoftime,energyandenthusiasmhasbeenfocusedonmakingapositivediffer-enceinstudents’livesthroughSTEMlearningintheGSTregion.Measuringtheimpactofthestrategiesimplementedthusfariscriticalifwearegoingtosustainthatlevelofcommitment. TheGSTRegionalSTEMframeworktodefinestudentsuccessisoutlinedinthe“TrilogyforStudentSuccess”definedbelowas: Trilogy for Student Success1. Engagement(TheSpark):Havinganorientationtothesciencesand/orquantitative disciplinesthatincludessuchqualitiesasawareness,interestandmotivation.• Goal: Increasing student, district and community engagement in and orientation toward(awareness,interestandmotivation)STEMdisciplines.2. Capacity(TheSkills):Possessingtheacquiredknowledgeandskillsneededtoadvance toincreasinglyrigorouscontentinthesciencesandquantitativedisciplines.• Goal:Increasingstudent,districtandcommunitycapacity(acquiredknowledgeand skills)toadvancetoincreasinglyrigorousSTEMdisciplines.3. Continuity(ThePathways):Institutionalandprogrammaticopportunities,material resources and guidance that support advancement to increasingly rigorous content in thesciencesandquantitativedisciplines.

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2 STEM electives at the high school level Creativity,problem-solvingandcollaborationarekeystosuccessfortheworkeroftomor-row.HighschoolstudentsinCampbell-Savonaarepracticingtheseskillsrightnowthroughelective courses that are supported by the STEM program at GST BOCES. Whether the problem is designing a sustainable farm or a cost-effective bridge, these classes prepare future engi-neersandproblem-solversforthechallengesourworldwillfaceinyearstocome.

Sustainable Living TheSustainableLivingclassatCampbell-SavonaHighSchool,co-taughtbyChrissandraPalermo and Jesse Balliett, is a year-long elective for juniors and seniors. The class is split

into four teams; each team represents a green construction firm that is bidding for a job to design a completely sustainable farm. The teamswillcompeteinfourareas:structure,en-ergy,agricultureandtransportation.Teamswillmakeabidoneachareatoapanelofoutsidevolunteerswhowillevaluatetheirproposalandselectoneteam’sdesign.Thedesignchosenasthemostefficientandcost-effectivewillthenbeadoptedbyallteamsastheymoveforwardwithcreatingasustainablefarm. Within the design process, students are expected to not only research effective green technologies, but also perform experiments to

help them discover the best methods. Students also are expected to incorporate mathemat-ics as they price the construction of sustainable farms. By adding a financial element to the designprocess,teachershaveincreasedthelevelofproblem-solvinganddecision-makingtheteamswillhavetoface.Thisleadstoabetterunderstandingof“realworld”challengesandthecollaboration needed to overcome them. Tomanagethismassiveproject-basedexperienceandmakeitworthwhileforstudents,theinstructorshaveincorporatedmultipleresources.Manywebresourceswereusedalongwithaward-winningmoviestohelpinformthestudents.Earlyon,team-buildingsessionswereheldtobuildcollaboration.ProgramssuchasGoogleEarthandGoogleSketchuphelpstudentsvisualizethedesignanditsplaceonthemap.Guestspeakersandfieldtripsbuildaconnectionbetweentheclasscontentandtherealworld.Finally,theteachersusedGoogleAppsforEducationtokeeptrackofandevaluatetheteamandindividualprogressinthisproj-ect-basedstructure.OneoftheaddedbenefitsofusingGoogleAppsisthatmanycollegesareincorporating this program in their schools, giving students in this class a leg up if they decide to continue their education. Our STEM team is excited to be assisting Mrs. Palermo and Mr. Balliett in this exciting courseandcannotwaittoseetheoutcomes.

Bridge Construction SustainableLivingisn’ttheonlySTEMelectivethatismotivatingstudentstoconsidertheengineeringandsciencefieldsasacareer.BridgeConstruction,taughtbyAndyHain,isexcit-ingjuniorsandseniorswhoareinterestedinengineeringandconstruction. UsingIntellitek’sLearnMatesystemforbridgeconstruction,Mr.Hainischallengingteamsof students to create a bridge at least one meter in length made entirely out of spaghetti, maskingtapeandhotglue.Thegoalistoseewhichbridgecanholdthemostweight. Studentsbeganthecourselearninghowtokeepanengineeringnotebookandhow

A pricing chart created by students in the Sustainable Living class.

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Above, students construct their bridge. Left: The finished bridge.

bridgeswork.ThisleadtothestudentsusingtheWestPoint Bridge Designer program to test designs virtually andtakenotesonwhichworkedbest.Fromthatpoint,studentsbegantosketchtheirownbridgedesignsandtestingthematerialstheywoulduse.Teamsexperiment-edwithdifferent-sizedbundlesofspaghettiandmask-ingtaperopedesignstodeterminewhatworkedbest. The latest update from our spaghetti engineers – at thispoint,everybridgehaspassedtheweighttest.Theoriginalgoalwasto support 8 to 10 pounds.However,thereweretwobridges that held much more. So far, the leading bridge wasabletocom-fortably hold 50 pounds.

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TheNextGenerationScienceStandards(NGSS)secondpublicdraftwasreleasedtothepublic on January 8, 2013. The 26-state team is currently revising the standards based on feedbackreceivedfromthepublicafterthereleaseofthedraft.Thenextphaseoftheprocesswillincludestatereviewofthedraftstandardsinthefall. ItisaveryexcitingtimeastheNGSSwillchangethewayscienceistaughtbyfullyengag-ing K-12 students in three essential dimensions: disciplinary core ideas, scientific and engi-neering practices and cross cutting concepts. PleasecheckoutupdatesandcurrentinformationontheNGSSathttp://www.nextgen-science.org.

AddisonHighSchooljuniorsandseniorsinMr.Palko’sCurrentScienceandHotTopicsclasshavebeenlearning about the engineering and design process astheyexploreRemoteOperatedVehicles(ROV).Thestudents are participating in a STEM course designed bytheMarineAdvancedTechnologyCenterandSheddAquarium.Teachersinourregionweretrainedontheprogram last July. Throughtheprogram,studentswilldevelopsciencecontentknowledgethroughinquirybasedinvestiga-tionsthathelpthemplanandbuildtheirownunder-waterROV.StudentswillusetheirROVtocompeteinavarietyofcompetitionsinanunderwaterenvironment. Lookforphotosandupdatesonwww.gstboces.org/stem.

Using STEM with ROVs

Second Draft of NGSS released

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Katrina Keefe, Grade 2 Teacher, Diven Elementary

The STEM program has had a positive impact on my students this year in a number of ways.Firstofall,theyareactivelyengagedfromthebe-ginning to the end of each investigation. They use the materialswiththeintentionofansweringaquestionorsolvingaproblem,buttheyoftengettodecidehowtoproceed.Whenwecometogetherforadiscussionat the end, students begin to understand that there can bemorethanonewaytosolveaproblemoraccom-plishatask. Anotherpositiveisthattheyalsoneedtoprovidewrit-ten evidence and an explanation for the learning. This processisreallythebridgebetweenexplorationandachievinglearninggoals.Also,havingtoexplaininwrit-ing“howtheyknow”thatsomethingistrueisdirectlyalignedwiththeCommonCore.Theyarethinking,

speaking andwritingatahigherlevel.Theirknowledgeofthevocabularyhasbeenveryimpressive.(It’snotoftenthatyouhearaneight-yearoldthrowaroundtheterm“viscous”incasualconversation,untilthisyear!) Overall, this has been a very exciting year in scienceformystudentsandme.Ihavewitnesseda definite improvement in their confidence level, aswellastheir abilitytoexplainthemselvesbothorallyandinwriting.

Above, a student notes her observa-tions of a solid in a bottle.

STEM in the Elmira City School DistrictJennifer Leonberger, Grade 2 Teacher, Diven Elementary

This year, all second-grade teachers in the Elmira City School District attended trainings and began implementing the STEM program in their classrooms.Studentshavebeenveryexcitedtobelearningthisnewap-proach to the Science curriculum. They are very engaged in the learning and are excited that most of the curriculum is very hands-on. TheprogramfitsinnicelywiththeCommonCoreandevencomeswithnon-fictiontextsforstudentstoreadaftereachoftheinvestigations.Includedwiththekitisabigbookandacopyforeachstudenttouse.Teachershavefoundittiesinwellwiththeideathat50percentoftextsstudents read are supposed to be non-fiction. ItalsotiesinwellwiththeCommonCorebecausestudentsarethink-

ing,readingandwritingaboutscienceatamuchhigherlevelthantheywereeveraskedtobefore.STEMprovidesmanyopportunitiesforstudentstolearnrichvocabularywordsanduse them in daily conversations both in and out of the classroom. The STEM program has increased participation and has made each child feel successful in learning science.

Second -graders sort objects as part of a lesson (above), then notebook about what they observed (right).

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Mary Ann Cleary, Grade 3 Teacher, Hendy Elementary

This is my second full year implementing STEM in my third-grade classroom. It never fails to amazemethatwhentheequipmentcomesout,thechildrenareattheirbest.Itismyobservationthatthis“hands-on”methodofteachingsciencetotallycapturestheattentionofthechildren.SomanyskillsarecohesivelytaughtwithintheSTEMlessons,includingmath,read-ingandwriting.Becauseofthis,childrenareawarethatthe curriculum taught throughout the day does come togetherintherealworldandisinterconnected.AswemoveintothenewCommonCorecurriculum,theprofessionaldevelopmentwehavereceived,aswellas the literacy tools that have been created, have helped teachers address the reading and understanding of non-fiction text. I also have found that because the children have such a high interest level in the STEM activities and readings,theirwritingandcomprehensionskillshaveimproved. It is interesting to note the enthusiasm of the children this month as they come into the room each morning. Theyfirstcheckouttheircrayfishhabitatthenimme-diatelygotomeasurethegrowthoftheirplants.Hy-droponics has become part of their vocabulary; a term Iwouldnothaveexpectedtobecommonplaceinathird-grade class. The STEM program has become the highlight of our third-gradedays.Itrulyappreciatethefactthatwearepartofaprogramthatmakestheclassroomcomealivewithhighinterestlevels.WhenincorporatingSTEMactivitiesintheclassroom,teacherscanbeassuredofprovidinggoodproblemsolvingskills,excellentcross-curricular activities and cooperative learning lessons that challenge all learning levels. I hope thatalldistrictsseethevalueoftheFOSSprogramandcontinuetosupportit.

Third-grade students observe their crayfish.

Louise O’Connor, Grade 4 Teacher, Beecher Elementary

The professional development by the STEM train-ershasprovidedtherealworldconnectionsnecessaryto bring the elementary science curriculum to life for mystudents.Theinquiry-based,hands-oninvolvementusedwithteachersinthetrainingsetting,parallelsthe type of interactions and experiences that directly benefitmystudentswhentheyworkthroughtheinvestigations.Thereisnodoubtthatdirectlyworkingwiththematerialsandconceptsthatmystudentsweregoingtobeusing,intheinquirysettingIhadtocreatefor them, gave me confidence in my ability to present theScience/Engineeringcurriculumtomystudentsinanexcitingandeffectiveway.Inaddition,thecross-curricular strategies that are used in STEM not only bring best practices to the science classroom, but also are very helpful in other content areas. Fourth-grade

students complete an electrical circuit.

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Comments from Grade 3 Parents on the Structures of Life Unit

“MysonhasreallyenjoyedtheSTEMprogramatschool.Hehasalwaysbeen interested in science, so having this program in the school to foster hisinterestisgreat. He’sbeenveryexcitedtocomehomeandsharewithuswhatheislearning.Thehydroponiclessonsandtheexperimentgrow-ingthebeanplantareawesome!Asafamily,wehaveplantedourownseedlingsandhaveenjoyedwatchingtheplantgrowonourwindowsill.”

“MydaughterisinthirdgradeatElmiraCitySchool.Shehasreallygravi-tated to the STEM program, specifically the hydroponics project at home.  Shefertilizes,monitors,andchecksontheplantsdaily. Sheisamazedattherootsandthebudsandhowtheplantsgrowsoquickly. Herfatheraskedherabouthowhydroponicsworksandshewasabletospeaktotheprocessstepbystep. Wealsostoppedatahydroponicsstoreintownsoshecouldgetmoreinformationandwasgivenafreebook!“  “Mysonisascienceguy.Helovesthehands-onlessonsheisreceivingin

classthisyear.Oneofhisfavoriteswaslearningabouthydroponics.Hecamehomewithhisbeanseedlingandgotrighttoworkcreatingthehomemadecontainertowatchitgrow.”

STEM in Elmira, continued...

Beecher Students to Present at Quarterly MST Connect Meeting

FourstudentsfromBeecherElementarywillpresenttheirengineeringdesignprojectatthenextQuarterlyMSTConnectmeeting.Thesestudentswereselectedbecausetheirproj-ect embodied our STEM initiative and demonstrated a direct connection to the content and

skillspromotedwithinourinitiative.Mr.Manwaring’sfifth-gradeclasswasassignedaprojectwherestudentsusedknowledgeofseveraldifferentcontentareastohelpthemunderstandthatourworldiseverchangingandoursociety needs problem-solvers. Thestudentsusedtheirknowledgeofscience,mathandgeographytodesignawindmillpoweredbysteamandplanforitstransportacrosstheAtlanticOcean.Studentshadtocollaborativelyanswerquestions,usingtheproblemsolvingskillstheyhavelearnedthroughtheSTEM program, and then formally present their projects in front of the administration and staff at Beecher Elemen-tary and representatives from Dresser-Rand. StudentsusedPowerPointpresentationsandmod-

elsoftheircompressorstodemonstratetheirlearning.Thisprojectwasawaytogivethestudentsaglimpseintohowtheirlearningappliestoreallifesituations.Welookforwardtoseeing their presentation on March 6.

These Beecher students will present at the next MST Connect meeting.

An Elmira third-grader with a bean seedling from the Structures of Life unit.

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The MST Connect Greater Southern Tier STEM Initiative is planning for Summer of Innova-tion2013.Thisisafollow-uptolastyear’sinitiative that offered more than 50 different summer learning experi-ences to more than 1,178 students from across the GST BOCES region. The Summer of Innovation initiativeoriginatedwhenagroupof local educators representing GST BOCES, component school districts and post-secondaryinstitutionsteamedwithlocal business and industry to create an educational conceptthatredefined“summerschool”forourregion.Theintentwastooffercreative,in-novative,educationalsummeracademiesforlocalstudentsgrades6-12withanemphasisonScience,Technology,EngineeringandMathematics(STEM). The catalyst for this initiative came from local leadership development activities that intro-ducedlocaleducationalleaderstoworld-classeducationalresearchersfromacrosstheglobe.Today’sresearchsuggeststhatschoolsshouldbeincorporatingSTEM-based21stCenturyfluencies into K-12 classrooms, and that for students to be successful upon entering college orwork,theymustpossesshigh-level21stCenturyskills.IanJukes(The 21st Century Fluency Project)categorizesthese21stCenturyfluenciesasSolutionFluency,InformationFluency,Col-laborationFluency,CreativeFluencyandMediaFluency.Allfiveemphasizecriticalskillsthatstudentswillneedtobesuccessfuldigitalcitizensinthefuture.Matchingthese21stCenturyfluencieswithspecificSTEMskills,suchasanalyzingandinterpretingdata,planningandcarrying out investigations, constructing explanations, engaging in arguments, developing and using models and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information, reinforced the immediate need for our region to create the Summer of Innovation initiative. The Summer of Innovation 2013 partners include Corning Inc., GST BOCES, Wings of Ea-glesDiscoveryCenter,TheRegionalScienceandDiscoveryCenter,TanglewoodNatureCenterandMuseum,21stCenturyCommunityLearningCenters,CorningCommunityCollegeandall21GSTBOCEScomponentschooldistricts.Together,weplantooffer30differentSummerAcademiestomorethan500studentsinmultiplelocationsacrosstheGSTBOCESregion. Academiesofferedin2012includedAuto Technology–Let’s Go Racing, NXT Mindstorm Robotics, Culinary Arts–The Epicurean Experience, Conservation–The Outdoor Classroom, Crimi-nal Justice–Criminal Intent, Little Engineers in Training, Science of Superheroes and Digital Media Arts–Photo Safari amongmanyothers.SummerofInnovation2013academieswillintroducesimilarandnewprogramofferings.Theywillemphasizehands-onlearningandconnectstudentstorealworldexperiences.Participantswillbeintroducedtoamultitudeofcareersthatincludereal-lifeinteractionswithrepresentativesfrombusinessandindustryandpost-secondaryinstitutions.Mostofall,studentswillhavefunmeetingandinteractingwithotherstudents from across the region. The Summer of Innovation 2013 committee plans to have student registration informa-tionavailabletothepubliconApril8.Parentswillbeabletoaccesssummeracademyoffer-ingsandregistrationinformationatthefollowinglocations:

GSTBOCESwebsite–www.gstboces.orgWingsofEaglesDiscoveryCenterwebsite–www.wingsofeagles.com

Andatallcomponentschooldistrictwebsites.

Foradditionalinformation,contactTerri Walczak at 607-281-3152.

Summer of Innovation 2013 Plans Underway

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• Goal:Increasingthequalityandcontinuityofinstitutionalandprogrammatic opportunities, material resources and guidance in STEM instruction and learning experiences. Success in sustaining and expanding the current level of activity for the GST regional STEM programreliesonourabilitytomeasureoureffortstoimproveSTEM“Engagement,”“Capac-ity,”and“Continuity.” Tocollectthedataweneed,theSTEMprogram,GSTBOCESComputerServicesandSyra-cuseUniversity’sOfficeofProfessionalResearchandDevelopment(OPRD)havecollaboratedon the development of a regional STEM database. The database provides the STEM regional leadershipandparticipatingdistrictswithquantitativeandqualitativeinformationrelatedtoboththeprocessesandtheoutcomesoftheSTEMactivitiesintheregion.Thedatawillbeusedfordecision-making,planning,continuousimprovementandestablishingacaseforsup-port as the initiative scales up across the region. Ateamdedicatedtorunningregionalreportsandanalysishasbeencreated.Theworkofthisgroupwillbecriticalastheprogramgrows.Thisteamwillestablishclearprocessesandprotocolsforregionallyfocusedreports,andanalysisalignedwiththeresearchquestionsde-signed by the STEM Deployment Team. ThedatateamiscurrentlycomprisedofmembersfromSyracuseUniversity’sOPRDandGST BOCES. Recently,thedatateamwasabletosharesomepreliminaryfindings.Thesefindingsarebasedoninformationreceivedfromthedistricts,aswellasGSTBOCESdataspecialists.Wewillsharemoredetailedinformationonthisinanupcomingnewsletter. ThankyouforyourcontinuedsupportoftheGSTRegionalSTEMProgram.

Sincerely,

Jeremy WheelerGST BOCES STEM Staff Development Coordinator

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STEM team presents at state conference InOctober,theGSTBOCESSTEMteamandDr.MarkVaughnwereinvitedtopresentattheNewYorkStateMiddleSchoolAssociation32ndAnnualConferenceinBuffalo,NY.Dr.Vaughn,JeremyWheelerandBrandeFlaitzpresentedontheGreaterSouthernTierSTEMEducationProject.RebeccaBowerspresentedonInteractiveFormativeAssessmentsandBrandeFlaitzalsoconductedasessiononScience Notebooking: Integrating Literacy and Science Instruction.ThiswasagreatopportunitytoconnectwithmiddleschooleducatorsfromacrossNewYorkState.