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Brain, Science, and Inquiry Based Education 2010: Participant Responsibilities

Paul Grobstein's picture

Brain, Science, and Inquiry-Based Education
K-12 Summer Institute 2010

 

 

  Participant Responsibilities

What you get out of this institute is, as with any educational activity, to a large extent a function of what you put into it. And what you put into it will strongly influence what others get out of it as well, both other institute participants and others interested in education world wide. For these reasons, you should during the summer

Following the institute

  1. Please continue thinking about our conversations during the ten days of the Institute, and what we might continue to do together to bring about desirable changes in pre-college (and college) education. Institute materials will remain available to you (and others) at /exchange/bsie10. This includes all notes and resource lists, your web pages, and the institute forum areas.
  2. By September 1, please prepare a curriculum development proposal. This should describe some aspect of your experiences with the Institute which suggests a way to improve pre-college education, and the particular changes which you want to try out in your own classroom. It should include as well a budget indicating how you will spend $300 to bring about those changes. The proposal should be made available as part of your portfolio. Checks will be mailed for receipt by October 1.
  3. Keep us all posted during the year by recording your thoughts/experiences at least monthly in your portfolio. Keep in mind Serendip, the kinds of resources and conversations it would be helpful to you and others to have there, and contributions that you (and your students) might be able to make to that.  General thoughts or notes about relevant materials can be posted any time in the forum on the institute home page. 
  4. By June 1, please prepare a report on the outcome of your curriculum development activities. This report should also be posted in your portfolio and be thoughtful (including both successes and failures), no more than three or four pages long, and provide a synopsis of what you actually did and how that in turn suggests additional things for yourself and other teachers.
  5. By June 1, complete an on-line questionairre about the ways the Institute has influenced your teaching during the year at a URL that will be emailed to you.

Your attention to this set of responsibilities/assignments is important not only to your own education and that of others but also to external assessments of the summer institute progrm on which its continued funding depends. Participants who fail to satisfy expectations will not be eligible for admission to future institutes in the program.

Comments

RecycleJack Marine's picture

Proposal for Curriculum Grant 2010

Proposal by Jack Marine
For $300.00 Grant
August 27, 2010
Brain, Science, and Inquiry-Based Education
K-12 Summer Institute 2010

My goal this year is to provide a nurturing, but structured environment for the students. I an effort to keep students connected to nature, I have designed an outdoor classroom located just outside of my Science Room at The Pen Ryn School in Fairless Hills, PA.

Students will be able to break down the common barriers that keep children from creating positive connections with the natural world. Using this Outdoor Classroom to engage students in hands-on activities will inspire a multitude of ideas for supporting the nature-child connection.

There is a tree on the school grounds about ten feet from the edge of the school building. My plan is to erect a natural fern fence that will surround the tree, the central point of the Outdoor Classroom. Inside this area will be a Earth Machine composting tower, a sitting area supported and surrounding the tree, and wooden (possibly tree trunk cut) benches. I am proposing to use the $300.00 grant as “seed money” to fund the cost of fence sections, a handmade wooden bench and the composting tower.

I located the lowest possible online site for purchase
of the fencing from Foster and Smith Aquatics, and I will
be able to purchase the Earth Machine compost tower from
The Township of Lower Merion at about one-third of its retail price.

The maintenance staff at my school have promised to provide materials to hold the fencing in place, as well as to help build the bench surrounding the tree’s trunk. I am including the purchase of one handmade bench to compliment the initial
installation of the area.


Cost Summary:

One Earth Machine Compost Tower                       @ $ 40.50
Five Sections of Fern Fence                           @ $161.00 incl. shipping
One 36"HANDMADE COLONIAL STYLE WOODEN            @ $  98.00  “          “
                                                                                      Total            $300.00

RecycleJack Marine's picture

Who is Jacob Marine?

My name is Jacob Marine and I go by the nickname Jack. This is my fourth summer instituite at Bryn Mawr College. I have been teaching for twelve years, following twenty years in the apparel business. I have been teaching in Philadelphia most of my career, mostly at charter schools. For the past eight years I have been a science teacher. I am an avid organic gardener and animal lover. I have grown delicious tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and squash this summer. My pet box  turtle is also enjoying her new habitat- in my garden.

I love inspiring children to explore the world around them and to find out how they affect the planet. After twelve years working at schools in the inner city environment, I am going to start teaching at an independent private school outside of the city this fall.

I live in Bala Cynwyd with my wife of 25 years, and with my 17 year old daughter who will be a senior at Lower Merion High School this fall. My son is going to be a junior at Temple University in September.

 

 

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