URI to host daylong event highlighting active,inquiry-based science education
WHO: Representatives from Sesame Street, Seattle Public Schools, the Carolina Biological Curriculum, Rhode Island Department of Education, Rhode Island teachers and administrators, URI professors in the disciplines of education, science, technology, engineering and math and the school districts of Westerly, South Kingstown, North Kingstown, Chariho, Narragansett, Jamestown, East Greenwich, and Exeter-West Greenwich.
WHAT: URI’s Guiding Education in Math and Science Network (GEMS-Net) 2011 Leadership Retreat. URI professors and Rhode Island teachers will present overviews of the program and resulting gains in science and math made by southern Rhode Island schools that participate in the network. Keynote speaker will be Betsy Rupp Fulwiler, of Seattle Public Schools and author of Writing in Science, who will discuss students’ development of scientific thinking skills. Personnel from Sesame Workshop, which produces the popular hit Public Broadcasting Service children’s shows, Sesame Street and The Electric Company, will also be participating. Sara Sweetman, director of education for the URI science education network, has been working regularly with actors, producers, set designers, game developers and book divisions of Sesame Workshop to help them incorporate best practices in science education in their shows. Sweetman and teacher-leaders in the program will use video clips and work samples to show how active, inquiry-based science and math teaching and learning improves teacher and student performance. As part of the program, participants will design and build parachutes that they will drop from a balcony.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Fulwiler will speak from 9:05 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and the parachute drop will take place at 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: URI Narragansett Bay Campus, Coastal Institute Building, South Ferry Road, Narragansett.
TO COVER THE EVENT: Contact Dave Lavallee, URI Department of Communications and Marketing at 401-874-5862.