February 9, the UAB AMSTI (Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative) Team members Julie Emory-Johnson, Leah Boozer, Tar M. Foster, NBCT, Stacy Chang, NBCT, Becke Stripling and Jesse Kelley, Sr. under the leadership of AMSTI Director Karen Wood presented a follow-up professional development workshop for the faculty members of Westhills. Principal Mildred Posey explained that the professional development session entitled "Inquiry Session and the 5 E's ( Engage, Explore, Explain, Evaluate, Extend) is designed to turn a good lesson into a great lesson. This strategy can be used across the curriculum and allows the students to take more responsibility for their own learning. The UAB team will follow-up with a model lesson at each grade level and later will team-teach a lesson with the classroom teacher. This collaboration between Westhills' teachers and the AMSTI team supports strategies of Inquiry, Questioning, Problem Solving, Technology and Hands on Learning. We use "best practices" to provide the best quality of education for the students we serve. Research has shown that when students' interest and engagement increases, so does learning. "Even though we have received the required training to be an AMSTI school, we are elated to have the opportunity to continue working with the UAB team", stated Ms. Posey. "Teachers are excited and we are enthusiastic about the impact these practices will have on student learning."
During the workshop, the teachers were asked to make a paper airplane. They were given no instructions on how to design it. After completing the airplane, the teachers tested each airplane. They compared the results. Which airplane flew the farthest? Shortest Distance? They integrated math by finding the mean, mode and median. They looked at the variables. By completing this activity, the teachers better understood the importance of using "best practices" in their classrooms.
Click here to see the photographs:
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