On Saturday, February 12th eleven exceptional CNY math and science teachers and seven members of the SUNY Cortland Noyce Project Steering Committee converged at SUNY Cortland to plan a pilot workshop for SUNY Cortland Noyce Scholars. The workshop will address issues related to successfully teaching in a high-need* school.
A plan for a pilot workshop resulted from an engaging brainstorming session and group discussion. The workshop, set for Saturday, March 26th, will address:
- Motivation and Classroom Success: Building Professional Relationships
- Motivation and Classroom Success: Sensitivity to Student Needs
- What is Collegiality: Building Healthy Relationships with Teachers
- What is Collegiality: Building Healthy Relationships with “Everyone Else”
If the pilot is successful, the SUNY Cortland Noyce Project will host a series of workshops for Noyce Scholars, Cortland’s Urban Recruitment of Educators (CURE) science and math majors and SUNY Cortland students interested in applying for the Noyce Scholarship.
By participating in a series of interactive workshops, the Noyce Steering Committee hopes the pre-service math and science teachers will be more prepared to successfully enter a high-need environment by
- Acquiring additional and/or expanding on current knowledge on topics related to high-need environments;
- Interacting with and learning from successful science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers working in high-need districts; and
- Beginning a network of support among fellow Noyce Scholars, teachers, and SUNY Cortland faculty.
Teacher participants included:
- Abbey Albright, Mathematics, Cortland Junior-Senior High School
- Chad DeVoe, 7th Grade Life Science, Groton Middle School
- Kevin Douglass, 8th Grade Physical Science, Homer Middle School
- Sandy Francis, Mathematics, Grant Middle School, Syracuse
- Paula Jones, Chemistry, Homer High School
- Richard Lajza, Mathematics, Dewitt Middle School
- Nicholas LeFort, Physics, Lafayette Junior-Senior High School
- Michael Osborn, Earth Science, Fayetteville-Manlius High School
- Gary Podsiedlik, Mathematics, Homer High School
- Ron Reed, Biology, Cortland Junior-Senior High School
- Kurt Schmidt, Earth Science, Cincinnatus Central School
SUNY Cortland Faculty and Staff included:
- Dr. Anne Burns-Thomas (Co-PI), Assistant Professor Foundations and Social Advocacy; Coordinator, C.U.R.E. Program
- Kerri Freese, Noyce Project Coordinator
- Andrea Lachance, Professor and Chair, Childhood/Early Childhood Education
- Dr. Mary Gfeller (Co-PI), Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics
- Dr. Rena Janke (Co-PI), Associate Professor, Biological Sciences Department
- Dr. Larry Klotz (Co-PI), Distinguished Teaching Professor, Biological Sciences Department
- Dr. Greg Phelan (PI), Associate Professor and Chair, Chemistry Department
