Mount Airy High School’s Science Department will be participating in an upcoming professional development provided by North Carolina State University.
The Science House in the College of Sciences and the STEM Education Department in the College of Education are offering this opportunity to high school science teachers in western North Carolina.
Supporting the Implementation of Modeling Instruction in Rural Schools focuses on Modeling instruction in High school biology and high school chemistry while producing new educational research in the area of Pedagogical Content Knowledge.
“Modeling instruction is one of the most powerful and effective pedagogies to aid in student understanding in secondary science,” the city school officials said. Mount Airy is one of 26 partnering districts in North Carolina.
“Immediately following the interest meeting for this opportunity, the department jumped right in,” said Principal Jason Dorsett. “Their dedication for student learning and willingness to grow professionally is evident. They also understand that collective teacher efficacy is one of the most significant factors in student achievement and I greatly appreciate their willingness to work together as a team.”
Megan Conner, Crystal Fain, and Alexis Shelley will engage in 15 days of training with an additional four follow-up days during the 2022-23 academic year for a total of 114 hours of formal instruction in year one. Additional follow-up days will be provided in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.
Conner graduated from Catawba College with a bachelor of science in biology. She began her educational career at West Stokes High School in 2005. She has taught biology, earth science, and AP biology.
“Science is a constantly changing field as new technology and scientific advances are evolving,” she said. “This program will allow me to help my students understand these scientific concepts as they are taught in a more hands-on environment.”
Fain graduated from Ferrum College with a bachelor of science in environmental science and from Radford University with a masters of science in education with a concentration in earth science. Prior to being an educator, she worked with the Virginia Department of Health as Environmental Inspector.
Her first year of teaching was seventh grade life science and the past 15 years she has been teaching high schoolers earth science, environmental science, forensic science, and biology. When sharing her goals for this program she said, “I want to be able to reach all students with varying learning styles. This program will give me insight on allowing my students in the classroom to be able to learn concepts by doing them, essentially teaching in a full-time science lab.”
Shelley graduated with a bachelor of science education from Bob Jones University. Her teaching experience is beginning at Mount Airy High School where she teaches physical and earth science.
“I want to be constantly growing and changing to become a better teacher for my students,” she said of joining the program. “This seemed like the perfect opportunity to do just that.”
“We are very proud of the opportunity these three educators have before them. Each is highly respected in their field and will only become stronger through this innovative partnership,” said Deputy Superintendent Dr. Phillip Brown.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com