Final Thoughts

This will be my last formal entry for GMST560.
Joe - I feel like I am so far ahead of 14 weeks ago in terms of what it means to be a teacher and all that goes with it. I know it's only one class, but this has been a great one to provide the framework/structure to hang the rest of the material to come. I can really see how it can all work in a classroom.
The research I have done in support of the projects has added a lot of knowledge about teaching, and especially this last group project with all the material about what can be done better in US schools - and we are doing it!
Tonight's project has a slight chance of being too long, so we may do a final edit just before class. We will be moving through the material quickly and deliberately. This might be a good approach, since the idea of this one is to create some tension and show that we have a solution and will save the day by implementing an MST program!

Joe - Thanks for all your help and completely professional delivery of this class! I'll keep you posted.....

The Last Night!!!

Another big weekend wrapping up the final group project.
It's not quite pulled together at this point, and needs to be trimmed down a little, but I think it's looking pretty good.
We have emphasized the issues of US performance with respect to world technical education as the primary reason to implement an MST program. Also have included a lot of detailed information on the latest school designs to focus on this as only a first small step.
We will also supply briefing books with additional material in hardcopy and softcopy form to allow the board to review this information offline after the presentation.

Missed Class

I got stuck at work this week and had to miss a class. Luckily we had an extra week for the presentation or it would have been a mess for the others.
The research for this project has brought me to a lot of information about the state of technical education in the US. We are IN TROUBLE.
However - it's very cool that all the research I have found points to integrated learning experiences as the optimum educational method. So apparently I picked the right degree!
I've stuctured our group presentation using the "hollywood" type storyline, and I think it is going to work out. I'm worried it's running long, and that it might be a little over the top. If our delivery is sincere then we should be able to cover the heartfelt requirement. I'm alos using the Gerry Spence idea of "fear as your ally", essectially scaring the board into implementaing the integrated program because they really have no other options.

Son to Father Letters

I put together what I think was a creative presentation for my prophesy paper presentation. I extended it beyond just the physical tech aspect by including one letter from each time period and one from each area of tech. The main idea to personalize it, since a letter is your inner thoughts at work, was to record and play a narration, instead of reading it.
The presentation last night went well and there were some very nice comments. Shelley in particular had a very nice comment about the result being very powerful.
We worked more on the final group project - it's coming together more and I've been doing some research into the concept of "telling a story. This gets at the idea that the presentation must be heartfelt and emotionally connect with the audience. I picked up a book called "Beyond Bullet Points" which gives a method for putting a presentation in terms of a "hollywood" script - naming a protagonist, creating a crisis, and saving the day by proposing a solution. I've volunteering to try to tie together our stuff with this idea.

Prophesy Paper #3

I submitted the last prophesy paper Monday and I had to diverge from my timeframe that I held in the first 2 - +/- 150 years. I knew about George Selden, Rochester and the automobile, and with the announcement the other day about the fuel cell research at GMs research center in Honeoye Falls, I wanted to work all that in. So I did +/- 100 years.
My original intent was to utilize the fuel cell car idea for the fianl group project, but Joe threw a curve by posing a very different question to answer. But I still hope to work it in.
Jenn , Melissa and I got started on layout out the school board presentation elements. Not quite sure how this will come together. I looked into the Gerry Spence argument concepts and picked up some additional ideas there.

Group Project 2 Done!

I'm 2/3 there!
Two group projects, two prophesy papers done!
The presentation went well with Tammy, and it all turned out very nicely. I added some island music to the videos of the DNA and RNA replications, which made them more entertaining.

Regarding the project itself - this applies to all the work so far - the amount of material on the internet is amazing, and it's easy to get flooded by volume. But it's such an easy way to research and get fast answers to questions about everything. It's so easy to see why knowledge is exploding in recent years - there is so much out there and it's all (mostly) accessible.

DNA Movies

I'm having fun putting together the Bio group project with Tammy. She missed a class, but we have been fine with iterating via e-mail and it's getting close to done. We used our option to present on week 2 of the groups, which is Monday.
I decided to create a stop action animation illustrating DNA replication using the K'Nex kit. I've got the setup complete and tested a few times, and I'm ready to do a final version. The intent is to have an illustration for the hands on project of replicating DNA that the students would use in the lesson.
The second prophesy paper came together well and was well received. The concept is working out and I think I had some better examples than in the first one. It's amazing how many connections there are in the ROchester area to key breakthroughs in science.

Halfway Home

I received comments back from Joe on the first journal submission. I forgot to submit a mid-class entry, so this is it - late.
Some of my earlier comments and fears about lacking knowledge about "what does it mean to be a teacher" have been reduced quite a bit. I am really beginning to get an understanding of the big picture. Earlier, even the terminology was new in many cases (like rubric???). It's coming together and I'm more familiar with he structure of the state standards, how to put together a lesson, and an integrated lesson.
The prophesy papers have been coming together well - the early suggestion of a trilogy is exactly what I have been doing, but not exactly the same character. Using the son to father letter to reflect on the son's world is an easy way to describe what his life is like and explain his feelings.
The second group project has been fun. Tammy is very sharp and her teacheing experience is very valuable. She pulled together a lot of material for the lesson about DNA and GMOs. I ordered a K'Nex DNA kit to provide a good hands on example.
Bottom line after half way - I'm having a great time and wish I was farther ahead in my certification so I could do this for real. (except for the quitting a job getting a job thing).

Finish #2

Not that I'm procrastinating, but I just finished prophesy paper #2. It's basically the same length and format as number 1, but focused on biotech. I used more Rochester history for some of the old aspects, centering on the Ellwanger and Barry nursery history and the plant grafting aspect of biotech. Reading some of the reference material can be scary - genetic engineering can go either way - save the world or destroy the world. Hope it's #1.

Reprieve

We were number 5 on the list of presenters and only had time for 4 tonight. All the other teams did great jobs and I could see where we could tune up our paper a bit. It almost gave an unfair advanatage to be able to review it a little. But seeing the experienced teachers gave me good insight into what the assignment should look like.

Progress

Had a whirlwind week and weekend iterating with Dave and Shelley on our paper. There is still work to be done, and being away last weekend caused me to lose some time that I would have liked to spend on it. But I think we are in decent shape and will try to get together with the team before class for some final touches.
I am not happy with the amount or level of the math I had put into the project - it seems like it should be more advanced but I felt then it would be too sophisticated. I couldn;t seem to find a middle ground but I included some graphing, plotting and basic trigonometry.

Prophesy Paper #2

We got the assignment for paper # 2 on Monday. SInce I had good results with number 1, I'm thinking I'll use a similar format - the father to son letter as a vehicle.
I volunteerd with Tammy to be the 2 person group for the next project - Bio-Tech. Joe had mentioned an issue with GM meddling of bananas, so we are using that as a topic.

Prophesy Paper #1 Feedback

Good news - the prophesy paper was well received, although I need to resubmit with references. I didn't keep a log of the research I did so I'll need to retrace my steps.
I did get some confidence that I was on the right track with the concept, which will make #2 a little easier.
I enjoy writing and wish I had more time for it (or took more time for it).

Thoughts

I've mentioned this before - I feel at a real disadvantage (I would almost say stupid) compared to many in the class. I have a feeling a need to reprogram my brain to think like a teacher as opposed to an engineer. Some of the methodolgy is starting to make sense as we work on our group project.
Another stumbling block I know I will have is the concept of assessment. This is new to me - and I never was comfortable with the idea of judging someone. After some investigation with the project I can certainly see value in having a detailed rubric for creating an assessment framework.
Onward and upward.

Paper 1 DONE!

Handed in the first prophesy paper on Monday February 7. I ended up with what I hope was a decent format for the paper. I created it in a "letter to dad" format to a son. It worked well for this paper since the letter itself is a form of info/comm tech. Some of the items for the future were based on current ideas of virtual reality and such, so they should be reasonable predictions. We did some additional group work tonight on laying out our lesson plan. Dave had a lot of photo chemistry detail which looked good and we chose a sort of dual format - some actual lesson content along with the description of the lesson plan as described in the assignment and rubric.

Catching Up

Cathing up a bit on the last 2 classes. Last Monday was class #2 and we received the assignment for the first prophesy paper - on Information / Communication technology. I've had a few ideas over the last week but haven't written anything down yet.
At tonight's class I presented my information share topic, demonstarting the use of NextUp's TextAloud text to speech software. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to install the software on the class machine so it amounted to playing the demo I had prepared. I did get some good comments and suggestions from the other class members, and no one had heard of the s/w before so it fulfilled the requirement of sharing something new and useful.
Also tonight included brainstorming on what an integrated MST learning experience looks like. This is where I have some trouble - I'm struggling a bit with the educational concepts, which are all new to me. I've never even heard the work "rubric" until this class.
We chose groups for the first team project - I didn't go far - Shelley and Dave and I will do a lesson on a pinhole camera - a classic information recording device. Shelley suggested it and it can incorporate some good photochem (Dave) and Math. We worked in our groups a bit.

First Assignment

I survived the first class, and it turns out to be a great group of people. There is a wide range of students. Some are already “real teachers”, and some are mid-career / second career types; also a wide ranges of ages. All of these factors should provide for good discussion and opportunities to learn from one another.
The first official assignment is to answer a few basic questions in this journal. The first is “Where am I in my understanding of MST and where do I want to be at the end of the course and at the end of my degree”? The short answer is that my educational and professional experience consists entirely of Math, Science and Technology, so it seems I’m in the correct class!
I understand what the three areas are and how they are used in industry, but my goal now is to learn how to teach them to others. My goal at the end of the course is to have a clear understanding of what it means to be a math/science teacher at the 7-12 level. I’m also looking forward to learning more about biological technology. My intermediate goal is to become certified in Math in the next 4 years or so, and at that point make the decision about a teaching job and completing the MST degree. As this is my first course in the program, I’m still not quite sure what I’m getting myself into. In some respects I feel at a disadvantage compared to many of the other students who already have teaching certification. I hope I can take full advantage of their education and experience to help me in this particular class and to refine my understanding of what it means to be a teacher.

Day 1

My first formal college class in almost 10 years is coming up tonight. This journal is a requirement for GMST560 - "Three Areas of Technology" at St. John Fisher College.

I'm in my 26th year in the technical/engineering field and have decided to change career directions. It's not a u-turn, but maybe forty-five degrees or so - staying involved with math and technology, but from a different point of view.

The Math, Science and Technology education program at St. John Fisher was immediately interesting to me. My educational background covers a wide range of subjects and a program that provides an integrated approach to education across all technical fields seems like the way to go. Here's the catch - I know little about the educational system, being a teacher, lesson planning, curriculum development, etc.... So in those respects I am starting from scratch.

The program application process required a personal statement that further defines my initial thoughts and feelings about where I believe I'm headed. Here it is:

"My interest in entering the field of math and science education has its root in a number of life experiences. Some of these happenings are specific while others are more general in nature. I will start with the present and work backward in time in my review of these events.
I am a bit of a late blooming parent, having been blessed with our daughter Caroline almost 2 years ago. Having this child in my life naturally leads to speculation about the day she goes off to school, and I have realized that I know little of substance about today’s secondary education system. My desire to understand what she will learn and how she will learn it has encouraged my interest in teaching. In addition, the preparation and experience will permit me to be of some help and inspiration to her as she matures.

A second recent factor in my life is the completion of 25 years as an engineer with the Eastman Kodak Company. This “round number” compels a review of one’s professional career, aspirations and objectives. My academic and professional life has covered a broad collection of college coursework, work assignments, responsibilities and technical fields. The bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering led to my employment at Kodak, and to several years as a mechanical design engineer. It was during this time that I entered a masters degree program in electrical engineering, which was completed in 1991. Much of the coursework in this program added to my math background, in addition to courses with content from the other physical sciences. At Kodak, I moved into assignments that focused on digital image processing, which were centered chiefly on applied mathematics.

It was during these particular assignments that I began to develop a further interest in understanding the details of imaging, including the physical processes and underlying science. I entered the masters in imaging science program, again at RIT, after completing the MSEE. This program had significant math content, especially in regard to statistics and probability theory. There was also extensive coursework in chemistry and physics as part of courses in chemical, electro-photographic and electronic imaging processes. I completed the MSIS degree in 1997, and from 1992 through 2003 I worked as a systems and image quality engineer, focused on color hardcopy imaging systems. Most recently I am again working in the area of digital image processing systems in the Space Systems Division of ITT Industries, which was purchased from Kodak earlier this year.

The upshot of this review of my academic and professional career is that I have a considerable background and interest in mathematics and the physical sciences. I have also completed a significant tour of duty in the industrial world that provides insight into how these tools are applied to products and processes. I have spent substantial time on the receiving end of the academic process, and feel that I can point some of that experience and knowledge in the other direction to the benefit of others that were in my position thirty-odd years ago.

There is one other long past experience that involves my high school physics and calculus teacher, Mr. John Mildrew. Even today, I clearly recall his enthusiasm and love for sharing the value of the subjects he taught. He had a real effect on my attitude for learning physics and math, and although I last saw him in 1975, he remains inspiring. The power of the Internet led me to discover that he is still teaching math and physics at a community college in Phoenix, and is involved in several organizations focused on developing excellence in physics education. Obviously he hasn’t lost his passion for education.My specific goal in applying to the Math, Science and Technology Education Program at SJFC is to become certified in and teach high school math, and eventually physics. It is a career change but one that, as I have described, feels like a natural progression and product of my personal, academic and professional experiences.

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