SCARSDALE TEACHERS INSTITUTE POLICY BOARD MINI GRANT PRESENTATIONS NOVEMBER 5, 2008
THE MINI GRANT PROGRAM
The Scarsdale Teachers Institute MiniGrant Program enables teachers and other educators in the Edgemont and Scarsdale schools to design, implement, and assess innovative projects aimed at improving learning and teaching. The MiniGrant Program supports the STI philosophy of “teachers teaching teachers” as the most effective model of staff development. Teachers may work independently or collaborate with colleagues to implement a Professional Performance Review plan, design an assessment, technology, arts and aesthetic education, environmental, or other unique project. Teachers have the opportunity to develop new teaching strategies, to engage in research related to teaching, or to work with other teachers on topics of specific educational interest. The Edgemont and Scarsdale staff members whose projects we celebrate today were awarded 2007-2008 MiniGrants for creative ideas that promote students’ critical thinking and problem-solving, the use of technology, and collaborative, interdisciplinary school and classroom planning.
The Scarsdale Teachers Institute Policy Board MiniGrant Committee Elizabeth Guggenheimer Ken Holvig Gwen Johnson Vivian Sonnenborn Susan Taylor Joan Weber Gerry Young
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2007-2008 MINI GRANT PROJECTS AND RECIPIENTS PAGE 4………SPOTLIGHT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS WATERSHEDS Christi Browne-Sibrizzi, Janie Fitzgerald, Kerry Kraft, Bob Saya Scarsdale Middle School PAGE 5………DEPICTIONS OF WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL CELTIC ART Beth Colleary Scarsdale High School PAGE 6………ON THE INSIDE/ON THE OUTSIDE Kathleen Connon and Patricia Serafin Scarsdale Middle School PAGE 7………A VISUAL HISTORY OF THE QUAKER RIDGE SCHOOL LIBRARY 2007 Jeanette Johnson Quaker Ridge School PAGE 8………BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROJECT Kimberly Kilcoyne, Project Leader Sandy Capuano, Pat D’Agostino, Kathleen Fox, Jennifer Page, Mary Raciborski Seely Place School PAGE 9………MUSIC AS PART OF A BALANCED LITERACY CLASSROOM Nicole Meyer Quaker Ridge School PAGE 10…….MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH SCHOOL SOCIALIZATION PROJECT Dori Rosamond Scarsdale Middle School Stephen Mounkhall and Adam Singer Scarsdale High School PAGE 11…….REINFORCING SUZUKI PEDAGOGY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY Jill Shultz Fox Meadow and Heathcote Schools PAGE 12…….STI POLICY BOARD
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SPOTLIGHT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS WATERSHEDS RECIPIENTS
Christi Browne-Sibrizzi, Janie Fitzgerald, Kerry Kraft, Bob Saya
SCHOOL
Scarsdale Middle School
Project Purpose and Description Our goal was to design an interdisciplinary unit to enhance student awareness of and reflection on local environmental issues and concerns. The project blended core curriculum areas in a study of the Hudson River, water science, sustainability, data analysis, literature, and watersheds and culture’s impact - past, present, and future. The project finale was a culminating day, “Spotlight on the Environment,” a forum for students to present their findings and discuss environmental responsibility with peers, field scientists, and educators. Impact on Teaching: The design and creation of this interdisciplinary project required cooperation and collaboration among the four core teachers – English, math, science, and social studies. We began with each teacher researching the areas where an environmentally focused project would fit, support, and enrich current curriculum. As a team, we than synthesized our main ideas and aligned our subject area topics so that each class reinforced and enhanced the lessons taught in the other subjects. Finally, we painstakingly designed a culminating day to highlight student work, research, and reflection on the environmental issues they explored. We invited the Maritime Aquarium’s scientists and educators to participate in a “Spotlight on the Environment” event, a dynamic day of engaging, hands-on, informative, interactive, and fun activities. Impact on Student Learning: Students’ work in the four core subjects led them to plan, organize, and synthesize information in a culminating technology presentation. In English classes, student literature circle discussions resulted in the creation of Keynote projects. Student science groups developed their research into technology presentations. In the math classroom, students explored the statistical analysis of data sets and, from the data, made interpretations and predictions on carbon emissions. In social studies, students were transformed into activists for the environment. Depending on the environmental conflicts identified in English, the local environmental issues researched in science, and the data analyzed in math, students outlined, reviewed, and wrote letters to local governmental officials in support of environmental conservation and preservation. In recognition that students of middle school age learn essential skills and techniques from their peers, the entire Popham 6th grade participated in a “Spotlight on the Environment” day. This day, devoted solely to presentations of environmental findings, provided a forum for students to share concerns and discuss environmental issues with experts, to identify their own positions on environmental conservation and preservation, and to explore the actions they could take to preserve the environment.
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DEPICTIONS OF WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL CELTIC ART RECIPIENT
Beth Colleary
SCHOOL
Scarsdale High School
Project Purpose and Description The purpose of my project was to locate and study representations of women in medieval Celtic manuscript illumination. I was able to see the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow when I was in Ireland, and, upon returning to New York, I studied manuscripts in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Pierpont Morgan Library. My study was undertaken out of my own interest and the intention of modeling for my Art History students how an art historian defines an “essential question,” devises a mode of inquiry, a “looking strategy” for answering it, and draws inferences or conclusions based on what is observed. My essential question was: “How are women represented in medieval Celtic manuscript illumination and what do these representations reveal to us about the lives of women in medieval times?” Impact on Teaching: The impact on my teaching was significant and substantial because I was able, for the first time, independent of course outline and textbook constraints, to introduce to the students how one pursues knowledge inspired by his or her own intellectual curiosity. The lesson was entitled “Defining and Pondering an Art Historical Essential Question,” and it afforded me the opportunity to share with the students in detail how my own intellectual curiosity led me to undertake my study, and retrace, with them, the path that I took in attempting to answer my essential question. They learned of my initial assumptions about the representations of women in medieval manuscript illuminations and the basis for them, how some of those assumptions changed upon examination of the manuscripts, and what new insights emerged as I immersed myself in the study of these wonderful books. I think that one of the most favorable outcomes was that students were able to witness the depth of my enthusiasm for my study, and I am sure that my enthusiasm inspired them when they were asked to choose an art historical subject that they were passionate about for their own studies. Impact on Learning: Students modeled the research process I described and were able to proceed with a comparable project that challenged them to think independently, and in depth, about an art historical topic that was of interest to them. The topics they chose were highly creative, original, and spoke to their own intellectual curiosity and depth of thought. The topics they selected included: the range of emotion displayed in Roman portrait sculpture; the manipulation of the viewer of Vermeer’s painting; the relationship between “tortured” artists and innovation. I will now make this project a permanent part of my curriculum and will use it in my interdisciplinary teaching with Social Studies and English classes.
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ON THE INSIDE/ON THE OUTSIDE POETRY SLAM
RECIPIENTS
Kathleen Connon and Patricia Serafin
SCHOOL
Scarsdale Middle School
Project Purpose and Description The purpose of our project was to engage eighth grade students in the process of understanding empathy, a school wide initiative, through writing poetry and performing in a Poetry Slam format. This cross-house activity allowed Popham and Butler House students the unique opportunity to work and learn together. Students watched I Slam, Therefore, I Am, a Keynote presentation featuring an introduction to Poetry Slam and explaining the poetry assignment. Students wrote poems probing the themes of empathy, cultural heritage, identity, and adolescent issues that incorporated the gap that often exists between one’s feelings on the inside in contrast to one’s actions on the outside. For the culminating project, each house selected twelve speakers to perform live in the Great Hall for Popham and Butler eighth graders at the first SMS Poetry Slam. Impact on Teaching: Through collaboration on this project we were able to reach a number of our own professional goals. It is our belief that through literature, the English curriculum can address the social and emotional, as well as the academic needs, of the diverse population of learners in a middle school. We encouraged students to exercise their freedom of expression through the vehicle of poetry and to write about and to share their feelings on what it means to be eighth graders, to be part of the middle school community. We were also able to make technology a part of this project by creating Keynote, podcast, and iMovie presentations. The culminating activity, the Poetry Slam, was a highly successful community-building performance piece, and it set the stage for more Middle School cross-house activities. Impact on Student Learning: Student reflections on the Poetry Slam project satisfied us that learning took place on many levels. Students thought the Slam was a positive and an effective way to interest and motivate them to read and write poetry. Most students enjoyed the independence the assignment provided including the freedom to choose a topic of special concern to them, to work independently or collaboratively, and to participate in the Slam performance in a variety of ways as writers, performers, audience, production team, masters of ceremony, and judges. Most importantly, students appreciated and celebrated the personal nature of the poetry performed at the Slam. The presentations offered fresh perspectives on coping with bullying, teen stereotyping, boy-girl relationships, the experience of prejudice, and numerous issues including racism in our own country and global problems such as Darfur and AIDS.
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A VISUAL HISTORY OF THE QUAKER RIDGE SCHOOL LIBRARY 2007
RECIPIENT
Jeanette Johnson
SCHOOL
Quaker Ridge School
Project Purpose and Description In 1974, a new library was constructed at Quaker Ridge. At that time, Selma Grossman, another kindergarten teacher, and I worked with our students on a scrapbooking project that recorded the building of the library in all its phases from groundbreaking to opening. The purpose of this year’s project was to compile a sequel scrapbook that would document the construction of the newest library at Quaker Ridge. Again, through photography and children’s dialogue, the book would serve as a witness to change at Quaker Ridge, a visual time line for children to see how Quaker Ridge School has evolved. Impact on Teaching: In 1974, when I worked on the original four-volume scrapbook with Selma Grossman, it was at the beginning of my teaching career in Scarsdale, and Selma was an experienced teacher and mentor who guided my early years in the profession. Thirty-three years later, Selma and I once more worked together. She is now a retired teacher and a professional photographer, and I’m in the prime of my career. How wonderful it was to come full circle. Impact on Student Learning: My kindergarteners were actively involved in the project, as were the kindergarteners of 33 years ago. Some of those children are now parents of the youngsters producing the sequel scrapbooks. The previous 4 volumes have been kept in the library, available for teachers, students, and parents to read and enjoy, and I anticipate that this new volume will also become part of the library’s resources for another generation of teachers, students, and parents. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. It was a thrill to work with Selma Grossman again and for my class to be part of the process.
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BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROJECT RECIPIENTS
Kimberly Kilcoyne, Project Leader Sandy Capuano, Pat D’Agostino, Kathleen Fox, Jennifer Page, Mary Raciborski
SCHOOL
Seely Place School
Project Purpose and Description The interdisciplinary project brought together classroom, physical education, and art room teachers. In October, all fifth grade students saw the Lincoln Center Institute’s production of Fly, a well-received introduction to this project and to the study of African-American history. Throughout the month of February, students read about and researched Black Americans of their choice, selecting one as their Person of Study. During physical education, students explored the lives of African-American athletes and their contributions to various sports. Art classes were opportunities to learn about the Harlem artist Romare Bearden and his use of collage to transform photographs. Students then selected photographs of their Person of Study and worked on altering the images into pieces of art by applying Romare Bearden’s techniques. Impact on Teaching: This project produced a cohesive and vibrant unit on black history. It involved the 5th grade classroom teachers as well as the art teacher and physical education teacher working together to construct the program. Our goal was to create a cross-curriculum project to enable students to make stronger richer connections in their learning. Impact on Learning: This was by far one of the most successful projects of the year. Students were not only involved in the process of art-making, but they were also researched their Person of Study in science, social studies, and athletics. Student comments on the final outcome of the project reflected their enjoyment and their learning. They took great pride in their classmates’ interest in viewing their work in the halls and reading their stories.
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MUSIC AS PART OF A BALANCED LITERACY CLASSROOM RECIPIENT
Nicole Meyer
SCHOOL
Quaker Ridge School
Project Purpose and Description The purpose of this project was to teach aspects of the balanced literacy program through music. Inspired by a professional development workshop I had attended, I was motivated to include song in the curriculum to promote a love of reading and to develop knowledge of phonemic concepts in my kindergarteners. Songs can be used to teach letter sounds, sight words, print awareness, and more. Once the children memorized songs, they received teacher-made books with the lyrics of their favorite songs. A music station became part of the classroom literature center, and the children could visit this center, select songs with corresponding books, and use personal CD players to sing/read the words. Impact on Teaching: This project provided an effective and creative vehicle to convey a variety of literacy topics to the kindergarteners. The time I spent in creating CDs and lyric books was well worth the effort as children learned and retained literacy concepts. The music provided an easy and fun way for the children to remember difficult ideas, such as the short vowel sounds. Music as a part of balanced literacy added excitement to lessons, and the positive reaction from my students has been very rewarding. The project has enhanced my teaching and added excitement to lessons. Impact on Student Learning: Students come to school with a variety of learning styles. By using music to convey important concepts, I was able to motivate my students to learn, to hold their attention during whole group instruction, and to apply a multisensory way of teaching. I saw students develop a deeper understanding of the concepts, and I witnessed them transfer information from subject to subject. The music center proved to be very popular, and students learned to read words and follow text without even realizing it!
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MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH SCHOOL SOCIALIZATION PROJECT RECIPIENTS
Dori Rosamond Stephen Mounkhall and Adam Singer
SCHOOL
Scarsdale Middle School, Scarsdale High School
Project Purpose and Description Children diagnosed with receptive and expressive language difficulties are often frustrated when expressing themselves to others, and they can misread what others are trying to communicate to them. For Middle School students, failure to read social cues can be devastating. The goal of this project was to provide students in the Middle School special class program with structured opportunities to develop receptive and expressive language. To this end, members of the High School’s Autism Awareness Club planned activities, including games and art projects, to engage the Middle School students. In this after school environment, Middle School students were comfortable and receptive to the High School students as social skill role models. The High School students created videos of typical scenarios that showed appropriate social skills and helped the younger students to better understand how to function in similar settings. Impact on Teaching. Teaming with the Autism Awareness Club increased our awareness of student life. The High School students helped us analyze social situations from a peer level perspective which, in turn, gave us the knowledge and awareness to educate younger students about situations they would face. From the peer mentors, we were able to learn nuances of popular culture that could only come from a student with age appropriate social knowledge. Impact on Student Learning. The Autism Awareness Club has had a positive impact on the Middle School students’ expressive and receptive language, on their friendships, and on their self-esteem. Students agreed that the video modeling and the relationships that developed made a difference in the progress the younger students made toward more effective socialization. Some of the students from the Middle School are now High School students and were delighted to see familiar faces from the Autism Awareness Club and to continue friendships begun last year. The older students reported observing the younger ones greeting adults and other students in the hallways, increasing their conversational exchanges, and showing greater ability to take turns when playing age appropriate games. For a group of students who have difficulty with social skills, a weekly program such as the one we created was extremely beneficial.
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REINFORCING SUZUKI PEDAGOGY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENT
Jill Shultz
SCHOOL
Fox Meadow and Heathcote Schools
Project Purpose and Description All elementary string teachers in the district incorporate Suzuki pedagogy into the string curriculum as a method for developing basic string technique. However, the published Suzuki method books do not contain adequate information to enable students to practice easily at home. The purpose of this project was to produce a video available on a Web site, or a DVD for distribution to parents and students, to aid in home practice of the Suzuki repertoire. The DVD includes: playing demonstrations of the solos on violin and cello; playing demonstrations of technical exercises helpful in learning the solos on violin and cello; verbal instruction on how to practice on violin, viola, and cello. Impact on Teaching: Producing the video was a learning-by-doing experience in the technology of making and distributing a DVD. It convinced me of the value of using video as a tool for teaching instrumental music. Students and their parents don’t often see people playing and learning string instruments at home, and the video demonstration of good posture, technique, and practice habits is both clear and helpful. Surprisingly, the biggest impact on me as a teacher was a realization of how unlike true teaching video teaching is. There is simply no substitute for the impact of an experienced teacher’s eye in adjusting the curriculum to fit the individual and the moment. Impact on Student Learning: Whether the DVD was used in class or at home, the impact was positive for all students. The video helped students clearly remember what was done in class sessions and guided them through practicing. It proved to be almost an extra teacher in class enabling me to work with a smaller group of students while the others practiced with the DVD. It was reinforcing for them to see me say again what I said in class albeit in a different format.
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STI Policy Board 2008-2009
Susan Taylor, STI Director Kenneth Holvig, Assistant to the Director, Head Computer Teacher, Scarsdale Middle School Phyllis DiBianco, Librarian, Scarsdale High School, Policy Board Chair Valerie Abrahams, Scarsdale Parent-Teacher Council Bill Costanzo, Professor, Westchester Community College Gerald Crisci, Director of Instructional and Administrative Computing, Scarsdale Michael Curtin, Instructional Technology Specialist, Edgemont Michaeline Curtis, Board of Education, Edgemont John Dean, Teacher, Greenacres Linda Fisher, Art Department Chair, Scarsdale Middle School Kathleen Fox, Teacher, Seely Place Susan Groner, Resident, Scarsdale Elizabeth Guggenheimer, Board of Education, Scarsdale Penny Hamlet, Teacher in Charge, Quaker Ridge Marc Heller, Principal, Greenville Gwen Johnson, Teacher, Scarsdale High School John Klemme, Principal, Scarsdale High School Lorella Lamonaca, Teacher, Edgewood School Michael McDermott, Principal, Scarsdale Middle School Trudy Moses, President, Scarsdale Teachers Association Lisa Onofri, Teacher, Heathcote School Nicole Pisano, Teacher, Scarsdale High School Nancy Rodgers, Teacher, Fox Meadow Dan Schuchat, Social Studies Chair, Edgemont Jr/Sr High School Lynne Shain, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, Scarsdale Paul Solomon, President, Edgemont Teachers Association Vivian Sonnenborn, Teacher, Greenville Jeannette Stockton, Teacher, Edgemont Jr/Sr High School Sharon Waskow, Librarian, Scarsdale Middle School Joan Weber, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel & Administrative Services, Scarsdale Emma Wixted, Teacher, Scarsdale Middle School Diane Wrobleski, Teacher, Scarsdale High School Gerry Young, Principal, Greenacres School Fran Garafolo, STI Secretary
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