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The 18th Annual RE-SEED Conference was held on December 15, 2011 The Conference was the 20th Anniversary of the RE-SEED Program and the feature of the conference was recognition of the contribution of the more than 750 RE-SEED volunteers who have served, many of whom are still serving. Two volunteers who have served twenty years were singled out for special attention as representatives of the body of volunteers. Bill Anderson was a member of the original seven volunteers who started the program and George Haus joined the program shortly after. Bill and George, together with their wives Eileen Anderson and Marilyn Haus, told the story of their experiences as RE-SEED volunteers. The two twenty year veterans were joined by twenty two volunteers who have served more than ten years at the front of the room for a hearty round of applause.
Jacob Foster, who oversees the states science, technology and engineering curriculum standards, was the keynote speaker. He described what could be expected in the next release of the Massachusetts science, technology and engineering standards and pointed out that the new standards will emphasize technology and engineering much more than previous standards and that few science teachers are currently prepared to teach these subjects. He suggested that organizations such as RE-SEED could play a key roll in supporting science teachers in technology and engineering as they are being retrained and schools of education begin to incorporate the new standards into their curriculum for new science teachers.
Tony D'Onofrio, Ph.D. described a new program called Sample America which involves middle and high school students in the collection and preliminary testing of soil samples in the search for new antibiotics. Several promising new antibiotics have already been found in this international effort and RE-SEED volunteer Jim Burton is participating in implementing the program at the Curley School in Boston. This is one of a class of programs that enlist the general public in assisting in scientific research. These programs are particularly useful in teaching students what scientists and engineers really do and increasing student interest in science. Expect more of these programs in the future.
The favorite activities part of the conferencde was enjoyed by all. George Haus, one of our twenty year veterans demonstrated transmission over IR light; Steve Brovender reviewed developing evidence of the effectiveness of RE-SEED volunteers in improving student science outcomes and many more.
You will find the results of the evaluations submitted by 21 attendees here;
The 17th Annual RE-SEED Conference was held December 14, 2010 The RE-SEED conference was a great success. Our keynote speaker, Paul Reville, Massachusetts Secretary of Education, gave a very informative and inspirational talk that helped us understand our role in what he describes as a revolution in education. Our theme this year was learning more about inquiry based learning pedagogy and how we can help science teachers learning and using this method of teaching science. More information and some pictures from the conference appear here. A Volunteer Army for Science An editorial in the July 16, 2010 issue of Science, the primary publication of the AAAS, includes our program as one of the pioneer volunteer programs. We can use this exposure at the highest levels of the government. The editorial can be reached by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. RE-SEED in The Senior Volunteer There is an article about the RE-SEED program in The Senior Volunteer, a newsletter of the Committee on Senior Volunteer Physicians. You can reach it by clicking here. http://www.massmed.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Committees_Task_Forces_and_Sections&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=34730
The Curley School Lower School had its first Science Fair for 3-5 grades on April 8. RE-SEED Director Paul Conroy and several others from Northeastern helped with the judging. The science fair was a great success. We have an opportunity for a volunteer at this s
chool. Call Paul Conroy if you are interested. Follow this link to see some photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=paulgconroy&target=ALBUM&id=5457938440136439041&authkey=Gv1sRgCImppvSPp-apEQ&feat=email Orchard Gardens Science Fair
The Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School had their first Science Fair Jan 27. David Levine, Grace Hall, Bob Barker and I were among the judges (I hope I didn't miss anyone). It was a great success for a first science fair. We will be providing volunteer support to this school, which is within walking distance of our offices. If you are interested call me. Follow this link to see some photos http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=cjdugg&target=ALBUM&id=5432156886760085649&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ2P6sqB0YCicA&feat=email
Volunteer Recruiting focus on Lawrence, MA and the Merrimack Valley The next RE-SEED training program will be held in Lawrence, MA in a Lawrence Public School Department facility has been scheduled to begin March 15, 2010. The new RE-SEED volunteers will be recruited in the Merrimack Valley region and while our new volunteers are free to serve whever they wish, our focus will be on increasing our representation in the Lawrence public schools. We have five volunteers in Lawrence schools and would like to triple the number. Paula Bransfield, Science Coordinator for the Lawrence Schools has helped us place volunteers and says she can place as many as we can recruit. Lawrence has adopted a policy of inquiry based learning for science and uses kits to provide materials for experiments. The environment is very good for our volunteers who are trained to support teachers using inquiry based learning. Go to the training page for more details.
16th Annual RE-SEED Conference A Great Success
The 16th Annual RE-SEED Conference was held on December 17, 2009. Fifty one RE-SEED volunteers attended and nine guests. The keynote speaker was Charles Desmond, Ed.D., Chairman, MA Board of Education spoke on ”The Importance of Volunteers in Massachusetts Education”. Charlie shared with the group recent information characterizing the differences in interest in STEM majors among college students followed by a lively discussion. Presentations by volunteers Tom Marx, Phil Rossoni, Gene Saletan, Bill Wisnowski and Ernie Goldberg were well received. Tom Ciaccia and Steve Brovender, who could not attend, prepared a “Laboratory Course for the Life Sciences of the 7th Grade” which was presented by Tom. This led into a panel discussion of the topic “How should RE-SEED accommodate the expansion of life sciences in the MA middle school curriculum?” Panalists were Dan Kronish, Tom Ciaccia, Willard Robinson and Tom Marx. Paul Conroy moderated the discussion which was expanded by audience participation. It was generally agreed that volunteer training should be expanded to include life sciences. A feedback survey reflected general satisfaction with the conference. You can find a chart of the evaluation responses here.
Paul President Obama Kicks Off "Educate to Innovate"Follow these links to see President Obama's speech and the commentaries that followed. This is important to our program. http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/president-obama-kicks-educate-innovate
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/taking-your-questions-educate-innovate
Do we make a difference?
Bill Anderson forwarded the following.
Hi Sister Kathleen I was teaching School to grades 4 thru 7 at Saint Margaret School in Lowell yesterday and after classes were over the Principal Sister Lori Fleming approached me and said she had some good news to tell me . She said a Freshman ( 9 th grader ) at Lowell Catholic High School was taking the usual bunch of tests for incoming students and got the highest grade on the Physical Science test of any student ever .When asked how he knew so much about physical science he said he learned it at Saint Margaret School from Mr. Anderson . How about that !!!!! Bill Waltham Program
We are recruiting heavily in and around Waltham for the training program beginning September 14, 2009. Waltham is initiating a new addition to their science curriculum in their two middle schools and we are planning on supporting this effort. The Superintendant of Schools, Dr Peter Azar, is working with the Boston RE-SEED Center to recruit within the Waltham community and we are also recruiting in the surrounding towns by direct mail and other means. We are also sponsoring on WBUR in early September. I am attaching a trip report I prepared after visiting at Waltham Schools for those interested in learning more about this program. You can also go to the website the teachers have set up to coordinate the development of the new program at http://sites.google.com/site/clusterchallenge/
Trip Report
Bill Anderson
Bill Rachlin We lost Bill Rachlin this past year. Here is what the teacher he worked with had to say. Dear Mr. Conroy: I am a science teacher, who has had the pleasure of working with many wonderful RESEED volunteers at the Timilty Middle School. Dr. William Rachlin worked in my classroom for a couple of years before taking ill. He continued to be a trooper, despite his condition and attempted to be active this year. We were very sad to lose him and learn of his death. While attending his services, A large part of his eulogy was about his work in the public schools. His daughter, Margo, mentioned that he preferred to be remembered for volunteering through RESEED than for his many other professional accomplishments. His family, Susan Berglund and I have tried to put together a scholarship fund in his honor. With it, we would like to remember Dr. Rachlin and support achievement in science at the Timilty School. Each year we will award 2 graduating 8th graders with a small financial gift for achievement in science. I am writing to ask for your help in seeking contributions to this fund. I have attached a letter that I hope you will be willing to share with others who may have known Dr. Rachlin or who are involved with RESEED and may want to support this effort. I think this presentation each year at graduation is a nice chance to recognize the contributions of your program to the Boston Public Schools. I hope that you will consider this request. Please contact me by phone (617)635-8109 or email with any questions or comments that you have. Sincerely, Barbara Simon Letter Obit |