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Participant Quotes
"We were expecting to gain a few tidbits on teaching, but we left with strategies that have the potential to change the culture and attitude of our school forever."
...4 Teachers from Brooklyn College Academy, grades 9 - 10
"Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to share in this awesome learning experience."
...Math Teacher, Cape Coral, Florida
"This conference was the best educational experience I've had since I left college. I've been to seminars, clinics, and all kinds of workshops, but this conference was more value than anything I've experienced. In the past week, I reflected more on my teaching practices than I've ever done since I began my career."
...Teacher of Middle School Science, St. Lawrence County, New York
"I was awed by your effort to make each person at the conference feel valued."
...Middle School Teacher, ELA, State of Delaware
"We had an amazing experience at the conference!"
...Social Studies Teachers, New York City, New York
"I want to say how much I enjoyed the week. The level of learning just continues to rise every year!"
...Staff Developer, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
"Our team became a cohesive group of educators that truly have the kids at heart. We are going to really try to get together on a regular basis to discuss and encourage each other with things learned at this conference."
...Elementary Teacher, St. Lawrence County, New York
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Colonial Village Fun Park
Press Release - October 19, 2004: Teachers from five St. Lawrence County schools will be helping students meet standards through visits to Potsdam’s Colonial Village Fun Park as part of a unique program sponsored by the Institute for Learning Centered Education and the Fun Park.
“These are not what we usually think of as field trips,” according to Institute Director Don Mesibov. “These teachers have been working together for some time to design meaningful lessons around a full-day visit to the Fun Park. Students will be learning what they need to know for standardized tests.”
Science teachers Steve Manders and Walt Kissam brought 50 high school students to Ron Page’s Fun Park last Friday, October 15 and the focus was physics, along with analysis, inquiry, information systems, and measurement. Kissam was excited as his students: “I can look any parent in the eye and say that their children learned more of what they need to know than if they’d been in the classroom all day.” See "High School Lessons" below.
Rose Rivezzi, of Parishville-Hopkinton, will have her 3rd and 4th graders move around learning stations which will be located at the Fun Park’s barn, nature trail, miniature golf course, go-karts, and indoor activities on October 21 and Marni Brown of Colton will bring her 4th grade students to the Park on October 22.
Among the meaningful learning objectives the elementary teachers have set for students during their one-day visit to the Park are graphing, use of a compass, and writing skills.
Second grade teacher Patti O’Flaherty and fourth grade teacher Rena Caruso of Potsdam Elementary School will also utilize the concept of learning stations when their students visit the Fun Park October 25. First and second grade teachers Pam Tishberg and Esther Nemier of Massena will bring their youngsters to the Park on November 4 and the focus will be a Treasure Hunt that will require students to use skills and information they need to learn. Geri Belt and Michelle Brockway of Norwood-Norfolk hope to schedule a trip in the near future.
Fun Park owner Ron Page offers schools a discount package that enables students to have unlimited access to the facilities. The St. Lawrence Valley Teachers’ Learning Center has sponsored workshops for the teachers who are involved in this program and will host a session in January for them to share their work with many other teachers from the area.
The Institute is a member of The Learner Centered Resource Collaborative, a partnership that includes St. Lawrence University, the St. Lawrence Valley Teachers’ Learning Center, Questar BOCES in Albany, and Niagara University. “We are demonstrating that local businesses can be utilized as valuable resources for motivating students because they lend themselves to activities that students find relevant and interesting,” Mesibov said in explaining the purpose behind this project. “Thanks to the cooperation of the Fun Park, we are able to show that the entire community can be utilized as an extended classroom.”
LESSON PLANS
HIGH SCHOOL LESSON PLANS
These eighth grade science lesson plans intend to connect data interpretation with five stations at the Colonial Village Fun Park. The class will work in groups as they visit the five sites. 8th grade students will be teamed up with high school students.