Office of Teaching Initiatives

Implement a classroom and fieldwork project in historical archeology that will interest and provide students in grades 9-12 opportunity to research and restore an historical landmark; enhancing their knowledge of the 'cold war' period in the history of the United States. (2000-2001)

Support and engage an extracurricular aeronautics program for girls in grades 3-5 to stimulate, encourage, and facilitate student exploration of and interest in the physical sciences. (2000-2001)

Support and engage 8th and 9th grade students in a multidisciplinary project to physically create a calendar based on student research and identification of local senior citizens regarded as historic exemplars of valued personal and social characteristics such as "citizenship, responsibility, and fairness." (2000-2001)

Open to students and teachers across the curricula, the Writing Center: Improving Students' Writing Abilities and Enhancing Teachers' Instruction of Writing will provide an omnipresent opportunity for student inquiry.  It will better enable students at John Dewey High School to improve their writing abilities, as they benefit from focused guidance, instruction and tutoring while developing cognitive skills through written composition. (1999-2000)

Homepacks is a structured effort to engage the elementary and middle grades learner in heuristic activities both within and outside school.  By developing and preparing forty distinct backpacks, each with its own theme, materials, directions and assessments, for students to use after class, strong home study skills and appropriate attention to daily homework assignments will be developed and reinforced. (1999-2000)

By beautifying and maintaining a community area as a learning environment for elementary school students, Garden of Dreams will incorporate environmental awareness while teaching a deeper understanding of and respect for property, community, the scientific method, and ecosystems. (1999-2000)

Project SMART is designed to provide active and exciting learning situations that will help students explore and develop a broader and richer knowledge base in the areas of math, science and technology.  By providing hands-on assistance in the building of a full-size rotorcraft as an integral part of their mathematics, science and technology education curricula, project smart will better enable students to build skills and confidence, as they learn through the application of theory and a practical, challenging, hands-on experience. (1999-2000)

An Aquaculture Science Research Center will be designed and implemented at Liverpool High School with students engaged in hands-on learning of biological and chemical principles through the application of those essentials necessary for the successful farming of cold-water (trout) and warm-water (tilapia) species of fish.  (1998-1999)

The Pine Bush Project will encourage students and teachers to collaborate with scientists, conservation organizations, and the community-at-large to establish the Farnsworth Middle School as an active center for the restoration of a fragile and endangered ecosystem, the Albany Pine Bush.  In so doing, students and teachers will broaden community awareness and enhance their knowledge of regional bio-diversity.  (1998-1999)

Adventures in Space and Design Technology will integrate math, science and technology at the fifth grade level through hands-on, problem-solving scenarios, encouraging active student and teacher involvement to learn related MST concepts and principles through discovery activities, the use of technological tools and resources (including the internet), construction of models and portfolio projects, among others. (1998-1999)

The Teacher Naturalist Project involves elementary school children in a multi-disciplinary approach to learning about mankind's impact on our natural world.  The project will enhance student and teacher awareness of the environment while involving them with educational, governmental and business organizations as they examine and assess the impact and involvement we all have with the environment. (1997-1998)

The Sharing Shakespeare Project involves profoundly deaf students and hearing students with limited English proficiency in learning and staging a Shakespearean production (King Lear) during the school year. This experience will enhance higher level thinking skills and the grasp of syntax; augmenting student abilities to understand and communicate with speakers of English. (1995-96)

The Science Connection Portfolio Assessment Project will enhance efforts at incorporating more effective science teaching into the elementary school classroom.  Teachers will learn, develop and adapt science materials and methods for classroom use that focus on content, context and application as students develop portfolios directed at enhancing their performance in the areas of subject matter knowledge, oral and written presentation, work habits and inquiry skills.   (1995-1996)

Sixth grade students will be engaged in Constructing a Model Community as a project that will incorporate math, science, language, reading, music and art into the teaching and learning of a year-long social studies unit.   Active student involvement and inter-disciplinary learning in all aspects of planning, developing, and managing a model community will enhance higher order thinking skills and understanding of subject matter. (1995-1996)

Making Math Connections is a project directed at heightening student awareness and understanding of mathematical relationships in daily living while strengthening higher level thinking skills.  Students learn the basics of computer assisted design and create geometric models in cooperatively working through problems. (1994-1995)

Thinking and Writing through the Curriculum aims to incorporate more critical thinking and writing activities across the curriculum.   Teachers and departments will develop or adapt materials and methods for classroom use that emphasize critical thinking and require writing, while focusing on content, context and application. (1994-1995)

Implementing a Telecommunications Pilot Program will enhance more integrated interdisciplinary learning in a 3rd grade classroom by providing regularized access to online activities.  Students of different abilities will strengthen their reading, writing and critical thinking skills while learning more globally. (1994-1995)

The Hypersign Immersion Project uses digitized computer video to create a way for Deaf children to independently research, write, develop ideas and reinforce concepts while creating an active, useable, transformable library of pictures and video sign clips for every subject area, reflecting any learning rate, style, or level of difficulty. (1993-1994)

Technology and the Handicapped Child resourcefully provides adaptive/augmentative devices to increase the independence of multiply handicapped students. Parents, teachers, and therapists are trained to design and build communication/mobility/leisure devices for individual students, accounting for specific student abilities and needs so that independence and/or greater participation in many aspects of academic, domestic, recreational and vocational life are enhanced. (1993-1994)

Genetics II, A Course in Advanced Biotechnology is an innovative program that will develop an elective class that will enable students to master the lab techniques employed in genetic engineering research. A sourcebook of materials for teachers will be developed.  (1992-1993)

The Coming Together project will help foreign students integrate into mainstream America. Some activities include creating self-profiles, peer counseling, native language teaching aids, a resource center, teacher-service education, curriculum development, and parent-teacher workshops. (1992-1993)

A Curriculum-Focused Interdisciplinary Project for Intermediate Schools proposes to coordinate activities from each course currently offered in the middle grades in thirteen distinct content areas into a common global theme that will be selected by participating teachers. An activities manual will be published and distributed throughout the State. (1991-1992)

The Interactive Multimedia Technologies in Education program will develop innovative videodiscs and the related computer programs. These technologies will be shared with other teachers throughout workshops. (1991-1992)

Effective Parenting focuses on teaching parenting skills to parents of special education students through workshops. Videotapes will be produced. (1990-1991)

This Regiment of Heroes will collect and preserve memorabilia relating to the 124th New York State Volunteers (Orange Blossoms) in the Civil War and publish a book to be distributed to area schools and libraries. (1990-1991)

The Cooperative Science project will utilize college students to assist grad school teachers in developing a hands-on science program. (1990-1991)

Linda H. Austin
Greenwich Central Schools
Greenwich, NY

The In Search of Improved Science Education project will be used for a sabbatical for research project, to take classes in molecular biology and participate in a laboratory sponsored teacher-training workshop in "Recombinant DNA for Beginner."  (1989-1990)

The Whole Language Staff Development project will allow this fellow to serve as a staff developer/coordinator to produce a professional resource library containing materials on whole language teaching as well as materials for use in the classrooms.  A reading course will be taught in conjunction with staff from Hunter College and workshops will be conducted for teachers and parent.   (1989-1990)

The To the Ends of the Earth project will focus on traveling to polar regions to research, record, and collect samples that will increase professional skills, enhance development of student assignments and teacher workshops, and better enable the fellow to serve as a resource person on polar sciences for local and State teachers.  This field of study includes glacial geology, oceanography, volcanology, meteorology, geology, biology, etc.  (1989-1990)

The Connection Dimension project will review successful models of intergenerational education programs across the country.  The resulting resource guide will be published and distributed to 1,000 New York State teachers and school districts to assist in enhancing the education of public school students by better incorporating the skills and abilities of select seniors in the community.