CMSE Online Front Page ProgramGuide courses and workshops NewsLink math/science education news Sitefinder access to teaching resources FeatureIndex browse our past features AboutCMSE mission, staff, reports SiteIndex complete table of contents

Centerings

News from CMSE / December 7, 1998

Check our News Release Index for additional CMSE news items!

Melissa Rua Wins Her Ph.D.

Congratulations to Melissa Rua, a colleague and former graduate assistant at CMSE, who successfully defended the dissertation for her Ph.D. degree in science education on November 20. A student of CMSE faculty colleague Gail Jones, Melissa has been involved in many CMSE professional development projects and remains active in assisting the Global Science Leaders for the Twenty First Century project. Her dissertation research investigated and compared the knowledge of children, teachers, and medical professionals concerning germs and the spread of infectious diseases.

 

NCSTA Honors Eric Packenham

Congratulations to Eric Packenham, who was honored November 6 with the Distinguished Service to Science Education award of the North Carolina Science Teachers Association (NCSTA). The award was made during NCSTA's annual conference in Greensboro. Eric is Assistant Director of CMSE and the coordinator of the MSEN Pre-College Program. He is currently the President Elect of the NC Science Education Leadership Association. He is a district director and Chair of the Multicultural Committee for the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA) and serves on the Middle School Committee of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). He was honored for these and many other contributions to North Carolina science education.

 

New and Old Student Employees Assist Center Activities

CMSE welcomes two new graduate assistants this fall, Sheri Michael and Cindee Lundeen. A doctoral student in science education, Sheri has several years of classroom experience and was the science resource teacher at Ephesus Road Elementary School in Chapel Hill last year. Cindee is an experienced science teacher finishing work on her doctorate in science education. We also welcome back our MSEN Pre-College Program graduate assistant, Chris Key, and four undergraduate assistants: Mimi Patel, Lakecia Rochelle, Margaux Wallace, and Jessica White.

 

Exploring Science Program Students Honored

Students participating in the Exploring Science Program, a summer project of the MSEN Pre-College Program, received awards at a ceremony in Dey Hall July 23. Kirk Holladay received the award as the top student in the program. Gregory Scott was honored as the best science student, and Ellie Grano as the best math students. "Most improved" awards in mathematics went to Kenneth Florence and Oksana Parashchuk, while Camille Conley and Nafeesah Hargrove were named "most improved" in science.

 

CMSE Technology Workshops Leave Their Mark on the 'Net

Teachers in three of CMSE's summer institutes are using the Internet to organize and disseminate their work. In June, teachers in the Mathematics and Science Technology I (MAST I) institute completed technology-rich lesson plans for dissemination on the LEARN North Carolina web site. In July, another group of teachers in Mathematics and Science Technology II (MAST II) established their own project web site, and teachers in the Middle Grades Matematics Manipulatives: Tools and Technology Project began using our new resource page for middle school mathematics.

 

Sandy Forbes Leaves the Center

Sandy Forbes, CMSE's accounting technician since January 1991, has resigned her position as of June 15. Sandy is "retiring" from working for the time being in order to address various family matters. We sincerely appreciate her hard work over so many years in support of our program, and wish her well in her future endeavors. A search has begun for her replacement, and in the meantime the position is being filled temporarily by Katherine Livingston, an accounting major at Meredith College.

 

Pre-College Awards Day Honors for 1997-98

Congratulations to Dianne Affleck of Neal Middle School and to Carolyn Wallace, Carolyn Harris, and Enid Smith of Hillside High School, the MSEN Pre-College Programs Outstanding Teachers of 1997-98. These awards and many others were announced at the annual Awards Day ceremony May 30 at Hill Hall Auditorium on the UNC campus. Outstanding PIE (Parents Involved for Excellence) Club awards were won by the PIE Clubs at Jordan High, Hillside High, and Githens Middle School. Nancy Hester, Principal at Carrington Middle School, was honored as Outstanding Administrator. Students with the highest GPA at each school and grade level received trophies, and the Outstanding Student from each school was named and invited to participate in the annual Outstanding Student Trip.

 

CMSE Releases Annual Report for 1997-98

The preliminary version of our Annual Report is now available here on CMSE Online. The report shows that 949 teachers enrolled in CMSE activities during 1997-98, and our MSEN Pre-College Program served 902 students.

 

Pat Bowers Takes Office as NCSLA President

CMSE Associate Director Pat Bowers was installed April 30 as the new President of the North Carolina Science Leadership Association. She succeeds Fred Beyer, the science curriculum specialist for Cumberland County. The handoff of responsibility took place at NCSLA's annual spring meeting, held at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. At the same meeting, CMSE Pre-College Coordinator Eric Packenham took office as President Elect. Deanna TeBockhorst of Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, a frequent workshop instructor for CMSE, assumed a seat on the NCSLA Board of Directors.

 

NESTers Honored by NCSTA

Two key leaders of CMSE's North Carolina Leadership Network for Earth Science Teachers (NCLNEST) have been honored by the North Carolina Science Teachers Association (NCSTA) for distinguished service to science education. They are Florence (Flo) Gullickson of Southwest Guilford High School, who is a master teacher in the Chapel Hill cohort of NEST, and John (Jack) Callahan, a geology professor at Appalachian State University and instructor for the ASU cohort. Congratulations! In addition, NCSTA recognized the distinguished service of Alex Glover, the chair of the Education and Industry Committee for Earth Science in North Carolina, a longtime supporter for NEST and for all actions to strengthen earth science education in the state.

 

Lin Frye Leaves CMSE for the NC Office of Environmental Education

CMSE's longtime environmental science coordinator, Lin Frye, is leaving the Center as of April 1. Lin has accepted a position with the NC Office of Environmental Education, where she will coordinate the North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program. Lin has worked for CMSE since August 1989. She has created and offered many teacher programs in environmental education and in the use of class gardens as sites for science teaching and learning. She has worked to enocurage the use of Project Learning Tree and GrowLab materials statewide, and over the last three years she has introduced Growing Science Inquiry, an NSF-sponsored science program, to North Carolina. Her departure leaves a big hole in our program, but in her new job she will be in an even better position to encourage environmental education in our state. We congratulate her and wish her well in her new position.

 

Eric Packenham Appointed to NSTA Committee

Congratulations to CMSE's Pre-College Coordinator Eric Packenham, who has been appointed to the Committee on Multicultural Science Education of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).

 

NCLNEST Participant Honored by NCSTA

Rick Johnston, a teacher at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, has received a $1000 NCSTA Innovative Curriculum grant for his earth science classes. Rick has been a participant in CMSE's NCLNEST project since 1995. His grant project, "Burning the Campus: An Outdoor Classroom" involved conducting a controlled fire to manage the longleaf pine forest on the school grounds. In addition, Rick plans to purchase water testing equipment so his students can monitor the streams and ponds on the campus. Congratulations, Rick!

 

Hunter Ballew Receives NCCTM's Highest Award

CMSE's faculty colleague Hunter Ballew has been named a winner of the W.W. Rankin Award, the highest award of the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM). The award recognizes Hunter's long and distinguished service to North Carolina mathematics education. Hunter Ballew has been a member of the School of Education faculty since 1962. Hundreds of mathematics teachers and curriculum specialists in North Carolina and dozens of math education university faculty members across the country got their start in his classroom. He is also the founding father of CMSE: he started the Center in 1981 and served as its Director until 1987. Everyone at CMSE congratulates Hunter Ballew on this well-deserved award!

 

Three CMSE "Alums" Complete Work on Their Doctorates

During November 1997, CMSE veterans Elaine Davis, Cyndi Louden, and Patricia Moyer all completed their doctoral degrees by successfully defending their dissertations before UNC faculty.
Elaine, who was a lead instructor in CMSE's completed project Investigations Across Time and Space, defended her dissertation November 24. She is now the Education Director at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado.

Cyndi, who defended her dissertation on November 17, was formerly the lead instructor of the Engaging Students by Linking Investigations with Current Events project. She is now working for an educational testing company in San Antonio, Texas. Congratulations, Cyndi!

Patricia, who was Assistant Director of our MSEN Pre-College Program until July 31, defended her dissertation in a public doctoral seminar, "Control- Versus Autonomy-Oriented Middle Grades Teachers Using Mathematics Manipulatives," on November 14. She is now an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Alabama. She continues, however, as co-director of the Middle Grades Manipulatives: Tools and Technology Project. Working with CMSE Director Russ Rowlett, she has just won a new Eisenhower grant for a similar project next year.

 

 

Center for Mathematics and Science Education CB # 3500, UNC Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500 (919) 966-5922 http://www.unc.edu/depts/cmse/centerings.html cmse@email.unc.edu

CMSE Online Front Page ProgramGuide courses and workshops NewsLink math/science education news Sitefinder access to teaching resources FeatureIndex browse our past features AboutCMSE mission, staff, reports SiteIndex complete table of contents