Sarah Barras — Business and Information Technology, Pike High School, M.S.D. of Pike Township
The students in Sarah Barras’ class learned a lot in The Local Weather Forecast, a lesson she designed to help her students understand the techniques of video technology. The lesson taught them new skills on how to find the appropriate data to produce and broadcast a weather forecast. The students were introduced to what a meteorologist does, and they visited a local news station to talk with a meteorologist. Working in teams of three, students created their weather forecast, incorporating green-screen technology, graphics and their own three-day forecast.
“Mrs. Barras has come to Pike High School and turned the Media Technology class from OK and subtle, to a new, adventurous and fun class,” one of her students wrote. “To us, this is what makes her a great teacher.”
Sawyer Beier — Media Center, Maple Glen Elementary School, Westfield Washington Schools
Earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis, oh my! Fourth grade students at Maple Glen Elementary School made news reports on all types of weather conditions and natural disasters in Sawyer Beier’s project: This Just In.
Sawyer engaged students as they used the school’s available technology to research and deliver their findings. The students spent several weeks extensively researching their topics and finding information to describe weather conditions, such as scientific causes for weather events, geographic locations most likely to experience each type of weather event and the effects on the area.
Students served as anchorpersons, meteorologists and on-location reporters to deliver reports of the weather phenomena happening around the world. One student said, “I got the information, then I became a seismologist and taught my class about earthquakes. I had a really cool background on my broadcast that made me feel like a scientist.”
Tom Browning — Science, Harris Academy, Brownsburg Community School Corporation
Lights…camera…car crash! Students in Tom Browning’s physics class learned the concepts of motion, force and energy while creating action scenes for a fictional movie. Academy Award®-Winning Physics was an inquiry-based learning cycle for at-risk high school students.
“Student teams learned from the ‘producers’ of the movie that they were to create four ‘models’ of action scenes: two rocket launch scenes and two car crash scenes,” Tom wrote. Using a “stomp rocket” and remote control car, students used scientific experiments to learn about height, velocity, acceleration, kinetic energy, momentum, mass and energy.
“The short-term goal of conceptual retention has been demonstrated by a dramatic improvement between pre- and post-exams,” Tom explained. Because of the Academy Award®-Winning Physics unit, students scored 18 points higher on concept retention than students from the previous year’s class.
Barbara A. Burkhardt — Biology, Zionsville Community High School, Zionsville Community Schools
Barbara A. Burkhardt’s students determined that six of the seven Indianapolis Zoo dolphins have nearly identical sequences in a portion of their mitochondrial DNA, indicating a lack of genetic diversity. Students in Zionsville Community High School’s AP biology and genetics classes have been studying the dolphins’ DNA for the past two years. The project began after a baby dolphin died shortly after being born in 2006. Partnering with the University of Indianapolis, Barbara’s students obtained blood samples, isolated DNA from white blood cells, purified and sequenced the DNA and used bioinformatics tools to determine the dolphins’ genetic origins.
Three students wrote: “The Dolphin Project has given us a chance to learn about fascinating biotechnology…to give back to the community…and opened the possibility of new career opportunities in the biomedical sciences.”
Maria Esterline — Fifth Grade, Westfield Intermediate School, Westfield Washington Schools
“When I accepted my fifth grade teaching position, one of my goals was to combine my deep interest in technology with the state standards to make lessons more engaging for my students,” wrote Maria Esterline.
In her Be a Restaurateur project, students used technology to create a fictional restaurant by choosing a name and location, writing a business proposal, creating a menu and producing a two-minute commercial. “Of course, then Mrs. Esterline took that a step beyond and actually took us to a local restaurant to learn about how a real restaurant works. She also had them teach us proper etiquette,” explained Cameron, one of her students.
Cameron recently received the George Lucas International Technology Award for his work on the Be a Restauranteur project. “Yes, the George Lucas,” Cameron wrote. “Mrs. Esterline has allowed me to discover my true passion. That is the greatest gift a teacher can give a student.”
Fittingly, the Be a Restaurateur project was accepted in the Indiana Computer Educators Success Showcase.
Isabella Gabbard — Fourth Grade, Mill Creek East Elementary School, Mill Creek Community School Corporation
Isabella “Belle” Gabbard initiated Mill Creek East Elementary School’s first Family Math and Science Night in the fall of 2008. The program helped students and families see a meaningful connection between math, science and real life. Belle wanted to create a program to correlate family involvement and student achievement, and to increase low ISTEP+ test results. “I envisioned that starting a family math and science program would make a valuable contribution to the goal of increasing those scores.” And so, she created Hey Kids! Want to Use Your Parents in a Science Experiment?
“After a year of hard work, she began to see the benefit when our fifth grade students’ ISTEP scores jumped from 79 percent to 89 percent of students who passed,” a colleague wrote. “Belle was an instrumental part of this!”
Robbie Grimes — Fourth and Fifth Grade High Ability, Reagan Elementary School, Brownsburg Community School Corporation
Robbie Grimes didn’t grow up in the digital age, but he knows how to use technology to engage his students in his TECHMO-sphere project. The multidisciplinary project “infused language arts, social studies, math and technology into the science curriculum by allowing students to become investigative news reporters,” Robbie wrote.
“These digital natives have no idea what life was like without a computer, access to the Internet, and the use of mobile devices like PSPs (Sony PlayStation® Portables) and cell phones,” explained Robbie. The Technology Enhancing Children’s Mastery of Science (TECHMO) project included a visit by WISH-TV chief meteorologist Steve Bray, who wowed students with a demonstration that forced a hard boiled egg into a jar using only air pressure.
One student wrote, “You’re learning about technology while using the technology itself.” Another noted, “Mr. Grimes has made learning about science fun. Sometimes I forget I am actually in school!”
Stephanie Higginson — Seventh Grade, Chapel Hill Seventh and Eighth Grade Center, M.S.D. of Wayne Township
“It is vital to use the world’s environment to help students gain knowledge inside the classroom,” wrote Stephanie Higginson. Her students completed a digital scavenger hunt around the school to complete her project, The Ups & Downs of Slope.
“They collected images that represented positive, negative, zero and undefined slope as well as coordinate planes,” Stephanie wrote. Students used their own school environment to identify and calculate slope. Then, they identified and graphed linear functions and wrote the equation of a line, given the slope and any point on the line.
“The project gave the students the opportunity to understand first-hand the concept of slope and its relationship to linear function by using various forms of technology. Immersing the students into this project led them into a greater understanding of slope than they would have received from using the text book, pencil and paper,” a parent wrote.
Christian Horner — Physics, Westfield High School, Westfield Washington Schools
Dodgeball, anyone? Students in Christian Horner’s physics class said yes to that - and bowling, football, soccer and martial arts. “The Physics of Sports helped students develop a deeper appreciation for the sports they love by allowing them to analyze activities using state-of-the-art technology,” Christian explained.
Christian’s students answered a variety of sports-related questions, such as, how does hull design impact the force needed to propel a yacht through the water? What is the effect of spin on a soccer ball in relation to its flight path? How much force is generated on a bowler’s arm? And, what are the differences in speed and force generated by throwing a ball over-handed, under-handed or using a running start?
“This will be awesome because I don’t need to follow a prescribed lab. Instead I’ll be able to design, test and then analyze information I want to learn about and not what someone else has told me to find,” commented a student.
Kimberly Irvin — Third Grade, Pleasant Grove Elementary School, Center Grove School Corporation
Kimberly Irvin’s April Showers Bring Amazing Water lesson helped students to explore the water cycle while learning how to make a valid prediction.
Kimberly’s project encouraged students to observe, record, analyze, predict and illustrate what they learned. Students predicted how many rain drops would fit on the face of a penny. After running the first trial, most students realized their predictions were too low; by the third trial they showed improvement in their predictions.
“The interesting part is that now even my most hesitant student, who earlier claimed that he hated science, loves to take part in the daily science lessons,” Kimberly wrote. “This change in behavior and the actual results, as demonstrated in the graphs of their predictions, spelled success in my book.”
Robert Irvine — Fifth Grade, Stout Field Elementary School, M.S.D. of Wayne Township
Robert Irvine used creativity to harness his students’ natural inclination to wiggle and move by engaging them in his Force and Motion unit. Students took ownership of each instructional task, so Robert played the role of facilitator rather than a traditional teacher.
Students calculated speed; demonstrated motion; investigated the forces of gravity, magnetism, electricity and friction; used algebra; experienced Newton’s three laws of motion, and applied these concepts in a peer-created experiment. Robert infused hands-on use of technology throughout the unit. Half of Robert’s students scored above 90 percent in a post-test for comprehension of science concepts taught, and all showed significant gains in comprehension of algebra concepts.
His principal writes, “Mr. Irvine maintains very high expectations for all of his students and maximizes each child’s strengths. His classroom is clearly child-centered.”
Ann Joseph — Fourth Grade, Washington Woods Elementary School, Westfield Washington Schools
Geometry is everywhere. On classroom cabinets, in the shapes of our windows, right down to the angles and lines of our building’s floor plan. Ann Joseph’s students were amazed when they realized how many geometric elements they could find around the classroom and school building.
In her project, Geometry Castles, Ann’s students studied shapes, angles and line relationships. Then, with their new geometry knowledge, her students constructed their very own castle!
While studying fairy tales in reading class, Ann’s students recognized the geometric shapes in the castles, which created a well-rounded experience for them.
“Ann is able to get her students to really tap into their creativity while learning at the same time,” a parent wrote. “My son is already sketching ideas for his upcoming castle building!”
Dee Ann Martin — Second Grade, Pine Tree Elementary School, Avon Community School Corporation
“How many times a day do you use math?” Dee Ann Martin asked that question of her second graders during a pre-test in January. More than 40 percent of her students answered, “Only between 2 and 3 p.m. when Mrs. Martin is teaching math.”
Are You Ready for Some Football? not only got her students interested in math by relating it to the Super Bowl, but showed them math is relevant for a lifetime. “The hype is high and the students are ready to score some ‘touchdowns’ in their learning,” Dee Ann explained. Students rotated through nine different stations, learning basic math skills, computation, problem solving, money, graphing, number ordering, number sense and logical and deductive reasoning.
“They will be able to look back on their second grade math experience knowing they took the ball all one hundred yards of the field and got to do a celebratory touchdown dance in the end zone – with no penalty for excess celebration,” wrote Dee Ann. In the post-test more than 70 percent of the students said they would use math “every hour I am awake.”
Diane Mount — Ninth Grade Earth Science, J. Everett Light Career Center – North Central Technology School, M.S.D. of Washington Township
Teaching in a freshman alternative program with at-risk youth presented Diane Mount with a unique challenge. Her students not only needed something to spark their interest in science, they needed a flame to ignite an interest in school.
In Our Place in Space, students explored the vastness of the starry sky with a portable planetarium, reviewed a star’s life cycle using the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram as a guide, explored more than 35 galaxies using photos taken from the Hubble Space Telescope and wrote stories about characters in space who witnessed how the universe was formed.
Diane used numerous teaching tools and forms of technology. “She is innovative and dynamic in the classroom, infusing her students with tremendous opportunities other ninth-grade students in the district are not getting, and instilling in them an appetite for learning,” a colleague wrote. “She guides without reprimand, corrects without disparagement, and most importantly, she teaches by example.”
April Oldham — Special Education, Fifth Grade, Allisonville Elementary School, M.S.D. of Washington Township
Geometry and measurement are not always easy concepts to grasp. April Oldham’s students were able to see the connections through her Points, Planes and Polygons unit, which engaged them in the learning process.
Students who have difficulties in school due to a specific learning disability, emotional disability and/or low cognitive abilities need different approaches to learn new concepts. April designed the project for a variety of different learning styles and provided the students with the repetition necessary to meet their needs.
She began her project with a game of SET, a card game of visual perception where students locate three cards where each of four features was either all the same or all different.
Her hands-on lesson made it easier for students to extend their thinking. She used an interactive whiteboard so students were able to draw, measure and calculate by manipulating virtual tools.
Ryan Peschke — Third Grade, Cardinal Elementary School, Brownsburg Community School Corporation
Only a teacher could turn the purchase of a treadmill into reading projects for third graders. Ryan Peschke’s new treadmill included an MP3 player. “I began to play with this little device and noticed that you could play music, record, playback, speed up and slow down what you were listening to,” explained Ryan.
That sparked his idea to have students who struggled with reading to read and record stories and passages from books. Each student’s recording was then loaded onto an MP3 player for the student to listen to at home and follow along in the book. The students could control the playback speed and pause when needed. They also used the MP3 player to record questions to review later with the teacher.
Four out of the five students participating in MP3 Players: Not Just for Music Anymore showed tremendous growth, met their goals for reading more complex materials and improved Northwest Evaluation Association test scores. Student Emma added, “He deserves to be recognized because he is a very kind person, and we use a lot of technology in his classroom.”
Carol Pierobon-Hofer — English as a Second Language, Fox Hill Elementary School, M.S.D. of Washington Township
The students in Carol Pierobon-Hofer’s class learned a lot in the My Thermometer is Bilingual…Just Like Me! unit. She designed the unit to help students who speak Spanish at home and English at school teach other students about Fahrenheit and Celsius.
Carol’s students learned about the two temperature systems. Students later taught the concepts to their monolingual classmates by reading a book they created themselves and illustrated with pictures they took. The project combined Indiana’s Academic Standards in math, science, technology and the English language.
“This lesson stresses a wonderful asset these children have – they know two languages and readily accept that there is more than one way to approach a concept,” Carol wrote. “The agility to switch back and forth is a skill needed not only in world languages, but also among professions.”
Jamie Quilliam — Ninth Grade Algebra and Geometry, Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center, M.S.D. of Wayne Township
Jamie Quilliam frequently hears, “When are we ever going to use this stuff?” from her ninth-grade geometry students. That’s why she created the Transformation Project.
“A major component of my instructional style is to challenge students by designing hands-on lessons that engage students in exploring and finding where mathematics relates to their everyday life,” Jamie wrote.
For thousands of years, people have adorned their buildings, pottery, clothing and jewelry with decorative patterns by transforming shapes. Today computer-generated patterns decorate clothes, CD covers and even textbooks. The students learned to identify three basic transformations – translations, reflections and rotations – and describe them using mathematical language, technology and language arts. At the same time, students demonstrated their knowledge of Indiana’s Academic Standards for transformations.
“I didn’t know that I could find geometry in a pair of tennis shoes,” one student explained.
Kyle Reeves — Fifth Grade, Lowell Elementary School, M.S.D. of Warren Township
These days even Harvard graduates are having a hard time understanding the stock market, but the fifth grade students in Kyle Reeves’ class are learning the ups and downs of Wall Street in their classroom. “Mini Moguls incorporated the basic principles of earning, budgeting, spending and saving money, yet takes the principles a step further, into investing,” Kyle wrote.
A giant game board was set up in the fifth grade multi-purpose room. Once a week, each student had one turn to roll the dice and see which space they landed on: opportunities to buy stocks, taxes, tax refund, fire, flood, health costs or fifth grade trivia.
Students understood the project and took it to levels Kyle didn’t anticipate. Students started to see business opportunities, and they wanted to provide competition to theoretical enterprises run by teachers. Kyle added, “I just hope I don’t ever have to provide them with a stimulus package!”
Stacy Roeschlein — Spanish, Fall Creek Valley Middle School, M.S.D. of Lawrence Township
Stacy Roeschlein is known for the effort she puts into her classroom PowerPoint® presentations, using dynamic text animation and sounds to draw attention to spelling and pronunciation for her middle school Spanish students. But she also uses Prentice Hall Presentation Express, practice games, differentiated assessment and intervention, eInstruction™ response pads using MindPoint Quiz Show™ and ExamView™, student-created podcasts, virtual field trips, a Haiku Web site she created herself, and bi-weekly e-mailings using Skyward® Progress Report Card. Students use an online site to quiz themselves about assignments, completing their assignments over and over until they fulfill their personal level of success. As one student said, “The way she teaches is very smart. She does not care about how many times we take a test or a paper, she only cares if we understand or not.”
Beth Rutz — Sixth Grade Science, Guion Creek Middle School, M.S.D. of Pike Township
Beth Rutz’s students took a meteorological journey, interpreting weather maps, creating their own forecasts and learning how to prepare for severe weather during her Forging Forecasts lesson plan.
Students first learned how to decode a map and identify the types of weather by using meteorological symbols. They also studied different types of severe weather, the likely causes, and how to best prepare for each type of severe weather.
As students put their weather information together, they selected a city in the U.S. and created a unique ten-day forecast with a PowerPoint® presentation that ran behind the newscast during taping.
“Beth makes students love science,” a colleague wrote. “Students adore her class, and they go home telling their parents about the exciting things they’re doing in class.”
Catherine Schlebecker — Visual Arts, Pike High School, M.S.D. of Pike Township
The 2008 presidential election provided visual sparks for students in Catherine Schlebecker’s advanced computer graphics class at Pike High School. “All of my students were familiar with the famous Barack Obama poster, but none of them knew the true origin of the art and its creator until after they completed the Say It Out Loud project,” Catherine wrote.
Students studied the Obama poster, Progress, by Sheppard Fairy and then took a virtual tour of the McCormick Freedom Museum in Chicago to interact with the sculpture 12151791. “This exploration of the spoken and written word helped to guide students in choosing a subject suitable for the project,” Catherine wrote.
“The Say It Out Loud project taught me that art can speak for itself,” Elijaih offered. Another student, Kacia, said, “Ms. Schlebecker is an awesome teacher, and she should totally win this award!”
Lori Silbert — Media Specialist, Lantern Road Elementary School, Hamilton Southeastern
Lori Silbert created a DVD, Indiana Proud, to motivate students, teachers and others to learn about the Hoosier state. Each grade studied a different facet of Indiana, then students wrote and recorded songs about what they learned about Indiana. They worked with Randy Beard, an educator and musician, to create the songs.
Using Roxio Media Creator™, Lori incorporated the original music with pictures she took across the state and assembled a visual, musical and informational tribute to the state.
Lori “has exceeded all others with her Indiana Proud project,” a parent wrote. “The time and effort that Lori must have put into the planning and development of this DVD goes above and beyond what my parental expectations are of Lori and her position at Lantern Road.”
Kristie Wallace — Fourth and Fifth Grade Loop, New Augusta Public Academy South, M.S.D. of Pike Township
“We are all connected, and everything we do impacts something or someone else,” Kristie Wallace said. Her Interdependence of Life project allowed her students to make broader and deeper connections with the living environment. Teams of students studied global warming, carbon footprints and trash/recycling topics. They explored the impact each topic has on plants, animals, land, water and air.
“Carefully designed inquiry projects and the integration of technology allowed my students to gain confidence and experience with skill sets they will be able to utilize throughout their lives,” Kristie wrote.
Students reduced their school’s carbon footprint by implementing more recycling options, and some students began recycling projects at home. Students made holiday tree ornaments out of recycled materials, and some were displayed at the Indiana Statehouse.
Suzanne Whitton — Art, Brownsburg West Middle School, Brownsburg Community School Corporation
Suzanne Whitton has restructured her art curriculum to include half applied fine arts and half digital arts. Digital instruction uses Adobe Photoshop® and Illustrator®, digital photography, digital film and video, and the assembling of digital portfolios for assessment.
Building upon their own digital skills, the students showed increased confidence in their artwork abilities. The average assessment grade for digital drawing is 98 percent -- or 18 points higher than in the non-digital drawing unit, and assessment grades for digital portfolio students is 27 points higher than the non-digital painting unit.
Her principal said: “She creates lessons based on state standards that make students think and do amazing things. Our building is decorated from front door to back with painting, murals, ceramics and framed drawings.”
