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Home Page > Academics > College Of Arts And Sciences
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August 3, 2007
Making math relevant gave focus to SDSU teacher workshop
Studies show that helping students understand why something happens motivates them to learn. Discovering creative ways to teach math concepts used in high school algebra provided the foundation for AstroMath 2007, a week-long workshop at South Dakota State University for high school math and science teachers.
“We know that understanding how math is relevant is a key motivator in learning,” said Christine Larson, an SDSU math professor who organized the workshop along with physics instructor Judy Vondruska and physics professor Larry Browning. A “No Child Left Behind” Partnership Grant through the South Dakota Board of Regents provided funding for 20 teachers to spend the week learning methods for doing just that.
The professors used the math and physics of astronomy to give teachers ideas for engaging students in understanding math concepts. Seeing the connection between math and astronomy works well because people have a natural curiosity about stars and the universe, according to Browning, an SDSU physics professor.
“It’s been enlightening to explore ways to bring math into science and science into math,” said Brenda Murphy, Jefferson Academy, Rapid City. The alternative high school science teacher hopes to bring the new ideas for teaching concepts with technology to her students who find the regular classroom setting more challenging.
During the workshop, teachers built telescopes using PVC pipe. They also developed scale models of the solar system, analyzed trends in planetary properties, measured sunspots and the rotation rate of the sun, analyzed orbits of planets and satellites, and studied the properties of craters.
“The topics helped teachers discover ways to teach their students algebra concepts like ratios, graphing, scientific notation, equation modeling and solving simultaneous equations,” Vondruska said.
“Anytime I can get a hands-on approach to teaching, my students take more from it,” said Connie Geyer, the math and physics teacher in De Smet.
Having teachers become students also lets them model being a life-long learner, according to Joey Fjerstad, a math teacher at Brookings High School. “It gives a nice perspective to be a student again,” said Fjerstad. “You gain so much from the other teachers, and it helps us keep current with technology.”
Teachers saw a demonstration of the latest calculator from Texas Instruments. “I saw the TI-Nspire during a workshop held at Roosevelt High School in June which may have been only the second public demonstration in the world,” said Browning who said the 21st century abacus won’t be available to teachers until August.
“The new calculator does some amazing things, but the math concepts used by it are all around us. We tried to show that to teachers through the study of astronomy.”
Teaming science and math teachers helped workshop attendees see ways to use cross curriculum teaching as well. “There is a strong connection between math and science, but that is not always evident to the students,” said Vondruska.
Collaboration provides the key to greater understanding which was evident through the workshop content as well as its instructors.
August 3, 2007
Meta Fellowship funds study in computational science and statistics
Graduate students working toward a Ph.D. in Computational Science and Statistics at South Dakota State University can receive financial support and industry experience through a fellowship funded by Meta Payment Systems, a division of MetaBank in Sioux Falls.
The $100,000 fellowship will be put into place with an agreement signing in the SDSU President’s office in the Administration Building July 31 at 11:30 a.m.
“We know these strategic partnerships with South Dakota industries provide important alliances that help prepare our students to compete in a rapidly changing world,” said SDSU President David Chicoine.
Meta Payment Systems offers card issuing and program support to financial institutions, processors, and third-party distributors seeking to develop, market and manage stored-value cards and various credit products.
“Our business has grown, and continues to grow, very rapidly on a national scale,” said Ron Butterfield, Senior Vice President, Meta Payment Systems.
“We are collecting vast amounts of data across the prepaid card spectrum in particular that few others, if any, have access to.”
Butterfield says the emerging prepaid marketplace is growing and changing very rapidly.
“In order to stay at the forefront, we need access to bright people with exceptional computational and statistical skills,” he continued. “This Fellowship gives us access to some of the best and brightest students in the field. It’s a great program. Everyone wins – the students, the university and Meta.”
The fellowship will provide students the opportunity to fine tune computational models with advanced statistical techniques to support the work of Meta Payment Systems.
“The Meta Payment Systems fellowship will provide an outstanding opportunity for our department’s graduate students to obtain extensive hands-on education and experience while at the same time helping the company grow and prosper,” said Kurt Cogswell, professor and head of SDSU Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
For more information on the signing, contact Cogswell at 605-688-6196 or Butterfield at 605-782-1712.
August 3, 2007
Teachers learn about geospatial technology in June workshop
Thirteen teachers from throughout South Dakota took part in the ninth Geospatial Technology for Educators (GTE) workshop in early June at the USGS National Center for EROS near Sioux Falls and at the University of Sioux Falls.
The workshop provided information on geospatial technologies and how they can be used to enhance curriculum in areas such as earth science, geography and physics.
Geospatial tools taught at the workshop included geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS) and remote sensing.
During an intensive, five-day workshop, teachers learned how to collect data using GPS units, where to look for various types of geospatial data, how remote sensing imagery is collected and used, and how GIS software can integrate and analyze various types of geospatial data.
Daytime workshop activities took place at EROS and evening sessions were held at USF. Presentations by EROS scientists and City of Sioux Falls employees exposed the teachers to real-world examples of how geospatial technology is becoming an increasingly important part of today’s society.
Each teacher received a GPS unit, a GIS book and a DVD containing geospatial data and information. Funding came through federal grants from USGS via the AmericaView program and from NASA by way of the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium’s Education Public Access Resource Center (UMAC EdPARC) and the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium.
Teachers wrote lesson plans that will be used in their classrooms during the coming school year incorporating geospatial data, concepts and tools.
Instructors for the workshop were Mary O’Neill, South Dakota State University; Dr. Bill Soeffing, USF; Cassie Soeffing, Sioux Falls Patrick Henry Middle School; and Paul Peterson, Watertown High School.
July 9, 2007
Teachers meld science and technology through mobile lab
South Dakota elementary, middle and high school science teachers spent June 18-22 and June 25-29 learning how to excite their students about science through experiments in a mobile laboratory.
For the fifth consecutive year, a campus parking lot at South Dakota State University was home to a 53-foot semi trailer loaded with high tech equipment geared to teach young people about the thrill of science. Schoolteachers turned students also spent time in a classroom in Crothers Engineering Hall.
The “Science on the Move” program began in 2003 when the mobile science labs started traveling the state bringing high tech equipment and learning to schools in two semi trailers loaded with computers, oil-immersion microscopes, GPS units, spectrophotometers, radiation monitors and a host of other science equipment.
“It gives small schools a real opportunity to use equipment they might never get to use otherwise,” said Bob Vanderlinde, a retired science teacher from Elk Point who drives one of two mobile labs to schools across the state and is one of the instructors at the summer teacher workshops.
Three, week-long workshops have been held this summer to acquaint teachers at all levels with equipment and technology available in the mobile science labs.
“It’s been a huge eye opener to find ways to excite kids about science,” said Jennifer Voigt, a 5th grade teacher in DeSmet who said she always liked science as a youngster, but never had the opportunity to learn specialized science teaching during her college experience.
Over 400 teachers have gone through the summer training since the program began. Jerry Opbroek, a retired teacher from Mitchell is one of the traveling science teachers for the program and has coordinated the mobile labs since their beginning Opbroek also teaches during the summer workshops.
“One of the differences we’ve notice in the training sessions this year is the teacher grade level. The first three years had a high percentage of secondary teachers,” Opbroek said. “This year we have a lot more upper elementary and middle school teachers.”
Opbroek and Vanderlinde travel throughout the school year driving the mobile laboratories and spending a few days at each school site.
“My students’ eyes will be opened to the world of science in a very real and dramatic way,” said Zach Krahn who teaches K-8 science at American Horse School on the Pine Ridge reservation. “Although my school may not have all the amazing equipment, I learned ways to do similar labs on a more basic level. The lab is an invaluable tool for any teacher.”
The June 18(June 25) camp brought 32(31) teachers to the SDSU campus for five days of intense learning of grade-appropriate experiments in everything from blood cell analysis to global positioning, analysis of light and sound to the greenhouse effect and much more.
“Watching the excitement of these teachers with what they can offer their students gives a small preview of what will happen when the mobile labs come to their schools,” said Judy Vondruska, SDSU physics professor and workshop coordinator.
The South Dakota Legislature provides funding to bring the mobile science labs to schools around the state after one of their teachers has gone through summer training. The popularity of the program added a second week-long workshop this year to the SDSU site. A similar, earlier workshop was held at Black Hills State University in Spearfish.
During the 2006-2007 school year, the mobile science labs went to 96 schools in South Dakota and had thousands of students go through the mobile labs.
More South Dakota schools and students will take part in unique science experiments during the 2007-2008 school year.
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