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| Dr.
Josephine Carubia takes high
schoolers through a lab at the
Hershey Medical Center. |
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Watching
blood being drawn, reading an EKG and
spending time in a brain anatomy lab
are not your typical high school activities.
But for 15 seniors from the Allentown
School District's Health Science Academy,
such sessions are the norm.
For the past two years, a select group of high schoolers have participated
in the Capstone Program, an effort by Penn State Lehigh Valley Continuing
Education to introduce youth to careers in health care. The program
takes the youth after school through rotations at the nearby St.
Luke's Hospital-Allentown. As attendees of the Health Science Academy, "they
have already decided that they want to go into health care. The program
allows them to take their curriculum and put it into use," said
program Director Kristy Weidner-Gonzalez.
The culmination of the program is a four-day, three-night residential
experience in June at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center,
where faculty and staff share time and expertise.
Corey Cowen, a Health Science Academy teacher, said, "The program
has galvanized many to take seriously their academics and hunt down
what schools they want to go to."
Hands-on
Approach
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A
youth in Lehigh
Valley examines
a brain as
part of the
Capstone Program. |
Another
program that offers
a hands-on look at
careers is the Community
Partners program, offered
by the Penn State College
of Medicine at the
Hershey Medical Center
and Penn State Harrisburg.
The program introduces
students to medical,
science, technology
and business environments.
Youth from magnet programs
within Harrisburg High
School can have a peek
inside the Medical
Center's bone lab,
for example, as well
as an opportunity to
program robots at Penn
State Harrisburg.
"The students actually get to try out equipment and meet scientists and
other professionals," said Dr. Josephine Carubia, chief academic liaison
officer at the College of Medicine. "It's a way to increase motivation for
their studies."
A nine-week program developed by Penn State Shenango Continuing Education
presents middle schoolers in the Farrell Area School District with
career options that might encourage them to learn math.
"Everyday Numbers is based on the premise that most middle school students
who are scoring far below grade level in math are failing not because they can't
do the work, but because they don't see the point in learning the subject," said
Kathleen Paul, director of Continuing Education.
Experienced business people, as well
as postsecondary educators from Penn
State, talk to the youth about the wide
range of careers that typically require
math on a daily basis--including personal
fitness trainers, farmers, nurses and
construction contractors.
Paul said plans are in the works to package the program for distribution
to other Penn State campuses.
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Dr.
Jim Nolan describes the Professional
Development School as a "teaching
hospital."
Dick
Ackley--Campus Photography |
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It's
been seven years since Penn State initiated
a partnership with the State College
Area School District on a Professional
Development School (PDS) model--which
its director, Dr. Jim Nolan, describes
as a "teaching hospital." Now
the award-winning program has expanded
to include every elementary school in
the district, and Nolan, Hermanowicz
Professor in the College of Education,
is on the planning committee of an effort
to develop a statewide PDS association.
"PDS is a national movement that started in the late '80s after reports
came out saying we needed to rethink how we were preparing our teachers," explained
Nolan. "The reports said to create models that would renew basic and higher
education through working together."
In the model, a College of Education undergraduate spends a full
year as an intern in an elementary classroom, learning to teach by
working with an experienced mentor teacher and taking methods courses.
During the year, the intern gradually assumes more and more teaching
responsibility. The model also includes professional development
for teachers through such vehicles as University workshops.
Another successful effort to improve elementary schools is a course
for K-12 teachers called "Building Successful Classroom Communities," developed
by Nolan and a group of State College teachers. Offered this summer
for the fifth time, the course aims to provide teachers with tools
to enhance student community and self-esteem and to encourage learning.
Mike Fitzgerald, a teacher at Mount Nittany Middle School for 31
years, said he was drawn to the course for ideas in community building.
He has since incorporated in his classroom "morning meetings," which
include an announcement, greetings and different activities, such
as a ball-toss game--all designed to create trust among students.
"You're right there as a teacher, helping to break down barriers," said
Fitzgerald. "I would recommend the course to any teacher."
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| A
Web site proves learning data
can be fun. |
Finding
a child who can rattle off statistics
is unlikely. But a new Web site created
by the GeoVISTA Center in the Department
of Geography is sure to ignite kids'
interest in the art of collecting data.
The portal, http://www.fedstats.gov/kids/mapstats/index.html,
published on the federal government statistics
Web site, features the characters "Stixie" and "Globie" offering
interactive activities designed to teach
concepts about statistics and maps. For
example, "Market Manager" challenges
the user to distribute ice cream evenly
across a region; "Paint the Map" allows
kids to color in states based on actual
information (such as which states are
above or below the national average in
energy consumption). "It's part
of a larger effort to make statistics
and maps more accessible to children," said
Dr. Sven Fuhrmann, research associate
in the Geography department.
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