Whitaker Programs

STEM Education Academy

The Whitaker Center during the 2008-2009 academic year is sponsoring a series of seminars and workshops designed to provide STEM educators professional training in instructional methodologies, curriculum planning and assessment, and educational research skills.  At the conclusion of the year’s STEM Education Academy, participants will receive a certificate of achievement and a letter acknowledging the extent of involvement.  The latter could be used to support a faculty member’s annual report or promotion dossier.  The Center hopes to perpetuate the STEM Education Academy in subsequent years, thereby providing members with ongoing professional development as the Center and individuals grow in interest and specialty.

This year’s seminar and workshop schedule includes:  four workshops, offered by nationally renowned experts in the areas of action research, grant writing, team teaching, and assessment (in both fall and spring); sessions concerning instructional models and strategies (during fall); and sessions that consider a variety of STEM issues of greatest concern to FGCU (during spring). To review the FULL SCHEDULE, please click here.

Meetings are biweekly and will convene on Friday afternoons beginning at 1:30 pm in WH 243.  All sessions will be under 2 hours in length.

Whitaker Center STEM Education Highlight

Whitaker Center Hosts Nationally Recognized STEM Education Experts to Lead Faculty Professional Development Workshops

Prepared by: Sharon Isern

The Whitaker Center as part of its inaugural 2008-2009 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Academy Series is proud to host four faculty professional development workshops led by nationally recognized STEM education experts from outside of FGCU.

The first of these workshops “Assessment of Teaching Effectiveness” which will be held on December 5, 2008 will be led by Dr. Alison Morrison-Shetlar, Vice-Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Director of the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, and Professor of Biology at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Dr. Morrison-Shetlar is co-author of “Teaching Creatively: Ideas in Action” (2001) and has led workshops on various STEM education topics including: scholarship of teaching and learning, teaching large numbers of students, interactive teaching techniques with or without technology, and student ownership and motivation.

The second workshop “Sharing Teaching Activities Online” which will be held on February 13, 2009 will be led by Dr. Cathy Manduca, Director of the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College in Northfield, MN and member of the Whitaker Center Advisory Board. Dr. Manduca has been a recipient of the American Geophysical Union’s prize for excellence in geophysical education and is an expert in developing web-resources that link teaching resources, pedagogy and discussion.

The third workshop on “Team Teaching” which will be held on February 27, 2009 will be jointly led by Drs. Ellen Goldey and Byron McCane from Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. Dr. Goldey is Professor of Biology, a SENCER Leadership Fellow, and principal investigator for a National Science Foundation award “Seeing the big picture: linking the science and the humanities” and has interests in curricular reform efforts that foster disciplinary integration. Dr. McCane the Albert C. Outler Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Religion is an archeologist specializing in the academic study of religion and has appeared in documentaries on the History Channel, National Geographic, and the Discovery Channel.

And finally, the fourth workshop on “Grant Writing” which will be held on March 27, 2009 will be led by Ms. Jeanne Narum, Director of Project Kaleidoscope in Washington, DC and former member of the Whitaker Center Advisory Board. Through Project Kaleidoscope – a national alliance of faculty, administrators, and associations committed to transforming the nation’s undergraduate STEM learning environment – and the support of federal and foundation grants, Ms. Narum has served as a national catalyst for curricular and pedagogical reform in STEM fields.

The Whitaker Center is grateful for the support and participation of the workshop leaders and for the impact they will have on our faculty’s professional development.

The two-hour workshops will be held on Fridays and start at 1:30 p.m. There is no cost for admission. Workshop locations are available in the Whitaker Center STEM Education Academy brochures which can be downloaded from the Whitaker Center website.

SRO (Student Research Opportunity)

Students participating in the Regional Science Fair are chosen to participate in a Summer Research Opportunity at Florida Gulf Coast University offering them a hands-on experience of collaboration on a complete and genuine research problem from hypothesis generation and initial design, through field and laboratory data collection, and culminating in data analysis and interpretation.  The program is sponsored by the Whitaker Center and is staffed by FGCU faculty and Graduate Student Assistants. 

Whitaker Center Summer Institute

Institute Outcomes & Products:
Teachers will acquire . . .

• Skills in curricular planning for science and math that emphasize “essential understanding.”
• Skills that promote and engage students in active learning in science, math, and literacy
• A methodology that integrates literacy and math training into a science curriculum
• A curricular content background in science topics of their choosing.

At completion of the institute, teachers will retain the following products:

• Integrated curricular packages that fulfill State Standards in science, math, and literacy.
• Curricular packages will be shared among all participants and be available to other teachers at the participating elementary schools.
• A network of teachers interested in science and math education at the elementary school level and science education professionals from the Whitaker Center.  This network will be called upon during the subsequent academic year to assess the effectiveness of this approach to science education.