District Administration - February 2007 - (Page 24)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 CurriculumUpdate FORENSICS CLASSROOM Norwalk High School students analyze crime evidence. Crime Science F orensic s in the Classroom is biology for the CSI generation. Teachers, like Caitlin Engle at Norwalk High School in Connectic ut , have been developing a forensics curriculum, and ﬁ lling classes by creating motivating lessons and labs. These classes parallel traditional biology courses, but with a “crime solving” twist. Unusual items add realism to discussions and case studies, such as catalog-purchased glass fragment s, ammunition casings, as well as skulls and skeletons from “Bone Clones” www.boneclones.com . Guest speakers, working in forensics, and ﬁeld trips to local police department s offer real world connections. It is best to have an advanced science teaching degree, advises Engle, who is working on a degree in molecular and cellular biology. She also says some upper level chemistry is helpful. “The best thing about my class is that I can actually see the learning happening…instead of givi ng up, students have this insatiable thirst to ﬁgure out ‘Why’.” If you are interested in a forensics curriculum, you can preview a simila r concept for free by using Court TV’s Forensics in the Classroom FIC . It offers middle school and high school level units, developed in collaboration with the National Science Teachers Association. Teachers can register for online crimes and course supplements provided by Court TV’s education division. These classes also offer ways for other subject disciplines to collaborate. Think of the language arts and social studies possibilities in a mock trial sparked by a forensic science unit. Court TV also offers a free “Forensics Day” for schools using FIC. Application information can be found at Court TV’s FIC online site. e n g le c. n p s t e a c h e r s .o r g cour t t v.com / forensics_curriculum / Force = Mass x Acceleration FMA Live presents Sir Issac Newton’s three laws of motion to middle school students featuring high-energy actors, dancers, music and video demonstrations. Sponsored by Honeywell and NASA, Sir Isaac and hip-hop seem to be the right combination to engage middle school math and science students into learning about forces and motion and the process of scientiﬁc inquiry. FMA’s science delivers and supports National Science Education Standards for grades ﬁve through eight. FMA action gets an upbeat student reaction.The live show has reached 232 middle schools throughout the U.S., and requests from teachers this year will surpass that number. www.fmalive.com National University Virtual High School ationa l University Virtual High School NUVAS , located in California and established in 2004, strives to provide students the opportunity to achieve academic excellence through an online medium. The idea came about when the university chancellor Dr. Jerry Lee realized that while his son had access to AP classes for college credit in high school, his son’s friend did not. To address this issue Lee created NUVHS, where any high school student can take online classes and jump-start their college career. N In addition, the school can beneﬁt students who don’t learn well in a classroom environment, and those who need ﬂexibility in terms of time and scheduling. It may even be a district’s homebound student solution, as well. The online curricula are designed to meet or exceed national standards and are taught by all certiﬁed instructors. The online transition was easy for NUVHS, since National University is a large provider of teachers and administrators, says director of NUVHS, Nancy Rohland-Heinrich. St udent s are able to enroll in NUVHS courses throughout the year. They can complete a full semester course in as few as four or as many as 16 weeks. www.nuvhs.org District Administration 24 February 2007 DA_207_currup.indd 24 1/17/07 10:13:00 AM Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://www.boneclones.com http://englec.npsteachers.org http://courttv.com/forensics_curriculum/ http://www.fmalive.com http://www.nuvhs.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - February 2007

Contents
Editor's Letter
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Tackling Health Care Together
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Curriculum Hotspots
New Information Systems Track Student Progress
Students Wanted!
Spread the Word
Mentors Boost Student Reading Levels
The Online Edge
Speaking Out
Research Corner
Problem/Solution
Leadership Books
New Products
Calendar of Events
Professional Opinion

District Administration - February 2007