Sigma XI and SciTEC Partners

Faculty from the College of Education, College of Engineering and Sciences, and the College of Applied and Natural Sciences joined educators from the SciTEC Scholars program on January 27 at 3:30 in the IDEA Place for the first SciTEC/ Sigma XI  Partners.  This was the first of five partner meetings planned for the spring. Future meetings include a scholarly lecture and networking reception. Teachers and faculty discussed ways to communicate some of the ground-breaking Louisiana Tech University research to young learners in our region. Many of the University faculty scheduled tours, special presentations, school visits and events that will take place with the PK-12 students during the 2015 spring. SciTEC Scholars are outstanding educators in North Louisiana focused on enhancing STEAM education and promoting relevant content and application of that understanding. The ten teachers were selected by district leaders and engage in multiple research visits during the academic year. This year they have visited the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory in Livingston, LA; and soon they will be journeying to LUMCON in Cocodrie, LA. We are thrilled about the opportunity to partner with Sigma XI under the direction of President Jamie Newman and Vice President Marisa Orr to enhance this experience and connect our teacher leaders with our University leaders !

A Second SciTEC Citizen Scientist Submits Water Activities

SciTEC Citizen Science in the Ruston Daily Leader continues to encourage STEAM explorations in and outside of the classroom. The second SciTEC Citizen Science contribution composed and submitted by Mrs. Diane Madden was published this week in The Ruston Daily Leader. Ms. Madden not only composed a thorough description of the behavior of water molecules, she also provided images of young people engaged in the explorations described. If you or someone you know would like to compose and submit an activity for the column, or if you would like to showcase images of you and yours conducting the recommended activities, we would love to highlight that information on our site and in the paper. Check out the link below to read her article. We look forward to hearing from more SciTEC Citizen Scientists in our region!


http://rustonleader.com/node/57776

Focus on Fractions- Round 2

Dr. Carolyn Talton and Mrs. Diane Madden welcomed almost 60 teachers Monday and Tuesday of this week for the second set of Focus on Fractions workshops at the Wagoner Room in the Thomas Assembly Center. An earlier session was hosted the 12th and 13th of January. Teachers engaged in content exploration and activities related to subject matter anticipated to appear on the PARCC assessment which Louisiana students are scheduled to take this spring of this year. Teachers from a variety of parishes including Caldwell, Webster, Caddo, Bossier, Ouachita, and Lincoln enjoyed lunch provided by Aramark and informational content packets provided by the facilitators. We at SciTEC hope to continue to work on similar offerings to meet the needs of the teachers and students we serve. Thanks to Chris Coleman, Doug Emory, Kristie Flanagan, Adam McGuirt and Kim Tanner for helping make the two day event a success!

Elementary Teacher Candidates Judge Social Studies Fair

Practicum teacher education candidates of Louisiana Tech University's Elementary Education program enjoyed judging the Cypress Springs Elementary Social Studies fair this morning (1/27/15). School fair coordinators were Louisiana Tech alumni, Meredith Gore and Rachel Carson. Tech's practicum coordinator is Dr. Amy Vessel. According to Dr. Vessel, "This is just one example of our growing partnership with Lincoln Parish Schools, and it was a wonderful learning experience for our teacher candidates." 

SciTEC STEM Outreach Coordinators Focus on Fractions with Teachers from Across the Region

On January 12, 3rd and 4th grade teachers and leaders from a number of school districts in Louisiana attended a day-long professional development event titled, "Focus on Fractions." Dr. Carolyn Talton and Mrs. Diane Madden hosted the event and showcased strategies for educators to utilize to assist their students learning the challenging concepts and preparing for PARCC assessments. A second session for fifth grade educators was hosted Tuesday, January 13, 2015.Our hope is to continue offering such opportunities to serve the teachers of our region.

Bricks 4 Kidz Building over the Winter Break at SciTEC's IDEA Place

 Next week on Tuesday, Jan 20 and Wednesday, Jan 21, we're hosting Learn & Build Day Camps with Bricks 4 Kidz! Students ages 5 and up are welcome to come and stay all day while we learn and build with Physics Fun on Tuesday and Crazy Chemistry on Wednesday! We'll build, do experiments, learn in the Experiment Gallery, and visit space in the Planetarium. See the link below for more details, and sign up soon as space is limited!

https://my.bricks4kidz.com/index.php?action=location&location=211&ref=88788

 https://my.bricks4kidz.com/index.php?action=location&location=211&ref=88791

Student, Makalen Lloyd, Discusses Molecules and Effective Strategies for Cooling Hot Soup!

Makalen Lloyd, grandaughter of Mrs. Shelia Klezcka and student at D'arbonne Woods Charter, served as a student scientist Friday, January 9, on the NBC 10 News Morning Show with Felicia Bolton and Meteorologist Kayleigh Klaustermeyer. Makalen discussed the construction of a simple air conditioner/ soup cooler and shared the importance of understanding molecular movement and the relationship to temperature. If you, or someone you know, may be interested in participating in future shows, feel free to email scitec@latech.edu or call 318-257-2866. SciTEC showcases one demonstration or experiment twice each month.

Colleges of Education and Engineering Collaborate on National Science Foundation Proposal

Dr. Marisa Orr

Dr. Mitzi Apter-Desselles

Drs. Marisa Orr and Mitzi Apter-Desselles of the College of Engineering and Sciences (COES) and College of Education (COE) respectively have partnered to submit a proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) collaborative research project. The proposal, Collaborative Research: Enhancing Problem- and Project-Based Facilitation, was submitted to the Division of Undergraduate Education - Improving Undergraduate STEM Education of NSF to address a critical gap in preparing educators to facilitate Problem- and Project-Based Learning (PBL). Dr. Orr (Principle Investigator) and Dr. Apter-Desselles (Co-Principle Investigator) propose to develop, deploy, and assess training materials that support effective PBL. Currently, Dr. Orr serves as Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering (COES) while her project collaborator, Dr. Apter-Desselles is a  faculty member of the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (COE) and coordinator of AROS (Applied Research for Organizational Solutions), a consulting group within the COE's I/O Psychology doctoral program.

More Information

• Dr. Marisa Orr - http://www2.latech.edu/~marisao/
• Dr. Desselles Faculty feature - http://guiceblog.latech.edu/2013/08/06/faculty-feature-dr-mitzi-desselles/
• AROS - http://aros.latech.edu/

Conserve the Wetlands kicks off the 2015 SciTEC Professional Development Offerings!

Diane Madden and Mindy Brooks hosted the first SciTEC professional development workshop for the 2015 year!  Madden, SciTEC STEM  Science Outreach Coordinator, received a grant from the Louisiana Environmental Education Consortium to host the one day event in Woodard Hall in the College of Education on January 10. Mindy Brooks from the LSU Ag Center and 4-H served as guest presenter and covered topics related to conservation and the flora and fauna associated with the wetlands environment. Teachers from around the state engaged in activities with live crayfish and collected data while modeling effective instructional practices they could take back to their classrooms. You can check out more images from the event on the SciTEC and IDEA Place Facebook page:. https://www.facebook.com/TheIDEAPlace. No crayfish were harmed in the hosting of this event! :)

Student Scientists Wanted!

Twice monthly, SciTEC has the opportunity to appear on KTVE NBC 10 News in West Monroe, LA, and share exciting activities and experiments. During these spots, student scientists from around our state demonstrate and explain simple concepts that are engaging and exciting.Viewers at home are given instructions so that they, too, can try at home. The image below is of our COE's own Laura Bostick's daughter Lindsay who joined us in December to make snow. Please spread the word and have any interested scientists or parents email scitec@latech.edu for more information. Learners ages 3 to 103 are welcome to join us!

Science, Education Partnership Displayed Internationally

Lindsey Keith-Vincent, SciTEC Director, and Alicia Boudreaux from the College of Engineering and Science presented their work at the International Conference on Chemistry Education in Toronto, Canada. Their poster presentation at the conference highlighted their work through the collaboration of the Louisiana Alliance for Simulation-Guided Materials Applications (LA-SIGMA), Shell Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program and Professional Education Outreach. Keith-Vincent commented in the Ruston Daily Leader, “We at SciTEC are so grateful to be a part of a university family supportive of innovative, interdisciplinary projects that highlight fascinating research and allow opportunities to aid teacher in translating those findings to the community and children of all ages.” Since 2011, the LA-SIGMA RET Program has impacted 33 teachers and over 3,000 students throughout the state in collaboration with LSU, UNO, Xavier, Southern University, Tulane University, and Grambling University through a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation.