On Monday, November 7, LEARN NC will host our annual fall conference. This year, for the first time, the conference will take place entirely online. You’ll be able to listen to the presenters, pose questions, and interact with other participants from any internet-connected computer. And, as always, the conference is entirely free!

We’ll be joined by an exciting line-up of presenters, who will discuss topics like how to reach struggling readers, teaching about North Carolina American Indians, modeling-based science instruction, and the state’s adoption of new curriculum standards and professional teaching standards. Presenters include classroom teachers, UNC faculty members, and leaders from DPI.

The conference will consist of eight sessions, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All sessions will be archived for future viewing. For more details and to register, please see the conference website. We look forward to seeing you there!

The North Carolina Civic Education Consortium, a program of the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill, works with schools, governments, and community organizations to prepare North Carolina’s young people to be active, responsible citizens. Each month the Consortium delivers an email newsletter with news and opportunities for civic engagement.

To celebrate National Hispanic Month which runs September 15 through October 15, the NC Civic Education Consortium is featuring three lesson plans written around Paul Cuadros’ book A Home on the Field. The lessons for grades 8-12 use excerpts from the book to teach about immigration in North Carolina.

The newsletter also includes civic education news and opportunities for educators. Read about the Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools report’s “call for action” and the six proven practices that should be used to teach civic education in the classroom. Also in the news, read about the Southern Poverty Law Center’s report on the importance of teaching students about America’s civil rights movement.

Professional development opportunities are being offered by the Consortium and its partners. Upcoming workshops and seminars include topics on the Freedom Riders, Islamic cultures, the future of Europe, and more.

There are also two contests for students in civics, the “Civic Impact Challenge” offered by iCivics.org and the “Being an American Essay Contest” from the Bill of Rights Institute. More information is included in the newsletter.

To read the newsletter, visit the Consortium’s website. To receive the newsletter via email, contact Anita Buie.

Interns from the UNC-BEST program have developed a series of eight online modules to teach STEM topics. The modules, which use engaging graphics and interactive features, are designed to provide self-study opportunities and curriculum support to high-school science teachers and advanced high-school students.

Topics covered include:

• Proteins of the deep sea
• Using transgenics to explore plant immunity
• Using toads to understand animal behavior
• Studying proteins involved in cell division
• Fruit fly research and genetics
• Disease ecology
• Cancer research for drug development
• The power of Google

About UNC-BEST

The UNC Baccalaureate Education in Science and Teaching (UNC-BEST) Program is a collaboration between the School of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences. This innovative program offers undergraduate science and mathematics majors enrolled in the Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Geology and Mathematics departments the opportunity to complete requirements for a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree and obtain licensure as a secondary science or mathematics teacher in North Carolina.

Pre-service teachers are provided with an array of opportunities to develop their pedagogical content knowledge during university coursework and field experiences. One aspect of the UNC-BEST program is the Summer Research Internship, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). These internships provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to develop a more accurate understanding of the nature of science as they use their instructional expertise to create online curricula resources. The UNC-BEST interns work alongside a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow who serve as their research mentor.

The research mentor helps the UNC-BEST intern learn the science and technology behind the various research methodologies the lab utilizes to pursue answers to their research questions. The UNC-BEST intern is involved in all the steps of the research process including setting up experiments and collecting, recording and interpreting data over the course of the internship.

We’ve just launched a new blog, The Well: Carolina Research for Your Classroom. The Well shares recent education research paired with practical tips you can use in your classroom tomorrow.

Our first posts include:

• “Don’t Be Afraid to Play,” a look at how video games can promote higher-order thinking, increase the positivity of a learning environment, and decrease achievement gaps.
• “Struggling in Silence,” which provides insights on how to understand and teach struggling adolescent readers.

We’ll add new posts each week, so stop back and see what’s new!

On Saturday, November 12, 2011 from 9:00am until 4:00pm, a free workshop will be held on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in room 039 of the Graham Memorial Building. Participants in the workshop will look at Iraq that exists beyond war, and see the tradition, the culture, and the history that defines its people today.

From the first civilizations of Mesopotamia and the rise of majestic Islamic empires to today’s vibrant youth culture, the land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates will spark your curiosity and redefine your conception of Iraq. The pioneers of modern mathematics, the forerunners of the Renaissance, and the modern symbol of cultural diversity–this is Iraq beyond conflict.

Presenters of the workshop are:

• novelist SinanAntoon, author of I’jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody
• singer and oudist Saadoun Al-Bayati
• visual artist Lukman Ahmad

K-12 teachers will have the opportunity to earn 1.0 CEU for participation and completion of pre- and post-workshop activities. Resources will include online teaching materials on the art, music, literature, and history of Iraq.

Registration for the workshop is required. Please contact Regina Higgins at regina_higgins@unc.edu.

Sponsored by the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, the UNC Department of History, and the UNC Honors Program.

Start your year by sharpening your skills and earning renewal credit with eLearning for Educators professional development courses! There are many courses to choose from and there is still time to enroll in courses starting in late September and early October. The following are selected examples of course offerings:

Teaching Online Courses

Have you ever thought about taking your teaching into a new realm — the online classroom? This course prepares educators interested in teaching online courses for the virtual classroom. It is also a great overview for administrators interested in implementing online courses into their K-12 or professional development offerings.

American Indians in North Carolina

In this course you’ll explore American Indian history in North Carolina from the earliest evidence of human habitation in the state through first contact with Europeans, the Trail of Tears, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and into the present day.

Assessment and Evaluation in Your Online Course

In this course you will take a close look at assessment options, think about how assessment reflects teaching practices, and devise authentic assessment tools. Through discussions and peer reviews, you and your peers will focus on creating quality online assessment activities and assessment tools.

To learn more or to register, please click on one of the course titles above, or visit our Online Courses page.

The Latina/os and Education Project of the UNC Latina/o Studies Program & the UNC Latina/o Cultures Speakers present:

“Desarrollando Nepantler@s: Rethinking the Knowledge Needed to Teach Mathematics”
Rochelle Gutiérrez
6 pm Monday Oct. 3, 2011
University Room, Hyde Hall
Institute for the Arts & Humanities
UNC-Chapel Hill
For directions visit the Institute for Arts and Humanities website.

About the lecture:

As American researchers and policy makers race to close the “achievement gap,” greater emphasis on mathematical knowledge for teaching has taken hold. School districts, concerned that their teachers do not know their mathematics in deep or flexible enough ways, are investing in professional development of teachers. These approaches, however fail to recognize that the achievement gap is a social construction, that equity in mathematics means much more than mere access to a rigorous curriculum, and that teaching is a negotiated practice (with students, parents, and others). Gutiérrez argues that a model of knowledge needed for teaching mathematics and addressing equity involves political knowledge. An important component to developing this political knowledge is being able to recognize multiple realities (Nepantla), developing conocimiento with students, becoming comfortable with uncertainty, and seeing tension as a means to birth new knowledge.

Rochelle Gutiérrez is Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Latina/Latino Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has served as a member of the RAND National Mathematics Study Panel, the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Increasing Urban High School Students’ Engagement and Motivation to Learn, and the board of directors of Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).

She was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to study secondary mathematics teachers in Zacatecas, México, and is currently serving as editor for a special issue on identity/power for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. She is PI on an NSF grant that seeks to understand what it takes to develop high school mathematics teachers who engage their students in rigorous mathematics and are committed to social justice. Before and throughout graduate school, she taught middle and high school mathematics to adolescents in East San José, California.

The lecture is sponsored by the UNC Program in Latina/o Studies, the Institute for the Arts & Humanities, the Carolina Latina/o Collaborative, and the UNC School of Education.

Dr. Cheryl Mason Bolick of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Education and Katy Vance, a former high school teacher and graduate research assistant have worked together to develop a wide body of K-12 lesson plans and educational resources centered around the Blue Ridge Parkway. These lesson plans utilize primary source materials made available by “Driving Through Time: the Digital Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina,” a virtual trip that allows the visitor to explore the Parkway and learn about its rich history.

By combining research skills like historic map and primary source analysis with student products such as writing memos, letters, and editorials; creating digital stories, community profiles, and digital maps; and giving formal presentations; these resources provide opportunities for connections across the K-12 curriculum. There are both standalone lesson plans and unit plans in the collection, which is also part of UNC Libraries’ Documenting the American South.

The North Carolina Civic Education Consortium, a program of the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill, works with schools, governments, and community organizations to prepare North Carolina’s young people to be active, responsible citizens. Each month the Consortium delivers an email newsletter with news and opportunities for civic engagement.

This month’s newsletter features back-to-school lesson plans. For middle grades, there are lessons that will help you develop a safe and cooperative community where students successfully complete interactive lessons, engaging group activities, discussions, ans simulations. High-school lessons provide ideas and activities to help establish classroom expectations, tips for discussing controversial issues, and team building.

The newsletter also includes civic education news and opportunities for educators. Read Matt Damon’s speech given at the “Save Our Schools” teachers rally in July. Also, find an update on the new Common Core and Essential Standards from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

For students, there are two civics education competitions. The first is a scholarship for the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) for high school juniors and seniors. The second is the First Freedom Student Competition, a national essay and video contest for high school students.

There are several great seminars for educators coming up in October: The Freedom Riders and the American Civil Rights Movement, Poverty and the Challenge of Equality in America, and Making Cents: Youth Innovation in a Troubled Economy,

In addition, there is information about grant awards and scholarships offered by the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies. These are available for pre-service and current social studies teachers. The deadline for these opportunities is December 31, 2011.

To read the newsletter, visit the Consortium’s website. To receive the newsletter via email, contact Anita Buie.

LEARN NC is now hiring an Executive Director. The official description follows:

Executive Director, LEARN NC
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
School of Education
EPA Non-Faculty Position

The Executive Director will collaborate with the School of Education’s Director of Research and Professional Development for Outreach to provide vision, planning, and leadership and for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s B-12 outreach endeavors as well as manage all operations for LEARN NC.

Responsibilities include:

50% Operations and Project Management: Exercise creativity and initiative in designing strategies to increase effectiveness in operations continuously improving the quality of LEARN resources and services based on valid and reliable data; Maintain a system to ensure all LEARN NC resources are easily accessible, relevant, and current.

25% Personnel Management: Supervise the day-to-day activities of the LEARN NC staff and consultants and ensuring the integrity of the technical infrastructure and business processes. Promote the continuing professional development of the LEARN staff.

25% Outreach: Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with key educational partners across the state, including P-12 school and district personnel, higher education, and state agencies; Develop and implement curriculum and oversee the online professional development programs offered through e-Learning for Educators in line with state and national content standards. Make available to P-12 educators the results of current educational research; and remain current on the latest research on topics related to online learning and content delivery and communicate this knowledge to staff, faculty, and students

A graduate degree in education or related field is required. Successful experience in leadership position with excellent management supervisory and project management skills; exceptional interpersonal and team-building skills; and demonstrated success in using technology to facilitate student learning and professional development.

Click on the Direct Link URL at http://jobs.unc.edu/2501689 from any internet browser to apply for the position and attach the following; a letter of interest; a curriculum vitae; and a list of at least four references including their name, addresses, and telephone numbers/email addresses. Review of applications will begin on or after October 1, 2011. For more information, email Professor Cheryl Bolick, cbolick@email.unc.edu.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.