Making a Connection
Educators Learn New Teaching
Practices to Impart in the Classroom
T
eaching is one of the most underrated professions out
there. Yet, teachers provide a vital education to today’s
youth and play a crucial role in developing the minds
of future journalists, doctors, plumbers, engineers, or
computer programmers.
Carlynton School District educators will tell you that teaching is
way more than just “teaching.” If that sounds ambiguous, think of
it this way: having the ability to connect with students and make
them receptive to listening, learning, and understanding a subject
isn’t for the faint-hearted.
So how does an educator acquire the skills to be successful?
Many will tell you it takes practice, patience, preparation, and
passion to mold students into becoming leaders of tomorrow.
One aspect of preparation is continuous training and coursework.
More often than not, teachers will give up some or part of their
summers to “go to school” to discover new and innovative
practices to capture the attention of their students.
This past spring, high school business education teacher
Ryan Gevaudan took a course from the Education Technology
of American College of Education to gain a deeper perspective
of online training. Gevaudan sees online courses as a vehicle to
enhance learning. “With technology taking over every aspect
of our lives, this experience afforded me the opportunity to
gain a better understanding of what is on the horizon for our
students and possibly the future of many advanced degrees,” he
said. In the classroom, Gevaudan uses a blended approach to
education. With technology, students are breaking down the walls
of the classroom and accessing information, anytime and from
anywhere.
Carnegie Elementary fifth grade teacher Scott Donnelly
attended the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute in June
for a program called. “Apprenticeships, STEM, and Colonial
Life.” Through a hands-on, project-based learning approach,
Donnelly and other participants engaged with trade masters
and investigated scientific principles by using simple machines
to cause chemical reactions. The training also incorporated
engineering using local sources, guiding him to develop dynamic
lesson plans for his classes. In one activity, Donnelly stomped
barefoot in clay to condition it for brick making. In another, he
used an old Gutenberg-style printing press to produce a leaflet.
Donnelly says he intends to apply some of the 18th century
“technology” in his STEM and social studies classes, allowing
students to gain an understanding of the scientific theories used
in daily life in the Colonial era.
Biology teacher Bill Palonis traveled to Kansas City, Missouri in
June, joining 534 AP Biology teachers and college faculty across
the U.S. to score over 260,000 global AP exams. By evaluating
and scoring the exams, Palonis was able to understand the
approach used for test questions and scoring rubics. Palonis said
the process allowed him to adjust his teaching methods and will
help students develop the reading and writing skills necessary to
successfully answer biology questions on the exam. Mr. Palonis
also participated in the Biology College Board Open Forum
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CARLYNTON
Carnegie Elementary fifth grade teacher Scott Donnelly uses a
drawknife to trim a board while attending a workshop in Colonial
Williamsburg.
meeting, interacting with members of the College Board and
the Educational Testing Service teams who design and write the
AP Biology exams. The meeting, he said, gave him the chance to
inform the test writers about topics and course changes, aligned
with Pennsylvania curriculum standards.
Later in the summer, Mr. Palonis spent four days in Harrisburg.
Working alongside committee members of the Pennsylvania
Department of Education, he assisted in the process of writing
questions for the future Biology Keystone Exams. The opportunity
provided insight to the types of questions and terminology that
will be used on the exam, and will enable him to better prepare
students when the biology exam becomes a requirement.
As an extension to a Holocaust studies course, high school
teacher Tim Patsko was invited to attend five days of intensive
training at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. The eight-hours-a-
day instruction included “The Holocaust from a Local Perspective”
featuring presentations and interaction with local Holocaust
survivors and other resources. Professors from Penn State
University, Troy University (in Alabama), and the University of
South Carolina led the training with an emphasis on integrating
technology into Holocaust studies, anti-Semitism issues, and
teaching strategies for the classroom. The course was aligned
with the expansion of Act 70, a bill signed by the Pennsylvania
Department of Education prioritizing Holocaust and genocide
instruction in all schools in the Commonwealth. As a result,
Penn State will be among the first universities to offer a degree
program in Holocaust Studies. Last summer, Mr. Patsko traveled to
Washington, D.C. for training at the National Holocaust Museum.
Crafton Elementary Principal Marsha Burleson and teacher
Amy Rynn traveled to Monterey Bay, California to attend The
Digital Promise Challenge Institute. Crafton Elementary has been