Presenter              Session Title                                                                    Audience              
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Science Presenters                                                                                                                                                 

Susan Nix- Science Roundtable Facilitator  

Susan Nix has been a classroom teacher for 20 years, the last 15 of which were spent teaching Biology and as the Head Coach of Varsity Track at Midland High School.  While there, she was selected to represent educators of Texas at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, won a district title in Track and Field and had numerous occasions to speak on behalf of her students.  As an administrator for the past 4 years in Ector County Independent School District, Susan has spent the last 2 as Coordinator for Science, Health and Physical Education. Susan, together with her science specialists and other science teachers, has developed their district curriculum. Susan’s greatest reward comes when former students return to tell her that she has made a difference in their lives, and in seeing the successes they have achieved.  Now as an administrator, she finds those same rewards in working with teachers and principals in helping their students succeed.  Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology, with certifications in Biology, Psychology, and a Masters in Education with Mid-management Certification.

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                                                                                                                   William Coleman

A U.S. Army veteran, William Coleman has worked with special education students in grades 4 and 5 for the past four years. Here’s what co-workers at Indian Creek Elementary School have to say about William:  “His commitment and dedication to education is exemplified by involvement inside and outside the classroom.”   “He is a retired soldier who really answered the call of duty to work with youngsters.  His dedication to the mission of our school is beyond reproach…”  “Mr. Coleman continues to be sought out by his peers as a major force in raising students’ expectations and helping raise TAKS scores with a predominantly ESL population.”  “He strives to ensure that his teaching methodologies are current and backed by scientific research.”

Call of Duty  
In this session, William will share techniques for quickly building a solid rapport with struggling students, to help them maximize their potential. Included are proven hands-on math and science strategies that you can use in the classroom to improve TAKS scores.

[ back to top ]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Cindy Timms

Cindy Timms has a M.Ed. in Gifted Education and a B.S. in Multidisciplinary Studies.  She has taught in a self-contained fourth-grade classroom for fifteen years.  She was selected by the Texas Tech University Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society as the Outstanding Elementary Science Teacher of 2001.  While continuing to teach at Jim Ned CISD, she hopes to pass on her love of learning to her students.

Everyday Science on a Shoestring Budget

Learn to explain a variety of scientific principles using everyday materials easily collected from around your home.  You can turn your classroom into a science lab without the high-tech expensive equipment and still have the children engaged and interested in learning.  Leave this session full of hands-on activities to help get your students interested in how the world around them works.  Activities are geared toward 3-5th graders, but they may be adjusted for lower or higher grade students.   

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                                                                                                                       Jennifer Dupre

Jennifer Dupre is an enthusiastic 5th grade science teacher at Belaire Elementary in San Angelo, Texas.  She has taught for 10 years, in a variety of grade levels, but 5th grade science is definitely her niche!  She serves as a Science Teacher Mentor with the Texas Regional Collaborative in which she continuously strives to learn more in order to impart that knowledge to her students, as well as her colleagues.  She has adapted what she’s learned in order to create lessons and activities that will engage all students in learning the science TEKS.  In doing so, her hope is to improve students’ knowledge of science and to incorporate a love of learning!

Life Science, 5E and Dupre: A 5E model approach to Adaptations, Inherited Traits, and Learned Behaviors - Grades 2-5

Get your students engaged in learning!  The 5E model is a GREAT motivator for students learning science!  This session will utilize the 5E model to cover Science Objective 2 TEKS on adaptations, inherited traits, learned behaviors, and habitats while incorporating interactive sorts, games, and foldables.   Materials Download 

 [ back to top ]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Sherie Loika

Currently, the sole administrator of an academic alternative campus and teacher of a night school program, Sherie Loika remains steadfast in the belief that teachers can find the combination necessary to break the bonds of TAKS and enable student success.  Starting in the medical field, Sherie returned to school for her teaching certification and holds a B.S. in Biology and Life/Earth Sciences.  After a decade of teaching in Title I schools, she returned to acquire a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Instructional Technology and a principal’s certification.  Driven to make a difference, she accepted the position of a new academic alternative campus with a 100% at-risk population which succeeded in graduating 18 students in the first semester. “Not even crossing the finish line for my first marathon compares to the joy I feel when one of mine crosses the stage.”

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                                                                                                                      Natalie Fitzgerald

Interactive Science Journal – Grades 2-5

Natalie Fitzgerald has a B.S. degree and M.A. in Reading and Educational Leadership.  She has taught twelve years and for the past four years has taught 5^th Grade Science at Milam Elementary in Odessa , Texas .  Natalie was Teacher of the Year in 2004. For the past two years she has been a member of the Region 18 Science Collaborative, learning and sharing new knowledge of science with her colleagues.  She is passionate about teaching science and her greatest desire is to make a difference in the life of every child who enters the classroom.

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 Susan Hardy

Susan Hardy is a Texas gal who has spent most of her life and teaching career in Texas.  She was “born and raised”  in the Panhandle and began teaching as a substitute teacher in the Hill Country, but her horse has been hitched in West Texas since receiving  her degree in Earth Science from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in 1986. She “played” and learned along with K-6 grade students as their science lab teacher at John Ireland Elementary in Odessa for 17 years.  Now she is busy in the task of helping the students and teachers in Ector County ISD value science education.  She enjoys interacting with teachers, planning for and teaching “Science in Review” lessons to all 5th grade students in the district, and helping individual schools improve their science lab facilities. 

 “Star-Gazing Can Improve TAKS Scores?” (Grades 2-4)-Participants will learn how lessons presented in a Starlab portable planetarium can be extremely motivating, teacher-friendly, and congruent with Texas science AND reading standards for primary grades that are eligible for testing at 5th grade.

“Star-Gazing Can Improve TAKS Scores?” (Grade 5) –Participants will learn how lessons presented in a Starlab portable planetarium can be extremely motivating, teacher-friendly, and congruent with Texas science, reading AND social studies standards.

“Star-Gazing Can Improve TAKS Scores?”  (Middle School) – Participants will learn how lessons presented in a Starlab portable planetarium can be extremely motivating, teacher-friendly, and congruent with Texas science and social studies standards. 

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                                                                                                         Wendell Travis Wheaton
 

Wendell Wheaton has been enthusiastically teaching 30 years with experience in kindergarten through eighth grade.  His first job in Texas was teaching in a little border town, called Donna, where he specialized in teaching Migrant Remedial Math and Gifted Math.  For the past 25 years, he has been teaching 5th grade science in San Angelo, Texas. 

Wendell’s B.S. and M.S. degrees are from Western Michigan University.  As a post graduate student, he attended Angelo State University, University of Texas, and University of Idaho.  Some of this post graduate work was funded with a grant from NASA. 

Professional activities have included memberships to Texas Council of Elementary Science (TCES), Science Teachers of Texas (STAT), and National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and Region XV Science Collaborative.  The collaborative was initiated with a grant of $200,000 that he helped to write.  Mr. Wheaton has written curriculum for his district, presented at various workshops, and participated as a member on the Science TAKS Review Committee.

For the past 15 summers, Mr. Wheaton has organized field trips for elementary students to Orlando, Florida which involve hands-on experiential learning at various theme parks and nature areas.

His biggest accomplishment has been to teach the TEKS in a way that not only makes students truly enjoy science and understand the role it plays in their lives, but also ultimately prepares them for the TAKS test.

TAKS to the Max: Sensationalize Science Instruction - Grades 2-5
This session will focus on teaching the TEKS in a way that not only makes students enjoy science and the role it plays in their lives, but also ultimately prepares them for the TAKS test. Come discover numerous lab ideas with hands-on activities that
work well in addressing the TAKS objectives.

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                                                 Tina Callahan, Cynthia McGowen, Kysha Tanner, Misti Chapman
 

Sizzling Successful Science Strategies

This enthusiastic, dynamic team has 44 years collectively as educators in the elementary setting.  These ladies have worked together the past few years helping build their Title I campus, Holiman Elementary, into an Exemplary one. They all share a passion for helping ALL students to succeed through rich, hands-on experiences.   Holiman is a K-5 campus in San Angelo, Texas and it has maintained its Exemplary rating 3 years running.  

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                                                                                                                          Kelly Stanley

Kelly Stanley, married and mother of two children, has been in elementary education for twenty–eight years.  As part of the Science Curriculum team her job is equipping teachers with data, lessons, and strategies to improve student success in science.   Writing “TECH/TEKS” based lessons with a “hands-on” approach, Stanley prepares students to not only pass but to be commended on the fifth grade TAKS test.  Her philosophy is there is no substitute for just “good teaching.”
 

“SIR” lessons—“Science in Review” - Grade 5 

Discover how to build TEKS based lessons that review vocabulary and science concepts through hands-on activities and technology.   This session is open to teachers and administrators that are interested in improving 5^th grade Science TAKS scores.

Marvelous Models - Grades 2-5

This session demonstrates how to build models for the classroom or lab using everyday items.  Some of the models include wind erosion, beach erosion, weathering, and tectonic plates.  This session is open to teachers and administrators that would like to add more models to their classrooms or campuses.

What’s Your Responsibility for Science TAKS? - Grades 2-5

This session is to provide information to lower grade teachers about what’s eligible for testing on the fifth grade science test. Second-fifth grade teachers are presented specific TEKS that their students should be taught that could later be tested.  Sample TAKS questions for these TEKS will be viewed.  This session is open to 2^nd-5^th grade teachers and administrators that want to incorporate a team effort on the Science TAKS.  Materials Download     Download 2    Download 3

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                                                                                                                          Patty Villarreal

After graduating from Sul Ross University with a Bachelor’s degree, Patty Villarreal began her teaching career as a mighty “Lion” at East Side Elementary in Del Rio , Texas .  Twelve years later, she is still a true Lioness, never straying from her little cubs and making sure that the students at East Side get the education and the sense of confidence to go on and become natural born leaders.  She currently teaches 5th grade science, and as a mother of two very curious boys, Patty feels right at home in her lab helping her “Scientists” discover and explore the world of science.

Bridging the Gap: From the Science Lab to the TAKS - Grades 2-5

Science experiments are great for engaging students in learning, but this knowledge must be applicable to the TAKS test.  In this interactive session, participants will explore ways to take hands-on lab activities and discover ways to make connections to TAKS-formatted questions. 

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Lara Cantrell

She is a fast-paced, high energy woman with lots to say!  She teaches with Journals AKA “Book of Knowledge” every single day.  Lara helps teachers make 90% of what the students do in class hands-on with many manipulatives & ActiveBoard activities.  Lara has been teaching secondary science for 12 years.  Her experience has been in 6th, 7th, 8th grade sciences, as well as IPC, Physics, Biology, Honors, AP Biology, Anatomy Physiology & Environmental Science.  Currently she is in the 7th and 8th grade classroom.  In addition to being Secondary Science certified, she is also certified in ESL and has her GT endorsement.  She has provided multiple in-service workshops for the various schools she has worked including : Intel Teach to the Future, Thinking Maps Trainer, Promethean Activeboard Training as well as motivational speeches.  She is the mother of (a very multicultural) 6 children and married to Jay who has been teaching and coaching for 17 years. 

Science Journaling in the Secondary Classroom - Grades 6-12

Journaling takes regular everyday science and turns it into a student- created (and many times student led), interactive work in progress.   The kids are the ones in control of what actually goes in it therefore they take much more ownership of their work!  Note taking becomes a creation rather than the same ol’ boring thing.  This workshop is targeted for ANY teacher wanting to make their classroom MORE FUN, LESS WORK, IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK, & INSTANT GRADING!

 

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Robin Dehnel

Robin Dehnel has been an educator for 17 years; teaching IPC for sixteen years and Biology for one year, all at the 9th grade level. Currently, she is the Science Department Chairperson at the Central Freshman Campus in San Angelo, TX and teaches Biology to 1/7 of the 750 students. She has been a member of the ESCXV Texas Regional Collaborative for Excellence in Science Teaching (TRC) for the past 4 years, serving as a Science Teacher Mentor (STM) and an Instructional Team Member (ITM). These four years have given her the opportunity to present on the state level at the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teachers (CAST) and the TRC annual meetings and on the local level at the ESC and district campuses. With the minimum requirement of 105 hours of professional development a year during the grant cycle, she has been the recipient of a multitude of resources and information for all grade levels and subjects. In the summer of 2003, she was one of eight national candidates selected to participate in the Sea Scholar Program sponsored by the Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) and the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVO). These opportunities allow her to showcase her ability to relate to any audience on any topic. 

“TAKS” CUT

Who needs the IRS and H & R Block? Texas has TEA and the SBOE going full circle.

The changes to the education law go into effect in 2011-2012, High School Science TAKS tests are out and EOC exams are in. Are you prepared?? Don’t wait until it’s too late. Start now with strategies and ideas to get ready before the deadline.

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Tracey Keeney

Tracey Keeney has been an educator for 17 years, most of which have been spent in a Physics or Chemistry Classroom.  He received his degree from Sam Houston State University and currently holds a composite Science certificate.  He is a firm believer in hands on learning and spends every day presenting his students with new challenges.  Tracey has lived in south Texas his entire life and was raised in a teaching family, where his father spent everyday showing them something about the wonderful world of science.  He is married, with two children, and carries on this practice with his own family.

Physics Olympics – Grades 9-12

An overview of 10 events that make up a Physics Olympics that is held in May after the TAKS test.  These events reinforce the objectives that the students have learned throughout the year.  Participants will receive handouts of all activities.

Chemistry Fun and Games – Grades 6-12

A demonstration of TAKS based hands-on activities that are appropriate in middle and high school science classes.  This session is hands-on and each participant will receive handouts of all activities.

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                                                                                                                           Beth Lehman

Beth Lehmann has been an educator for 16 years, teaching 7^th and 8^th grade science.  She is the 8^th grade Lead Science Teacher and Team Leader at Glenn Middle School in San Angelo, TX.  She has been a member of the ESCXV Texas Regional Collaborative for Excellence in Science Teaching (TRC) for the past 4 years, serving as a Science Teacher Mentor (STM).  She was Teacher of the Year at Glenn Middle School for the 2005-2006 school year.  Beth is a strong advocate for students participating in the science competition, because it helps students understand the importance of science outside the classroom.  In the last 4 years Glenn Middle School has taken many students to the State Science Competition.  Beth describes her class as one of controlled chaos and never the quietest one in the hall but with active learning occurring.  She has been nicknamed the control freak by her fellow teachers and wears it like a badge of honor.  She believes students need to be active with as many hands on activities and visual aids as possible, because this is how students remember concepts.

You don’t have to be CRAZY to teach Science but it HELPS! Grades 6-8
This session will focus on the activities, strategies and techniques that worked to help my students remember the major TAKS concepts.  The activities and just plain crazy ways to remember some of the concepts will be shared.  My students think that I am just plain crazy sometimes and they no doubt make fun of me but hey they remember!  I know because my fellow team members tell me that they go to their other classes and talk about it and demonstrate the concepts to the others!  Materials Download

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 AND MORE!