School of Education

Communication

During his Armstrong year, a middle school teacher worked with an IU faculty member on the theme of "Erasing Boundaries Through Communication." Together, they established a videoconference lesson that linked the Armstrong teacher's 8th grade class in Florida with the IU faculty member's undergraduate class in Bloomington, Indiana. One of the goals of their joint class was to promote service-learning, which is an educational pursuit designed to integrate community service and academic learning goals.

Inquiry-Based Teaching Practices

A high school teacher from Clay City, Indiana, worked with an IU faculty and others who are involved with the Inquiry Learning Forum (ILF). The ILF is a web-based environment that fosters these discussions and allows teachers to share their classroom teaching with others through videotaped lessons. Together, they promoted discussion among Indiana math and science teachers about inquiry-based teaching practices. The Armstrong teacher also worked with another IU faculty in Science Education. He attended this faculty member's undergraduate seminars to discuss the role of critical reflection in the continued professional development of science teachers.

Best Practices in Composition and Reading

During her Armstrong year, a high school language arts teacher worked with two IU faculty members to explore issues related to secondary English education. She shared best practices in composition and reading with pre-service teachers, and worked with the faculty members to revisit courses required for the major. As the Armstrong teacher's inquiry project, she looked at her own students' writer-based reflective questions, and what could be learned from them, and prepared an article for publication.

Preparing New Teachers

A high school teacher worked with an IU faculty member to help prepare pre-service teachers for obtaining their first teaching job. She presented these third and fourth year students with practical advice on resume writing, application completion, and interviewing skills. She frequently participated in open question-and-answer discussions with these two classes. The Armstrong teacher also worked with another faculty member in the school of education to improve its outreach to the community, particularly its partnerships with school corporations. As her inquiry project, she looked at providing her school corporation with professional development resources.

Student Success

An elementary school teacher from Fort Wayne, Indiana, worked with an IU faculty member on the topic of resiliency in children. The focus of her project was how certain children from poverty have a drive to succeed despite their adverse situation. She conducted an action research project in her own classroom on this issue. In addition, she spoke with students in an IU faculty member's undergraduate education classes about working with students and families in poverty.

Elementary Writing Skills

During her Armstrong year, a fifth grade teacher worked with an IU faculty member and IU students enrolled in language arts and reading education classes. The fifth graders from the Armstrong teacher's class and the undergraduates from the IU faculty member's class exchanged pen pal letters and stories. Each group offered the other group suggestions on improving their writing skills. They had face-to-face meetings between the classes so that they could meet their pen pals and share strategies to improve their writing. The Armstrong teacher also presented a lesson on spelling strategies for intermediate students to the IU faculty member's class.

Methods of Mathematics Assessment

A high school math teacher from Syracuse, Indiana, worked with the associate dean and an IU faculty member. As a contributor within math methods classes, the Armstrong teacher shared the methods of math assessment she employs to identify high-level mathematics tasks. She also participated in the Community of Teachers forum where she helped students act out various classroom management techniques. Most importantly, however, by working with an IU faculty member and a local alternative school in Bloomington, the Armstrong teacher created an alternative education program to serve at-risk students in a nontraditional setting.

Community Outreach in Social Studies Education

During his Armstrong year, a seventh grade teacher worked with an IU faculty on establishing linkages between the Armstrong teacher's social studies classroom and the surrounding community. Specifically, they became involved in local nursing homes and daycare centers where these students interacted with both the elderly and the young in educationally significant activities.

Teacher Recruitment

An experienced elementary school teacher from Bloomington, Indiana, used her Armstrong year to bring aspiring teachers into her public school. By working with an IU faculty member's undergraduate class on teaching reading, 26 future teachers went to an area school and worked one-on-one with 29 elementary school students. One result was the creation of a writing and publishing center. These future teachers worked with the Armstrong teacher to help the children of this school write and publish their own books.

Mentoring

A sixth grade teacher worked with IU faculty to design and implement a web course, "Practicing Teachers as Mentors." She also shared her veteran insights with future teachers in several forums on the practice of teaching. During her Armstrong year, this Armstrong teacher also became the first teacher in the state of Indiana to earn National Professional Standards Board certification.

Innovations in Mathematics Education

During her Armstrong year, an elementary teacher–who loves to teach math–worked with an IU faculty member to facilitate the adoption of an innovative math curriculum at an area elementary school, where the Armstrong teacher served as a consultant and co-investigator with the teachers at that school on the benefits of this new curriculum. Ultimately, her insights have not only informed the math teachers at this elementary school, but have also informed the faculty at IU in the mathematics education program in the School of Education.