Events
TCU's Andrews Institute hosts acclaimed author, naturalist to speak on journaling outdoors
TCU’s Andrews Institute of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education is partnering with REAL School Gardens to host renowned author, artist and naturalist Clare Walker Leslie for an educational lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 11 from 5–7 p.m. in Palko Hall, on TCU’s campus. The author will also be at a book signing at the TCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore from 1-3 p.m. on the same day.
For more than three decades, students and teachers have benefited from Ms. Leslie’s innovative workshops and presentations around the country. Her books, Nature Drawing: A Tool for Learning and Keeping a Nature Journal, are key components of numerous outdoor education programs.
Leslie advocates getting children to record in their journals the different kinds of animals they encounter throughout the day, the number of trees in their schoolyard, the plant life they observe. These activities allow for the intersection of varying academic subjects with outdoor education, such as English, math, reading and geography.
“We are very fortunate to be able to partner with REAL School Gardens to bring Clare Leslie to TCU. Our elementary education students are especially excited because they have been using her book, Keeping a Nature Journal, as a guide for keeping their own nature journal in the science methods course. Being able to meet and interact with this dynamic woman is exactly the type of additional educational experience the Andrews Institute wants to help provide for science teachers.” said Dr. Molly Weinburgh, William L. & Betty F. Adams Chair of Education and director of the Andrews Institute of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education.
At the Feb. 11 event, Leslie plans to give TCU students, faculty and alumni a variety of strategies and tips to help children get the most from journaling. “I just want them (students) to get to know where they live. I want them to think about, list and describe the animals and plants in their town, to consider how they are all part of the web of life – from the two-legged to the four legged to the six-legged – to understand that they live in their town too.”
Originally invited as a guest of REAL School Gardens, the Andrews Institute invited Ms. Leslie for an extended visit to TCU. REAL School Gardens is a non-profit organization devoted to establishing gardens in elementary schools across the nation, with the goal of connecting young children with nature. The organization currently works with more than 28,000 students in 54 elementary schools in North Texas.
The Andrews Institute of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education was established as a collaborative venture between the College of Education and the College of Science & Engineering to address, among other things, the issues of training and qualifications for both pre-service and in-service teachers in mathematics and the sciences. The mission of the Andrews Institute is to provide an environment for innovation and change in mathematics, science, and technology education through creative research and teaching by faculty and students at TCU.
Author of The Future of Education lectures at TCU on March 9 & 10
Dr. Kieran Egan, author of The Future of Education, will give two public lectures as the TCU College of Education’s Green Honors Chair. His first lecture, "Developing Minds and Imaginations,” will be Monday, March 9, 7–9 p.m. The second lecture on “Learning in Depth: A Simple Innovation That Can Transform Schooling” will be Tuesday, March 10, 7–9 p.m. in the same location. The event is open and free to attend; both lectures will be held in Palko Hall, located on TCU's campus at 3000 Bellaire Drive N.
Kieran Egan is a professor of education at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, as well as founder and director of the Imaginative Education Research Group (www.ierg.net). He has authored and edited over 20 books, many of which have been translated into European and Asian languages. In 1991, he won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in Education for his book, Primary Understanding: Education in Early Childhood.
"Kieran Egan is one of the most original ‘big picture’ thinkers in education. I always read what he writes. In his latest book, Egan critiques both traditional and progressive education and puts forth his own provocative ideas on how change might be implemented," says Howard Gardner, Harvard University, author of Five Minds for the Future and Multiple Intelligences.
Born in Clonmel, Ireland, Dr. Egan was raised and educated in England. He graduated from London University with a B.A. in history, from Cornell University with a Ph.D. in education and earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University. In 1993, he was elected to the Royal Society of Canada. He is a foreign associate member of the National Academy of Education and holds a Canada Research Chair in Education.
For more information on the College of Education, visit www.coe.tcu.edu. For more information regarding Dr. Egan’s lectures, contact 817-257-7660.
Lights, camera, KinderFrogs
The annual Leap Frog for KinderFrogs Progressive Dinner and Auction was held on September 18 at the homes of Priscilla and Joe Martin, Laura and Dale Ladner and Lauren and Mark Yamagata. The theme this year was Lights! Camera! KinderFrogs! Guests “leaped” from house to house and enjoyed cocktails, appetizers, dinner and dessert. In addition, the guests purchased raffle tickets for a chance to win a TCU tailgate party, rodeo tickets, ultimate golf packages, and spa days.
As the evening concluded, guests had one last opportunity to bid on live auction items that included a trip to Los Angeles for backstage passes to the Dr. Phil show, weekend getaway to New York with dinner at Tavern on the Green and Broadway show tickets. Each year, guests contribute to the scholarship fund for the KinderFrogs School. This year, the scholarship fund raised more than $23,000. The event chair Christine Martin and honorary chair Jean Roach were thrilled with the support and monies raised. The event set a record of net proceeds exceeding $120,000.
The Leap Frog event benefits the KinderFrogs School at TCU, a school for children ages 18 months to six years with Down syndrome and other development delays. If you are interested in joining the Leap Frog for KinderFrogs event committee, please contact Michele Cole at m.cole@tcu.edu or 817-257-5562.
Field Work
This summer 34 Fort Worth area teachers sharpened their science skills in a classroom full of spiders, snakes and a few armadillos. They were part of a year-long professional development experience dubbed the Environmental Academy designed to get science teachers to take their classrooms outside to stimulate a love of natural science.
Developed by TCU's Andrews Institute of Mathematics Science & Technology Education, the academy utilized the Fort Worth Independent School District's 228-acre Outdoor Learning Center located on the shores of Eagle Mountain Lake as a hands-on, outdoor classroom.
"Their approach is to actually get us outside and let us learn through personal experience, which is exactly what we want our kids to do," said Henry Ashford, who teaches sixth grade at Rosemont Middle School in Fort Worth.
Teachers were charged with collecting and identifying insects, observing animal habitats from anthills to beehives and conducting biology scavenger hunts aided by GPS navigation devices.
Kelly Feille, also a Rosemont sixth-grade teacher, said putting kids literally in the field provides a welcome change for today's students, whose worlds are dominated by digital pursuits.
"Students aren't aware of the environmental diversity in their own back yard," she said. "Hopefully getting them outside will increase that awareness."
As part of the program, TCU also donated new science equipment and learning materials designed to aid hands-on activities such as collecting and categorizing insects and building classroom habitats.
"We're hoping to inspire the schools and their students to build their own collections," said Mark Bloom, associate professor of education, who gave teachers a primer on pinning insects onto exhibit boards.(more)
