October 2009 – Page 2 – The Gatton Academy News

The Center for Gifted Studies’ 2009 Berta Seminar Set for Oct. 26-27

October 15, 2009 | News, Parents, WKU | No Comments

The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU is hosting the 2009 Berta Seminar for Excellence in Education on Oct. 26-27.

An evening session for parents is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Oct. 26 followed by an all-day professional development workshop for educators and administrators from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT Oct. 27. Both events will be held at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center on Nashville Road in Bowling Green.

Thanks to the generosity of the Berta family, these events are free and open to the public. Presenters Dr. Virginia H. Burney and Dr. Kristie Speirs Neumeister, experts in educational psychology relating to gifted children, will discuss the social and emotional needs of gifted young people.

During the parent seminar, Social and Emotional Characteristics and Issues of High Ability Children, Dr. Burney and Dr. Neumeister will discuss the characteristics of gifted children and associated (possibly problematic) behavioral manifestations of those characteristics. Tips for parents and teachers in assisting positive development will also be explored.

On Oct. 27, teachers will spend the day learning how the characteristics and needs of gifted children interact with school culture in Meeting the Social and Emotional Needs of the Gifted in School. Participants will practice strategies for meeting the needs of these students and for assisting others in understanding gifted children. Resources will be provided. EILA credit is available.

About the Berta Seminar: Thanks to the generosity of Vince and Kathleen Berta, this event is free and open to the public. The Bertas realized that gifted children had needs that came from their strengths and meeting those needs required both parents and teachers. The Berta Seminar brings in experts in the field of education to conduct seminars and presentations designed specifically for the parents of gifted children. And because educating gifted students requires teachers as well as parents, The Berta Seminar sponsors a professional development seminar for educators to learn how to better meet the needs of gifted young people in the classroom.

For more information, contact The Center for Gifted Studies, (270) 745-6323.

By Corey Alderdice

Monitoring Website Helping Schneider, Other WKU Residence Halls Track Energy Usage

October 7, 2009 | News, Student Life, WKU | No Comments

As students in Western Kentucky University residence halls turn off and unplug, take shorter showers and make other energy conservation measures in this month’s “Reduce Your Use!” competition, they will be able to see how their halls rank thanks to a real-time energy monitoring and display website.

WKU’s Building Dashboard® designed by Lucid Design Group (http://www.wku.edu/housing/dashboard.htm) provides information on energy use for each residence hall, converting kilowatt hours to relatable units such as pails of coal and hamburgers.

Students not only will be able to track which building is winning, but also see whether efforts such as turning off all lights in a building make a big difference.

“The dashboard will help us save energy, but more importantly, it is a great awareness tool,” Sustainability Coordinator Christian Ryan-Downing said. “It empowers us to see immediately the results of our conservation efforts and makes it much more fun and engaging. The dashboard is like a new toy. I keep showing it to everyone.”

Ryan-Downing said energy feedback websites are proving to have great results on college campuses. Reports from both Lucid Design and universities and colleges using the technology say that real-time feedback on energy use is resulting in energy use reductions from 10 percent to 50 percent.

Before the software and dashboard could do their work, residence hall energy meters had to be connected to the centralized computer software system that the WKU Energy Management Team uses to remotely read and control heating, cooling and ventilation in many campus buildings. This system allows the Building Dashboard® to “read” the meters and provide real-time feedback.

“The Dashboard system has an integrated competition module which allows us to easily manage ‘Reduce Your Use!’” said David Baskett, coordinator for Facilities for Housing and Residence Life. “The competition module allows me to set up the parameters of the competition and from there it runs itself. Students will be able to see their hall’s standing along with other real time data by simply going to the Dashboard website. By allowing the residents to see real time data we hope this encourages a healthy competitive spirit and educates them on energy conservation.”

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Christian Ryan-Downing at (270) 745-2508.

By Corey Alderdice

Photo Album: Human Chess

October 6, 2009 | News, Photos, Student Life | No Comments

[flickr album=72157622406416641 num=50 size=Square]

By Corey Alderdice

[Random Wanderings] Being an Equipper of Skills

October 6, 2009 | News, Staff | No Comments

Tim Gott

by Tim Gott, Academy Director

People are always talking about how much has changed in their lifetime. My grandmother is 95. She has seen some changes. Flight, a person on the moon, the phone evolution, television, microwave ovens, robots, medical technology, nanotechnology, calculators, computers, it can go on for days. Talking with her recently, she shared the awe of seeing all of these things develop over her time on this planet. It made me wonder: what are the next stages of change, how will it impact our lives, and who is going to lead the way?

As an educator for the past 25 years, my intentions have been to prepare students for this big adventure. However, we all know about good intentions. I have become increasing aware of the great chasm between what we are teaching students and what they are going to need to be successful in this ever-evolving global environment. Reflecting on this dilemma, here are a few thoughts about what is needed:

We are unable to teach “all’ the content. So we need to teach process: How do we access information? What can we do with that information? How can we make decisions based on that information?
We need to be developing the right and left sides of the brain. Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind captures this extremely well. We need to integrate creativity into the left-brain worlds of “conventional” math and science. A linear approach to potential ideas will bring about some change; a nonlinear, outside-the-box approach is necessary for quantum leaps.
We need to embrace the concepts highlighted in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers. It takes an incredible amount of work and effort to get to the point of expertise (10,000 hours). Students must learn to break an academic sweat. However, it is not just talent and hard work. We need to create experiences for students to see the vast opportunities that presently exist so that they can envision possibilities yet to come.
Despite the need for major realignment of curriculum and procedures, there are some things that will never change. We cannot lose sight of the need to develop relationship skills, ethical values, and leadership dynamics. These principles will always be essential no matter the arena.

Many schools are beginning to explore these elements. The struggle is the mindset that we won’t be able to cover all that we have traditionally taught if we add anything else. The truth is we can’t do it now. Yes, there are certain fundamentals that must be taught. And we must embrace the exponential growth of new knowledge and experiences. It cannot be an either/or. The real shift is for education to stop being an information warehouse and dispenser and fully accept the role of being an equipper of skills that will enable students to be the masters of their own learning.

It isn’t a matter of “if” the next big innovation or discovery will happen; rather, it is about who will be prepared to make it. Unless we invest in this concept, our students will be spectators and passive recipients in this dynamic process. Our students deserve to be out on the edge, blazing the trails, breaking the molds, and raising the bar. Now is the time to act.

By Corey Alderdice

Fall Break Brings Excitement, First Rest of the Semester

October 6, 2009 | News, Student Life | No Comments

by Brandon Kerr (Metcalfe Co., ’11)

The leaves at Western Kentucky University are already starting to fall from the trees, and the weather is steadily become more like that of winter. Students across campus are soaking up the last bit of warm weather, sprawled on the grass reading and enjoying a day free of classes. Fall break is fast approaching, and no one is more eager than the students here at the Gatton Academy for those days of rest to arrive.

Even though the Gatton Academy is unlike any other high school in the state of Kentucky, the atmosphere at Gatton is much like that of any other high school in regards to fall break. One can feel the excitement growing as students and staff members start counting down the days and begin making plans.

Students recently faced their first wave of tests, and there is still studying to do before fall break finally arrives. Lots of students are eager to be able to take a break, and go back home for a while.

Leah Hayden (Henderson Co., ’11) plans to spend some time with friends and family back at home. “It’ll be nice to catch a break from all of the course work,” Hayden noted. “Once I get all of my work out of the way for the beginning of fall break, it will be great to just hang out and not have to worry about school for a few days.”

This seems to be the common trend amongst academy students. Everyone’s eager to go back home and tell their friends and family about all that they’ve missed.

Ben Neal (Estill Co., ’11) plans to go home and relax with his parents as well, but he is also going to be giving a presentation about the Academy, to help spread the word and get others involved. “The Academy still isn’t that well known, since it’s only been around for a few years,” Neal added. “So I offered to tell other students at my school about it to help get the word out and encourage them to apply.”

The seniors at the Academy have been busy as well. Not only have they been duteously studying for tests, but they’ve also spent a lot of time filling out applications for colleges and scholarships.

Justin Jatczak (Christian Co., ’10) says that he plans on taking a few of them home, so that he can finish the required essays without having to worry about classes and other distractions.

The summer won’t be all about relaxation for everyone though. Several students are going to be traveling to visit college campuses across the state and country, and many also plan on taking standardized tests such as the ACT or SAT.

Anna Walter (Boone Co., ’10) says that she’ll be taking the SAT during fall break, “I really want to do better, just to prove to myself that I can,” Walter noted. “It’s also a big consideration in a lot of scholarships, I’m hoping to get around a 2250 (out of 2400).”

There’s a lot of excitement building up as fall break comes closer. Whether students are going to home to vedge or plan on taking school home for a bit, the Gatton Academy wishes students, staff, and parents a safe and happy fall break.

By Corey Alderdice

BG Daily News: Chess pieces on the Move; Students Play Game Part Roles

October 5, 2009 | News, Student Life | No Comments

The cover story (PDF link) in today’s Bowling Green Daily News relates yesterday’s human chess game held on the fourth floor of Schneider Hall.

From the story:

With several student spectators around, Sam Firkins, taunting Jason Ludden, leader of the black pieces, called out his move – bishop to F4. With that, the Gatton Academy student portraying the bishop moved on the carpeted chessboard to the appropriate spot.

Students from the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University on Sunday played chess. However, they used themselves as the pieces. Residential counselor Sue-Margaret Meador thought it would be fun for the students to play the game with live pieces.

“This is just a different way to play and engage the student,” she said. “It’s been entertaining, and hopefully it sparked some interest in the game.”

Read the full article on the BG Daily News website.

A special thanks to all participants, including Sue Meador for arranging this exciting event!

By Corey Alderdice

Five Gatton Academy Students Selected to Participate in NASA’s INSPIRE Online Learning Community

October 5, 2009 | Academics, News, Student Success | No Comments

Five Gatton Academy students have been selected to participate in the NASA INSPIRE Online Learning Community.

The Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience (INSPIRE) is a multi-tiered year-round program designed for students in ninth- to 12th -grade who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, education and careers.

Sean Freeman, Desiree “Taylor” Harbin, Jacob Haven, Tyler Parke, and Dana Wheeler will interact online with students from across the country. Based on their work in the coming months, they may be eligible to compete for summer internships.

The Online Learning Community (OLC) is INSPIRE’s centerpiece providing a place for INSPIRE students to interact with their peers, NASA experts and education specialists. Through grade-level-appropriate educational activities, chats and the discussion board, students and their families will be exposed to the many careers and opportunities at NASA. The OLC also provides parents resources designed to help them champion their student’s education and career goals. Once accepted into the OLC, students and their parents remain participants of the community through the students’ freshmen year of college as long as they stay active participants.

Members of the INSPIRE OLC have the opportunity to compete for a grade-appropriate summer STEM experiences that will be available in 2010. The summer STEM experience is designed to provide hands-on experiences to investigate education and careers in STEM at a NASA facility or university. All summer experiences, except the collegiate experience, will take place at the NASA facility within the student’s service area. To locate the NASA facility corresponding to your service area please see the “NASA Facilities and Service Area” section.

Explorer Experience: INSPIRE OLC participants in the ninth-grade can compete for this summer experience. Students selected will receive an expense paid trip for them and an accompanying parent or legal guardian to the NASA facility within their service area for a VIP tour and workshop. The visit occurs the summer between the students’ ninth and 10th-grade.

Collegiate Experience: INSPIRE OLC participants in the 10th-grade can compete for this summer experience. Students selected will participate in a two-week on-campus collegiate experience at a university and are chaperoned by the host institution. This exposure to college life is designed to improve study skills and encourage the pursuit of higher education and careers in STEM areas. NASA will pay round trip travel expenses for those students who live more than 100 miles from the college or university providing this experience. The college or university provides lodging, meals, supervision and educational activities. The collegiate experience occurs the summer between the students’ 10th and 11th-grade.

Residential Internship: INSPIRE OLC participants in the 11th-grade can compete for this summer experience. Students awarded will participate in a paid eight-week apprentice experience with a NASA mentor at the NASA facility within the students’ service area. During the internship, students are provided:
— A stipend based on minimum wage for the state in which the NASA facility is located and a lunch allowance
— Meals and housing at a location within commuting distance from the NASA facility, typically a nearby college dormitory
— Daily transportation to and from work and required project activities
— During working hours, students are supervised and mentored by scientists and engineers at the NASA center. During non-work hours students interact with qualified, experienced and highly motivated professional educators. These educators provide supervision and implement the enrichment activities and cultural activities during after-work hours.

Collegiate Internship: INSPIRE OLC participants in the 12th-grade who have been accepted to attend a college or university to pursue a STEM degree can compete for this summer experience. Students awarded will participate in a paid eight-week intern experience with a NASA mentor at the NASA facility within their service area. In this internship, the student receives a stipend and he/she is responsible for making all lodging, meals, and transportation arrangements.

For more information, contact Derick Strode at 270-745-6565.

By Corey Alderdice

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to Deliver Lecture at WKU on Oct. 26

October 3, 2009 | Academics, News, Student Life | No Comments

The 2009-10 Cultural Enhancement Series at WKU will begin Oct. 26 with a lecture by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

The event is free and open to WKU students, faculty, staff and community members. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Neil deGrasse Tyson at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Downing University Center Theatre: Dr. Tyson is director of the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum of Natural History and host of “NOVA ScienceNow,” which explores the frontiers of scientific discoveries that are reshaping our understanding of the universe. He has hosted numerous other science documentaries, authored diverse best-selling science books, appeared on hundreds of talk shows to explain new discoveries in an accurate and approachable manner, and even named in 2000 by People magazine as “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive.” His books include “The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet” and “Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries.”

His lecture is co-sponsored by the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at WKU.

Other events in the Series’ 13^th season are American Revival: Celebrating the New Stars of American Roots Music on Nov. 17, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys on Feb. 9 and U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins on April 13.

For more details, visit the WKU News Blog.

By Corey Alderdice

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Month: October 2009