Upcoming Events & Deadlines April 1st, 3:45 - 5:30 GK-12 Fellows Meeting Plant Sciences Building, Lecture Room Presentations by Sid and Pam April 15th, 3:45 - 5:30 GK-12 Fellows and Teachers Meeting Plant Sciences Building, Lecture Room Presentations by Rita and Jenn April 15th 5:30 - 6:30 GK-12 Meeting for 2008-2009 participants Plant Sciences Building, Lecture Room April 16th, 5:30 - 6:30 GK-12 Meeting for 2008-2009 participants Biology Building, Room TBA April 28th, 3:45 - 5:30 GK-12 Fellows Meeting Meet with External Evaluator Plant Sciences Building, Lecture Room Research presentations by all fellows CONTACT US: Hannah Sanger Program Coordinator ISU Faculty: Dr. Rosemary Smith Biological Sciences Program Director Mike Ellis Engineering Co-Director Dr. Jeff Hill Biological Sciences Co-Director Dr. Larry Stout Engineering Co-Director Dr. Glenn Thackray Geosciences Dr. Scott Hughes Geosciences Dr. Cathy Krilof Mathematics Dr. Rob VanKirk Mathematics Dr. Steve Adkison English CURRENT FELLOWS: Sid Blackmore Jennifer Cannon Maurita Jones Ian Kihara Esther Kingsbury Erin Naegle Pam O'Hearn Susan Parsons Nicole Sheeley Chris Smith Nicole Wisniewski CURRENT TEACHERS: Doris Autenrieth T. Paul Davids Sharie Ellis Norris Ganstrom Jean Hancock Deb Hobdey Marilyn Mikkelson Staci Orr Lynette Smith Cara Sonnemann Carri Thomason Maria Wilson New Teachers and Fellows Accepted for 2008-2009 TEACHER, SCHOOL FELLOW, DEPARTMENT Kristi Wehrspann, Grace Lutheran Eric Johnson, Geology Chad Majeske, Mountain View Middle School Jeff Molitor, Engineering Christenia Coast, Pocatello Community Charter School Stephanie Mathies, Biology T. Paul Davids, Marsh Valley High School Gifford Gillette, Biology Meg Fleischmann, Century High School Kelsey Metzger, Biology Bruce Givens, Century High School Ryan Long, Biology Elissa Novy, Irving Middle School Dawn Hayes, Geology Jean Hancock, Pocatello High School Jennifer Teixeira, Chemistry MiKelle Anderson, Highland High School Ben Reynolds, Mathematics Mike Sullivan, Highland High School Jake Gentle, Engineering Robert Miron, Highland High School James Jackson, Biology Please join the GK-12 faculty and staff at ISU in welcoming these 22 individuals to the 2008-2009 GK-12 program. Recent Activities & Highlights Field Trips & Events Robotics: The Marsh Valley and Pocatello robotics teams went to Portland in early March to compete in the northwest regional FIRST competition. Both teams did a fantastic job - congratulations! GK-12 Conference in D.C. Rosemary Smith, Hannah Sanger, Sue Parsons and T. Paul Davids traveled to Washington, D.C. in early March for the annual national GK-12 conference. With over 500 attendees, there was a lot we were able to learn from other GK-12 programs across the country, including the fact that we have a great GK-12 program here in Idaho, thanks in large part to the hard work of all our teachers and fellows. Thank you! District 25 Science Showcase. The GK-12 classes presented some fantastic science at this year's Science Showcase. They demonstrated a working trebuchet and robots & presented posters about student driven research on c-ferns, and more. Anatomy and Physiology. The Marsh Valley A&P class visited ISU's rock climbing wall for a field trip to learn about muscle fatigue. They also visited with several Physical Therapy faculty members to learn more about these programs at ISU. Chemistry. Skyline High School's Chemistry class visited ISU to make use of the instrumentation lab and identify unknown solids. They also got to meet a couple ISU chemistry faculty and learn more about this program at ISU. Highlights of Fall 2007 from four GK-12 teachers: TEACHER A: "The best part of this program for students at Marsh Valley High School is to have a 'Scientist in Residence' spend time every week in the classroom and out of the classroom. Students have shown a greater interest in science. I've noticed more questions asked to the fellow about science careers and college to attend, which supports my thoughts on greater interest in science. The activity that produced great interest in the sciences was 'Rattlesnake genetics and landscape ecology.' This activity used technology supplied by ISU, the fellow's experience, a field trip to the [Idaho National Lab], and added interest in science." TEACHER B: "A highlight has been the ability to get more hands on projects at a higher academic level for the honors zoology class and see the students respond by meeting the higher goals." TEACHER C: "A highlight was the c-fern studies - The students were able to set up experiments using c-ferns. For a lot of the students this was their first experience writing lab reports and doing experiments that spanned weeks." TEACHER D: "Students [3rd-4th graders] have developed an appreciation for the geology of SE Idaho and are using information learned to form questions and hypothesis about how various landscapes are formed. [The] kids are teaching their parents and other adults about concepts learned in class."