Three Dorchester 2 Teachers to Attend Science PLUS Institute

Roper Mountain Science Center, a facility of Greenville County Schools, has selected three Dorchester School District Two teachers to attend the Science P.L.U.S. (Participatory Learning, Understanding and Sharing) Institute during the summer of 2013. 

The Institute, 100% funded by a South Carolina Education Improvement Act (EIA) grant, gives intensive training in science teaching methods and activities to public school science teachers from throughout South Carolina. The Institute emphasizes the center’s belief that all students deserve a good science education.

Erin Craddock, 8^th grade science teacher at Oakbrook Middle School, Tina Peterson, 6^th  grade science teacher at River Oaks Middle School, and Persis Buffum, 4^th grade teacher at Joseph R. Pye Elementary School have been selected to participate in the one-week sessions this summer.  During the course of the Institute, these teachers will be provided with the resources to use for hands-on science activities with their students.  Superintendent Joe Pye commended these teachers for spending part of their summer taking advantage of this professional growth opportunity.  Mr. Pye said, “The willingness of our teachers to take advantage of this professional growth opportunity during the summer is indicative of their commitment to be a master teacher.  Our students are the beneficiaries of this intense training opportunity.”

The courses for the 2013 Science P.L.U.S. Institute include six different one-week sessions in weather, space, life science, earth science, and physical science.  Classes are built around specific grade levels corresponding to the South Carolina Science Academic Standards for grades 3-8.  Each session encourages teachers to incorporate math and language skills into their science lessons and to look for opportunities to make science connections when teaching other disciplines.

Participants return to the classrooms with new tools for teaching science.   Teachers receive science materials and supplies to duplicate lessons learned.  New skills, enhanced content knowledge, and tested ideas shared by other teachers enable Science P.L.U.S. participants to return to their classrooms with renewed enthusiasm for science instruction.  The result is a “can-do” attitude about science instruction that often carries over to other academic disciplines.

In the 21-year history of the Institute, more than 4,000 South Carolina public school science teachers have participated in Science P.L.U.S. classes.