By: Marianna Ruggerio, Physics Educator at Auburn High School
Each summer physics teachers from across the state of Illinois spend two weeks on campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign to engage in the Illinois Physics and Secondary Schools Partnership (IPaSS). IPaSS is a $2.6M NSF funded program established based on the fundamental belief that teachers are experts in classroom practice, while also recognizing that physics teachers, in particular, tend to be isolated in their buildings. Typically, teachers of physics teach other classes such as chemistry, astronomy or biology and roughly 50% of physics teachers have a degree in a STEM field other than physics. The goal of the program was to provide the network and content expertise while leveraging teachers' pedagogical and classroom.
The program currently comprises 40 teachers. Currently, in its fifth year, teachers apply for admission to the program, and there are three RPS teachers: Nicole Baden at Roosevelt, Kari Morris de Hernandez at Guilford, and myself. The program also includes teachers from Hononegah, Belvidere South, Dekalb and Sycamore High Schools.
The greatest strength of the program is the ability to learn from each other while also gaining training and access to strong evidence-based practices in physics teaching. In the first week, one of the highlights was the work Nicole Baden shared. At Roosevelt Nicole guides her students in individualized learning of physics content while pursuing a project of personal interest. Examples included everything from the physics of sewing to graphic novels. During the second week Nicole’s poster presentation shared how she teaches motion through natural disasters which culminates in a project to save Rockford from a natural disaster of choice. More than half of the 40 teachers in the program wrote in their surveys that Nicole convinced them to implement project-based learning in their classes.
During the second week, I collaborated with teachers at West Aurora High School and Willows Academy in Des Plaines to train teachers in the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) developed at Rutgers University. ISLE has been shown to produce the largest student gains in physics proficiency, particularly with regard to engaging students in the scientific process and designing investigations.
At the end of the summer, we share “kudos” with the group. Without fail, someone remarks at how powerful it is to spend so much time engaging with evidence-based, high-impact practices in a way where teacher autonomy is centered. This is the goal of any professional learning community and the IPaSS program has made this a reality for physics teachers across the state.
