I had partnership in my original list of P-qualities. The power of partnership cannot be under-estimated. From my days at the Math and science center I have personally experienced the power of partnership. Math and Science Center in Richmond, VA was formed in the sixties with federal funds. As a result of Sputnik, federal grants were awarded to launch math and science programs. School divisions in the Greater Richmond area such Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, Richmond, Goochland, and Powhatan joined hands and started the Center. After the funding period is over, school divisions still operate the Center with their operating budget. The Center also receives grants from businesses and foundations. In addition to math and science programs, the Center continues to provide technology training for teachers. That is the power of partnership! mathsciencecenter.info
I can cite several examples of the power of partnership. The Southside Virginia Regional Technology Consortium is another example of collaboration. See how the school divisions of SVRTC have H.323 connectivity. http://www.svrtc.org; http://www.ittip.us.
Just like the institutions, when individuals partner together, we can transform teaching and learning. Example, the media specialists and teachers partnering with each other in a research project. The administrators and teachers joining together in a Photostory project where children tell their stories on a social cause. Students and teachers partner together to learning a new tool.
Ed Tech Leaders (ITRTs) in the schools should partner with teachers. The teachers should see the techmentor or techleader as a partner in changing instructional practice. Techmentors should not be perceived as persons who push the teachers but rather co-laboring with teachers.
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I was very impressed as to how all of the school divisions have established a partnersip and kept the Math and Science Center available for students and provide teacher trainings. This is a great example of "true collaboration" and "community learning"because it pulls together different professionals to work and learn together!
I did not realize that the math and science center provided technology training. They have come to our school and done great lessons with the children and I have noticed how even their teachers are using more technology! This is a great partnership! Joline, you are right, what a great way to establish community learning and pulling everyone together to establish teamwork and success!
I had no idea the center was funded with school operating budgets. What a great partnership!
I know that Chesterfield invited area school leaders to CITE. Very few attended. We need to explore partnerships between our sister school systems in more than just the Math and Science Center. Why not a partnership in staff development, curriculum training, mentorships, etc. We are a blessed school system. We need to share the wealth and grow from the knowledge and experience of oters-- not just through technology, but through all experiences.
To go to a comment that Joline made on the Discussion Board, we need to work "smarter" not harder. I think partnerships can be one of the keys. Teachers already feel overburdened, and mutiny may at times not seem unrealistic when teachers are asked to "add" one more thing to their plate. This is where the administrator can play the critical role. It is the administrator who has to persuade by demonstrating the "smartness", the sharing, the validity of partnerships to the teachers. I appreciated your example of an administrator and teacher working together to create a Photostory project depicting the students' learning. What an exemplary way to show the power of partnerships!
I have used the Math and Science center frequently, but was unaware of the history and funding structure. Given the quality of services provided by the center, I can understand why the expense needs to be divided among school systems. The Math and Science Center is a quality resource that would be difficult to reproduce within any single school division. Great partnership!
It is great to see how these partnerships provide important services for everyone. To add to the comment Susie made about photostory, at my school, we have begun using it and it is a very powerful tool for the teachers and students to use! The students really enjoy learning from photostory.
We have a fabulous integrator at our school who is doing a great job partnering with the teachers to work on technology projects. He is particularly enjoying the work he does with our self contained special education classes and we enjoy working with him! He is obviously passionate about his job and the partnerships he has formed.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the Math and Science Center is funded by the school division's operating budget. I have at least one visit a year from a Math and Science Center teacher. The lessons are fun, hands on, exciting, and educational. The students love it. This is truly a wonderful resource for our students and staff members.
I am sad to say that the Goochland is not part of the partnership with the Math and Science CEnter at this time. This was something that was cut when the budget was tight one year. I really miss the resource.
Although Goochland does not participate, I was fortunate to have a friend work there who was able to get permission to bring a lesson to my class free of charge. It was excellent!
I was able to participate in the programs provided at the Math and Science center as a student. As students we looked forward to the opportunity to "take the trip". Unfortunately, our county is not part of the partnership at this time.
The Math and Science Center is a great partnership. I have had lessons come to the school and visited the center. My daugther has also taken summer classes there. It is a great resource and partnership for the community. I wish that my school visited the center more. The technology that they have available and the way the get the kids using it quickly, efficiently, and correctly is inspiring to classroom teachers. If the teachers at the center can do it in an hour 1/2 we can surely do it throughou the day. Awesome partnership!
I had no idea that Goochland had a partnership at one time with the Math and Science Center. It's a shame that it had to be cut out of the budget. There has to be something else out there that we can partner with to help us integrate technology with math and science lessons that doesn't cost much.
I took classes at the Math & Science Center as a high school student so I know what a quality program it is. They have also come several times to my class to present lessons. They didn't come last year, though. I'm not sure what happened. We miss having them as a resource.
Beyond the M&S Center, partnering with any available resource is so key. With the heavy impact NCLB has on each classroom and student success accountability, it is foolish to not pull in and collaborate with folks outside of the building to enhance the curriculum. Our tech integrators live at our school, b/c our teachers are seeing the benefit of having their lessons come to life and student interest/performance increasing due to tech integration.
With a global economy and expanding technology any industry, including education would be foolish not to embrace partnerships. Varying partnership resources allow for unique oppurtunities and growth.
Once again I am learning new things from reading your posts and those comments from my fellow students in Goochland and beyond.
I agree that techleaders and teachers need to collaborate together in changing insturctional practices to make a difference in all students. Many teachers still are not comfortable with the use of technology in the classroom. Therefore, not giving their students every advantage of being successful. A leader must be able to make a positive influence on their students. Personally, I believe that can only be done if one is passionate, patient and persistent. My passion for making students active participants during the instructional process is why I am committed to learning about new technology that not only influence instruction but student learning as well.
The Math and Science center is great! The students always love to visit/be visited by the Math and Science Center. They are a great resource to enhance excitement among the students in areas of math, science and technology. I'm glad the Chesterfield has this partnership.
Partnerships are extremely powerful. I utilize the partnershipwith the Math and Science Center every year. Partnerships open doors to great friendships and opportunities.
SCOTT W- I agree with you about ITRT's. My wife is an ITRT in the county and she has mentioned before that it is sometimes hard to get some teachers to be willing and open to accept new technologies. Many teachers see technology as "something new to their plate". They don't realize that in the long run it can actually make their work easier. I know that she wants to work with the teachers and collaborate on projects together and not just instruct them on the new technologies.
I couldn't agree more that partnerships are essential in education. I especially liked the term "co-laboring". As educators, we need to nurture and encourage the small partnerships between students and teachers, teachers and teachers, teachers and administration and teachers and parents. Equally as important are the partnerships within divisions and through businesses. I am glad to see those divisions recognized the importance of the Math and Science Center and work to maintain it.
I completely agree with you - partnership are crucial and should not be underestimated. The school I work at is an Expeditionary Learning school, and one of our primary ways to deliver instructions is through learning expeditions. All or most of the learning expeditions put the students in the role to act on something or get a certain message out to the public, and relying on outside experts, orgainizations, etc. has helped our students. Without the partnerships that we have formed with these folks and organizations, we would not be able to make the work for the students as purposeful as possible.
Community partnerships provide a fun learning resource for our students of many needs. I, too, have seen many lessons from the Math & Science center when I worked in Henrico. I also had the opportunity to be my school's coordinator for the Math & Science center. I coordinated all of the lessons and fieldtrips for the Math & Science center. I was amazed at the variety of topics offered for each grade level. Each grade level even had choices in lessons. Another form of community collaboration that I experienced when working in Henrico was the junior achievement program. Representatives from the local businesses would provide lessons in economics. As a teacher, I felt it was important for my students to see how their learning paralleled with that of the real world.
A strong partnership can also be developed in relation to technology. I think mentors in the area of technology is a wonderful idea. I feel that it is up the administrator to set the stage and display an enthusiasm for this mentoring to take place. Personally, I would welcome any tech. instructor into my classroom to demonstrate a new strategy.
The partnerships are a smart idea. This brings together all different aspects of a school, because the partnership between electives, core teachers, vocational teachers and the media center all benefit when they work together. It makes a community within the school.
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