by Bonnie Eissner
During her years as a science
teacher, Emily Kang, Ph.D.,
an assistant professor at the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, participated
in many professional development opportunities that, she says, had little
impact on helping her transform her teaching practice. Only a few immersion
programs led to lasting change. So she decided that, as a professor, she would
create and implement the latter.
Teachers collected insects to
evaluate pond health at Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve.
Supported by two New York State Race
to the Top grants, Dr. Kang is carrying out her vision with elementary school
teachers in Freeport and Wyandanch, New York— two high-needs school districts.
In Freeport, Dr. Kang and Mary Jean McCarthy,
a clinical assistant professor at the Ammon School, have been working with
second-grade teachers, modeling lessons that involve the state’s pending new
science standards and coaching the teachers as they implement them. They also
conduct bi-weekly workshops and, over the summer, led the teachers on some immersive
field trips. Another portion of the grant is being used to fund supplementary
special education advanced certification for six K-12 classroom teachers.
In Wyandanch—a smaller district—Dr.
Kang has been coaching elementary school teachers in two schools by
demonstrating teaching methods, observing teachers and conducting workshops.
Being in the classroom with teachers
and their students allows Dr. Kang to see the teachers’ strengths and
challenges and tailor her coaching accordingly—an approach to professional
development that she describes as artisanal. “We can’t just ‘Walmartize’
education,” she says.
Dr. Kang admires the new science
standards for encouraging students to engage in science practices and
evidence-based reasoning. She observes, though, that standards alone won’t
change education. “It’s the teaching that counts.”
