By BRIAN LEAHY
of The Gazette
Teachers from all over the state gathered in Wausau last week to learn the latest in math and science teaching techniques - skills that are needed in an increasingly technical world.
"In the good old days, you didn't have to know math and science, but nowadays you have to know math and science to be an enlightened citizen," said Julie Stafford, project director for the Wisconsin Academy Staff Development Initiative (WASDI).
The 42 teachers in Wausau were there for WASDI's Lead Teacher Institute. The middle school and high school teachers selected for the Lead Teacher Institute participate in 32 days of training over a 12-18 month period, where they cover topics like leadership, team building, best classroom practices and standards-based education.
"These guys were picked because they were good, because we expect them to change their classrooms, their schools and their districts and they have," said Stafford.
Since 1994, 337 WASDI lead teachers have been trained. Evaluation reports indicate lead teachers have conducted staff development workshops for teachers in their own schools and beyond, became involved in national and state standards development and received numerous professional awards. All four presidential education award winners from Wisconsin this year are WASDI graduates.
"I think it's a wonderful program," said Rene Jungers, a Waupaca Middle School math teacher attending the institute. "It's just something I always wanted to be a part of."
One of the key principals taught at the institute is for teachers to get students more involved in the learning process through hands-on activities, instead of just being "a sage on the stage."
"We need to teach (students) to think, not to be afraid to wrong," said Gregory Puent, a Sauk Prairie math teacher.
Memorizing is a lower level of learning, said Harvey Hayden, a Wisconsin Rapids science teacher. "There's a big difference between memorizing something and understanding," Hayden said. "You have to be able to take the knowledge you gained and apply it."
Pamela Williams, a Port Edwards math teacher, compared just memorizing information to being able to sing a song in Italian without knowing what the lyrics mean.
The framework for today's education system was established in the late 1890s. Students worked alone at the desk, much as they would during their working years on a factory assembly line or in an office cubicle.
Now employers are looking for workers who can function as part of teams and can continue to learn to learn as technology changes.
"You can't tell them how to solve a problem that hasn't been invented," said Williams.
WASDI also operates 15 summer academies at sites throughout the state, which are based on the Cray Academy in Chippewa Falls established by the former Cray supercomputer company that was based in that city.
The summer academy programs has hosted 186 week-long workshops in mathematics, science, technology, educational technology, language arts, social studies, assessment, leadership skills and new theories in learning and child development. From 1994 to 2000, 13,255 teachers attended WASDI academies and 1.6 million students have had a teacher who attended one of the summer academies. The business sector plays a strong role in the summer academies - 600 businesses have provided tours, 300 corporations have made financial contributions and 1,000 business representatives have participated in discussions with teachers.
A summer academy, the Wisconsin River Valley Academy, was held in Stevens Point last year, but will not be offered this year.
A grant from the National Science Foundation originally funded WASDI from 1994-1999. For the last two years, the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Education has provided financial support.