Twelve biology and chemistry teachers from high schools across Palm Beach County recently participated in an intensive three-day workshop at Scripps Florida, as part of a continuing professional development program developed to strengthen laboratory skills and build confidence with hands-on experiences led by Scripps Florida scientists.
Dubbed “Scripps Florida InSPIRE” (Instructional Support Program for Innovative Research Education) was presented by Scripps Florida post-doctoral researchers along with fellow Palm Beach County science teachers who have previously taken part in Scripps Florida’s established summer internship program.
The program was developed to meet Scripps Florida’s goal of addressing the needs of Palm Beach County high school science teachers by providing greater professional development opportunities in a supportive and engaging environment.
“Ultimately, our objective is to foster an enduring partnership and ongoing dialogue between the research scientist and classroom science teacher,” said Deborah Leach-Scampavia, director of education outreach for Scripps Florida. “After teachers participate in the three-day workshop, they’ll have opportunities to further enhance their laboratory skills by attending special bimonthly seminars with Scripps Florida scientists and participating in weekly online exchanges with researchers via a Web-based interface.”
The overall goals of Scripps Florida InSPIRE are to:
- Enhance the pursuit of scholarship in the sciences for classroom teachers
- Improve teacher access to contemporary scientific materials and methods, as well as state-of the-art laboratory techniques
- Provide ongoing contact between scientists and classroom teachers for curriculum and subject support
- Empower educators to bridge the performance gap in science.
The following high school teachers from Palm Beach County participated in the 2nd annual Scripps Florida InSPIRE workshop:
Antonio Loyd, Biology Teacher, Lake Worth High School
Melissa Varvarigos, Biology Teacher, Wellington High School
Cindy Bhebe, Biology Teacher, Santaluces High School
Tracy McCoey, Biology Teacher, West Boca Raton High School
Linda Kunf, Biology Teacher, Park Vista High School
Momodou Jobe, Biology Teacher, Glades Central High School
Dionne Lewis, Biology Teacher, Royal Palm Beach High School
Jacob Elvey, Chemistry Teacher, Boca Raton High School
Robert Frick, Chemistry Teacher, Seminole Ridge High School
Lynsey Bruce, Chemistry Teacher, Atlantic High School
Kathleen Leland, Chemistry Teacher, Jupiter High School
Ashley Spooner, Chemistry Teacher, Boynton Beach High School
InSPIRE was developed by the Scripps Florida Office of Education Outreach and was made possible by the generous support of the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.
For more information, contact Greg Goebel, 6-12 Science Program Planner, at (561) 357-1128 or via email at gregory.goebel@palmbeachschools.org.
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Public Affairs Contact: Natalia Arenas – (561) 357-7662 – natalia.arenas@palmbeachschools.org
