THE THIRTEENTH ANNUAL SCIENCE AND MATH
EDUCATORS CONFERENCE (SMEC 13)
PRELIMINARY
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Science and Mathematics Education Center (SMEC)
Department of Education
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
American University of Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon
April 9, 2011
CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRPERSONS
Dr. Saouma BouJaoude
Dr. Murad Jurdak
PROGRAM CHAIRS
Dr. Tamer Amin
Dr. Saouma BouJaoude
Dr. Murad Jurdak
LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Name / InstitutionAlia Zaidan / Beirut Baptist School
Barend Vlaardingerbroek / AUB
Cezar Wazen / Sagesse High School
Enja Osman / Hariri High School II
Fady Maalouf / Modern Community School
Faten Hasan / Al Kawthar School
Jana Thoumy / Brummana High School
Maggie Yammine / St. Joseph School
Maha Al Hariri / Hariri High School II
Marthe Meouchi / St. Joseph School
Philip Bahout / Jesus and Mary School
Rabih El-Mouhayer / AUB
Randa Abu Salman / Beirut Orthodox School
Reem Al Hout / American Academy of Beirut
Rima Khishen / International College
Rola Khishfe / AUB
Sahar Alameh / AUB
George Rizkallah / St. Severin School
Saouma BouJaoude / AUB
Norma Ghumrawi / College of Education, Lebanese University
SUPPORT STAFF
Ms. May Abu Shakra
Mr. Hanna Helou
Mr. Yusuf Korfali
Ms. Christelle Naddaf
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The SMEC 13 Conference Committee wishes to thank the following persons, organizations, and companies, all of whom contributed significantly to the organization and success of this year’s conference, in no particular order:
UNESCO Cairo Office
Arabia Insurance Company
Dr. Patrick McGreevy, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Ghazi Ghaith, Chair, department of Education
Mr. Fady Maalouf, Modern Community School
Ms. Hiba Hamdan, Student Activities
West Hall Staff
Mr. Elie Issa, University Physical Plant
Captain Saadalah Shalak, Campus Protection Office
AUB Information Office
We do apologize for any significant omissions
SMEC 13 MISSION STATEMENT
The SMEC Conference is an annual event designed to promote the continued development of a professional community of mathematics and science educators across Lebanon and throughout the region. Specifically, the conference aims to:
· Provide an intellectual and professional forum for teachers to exchange theoretical and practical ideas regarding the teaching and learning of mathematics and science at the elementary, intermediate, and secondary levels
· Provide a forum for teacher educators and researchers to share their findings with science and mathematics teachers with a special emphasis on the practical classroom implications of their findings
· Provide an opportunity for science and mathematics teachers to interact with high-caliber science and mathematics education professionals from abroad
· Contribute to the ongoing development of a professional culture of science and mathematics teaching at the school level in Lebanon and in the region
· Raise awareness of science and mathematics teachers about the array of curriculum and supplemental classroom materials available to them through publishers and local distributors
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
LIMITED ENROLLMENT WORKSHOP: There are two Developmental Workshop with limited enrollment, “The use of data logging in science investigations,” and “Lesson study: Classroom application and discussion” so you need to register for it at the registration table inside West Hall, 8:00 – 8:45 am, Saturday, April 10th. You have to register for this workshop in order to attend. This workshop is labeled “Limited Enrollment” in program. No other sessions require special registration.
PUBLISHERS’ EXHIBIT: You are encouraged to visit the publishers’ exhibit located in West Hall, Common Room at any time during the conference. Representatives from all the companies will be available to meet with you, answer your questions, and show materials from their respective companies.
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES: If you have a medical emergency, go immediately to the West Hall entrance and a Red Cross Worker will be available to administer care.
LOST & FOUND ITEMS: If you find a lost item, please give it to an usher or SMEC Committee member or bring it to the Lost & Found in the SMEC office, Fisk Hall 241. If you lose something, check in the Lost & Found to see if it has been turned in.
PARTICIPANT CERTIFICATES: Each teacher participant will receive a certificate of participation. Certificates can be picked up at the registration table in West Hall at the end of the Conference on Saturday, April 9, 2011 or anytime during the week following the conference from SMEC office, Fisk Hall 241. It is preferred if the designated contact person for the school picks up all the certificates for his/her school at one time.
AUB USHERS: Ushers are available to answer your questions or help you find locations of conference events. They are identifiable by their name badges and by their red vests that say “AUB Guides.”
REGISTRATION/CHECK-IN TIMES
Saturday April 9, 2011: Registration begins at 8:00 am
PUBLISHERS’ EXHIBIT
Saturday April 9, 2011: 10:00 am – 5:30 pm
SMEC 13 has the pleasure to welcome the following publishing and
distribution companies and their representatives and others.
SMEC 13 CONFERENCE SCHEDULESATURDAY April 9, 2011
The Publishers’ Exhibit will be open from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm in
West Hall Common Room
8:00 – 8:45 am / Conference Registration, West Hall Entrance8:45 – 9:00 am / Opening Ceremony, Assembly Hall
9:15 - 10:30 am / plenary sessions
SCIENCE
a vision for science learning: teaching with students’ ideas in mind
M Gertrude Hennessey
Los Angeles Police Academy
West Los Angeles College, USA
Assembly Hall / MATH
the tension between mathematical problem solving in and outside school: some research evidence and pedagogical implications
Murad Jurdak
SMEC
Department of Education
AUB
Bathish Auditorium, West Hall10:30 am–11:00am / Coffee Break, West Hall, 2nd Floor Terrace
research session I
11:15 am–12:45 pm
West Hall Auditorium A / Title / Presenter
Etat des lieux de l’ES dans les établissements privés et publics au Liban / Assad Yammine
Iman Khalil
Pierre Clement
أثـر استخدام خـرائط المفــاهيم في مـادة العلـوم علي التحصيل الدراسي لدي طـلاب الصف الأول الإعـدادي والدافعيـة للإنجــاز / Tarek Abd El Raouf Aamer
فاعلية استخدام إستراتيجية دورة التعلم علي التحصيل الدراسي في مادة العلوم لدي لاب الصف الثالث الإعدادي واتجاهاتهم نحوها / Amer Abd El Raouf Aamer
Concurrent Interactive Sessions
11:15 am–1:15 pm
Developmental Workshops
Session 1 / Title / Presenter(s) / Audience / Room
Guided Internet Usage / Heteit Rabab
Saleh Joseph / Science
All Levels
Communication in Schools / Hamdan Nibal / Math and Science
Teachers, Coordinators, Administrators,
all levels
Mnemonics: Strong Memory Tools / MARIE-Therese Tutunji / Math/Science
All levels
Integrating Writing with Elementary/Middle School Mathematics / Lambert Allen / Math
G3-G8 teachers & coordinators
Why is Science Difficult to Learn? / Hajo Zeina / Science
Intermediate and Secondary
Today's Students, Tomorrow's Workforce / Osman Enja
Shmaitilly Rana / Science and Math
Intermediate and Secondary
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)-Teacher Education Guidelines/Learning Modules in the Arab Region / Sulieman Sulieman
Qabalan Ahmad / Science and Math
All Levels
Using Motion Detectors to Help Students Develop Meaningful Understanding of Velocity, Time and Acceleration / Tamer Amin / Science
Intermediate and Secondary
11:15 am–12:30 pm
Innovative Idea Session I / Math New Literacies / Hallak Rola
Baassiri Tharwat
Majzoub Narmine / Math
Elementary
Early Childhood Investigations Through the Inquiry Cycle / Abkemeier Kat
Babyloun Hiba / Science
Early childhood/ lower elementary
Misconceptions As Tools to Improve Mathematics Learning / El Hariri Maha / Math
Elementary & Intermediate
Antigens & Antibodies / Jarjour Zarifeh / Science, Intermediate & Secondary
التدريس باستخدام دورة التعلم الخماسية / كمركجي ميس
البنا سناء / علوم
ابتدائي
وسيلة تربويّة تسهل عملية تعلّم جدول الضّرب. / ديانا مداح / رياضيات
ابتدائي
research session II
11:15 am–12:15 pm
West Hall Auditorium A / Title / Presenter
A Conceptual Framework of 'Nature of Science' in School Science / Hagop Yacoubian
YouTube in the Science and Math Classrooms: A UAE Case Study / Rana Tamim
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm / Lunch
Concurrent Interactive Sessions
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Developmental Workshops
Session II / Title / Presenter(s) / Audience / Room
Teaching with students’ ideas in mind: practical implications
For everyday classroom practice / M Gertrude Hennessey / Science
All Levels
SPICE up your science classroom instruction with STSE strategies using the 5E learning style / Iskandarani Rana
Zaatari Amal / Science
Upper Elementary and Intermediate School
Using the Art of Cutting and Folding Papers to Develop the Third Dimension Concept for the Students / Mohammad Madiha / Math
All levels
Attracting Students to Chemistry / Yaman Samar
Shebly Maha / Science
Intermediate
The Scientist Writes a Poem: Success Through Integrated Instruction / Awarke Nisreen
Harbali Amina / Science
Upper elementary and intermediate
Webquest: Bring the World into your Classroom / Harakeh Sahar
Adada Lamees / Science
Intermediate and secondary
Lab Rules & Tools / Chanouha-Ramadan Mahassen / Science
Intermediate
Teachers and lab technicians
The Role of the Teacher in Inclusive Classrooms / Saifan Ghia
Abou Hamra Nancy / Math and Science
Pre-school and Elementary
How to Successfully Participate in a Science Fair? / Barakat Simon
Mouhaidly Maya / Science
All Levels
2:00 pm–3:15 pm
Innovative Idea
Session II / Measurement Problem Solving as a Context for Integrating Language and Mathematics / Duke Calin
Nisreen Ibrahim / Science, Math Elementary
Go Math! Go Active Learning! Active Learning activities in Math / Sharon Reed / Math
Elementary
Helping Teens Turn Green / Kibbe Sawsan / Science
Intermediate
MathMania: A Revolutionary Way To Incorporate Math Everyday OUR WAY / Kanaan Dolla / Math
Upper Elementary and Intermediate
Problem solving in real-life situations: An integral part of mathematics instruction / El-Mouhayar
Rabih / Math
Upper elementary and intermediate
Thermometer of Emotions / Mukallid Samar
Mukallid Sarah / Math and Science
Pre-school
3:15 pm -4:15 pm / Coffee Break
Concurrent Interactive Session
3:30 pm – 4:45 pm
Innovative Ideas
Session III / Title / Presenter(s) / Audience / Room
Les Sciences: Un Univers Artistique et Langagier / Hankir Farah / Science
Elementary and Intermediate
Using Active Learning to Develop Science & Math Student's Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles / Hendy Mohammad / Science
Intermediate
Come and Experience the Inquiry-based Science Classroom! / Rola Khishfe / Science
All Levels
Problem -Based Science / Hammoud Rasha / Science Elementary
كيف نحول تعليم جدول الضرب من جهد إلى متعة؟ / رمضان سماح
عواض إيناس / رياضيات/
المرحلة الإبتدائية
Teaching Math Dynamically: GeoGebra and Flash as Software Tools that Come in Handy / Salloum Hussein
Ammar Ibrahim / Math
Intermediate and secondary
Online Platforms: Beyond Procedural Competence / Solh Haitham / Math
Intermediate and secondary
Student Centered Collaborative Approach to Learn about Buoyant Force / Jamaleddine Nahla / Science
Intermediate
Conceptual math through play / Fawaz Israa / Math
Upper elementary
Integrated Mathematics into The Curriculum. / Darazi Farah
Majzoub Narmine / Math
Elementary
Abstracts
Plenary Sessions
A VISION FOR SCIENCE LEARNING: TEACHING WITH STUDENTS’ IDEAS IN MINDM Gertrude Hennessey, Los Angeles Police Academy, West Los Angeles College, USA
Science educational research has examined, from a variety of lenses and scientific disciplines, the nature of teaching and learning. Exploring research on teaching and teachers, learning and learners, and educational environments this talk will look at practical ways to weave research into everyday classroom practice. Examples explore some key ideas from the research literature and draw from my research in understanding how concepts develop and change in students, and why some science concepts are hard for student to understand. This research focuses on characterizing students’ initial commonsense science theories, which often contain concepts that are incommensurable with scientists’ concepts, and look at the processes by which students can restructure and change these concepts. The presentation also examines the design features of a science curriculum and pedagogical practices that support and enrich the development of students’ conceptions of the nature of science, learning, and knowledge.
Short Biography of M Gertrude Hennessey, Los Angeles Police Academy, West Los Angeles College, USA
Sister Gertrude Hennessey is a Biology instructor at the Los Angeles Police Academy where she uses her research interests on conceptual change to improve police cadets’ understanding of biological phenomena. She also conducts a Model-Based Reasoning Lab for a cohort of anatomy students at West Los Angeles College. Her career spans work as a school administrator, elementary science teacher (grades 1 through 6), curriculum developer, and science educational researcher. In addition to challenging existing theories of child development with her own research, Dr. Hennessey worked with the Harvard University Graduate School of Education on a study designed to test the claim that elementary school students can make significant progress in developing a sophisticated, constructivist epistemology of science, given a sustained elementary school science curriculum designed to support their thinking about epistemological issues. She has also conducted a multiyear study to describe the multifaceted nature of young students’ metacognitive abilities. Sister is a founding member and past president of Wisconsin Elementary Science Teachers. She has collaborated with researchers from such institutions as: Smithsonian Intuition’s Center for Astrophysics, National Academy of Sciences, University of Maryland’s Physics Education Research Group, to name a few. She has received numerous national and state awards for excellence in science teaching. She has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
THE TENSION BETWEEN MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM SOLVING IN AND OUTSIDE SCHOOL: SOME RESEARCH EVIDENCE AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
Murad Jurdak, Science and Math education Center, American University of Beirut
We start with the assumption that mathematical problem solving is a human activity which is enacted in the school context for academic purposes and outside school for decision making. It has long been assumed that the engagement in mathematical problem solving at school has a lot of bearing on how students apply mathematics in everyday life or in the workplace. This paper constructs, compares, and contrasts the activity systems of mathematical problem solving in and outside school. The result of the comparison shows that the two activity systems have different goals and consequently different structures. The paper re-examines the data from three research studies by the author and his associates to demonstrate the fundamental differences between the activity of problem solving in the school and that in work place and everyday life. The pedagogical implications of the tension between the two activity systems will be presented. The paper will offer recommendations for bridging the gap between mathematical problem solving in the school and outside it.
Research