National Teacher of the Year Highlights NSU's Summer Camp for the Brain
National Teacher of the Year Highlights NSU's Summer Camp for the Brain
BROKEN ARROW The 2008 National Teacher of the Year will join outstanding Oklahoma educators for a week-long Summer Camp for the Brain at Northeastern State University's Broken Arrow campus June 15-19.
Michael Giesen, a Prineville, Ore. middle school teacher, will address the importance of teaching and learning during a camp sponsored through NSU's Oklahoma Institute for Learning Styles (OILS). Seventy-five top state educators will gather to hear award-winning teachers speak and conduct workshops. More than 30 participants will attend through a No Child Left Behind grant made possible by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Along with Giesen, Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Heather Sparks will be joined by Faye Garrison, state elementary school Principal of the Year and Jenyfer Glisson, state high school Principal of the Year. Both Garrison and Glisson are NSU alumnae.
"We gather the top learning styles teachers from around the country to hold a series of workshops," said Dr. Sue Ellen Read, professor of Educational Foundations and Leadership.
Read said this is the fifth year the camp has been held, and all participants this summer come from within Oklahoma.
"In past years we have had teachers from 11 other states but due to the economy, all of the participants this year are from Oklahoma," she said.
Teachers will attend workshops on the core subject areas, which include math, science, language arts and social studies. The stated mission of OILS is to "help teachers teach and learners learn."
Dale Woody, OILS director and also director of Summer Camp for the Brain, said to accomplish the mission, staff examines and conducts research, provides training and tests learners to determine individual learning styles.
Read said each participant will earn 36 hours of professional development. "Teachers from across the nation will offer instruction by facilitators that have been highly successful at prior camps. All have been recognized by their profession as outstanding teachers by their schools, districts and state organizations. There are three internationally certified learning styles experts who will be placed with teachers during the camp."
Read is one of the three internationally certified teachers who will be available during the workshops and will work one-on-one with participants.
According to Woody, other presenters have been recognized as Northeastern Faculty of the Year for Teaching Excellence, Carnegie Foundation Oklahoma Professor of the Year, Soroptomist Woman of Distinction, Milken Award winner, and Oklahoma Excellence in Elementary teaching.
Thirty-five sessions will be offered to participants during the five day camp. Topics include learning styles model, research on learning styles, integrating culture in the classroom and other important subject and grade-level topics.
One of the reasons the camp has been successful is the training teachers experience during the week, Read said. "There is not enough time during the school year to get hands-on practical training."
And the training does not end with the summer camp.
"Ten higher education educators will mentor the 30 teachers from the No Child Left Behind grant for the upcoming school year."
6/12/2009
Published: 2009-06-12 00:00:00