Education Commons^™

Digitalcommons: Imsa’S Institutional Portfolio - Lead Facilitator Meeting, Raven Mckelvin '24, Jean Bigger

DigitalCommons: Resources for IMSA Students

No abstract provided.

Saving Skee-Ball: Applying Engineering & Science With A Fun Storyline, Christine L. Moskalik

Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

Why Are There Microscopes In The Art Room?, Joyce Symoniak

Faculty Publications & Research

During this presentation we will explore how working cross curriculum enhances learning within the visual arts, science and mathematics. We will discuss how the visual arts curriculum can be created in order to bond with STEM courses for student success. Through exploration we will discuss how collaboration within these courses can be used to solidify cross curriculum understanding and learning.

Building And Supporting A Research To Publication Pipeline, Sowmya Anjur, Jean Bigger, Joyce Symoniak

Publications & Research

Participants in this session will learn how IMSA is generating and disseminating scholarship and incorporating students into its research to publication pipeline.

We will also be discussing the benefits of including our student’s best work in DigitalCommons; students having the opportunity to own a publication before leaving high school and inspiring other students to do the same, witnessing their own growth in critical thinking and written communication skills, developing student portfolios, and graduating with an understanding of the importance and benefit of being connected to a global community of scholars.

The Open Educational Resources (OERs) being shared through IMSA’s institutional …

Teaching The Internet As Text, Eric Rettberg

Faculty Publications & Research

In contrast to models that treat the internet as repository of texts, this talk argues that English Language Arts classrooms benefit from treating the internet itself as a complex cultural text worth analyzing in student writing and discussion. I describe a recurring blog assignment that lets students write about contemporary topics they genuinely care about with authentic purpose: to teach classmates, to respond to classmates, to solve genuine cultural mysteries. While the blog assignment was developed first for a class focused on digital culture and electronic literature, I finally argue that the approach to students work it takes can inform …

E2: Equity And Excellence Framework - A Pathway To Advancing Educational Equity And Excellence, Evan M. Glazer, Adrienne Coleman

Publications & Research

Considering there is a national and global equity focused call to action, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy engaged in a process to institutionalize and operationalize Equity and Excellence to address educational inequities. This process included creating an educational case for engaging in Equity and Excellence, policy development, capacity building to engage in equity work, an inclusive and comprehensive data collection methodology, data meaning making, as well as an equity and excellence plan and scorecard development. This workshop will provide participants with an understanding of educational equity, share tools to assist educational institutions in drafting data-informed equity and excellence policy/plans, …

Building The Foundation For A Trauma Responsive School, Katie Berger, Takeisha Rheams

Staff Publications & Research

The social emotional health of gifted students continues to be a priority for counselors, faculty, residence life staff and administrators. This session will provide an overview of the trauma responsive schools designation pilot that IMSA participated in with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, with the purpose of identifying an effective, sustainable and scalable model of consultation to determine the optimal support for students. Participants will gain resources to build an interdisciplinary trauma responsive school team, develop a trauma responsive action plan, and understand metrics for success to become a trauma informed and trauma responsive school.

Diverse Assessments That Encourage Creativity Among Gifted Students, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

Got 99 Problems? Pbl Can Help!, Nicole Ross, Allison Albert

Publications & Research

Interested in using Problem Based Learning ((PBL) in the classroom but concerned over implementation time, classroom management and assessments? Our PBL training may help! In this session we introduce our training structure which relates traditional PBL perspectives to current K-12 instructional trends. In doing so, we highlight how frequently utilized inquiry based, student-centered tools are essential in any PBL activity, and help mitigate classroom time and management issues. Further, as PBL is used to engage students in content learning, we address how traditional assessment, used alongside authentic opportunities, can aid in the PBL process.

Math & Construction: Curriculum, Community, & Career Connections, Kelly W. Remijan

Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

The Art Of Getting It Wrong: Developing Persistence, Nicole Ross, Allison Albert

Publications & Research

Winston Churchill once said “success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Unfortunately, highly structured traditional lab activities are often confirmatory in nature and do not require or encourage students to engage authentically in the scientific process. These confirmatory labs do not provide students with the opportunity to fail, reevaluate and redesign – all necessary components in science and research. In this session, participants will explore and reflect on an open-ended activity that provides a more authentic learning environment and better reflects the nature of science.

Successful Research Driven Projects In The Science Classroom, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

Learning Opportunities 2022/2023, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Course Catalogs

The graduation requirements of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy are established by the IMSA Board of Trustees. Each semester students must take a minimum of five academic courses (2.5 credits) for a letter grade (not Pass/Fail) not including Fine Arts, Wellness, SIR, Internship, and Independent Study. Students may enroll in a maximum of nine courses each semester including academic courses, Fine Arts, Wellness, SIR, Internship, and Independent Study. The College and Academic Counselor approves enrollment for students in all courses and experiences. Only courses taken for a letter grade will count towards graduation credit.

2022 Presentation To The Imsa Board Of Trustees, Elizabeth Nyamwange '23

Exemplary Student Work

Elizabeth Nyamwange provided a narrative of her focus on Equity in STEM to the IMSA Board of Trustees at their regular meeting on 9.22.2022.

Can You Master This? : Initial Attempts At Specifications-Based Grading In Introductory Chemistry, Laura Kopff

Faculty Publications & Research

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) requires all incoming students to complete a one-semester introductory chemistry course in their sophomore year – Scientific Inquiries in Chemistry (SI-Chem). This course has historically been taught using a traditional grading/assessment model, however, in the Spring of 2021, a switch was made to a specification-based grading system. One motivating factor in this decision is an institutional shift to an equity-focused grading approach, and an analysis of our historical assessment model indicated areas for improvement.

Our initial foray into specifications grading was during the Spring of 2021 semester, when all of our courses were …

Math & Machining: Curricular Connections For The Classroom, Kelly W. Remijan

Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

Closing The Global Opportunity Gap In Open Innovation Based Stem Education For Displaced Youth, Minseo Jung '22

Student Publications & Research

Both Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) agendas emphasize increasing equality of global educational opportunities and bridging the accessibility gap. Approximately 25% of refugees are deprived of elementary school educational opportunities, and about 65% do not have access to secondary school (Dryden-Peterson, 2010). Studies of Syrian refugees show that the lack of partnership and digital technology in higher education restricts their educational opportunities (Pherali and Abu Mohli, 2021). The recent STEM education reform for IMSA proposes a community-oriented open innovation STEM model that combines community and open innovation (Lee and Jung, 2021). The gap of global educational …

Student Research To Publication Toolkit, Sowmya Anjur, Jean Bigger

IMSA Innovation Grant

This interactive toolkit provides links to Opportunities for students at IMSA that are supplemental to the Academic Program and support student research and scholarship. * STEM / CLED Focus or Led

Autoshop 101 : Basic Auto Maintenance, Ethan Castro

Goal 2: Life Skills Narrative

Students will engage in a hands-on lecture that teaches them some basic elements of automobile maintenance, including how to monitor the various fluids found in automobiles and how to do some common repair procedures for an automobile.

Cybersecurity And You: Keeping Yourself And Your Personal Information Safe In A Digital Age, Ethan Castro

Goal 2: Life Skills Narrative

Students will engage in a group discussion in which they define cybersecurity, analyze its impacts on the private and public sectors, and review some key cybersecurity practices that they can implement in their daily lives.

The Impact Of Various Food Additive Chemicals On The Heart Rates Of Daphnia Magna, Vignesh Tiruvannamalai '24

Methods in Scientific Inquiry

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects that common food additive chemicals have on the heart rates of Daphnia magna, considering that there are health concerns for humans regarding numerous food additives. Various food additives that have different purposes were used, as was a control group. In order to conduct this experiment, solutions for each of these chemicals were created based on the concentrations found in processed food. Three Daphnia magna were exposed to each solution for 20, 25, and 30 minutes respectively, and the heart rate of each was recorded using a microscope. The hypothesis was …

Leading Learning & Development (L&D): Ele Leader Members Test-Drive Josh Bersin Academy, Richard D. Busby, Josh Bersin Academy, Nomadic Learning

Publications & Research

ELE would like to recruit members to create a 5-week cohort to experience semi-synchronous collaborative learning. As learning professionals, we’re faced with a largely new landscape and increasing demand for our work, as organizations begin to see why learning is now a business imperative. The Leading L&D Program by Nomadic Learning explores these changes and offers tools for developing new strategies that align with what both employees and organizations need to thrive. In the Leading L&D program, learners will get hands-on, practical guidance and time-tested wisdom from peers, and will explore together:

1. What is the benefit of learning in cohorts …

Message From The President / 5.4.22, Evan M. Glazer

Message from the President

No abstract provided.

Aviation Integration: Promoting Careers Through Curricular Connections Within The Math Classroom, Kelly W. Remijan

Publications & Research

5th -12th grade teachers, curriculum/instructional leaders, & CTE directors will: 1) discover aviation-related careers, connections, and pathways that can be promoted within the math classroom, 2) gain knowledge of topics, tech, and tools that can be integrated within the mathematics curriculum, and 3) acquire lots of RESOURCES to help educators positively impact teacher instruction, student learning, and career awareness. Careers include: Load Master, Engineer, Mechanic, Pilot, Air Traffic Controller, Crash Reconstructionist, GIS Analyst, Machinist…. Aviation topics include: Forces of Flight, Time Zones, Drones, Satellite Imagery, GPS, CNC Programming... Math Concepts include: Angles, Area, Coordinate Geometry, Decimals, Fractions, Intersecting Circles, Linear …

2022 Imsaloquium, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

Welcome to IMSAloquium 2022. This is IMSA’s 35th year of leading in educational innovation, and the 34th year of the IMSA Student Inquiry and Research (SIR) Program.

Message From The President / 4.20.22, Evan M. Glazer

Message from the President

No abstract provided.

Message From The President / 4.6.22, Evan M. Glazer

Message from the President

No abstract provided.

Playing With Push Toys And Technology: Solving A System Of Linear Equations, Kelly W. Remijan

Publications & Research

When students are given the opportunity to utilize technology and engage in hands-on activities within a mathematics class, they can experience mathematics in action. Mathematical action technologies “offer students opportunities to interact...in ways that are not possible (alone) with paper and pencil” (McCullough et. al, 2021, p. 739). One such mathematical action technology, for instance, involves a calculator-based ranger (CBR) which collects and displays motion data in real-time. As CBR activities impact students’ abilities to interpret and model “physical phenomena” which enhances graphical understanding (Kwon, 2010), I have incorporated various CBR activities that involve students walking in front of a …

10. Pitching, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

SocEnt

No abstract provided.

05. Presenting & Mid Prep, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

SocEnt

No abstract provided.