Teaching teachers

District hosts workshops

By: Bill Greenwood
   Samantha Siegelheim walked to the front of a South Brunswick High School computer lab and called out for attention.
   "Let’s all form a circle," she said, and her students obliged, taking their places and making slight adjustments until the shape slowly took form in the classroom’s left aisle. Ms. Siegelheim then instructed them to state their name and their school before filling in the rest of the sentence, "Technology is like a car because…"
   "You don’t realize how much you depend on it until you need it," said one.
   "Both computers and cars take us places both faster and more easily," said another.
   These students were quick to come up with answers. That’s because they’re really teachers, and used to how things work in a classroom.
   Ms. Siegelheim listened to their responses and nodded approval. She then took the comparison and applied it to a computer using the new Renzulli Learning program, which creates a student profile based on children’s answers to a questionnaire. This would allow the teachers in attendance to find Web sites, books and virtual tours to correspond to their students’ preferred method of learning.
   "It’s more like a car with a fast, turbo engine," she said.
   The workshop was part of a required yearly program that seeks to help South Brunswick teachers improve their skills and delve deeper into their area of expertise, according to Lynne Fox, director of professional development.
   Ms. Fox coordinated the event with the help of the administration, supervisors, the technology department and others.
   The program was held Tuesday and Wednesday, during which schools in South Brunswick were closed, and featured primers on everything from new technology to new strategies for teaching math.
   "I really hope that (attendees) gain either deeper understanding or learn something new that will impact students," Ms. Fox said. "The goal is to hone our expertise and skills in order to make a difference in the lives of children."
   The first day kicked off with a large assembly in the high school auditorium. The marching band was on hand to perform "God Bless America" as teachers rushed into the room and attempted to find a seat in the already packed rows. Eventually, Rick Chromey, principal of the Constable School, stood up to introduce the event’s keynote speaker, Constable school nurse Peggy Querec.
   "(The speech) was great and the speaker was actually the nurse at the school I used to work at, in Constable," said Kristen Konowicz, a third- and fourth-grade special education teacher at Brooks Crossing. "It was nice to see her being recognized for all her hard work."
   The keynote speaker is selected from among the teachers’ peers and is kept a secret until the speech is made, according to Joanne Kerekes, assistant superintendent for curriculum. She said she takes recommendations for the honor from teachers, parents and administrators and creates a list of candidates, which she shares with administrators in the early summer. Superintendent Gary McCartney and herMs. Kerekes then make a decision and ask the winner, selected in August, if that person would like to accept the responsibility.
   "That’s not an easy thing for somebody to do even though they’re getting up and just giving their story," Ms. Kerekes said. "They’re telling their story to 1,000 people, so it’s a big request to make."
   She said past keynote speakers have come from all kinds of fields. In the past, high school, middle school and elementary school teachers as well as nurses and student services workers have given the address.
   "I try to make sure that I pick someone from a different walk of life (each year) so that we get to hear it," Ms. Kerekes said.
   After the assembly, teachers broke off into separate workshops based on the grade level they taught and their department. The Renzulli Learning Program workshop was designed for fourth-grade teachers.
   Ms. Siegelheim, district manager for the Renzulli Learning System, said the program is already being piloted with South Brunswick enrichment education students in grades three through five and with special education students at Constable, Indian Fields and Crossroads South. She said she hopes the program will eventually go districtwide.
   "Right now, it’s just 550 students," she said. "It’s a very small program. If we go districtwide with it, we need to have the teachers on board. They need to be comfortable with it. They need to know how to use it."
   As the workshop progressed, Ms. Siegelheim showed the teachers in attendance how to set up profiles for their students and search the site for resources to be used in class. Afterward, she set the class loose to try the service out for themselvesitself.
   "I think that it’s more meaningful when somebody can touch it and do something with it," Ms. Siegelheim said. "They always say it’s one thing to tell somebody something, it’s another thing for a person to be able to do something, to experience it, to learn it hands-on. It’s just another aspect of our multiple dimensions of learning."
   Ms. Konowicz, who attended the workshop, was impressed with the Renzulli program.
   "You can hone in on what (the students’) strengths and weaknesses are just by having them fill out the profile on here," she said.
   "We can take this back and really use it in our classroom with our kids and use it for ourselves as tools for teaching them the best way."
   As the assembly came to a close, Ms. Siegelheim and her partner, Christin Kaseta, fielded questions from the teachers. in attendanceAs the hands flew up, the two did their best to provide answers and promised to follow up on issues they could not resolve. Still, the overall response to Renzulli was positive.
   "Renzulli is such an easy thing to use," Ms. Siegelheim said. "It almost becomes addictive because once you get in and you see the potential of how you can use it, you really begin to understand the benefits and where you can take it."