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in sixth grade, and I wanted my students to show
growth in the skills the program teaches most indepth, such as spatial reasoning,” said Vicki Aurelius,
who was the first teacher in Kentucky to sign up to
collaborate with the Wilhelms. (They had previously
had success using the curriculum in Texas.)
The Wilhelms went to Lexington’s Jessie
Clark Middle School every other week to
teach Aurelius and another sixth-grade
science teacher the REAL curriculum,
so they could have an authentic learning
experience. It then helped them teach the
lessons to their own students. Today, nearly
every science teacher at Jessie Clark is
trained in the REAL curriculum.
Walcott
“Every year, the data has proved that
my students, and especially the girls (who
often lag behind boys in the areas covered by this
particular curriculum), showed significant growth,”
Aurelius said.
When K-12 teachers and research professors
collaborate, it often leads to enriching opportunities
outside the classroom. Aurelius was recently part of
a group lead by Wilhelm that traveled to Oakridge
National Laboratory in Oakridge, Tennessee. The
ultimate highlight of the collaboration for her
occurred last November when she and fellow
teacher Lauren Moorhead joined Wilhelm and
STEM doctoral student Merryn Cole at the National
Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference
in Philadelphia, where they presented the REAL
curriculum to a national audience.
There are likely to be lasting changes at Jessie
Clark, based on the collaboration with UK. Wilhelm
has expertise in how to develop effective projectbased learning, which is woven into the REAL
curriculum.
“This has given me experience and confidence in
guiding students through this type of unit,” Aurelius
said. “Kentucky has adopted the Next Generation
Science Standards that heavily promote this
style of teaching and learning. I am now
confidently re-designing, with my collegial
partners at Jessie Clark, all of our existing
units.”
Drs. Margaret Mohr-Schroeder, Christa
Jackson and Bruce Walcott, with teacher partners
Dr. Craig Schroeder and Mr. Mark Evans,
Utilizing STEM Camps and STEM Clubs to
increase interest in STEM fields among females
and students of color, Funded by the National
Science Foundation ($750,000)
With funding from the National Science
Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research (EPSCoR), the UK College
of Education partners with the UK College of
Engineering on a yearly See Blue STEM Camp,
targeting rising middle grades students (grades 5-8)
especially females, students of colors and students
disinterested in STEM. The grant also covers annual
outreach efforts, such as STEM events in local
schools, and a STEM club.
The grant has been recognized as one of the top
five National Science Foundation (NSF) models
for broadening participation in STEM from
underrepresented groups, which was announced
at the 2015 National EPSCoR Conference in
Portsmouth, NH.
Bottge bridging gap between research, practice
Dr. Brian Bottge is known for his
research in teaching math to struggling
students – and for helping teachers put
the findings into action.
Bottge has spent most of his career
helping bridge the gap between universitylevel research and practice, bringing math
to life for thousands of students. Prior
to his appointment at the University
of Kentucky, he was professor at the
University of Wisconsin – Madison where
he achieved Professor Emeritus status.
Prior to assuming university positions,
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Bottge gained valuable experience as a
special educator at the elementary and
middle school levels for 10 years, an
assessment coordinator for a large school
district in Minnesota for 10 years and a
Peace Corps teacher volunteer.
Known as Enhanced Anchored
Instruction, the methods Bottge studies
are designed specifically for adolescents
with learning disabilities, but have been
effective with students at all achievement
levels.
continued on page 27
Bottge