Education Commissioner to Address Future Math and Science Teachers
Contact: Kay Hyatt, (207) 581-2761
ORONO, Maine — Maine Education Commissioner Susan A. Gendron will be the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Math and Science Future Teachers Conference, taking place Saturday, March 26 at the University of Maine. Designed for aspiring math and science teachers, conference participants will have the opportunity to work with exemplary educators who will present workshops on innovative instructional strategies, classroom management and finding the right job.
The conference is sponsored by the UMaine Mathematics and Science Future Teachers Club, a group of Math, Science, Engineering, Technology and Education majors working to build a strong community of students and educators, including offering professional development events and maintaining teaching resources that support best practices in math and science education.
Commissioner Gendron’s 9 a.m. address, titled “Preparing to Teach in the 21st Century,” is free and open to the public. The pre-registration fee for the daylong conference, with workshops following the keynote speech, is $10.
A former teacher and principal, Gendron was superintendent of the Windham School Department prior to becoming Education Commissioner on March 13, 2003. Originally from Massachusetts, she majored in Elementary and Secondary Education at the University of Southern Maine, where she also earned her master’s degree in Educational Administration. During her 30 years as an educator, she has received many honors, including the Maine School Superintendents’ Distinguished Educator Award in 2001 and the Superintendent of the Year Award in 2002.
“The fact that Commissioner Gendron is traveling to Orono early on a Saturday morning to address our conference clearly shows that math and science education and future teachers are high on her agenda,” said Amie Gellen, UMaine mathematics education lecturer and advisor to the Future Teachers Club. “We are thrilled and honored that she is coming.”
All conference events take place in the Donald P. Corbett Business Building, beginning at 8:30 a.m. with check-in and a continental breakfast. Lunch is also provided. The conference is open to anyone interested in becoming a math or science teacher, including current students at any college or university, high school and middle school students who are strong in math and science and thinking about teaching as a profession, and individuals considering a career change.
“While the conference is primarily intended for college students studying to be teachers, we think it would also be a good opportunity for high school and middle school students to observe the workshops, talk with practicing and future teachers and learn more about the profession,” said Gellen.
Topics and speakers include:
- Card and Number Magic Tricks for the Math Classroom, by Jon Matte, Chair, Mathematics and Computer Science Department, Greens Farms Academy, Westport, Conn.
- Effective Classroom Management Practices, Lisa Damian-Marvin, educational consultant, American Geological Institute.
- What Do Students Know?, Mary Whitten, Chair, Science Department, Gardiner Area High School.
- What’s in Space? How Do We Get There? Using children’s questions to design an integrated curriculum, Joanne Defilipp, educational director, Stillwater Montessori School, Old Town, Maine.
- Technology Revisited