ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y., July 25, 2007 — More than two dozen science and math teachers from across the Southern Tier went back to school last week, thanks to a $56,000 State Education Department grant awarded to St. Bonaventure University.
The institute ran July 16-20 at St. Bonaventure. The week’s activities included not only lectures from Bonaventure professors and experts in their field, but hands-on experiences.
Science teachers performed hydrology testing of the water table on campus and went on a fossil-hunting field trip to the Penn Dixie Paleontological Center in Hamburg, while math teachers had the chance to use geometry-investigation software to examine properties of triangles.
Classes met for six hours a day for five days and could be taken as a three-credit graduate course in the School of Education or three units of continuing education credits.
Dr. Peggy Yehl Burke, dean of the School of Education and the School of Graduate Studies at St. Bonaventure, said participants were able to connect with colleagues from other districts and enjoy working with new technology for science and math.
“We were delighted to be able to offer this program to area teachers,” said Burke.
St. Bonaventure was one of 29 universities and colleges in the state to be awarded state grants totaling $2.5 million for teachers to attend college-based summer seminars to improve their professional content knowledge and refresh and renew their competency in the areas of mathematics or science.