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Outliers: Students in ACTION
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Outliers: Students in ACTION is a monthly publication during the academic year highlighting student scholars as well as events hosted by the Science and Math Education in ACTION Choose Ohio First program at BGSU.
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Note from the ACTION Director
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Dr. Brahier poses with Lexi Ledbetter and "friend" during the Summer Bridge
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One of my great joys in this world is seeing our ACTION graduates posting pictures of their nameplates on doors or of their classrooms as they prepare for the opening days of the school year in middle and high schools all over the state. After three years of graduating ACTION scholars into the workforce, everyone who has sought a teaching position has been hired. Our first grads have two years of experience under their belts already! September is always an exciting time as we join our friends, return to classes and embark on another year of meaningful work.
This summer, we greeted 28 first-year scholars in Cohort 7 as well as 8 new second-year transfer students (engaging in a program in July known as STARS - Summer Transfer and Returning Students). ACTION now serves a total of 106 students - the largest group in the history of the program. We are anxious to formally greet the students in the weeks to come. We will celebrate a Welcome Back Spaghetti Dinner, an Academic Excellence Dinner and a tailgate event at the Family Weekend football game for students and their parents - all of which take place in September.
ACTION will also be featuring several brand new ventures this year. Many of our first-year students expressed an interest in being assigned a Peer Mentor from Cohort 5 (juniors) to assist them over the next two years. This new Peer Mentoring Program will launch within the next month. The idea is for freshmen and sophomores to be mentored by juniors and seniors and then to begin to mentor new freshmen by their third year. Mentors will meet with first-year students at least three times per semester to provide guidance, answer questions, and assist with issues that arise, from academic to personal. In addition, ACTION will be opening a new tutoring center for high school students, tentatively titled the MATH (Mathematics in ACTION Tutoring Hub) Center. Housed in Olscamp Hall, this center will provide face-to-face and virtual tutoring for high school students from Algebra through Calculus and Statistics. Two local teachers have been hired to serve as directors of the center and ACTION students will be hired to work as tutors. The center is set to open September 15 with much more to report after that time.
I look forward to another year as Director of Science and Math Education in ACTION - a program that is unique to Bowling Green State University and serves as a model of teacher preparation for other institutions around the country. If at any time my staff or I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us. We function like a family on BGSU's campus and provide support to our students from their first day on campus through their teaching careers. I wish our scholars and their families all the best as we begin the new Academic Year!
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ACTION Teachers
The ACTION scholars who graduated in May have been diligently job-hunting this summer and we are thrilled to report that all May graduates (except for those attending graduate school full-time this year) have been hired! ACTION scholars are in high demand.
School districts throughout Ohio are benefitting from the talented ACTION graduates and these science and mathematics teachers are impacting future generations. Our recent grads are making a difference all across Ohio at the following schools:
- St. Rose School - Perrysburg
- Reading Community Schools - Cincinnati
- Finland Middle School - Grove City
- Margaretta High School - Castalia
- Buckeye Valley Middle School - Delaware
- Penta County Vocational School - Perrysburg
- Bellefontaine High School - Bellefontaine
- Graham High School - St. Paris
- Lordstown Elementary School - Lordstown
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help - Toledo
- Chamberlin Hill Elementary - Findlay
- Toledo School for the Arts - Toledo
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Allison Marino - Cohort 4, Senior
AYA Integrated Mathematics
How did you spend your summer?
I stayed in town and was a server all summer at BW3's to make as much money as possible. I worked out almost every day at the BGSU Rec Center and during July helped with the Cohort 7 Summer Bridge pool party, which was fun. Visiting Cedar Point and kayaking on the Maumee River were also highlights.
Tell us about your involvement at BGSU. Other than ACTION, I've been very involved in Club Gymnastics since my freshman year. I considered joining the BGSU squad, but realized my body couldn't take the continual pounding; plus, the time commitment is extensive. Club has been a great way to stay active. Students run Club Gymnastics and I'm the vice president so quite a bit of the responsibility falls on me for setting up meets, arranging travel plans, etc. It's been great experience and I'd love to be a gymnastics coach if the school where I teach has a team.
What led to your decision to be a math teacher? Math has always been something I excelled at and was my favorite subject. My ninth grade geometry teacher was awesome and he related math to real life. I loved being in his class and was inspired to be like him. My mom taught second grade for 35 years and I used to help in her classroom. This helped me realize I did not want to teach younger kids but confirmed my desire to teach.
Tell us about your Capstone Research project for ACTION.
My topic has to do with homework. I am researching different methods of what teachers do with homework to see which seems the most effective - collecting and grading it, simply checking to see if completed, reviewing the problems during class, etc.
What has helped you be successful academically? The ACTION lounge has been a great place to do school work! Groups of us from ACTION would often gather around the tables studying and doing problems for our challenging math courses. This not only made it fun, but we helped teach each other.
One thing that people would be surprised to know about me...For someone my height, I have big feet! I wear size ten and have wide, flat feet that make a loud "thud" when I land in gymnastics. In fact, my high school coach called me "Thud"!
What advice would you give to first-year students? Get involved! Go to Campus Fest to find out about all the different organizations at BGSU.
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Emily Knollman - Cohort 6 Sophomore
Middle Childhood Education (Science & Mathematics)
It sounds like your summer was very full. Yes, I had an extremely busy summer! I took classes at Cincinnati State, bought a car, worked at the Cincinnati Reds stadium making pizzas, had my tonsils removed, and enjoyed a visit from my best friend from Brazil for six weeks. I also travelled to New York City with friends for a week and went to the Bahamas with my family. Finally, I also finished my ACTION practicum.
What did you do for your practicum? I completed a project for LaRosa's, a local pizzeria in Cincinnati. My project involved analyzing their call-in orders to consider call times, length of wait times, if customers called back, etc. I examined trends and made recommendations such as having additional employees available to answer phones at certain times and days of the week and suggested advertising alternate ways to order, such as online. I also discovered that when the weather is poor, customers tended to order via phone more than online.
How did you decide to be the Resident Advisor (RA) on the ACTION floor? I love getting to know people and helping them. The job description for an RA seemed perfect for everything I was looking for. It's been great to get to know my residents on the 9th floor of Offenhauer. I've already gotten lots of questions from students and parents, and I am working hard to get to know everyone's name. The most challenging part will be finding the balance between being friends vs. being the RA. Plus, it's stressful being responsible for a whole floor if something goes wrong!
What has been your favorite thing about BGSU? In addition to the ACTION program, I've enjoyed the experience of being able to live on my own. I am the first person in my family to go away to college so this is a very big step for me.
Why did you decide to teach? In seventh grade I had a very poor teacher. I had just switched schools and already covered the material so I spent almost every recess and after school teaching the information to the rest of the class. I vowed that I didn't want anyone else to have such a bad experience with a teacher. I want to make a difference and help others!
Interesting facts? In two years I hope to travel to Brazil to see my best friend, Dani. Then in three years I am thinking about going back to Madagascar for another mission trip.
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Cohort Updates
Even though some Cohort 4 scholars are having a hard time admitting they are seniors, they will graduate in May. The busyness of Methods has begun in preparation for Student Teaching in spring semester before they become full-fledged teachers.
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Cohort 5 juniors are excited to start the capstone process. During the first class session (out of five), Dr. Brahier laid the groundwork by discussing what action research is: the process of studying a real school or classroom situation to understand and improve the quality of actions of instruction.
As sophomores, Cohort 6 members obtain hands-on science and mathematics experience through their 20-hour practicum. Twelve scholars already completed projects this summer, with the remainder getting the opportunity to start fall practicums soon with some exciting projects in the works.
As first-year scholars, Cohort 7 (and new Cohort 6 transfers) have already begun their science and/or math research projects. With seven different groups this year, students had a wide variety to choose from. Each month, one of the research groups will be highlighted, starting with Dr. Midden (below)
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Water Quality with Dr. Midden
Two research projects are underway in the group lead by Dr. Bob Midden. Both are focused on reducing the Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) that have caused considerable economic and environmental harm in Ohio and around the world.
The goal of the first project is to systematically survey the Upper Portage River Watershed to find the greatest sources of agricultural nutrients believed to be driving the formation of HABs in Lake Erie and other waterways in the region. Water samples are collected manually at regular periods of time and also automatically using programmable water samplers during times of high flow. The samples are analyzed to determine the concentrations of the targeted nutrients. The initial sites monitored will be the junctions of the major branches of the Portage River that merge at Pemberville.
The second project involves developing a method for converting manure from animal agriculture into slow-release fertilizer that could greatly reduce the adverse effects of the use of this manure for promoting crop yields. Students will work in the lab doing chemical analyses to test different methods for converting the manure into more useful material.
Results and data from these projects are reported to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Ohio EPA, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and various environmental and government organizations across the state and will be published in peer-reviewed journals.
Ann Howard (below) works in Dr. Midden's lab testing manure.
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Summer Bridge 2015
A highlight from the summer was having Cohort 7 here for the ACTION Summer Bridge. These 28 scholars were on campus from July 5 through 31, which enabled them to build close relationships and helped to prepare them for a successful college experience. They interacted with many BGSU faculty members and experienced a wide variety of interactive college sessions related to science, math, and education. Submitting papers throughout the month helped improve their writing skills and prepared these incoming students for what is expected by college professors. And, on top of all this, it was a lot of fun as you can see below...
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Cohort 6 has
Grown by 8
ACTION has expanded its reach. In an effort to give additional students the opportunity to benefit from the ACTION program, eight students who are rising sophomores have been accepted to transfer into ACTION for this academic year. Three of these ACTION scholars are also new to BGSU as they have transferred from other institutions. The rest are BGSU students (a number of them changed their major freshmen year after realizing they wanted to teach science and/or math).
These students participated in a 3-day orientation at the end of July so they could become familiar with ACTION and begin to get connected. We are excited to have the chance to work with these scholars for the next three years as they join Cohort 6 to engage in research and a practicum, along with other experiences to prepare them to be exceptional science and/or math teachers. Welcome to:
Ben Book,
AYA Chemistry/Physics
Chantal Brooks
AYA Mathematics
Ann Howard
AYA Mathematics
Jimmy Irving
AYA Life & Earth Sciences
Ashley King
Middle Childhood Education
Kevin Prindle
AYA Mathematics
Courtney Stanton
Middle Childhood Education
Kim Wheatley
Middle Childhood Education
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ACTION Tailgate Party - for the whole family!
Hopefully you already have Saturday, September 19 on your calendar to attend BGSU's Family Weekend. Make sure to stop by our tailgate tent starting at 1:00pm prior to the BGSU football game to enjoy lunch and interact with other ACTION scholars and families before the 3:00 football game. Go Falcons!
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STEM in the Park
STEM in the Park has become an annual event for the entire Northwest Ohio community and each year it continues to improve. This free event will be hosted on Saturday, September 26 from 10:00am-2:00pm at the Perry Field House at BGSU. Children of all ages will have the opportunity to engage in hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math activities. ACTION will be hosting a "Butterfly - Make It, Take It" activity that is being spearheaded by Emma Hall (Cohort 6) and Liz Remley (Cohort 4) and will use both math and science. It will be fun for all! More information can be found here.
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Upcoming ACTION Events:
Academic Excellence Dinner: Tuesday, Sept. 1
Welcome Back Spaghetti Dinner: Tuesday, Sept. 8...6:00pm in 1104 OW
EDHD 4160 Session #1: Tuesday, Sept. 15
ACTION Tailgate Event: Saturday, Sept. 19...starting at 1:00pm near stadium
EDHD 3160 Session #2: Tuesday, Sept. 22
STEM in the Park: Saturday, Sept. 26...10:00am -2:00pm in Perry Field House
Practicum Presentations: Tuesday, Sept. 29
Camp Miakonda Team Building Event: Saturday, October 3...1:00-5:00pm
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September 2015
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Sun
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Mon
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Tue
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Wed
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Thu
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Fri
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Sat
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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Academic Excellence Dinner
4:30-5:50
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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11
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12
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LABOR DAY
Natalie Miller
B-day
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SAB Meeting 4:30-5:50
Cohort 6 @ 5pm 1104OW
Spaghetti Dinner 6pm 1104 OW
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Kaitlynn Jensen & Emily Breech
B-day
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13
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14
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15
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16
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17
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18
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19
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EDHD 4160 Session #1
4:30-5:50
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Devoney Miller
B-day
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ACTION
Tailgate 1:00pm
Zoe Hatfield
B-day
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20
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21
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22
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23
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24
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25
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26
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EDHD 3160 Session #2
4:30-5:50
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Chelsea
Mayer
B-day
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STEM in the Park
10 - 2pm
Rachel Gerges
B-day
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27
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28
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29
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30
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Oct 1
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Oct 2
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Oct 3
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Practicum Presentations
4:30-5:50
123 Overman
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Becca
Shroka B-day
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Alexa Woodburn
B-day
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Camp Miakonda
Team Building
1-5pm
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As a Choose Ohio First grant program sponsored by the Ohio Board of Regents, our goal is to produce exceptional science and mathematics teachers who will impact the next generation across the state to improve STEM areas. The need is great for good teachers in these areas.
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Science and Math Education in ACTION
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308 Math Sciences Building, BGSU, Bowling Green, OH 43403
Phone: 419-372-6562
Fax: 419-372-6092
Director: Dr. Daniel Brahier
Program Manager: Wendy Standinger
Program Secretary: Cindy Fuller
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