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September 2004 Newsletter
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Dates
to Remember September 6 – Labor Day September 28- Full Internship Seminar #2 Tulsa Technology Center, Broken Arrow Campus (9:00AM – 3:00 PM) October 6 – NSTA Meeting October 15 – CEOE regular
registration deadline for November 20, 2004 test date |
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Journal
Summary:
One of the benefits to being a member of the NSU
Student Chapter of the NSTA is that you will receive a subscription to
one
of the journals published by the NSTA. In these magazines, teachers
will
find articles that are designed to help them be more effective in the
classroom. As an example, in the September issue of “The Science
Teacher” can be found articles that deal with teaching science on a
shoestring budget. One of the better articles, in my opinion, is the
article “Shoebox Spectroscopy”. This article contains instructions for
the construction of a spectroscope that can be built for about $20.00.
The idea is that most students never see equipment of this sort until
they reach college. Then when they finally do work with equipment, they
don’t really understand how the devise works. As in the case of the
spectroscope, all they know is that they place a sample
in and read a number. But by using these instructions, a student can be
shown the basic theory of how the instrument works. Even though this
simple spectroscope is limited to just the wavelength provided by the
laser pointer used as a light source (633 nm), it could be used to
introduce the idea
of spectroscopic measurements, concentration determination and Beer’s
law.
Not only do the articles, written by teachers in the field, include the
basic instructions for the use of the equipment, but also they often
include information as to how to present the information and possible
areas that
it could lead to.
September Meeting:
For the first meeting of the new year, the
speaker was Gayle Anderson, coordinator for NSU Office of Placement
Services. She started by telling the members present about how many
teaching positions were available, both in state and out of state, this
past summer. According to her, a lot of positions are announced in May
and again in August, the time that most school systems are aware of
their needs. Once a student registers
with the placement service, they are sent e-mails listing teaching
openings.
These notices will continue to come to the student for as long as they
desire them, even if a position is achieved. Ms. Anderson strongly
encouraged
students that are within a semester or two of graduation to register.
At
this time, the fee to register is $10.00, a onetime fee that is good
for
life. This will be changing soon to a fee of $10.00 a month.
Ms. Anderson informed those present of the
services they will receive by registering. One of those services is a
review of their
resume. It is suggested that the resume be limited to one page with the
type being no smaller than 10 pt. She explained what should be included
in the resume, the order of the information and a format that could be
used.
As suggestion, a cover letter and the Reference page should not be sent
with the resume unless it is requested. She concluded her talk by
saying that once a student gets a job, they should let the office know.
That
way they can put the former student’s name on the inactive list. When
a school district requests a list of available teachers from the
Placement
Office, they will receive a list of active job seekers. If you are
teaching
and your name in on the active list, the school district may assume you
are looking for a new place.
As
the
meeting was coming to a conclusion, Dr. Adams announced that the OSTA
(Oklahoma Science Teacher Association) would be holding their annual
meeting on October 21 at the Fulton Center in Tulsa. Students can
attend that meeting for a reduced rate of $20.00. This includes
admission to the meeting, lunch and yearly dues.
Parting thoughts:
Science Teachers teach
more than just theory.
As future science teachers, our
responsibilities go beyond just providing the students under our charge
with information. We need to also consider that we must also assure
their safety while in the lab. This training could serve them well in
the future. If they learn the safe correct way to work in the lab, then
they will have fewer problems when they work in a lab during their
college experience and if they continue in science for a career. One
sure way for the students to learn safety procedures
is for us to set the example. |
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Websites of interest: |