Carrie Brewington, NBCT, Kenan Fellows Master TeacherValerie Brown-Schild Ph.D., Co-PI & Director

Matt Misuraca, Program Regional Coordinator

Noyce Kenan Master Teaching Fellows: Teaching Students to Think Outside the Book

The Challenge: Retooling for the New Knowledge Economy

The One Solution: The Kenan Fellows Program

The Kenan Fellows Program: Goals• Identify, develop, and retain teacher leaders in NC

classrooms• Advance effective teaching that prepares students to be

successful in the new economy • Create synergy among teachers, researchers, and industry

to make STEM education more relevant• Develop innovative instructional resources to enhance

learning and teaching

The Kenan Fellows Program: Years 1 & 2

Summer Externship

The Kenan Fellows Program: Years 1 & 2

Locally Regionally Nationally

Apply Share

The Kenan Fellows Program: Years 3-5

Kenan Fellows Master Teachers

Pre-Service Teacher

s

Community Needs

Colleges &

Universities

Serving the BRAC Region

Kenan Fellow Master Teacher

Carrie Lynn Brewington Hoke County High School

DuPont Fayetteville WorksMentor: Paul Chavis, Site Training Leader

• DuPont and my mentor recognized the importance of improving STEM education locally.

• They felt that it would benefit to have an educator on the inside to see what it would take to “prepare” students for the workforce.

My Interest in the DuPont Externship•The DuPont externship is a chance to experience industry first-hand.

•An opportunity to leave the walls of the classroom for two summers and actually “work” on site.

•DuPont is extremely closed off to public.

•“Once in a Lifetime”

•Though externships available with research labs and I3d project, DuPont stood out because it provided an authentic experience.

Background: DuPont Fayetteville Works

ProductionMassive complex on 2600 acres, of which 2200 is preserved as Wildlife Conservation Area. (400 acres make up

industrial site)

Four main areas of site:1. Nafion Fluromonomers: Used for production of Fuel Cells.

2. SentryGlas Plus: Strong glass used by DOD, high rises, also hurricane resistant, etc.

3. Butacite Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB):Used as plastic layer between glass.

4. Tedlar: Polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) Used in aerospace and construction, as well as in the manufacturing of solar cells.

Chlor-alkali Membrane Process

• Anode: Cl- ½ Cl2 + e-• Cathode: H+ ½ H2• Overall: NaCl + H2O ½ Cl2 + ½ H2O + NaOH

1/2Cl2

MEMBRANE

e-

+ANODE

-CATHODE

OH-

Cl-

e-

1/2H2

Na+ Cl-

Na+ OH-

H+ OH-

WaterBrine

CausticDepletedBrine

H2O

DuPont Fayetteville Works: First Impressions • All external piping, gaskets, distillation

towers. (“Where are all of the people?”)

• High security throughout compound. Required ID and pass for every area.

• Cape Fear River (“…water leaves cleaner than it arrives”)

• Safety First!“Do not walk on the rocks Ms. Carrie!” “Do not look up at any rain drops Ms. Carrie!” “Do not touch a door handle and then your face”(did I mention shoelaces?)

My Experience at DuPont

• Training on DEXTER (Distillation Training Expert)

• Training as a Co-Op (Intern)• Extensive interviews• Plant tours• Attendance in Employee

Meetings/Teleconferences• Participate in Family Activities

“Parent/Child Work Day” “Safety Day”

“Car Show”

Excerpt from Daily KF Program Journal

Date: June 30, 2010• Today I came to work with my steel-toed boots. I researched some

chemical applications to for my first unit. I also worked on the unit for much of the day. I met another trainer for a different plant, Dwayne Emmanuel. Paul C. gave me a great memo to use in a lesson to extract higher order thinking. I also pulled some articles from the internet about DuPont meeting EPA Cape Fear River Regulations.

Date: July 1, 2010• This morning, Paul O. introduced me to the STOP sign concept. He

took me back to the control room to speak with a technician who is very familiar with the system. While in the control room, I also was able to learn more about the manufacturing process from the computer screens. They are beginning to make more sense. I returned and began work on my second lesson, safety. I also showed Paul C. my first lesson. He gave me more ideas on focusing the unit. Finally, he set me up on Dexter, a training program. I took the first lesson about Temperature, Pressure, and Distillation.

My Time at DuPontI was tasked with developing lessons that could be used in

my classroom.

At first, this was difficult to try to relate everything to a “Standard Course of Study.”

It took some serious thinking before even beginning.

DuPont’s Key Skills for a Successful Workforce

The Vision Becomes Clear!After several weeks of personnel

interviews, laboratory observations, and prospective employee training data analysis, I identified three areas or “skill-sets” that I would develop throughout the unit.

1. Skill-Based Knowledge 2. Professional and Personal Skills

in the Workplace 3. Critical Thinking Knowledge

From Industry to Classroom: Creating LessonsThesis : Industrial Applications for Secondary STEM Education

Skill-Based KnowledgeCurriculum Lesson One: Industrial Knowledge of Acids and Bases

Professional and Personal Skills in the WorkplaceCurriculum Lesson One: General Safety/Environmental Awareness in the Classroom

and Workplace

Critical Thinking KnowledgeCurriculum Lesson One: Interpreting Data, Troubleshooting, and Communicating

Findings.

Sample Lesson: Real World Lab SafetyAn Interactive Lesson

My Class – A Real World Perspective LearnNC Video Links:

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/18648http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/18647

• After spending time on site at an industrial plant, everything started to become “real.”

• How can I apply this? How can students use this

• What developed was this concept to relate everything to careers, futures, and jobs.

Relevancy of InstructionAn English language learner uses a handheld translator to respond to the genetic engineering “who cares?” challenge. Teacher Carrie Brewington says, “[The idea of careers] is universal. Everybody’s going to need to move on from school, whether it’s post-secondary or it’s the workforce. And this really makes it relevant to the ESL learners that come into my classroom. They have the same questions as everyone else: ‘Why is Biology important?”

Innovation Informed by KnowledgeAs part of their “who cares?” exploration for their unit on plants, students work together as a

team of botanists to develop a timeline for the evolution of the four main classifications of plants. Then, each team creates a new species of plant that might evolve as a result of genetic

engineering. This exercise has the students write a summary of the new species to inform medical scientists hoping to discover a cure for cancer. In this photo, two students document their new

species, the trachiosperm, which may yield a cure for throat cancer.

The Past: Year One Summer Institute

• Connection with fellow science teachers from across the region.

• Discussions about NCSCOS• Viewed and critiqued

several lesson plans.• Professional Development

“Crucial Conversations”

The Past: Summer Institute I

• Center for Inquiry Based Learning, Re-writing lesson plans with a “Hook” concept.

• Discuss standards, strategies, ideas

• Bonds Park Experience – team building

• Nights in Wolf Village, Two Weeks!

• Grant writing opportunities

Future Plans with DuPont

• This summer I will spend five weeks on site. I arrive at 9:00 when the shift begins, and I stay until 5:00 when it ends.

• I will continue to explore the operations of the processes.

• I will continue to engage in conversations with all workers from the “technical” to the “technicians.”

Future Plans with DuPont

• Currently, DuPont does not allow any on-site tours.

• I would like to inquire about beginning an on-site Educational Outreach program for local schools. This would be directed towards the environmental and conservation aspects of industry.

Future Plans with DuPont

• After participating in training as a Co-Op, I would like to closely examine and monitor the WorkKeys Assessments.

• I would review and analyze the actual tests that prospective employees are given.

• I would incorporate this information into the Curriculum Units for the Kenan Fellows Program to be post on their website and LearnNC.

The Future: Partnering with Pre-Service Teachers

• Pilot labs in classroom• Work with local teacher education

programs.• Advocate for STEM education

throughout the region with:1. grant-writing2. presentations3. community awareness 4. curriculum development with teachers.

Final Comments• Getting a classroom teacher

out in the real-world. • We are all lifelong learners.

We know our content, curriculum, goals, and standards. We know pedagogy and teacher buzzwords but……..this is proving to be much greater!

• This opportunity through the Kenan Fellows Program has allowed to see the first-hand applications of science in a practical sense. And because of this, my students are ultimately benefiting through my experience.

Q and A

http://www.kenanfellows.org