IMPACTSEED  2007 Summer Professional Institute
Jacksonville State University
June 4 - 15, 2007 

Dr. Nouredine Zettili

The IMPACTSEED Project—Improving Physics And Chemistry Teaching in Secondary Education—under the direction of Dr. Nouredine Zettili, Professor of Physics, Department of Physical and Earth Sciences at Jacksonville State University, is funded by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) as part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).  Through this project, comprehensive training (professional development) in physics is provided for 20 in-service secondary education teachers.

The primary goal of IMPACTSEED is to bring the preparation of secondary education chemistry and physics teachers in alignment with state and national standards so that every student receives high quality instruction from knowledgeable, well-trained, and well-supported teachers. The project is intended to help teachers achieve a double aim:

     (a) to make physics and chemistry understandable and fun to learn within a hands-on, inquiry-oriented setting;
     (b) to overcome the fear-factor for physics and chemistry among students.

IMPACTSEED has five major components:

       (1) an intensive two-week summer professional development program;
       (2) five technology workshops during the academic year;
       (3) sustained, year-round on-site support to the teachers;
       (4) year-round physics and chemistry hotlines to offer immediate support to the teachers when needed;
       (5) a website to disseminate the results of the project and to list useful resources.

Participants are selected from three pools: (a) pre-service or novice teachers, (b) in-service or veteran teachers  who will be either new to their school systems or who will have a change of assignment (i.e., teachers who will be asked to teach physics and chemistry for the first time), and  (c) mid-career changers (i.e., those becoming teachers after a non-teaching profession). Teachers from high-poverty schools and from minority or underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply.

The various programs of  IMPACTSEED are free of charge.  During the technology workshops, the teachers will be supplied with the necessary components to build a number of devices which they will take with them free of charge.  Jacksonville State University (JSU) will offer official CEU certificates to those teachers completing the Summer Professional Institute and the five Technology workshops.

The Summer Institute will be located in Martin Hall - Room 217, Jacksonville State University (JSU) and consists of two weeks of summer training from June 04—15, 2007 from 8:30 a.m.—3:30 p.m. with a midday lunch break.   At the Summer Institute, chemistry and physics topics selected from the Alabama Course of Study will be addressed in a hands-on, inquiry-based setting, with primary emphasis on having students discover rather than memorize and with teachers questioning rather than telling. Activities will consist of a mixture of lectures, class demonstrations, labs and computer simulations.

IMPACTSEED faculty are listed below:

Dr. Noureddine Bekhouche, Associate Professor of  Technology, College of   Education and Professional Studies, Jacksonville State University. E-mail: bekhouch@jsu.edu.

Dr. Kathleen Friery,  Professor of Counselor Education and Head of Educational Resources, College of  Education and Professional Studies, Jacksonville State University. E-mail: kfriery@jsu.edu.

Dr. Alfred Nichols, Associate Professor of Physical and Earth Sciences, Department of Physical and Earth Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Jacksonville State University. E-mail: anichols@jsu.edu.

Dr. Laura Weinkauf, Associate Professor of Physics, Department of Physical and Earth Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Jacksonville State University. E-mail: weinkauf@jsu.edu

Dr. Jan Wilson,  Professor and Acting Head of Secondary Education, College of  Education and Professional Studies, Jacksonville State University. E-mail: jwilson@jsu.edu.

Dr. Nouredine Zettili,  Professor of Physics, Department of Physical and Earth Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Jacksonville State University. Phone: 256-782-8077, email: nzettili@jsu.edu

The various programs of  IMPACTSEED are free of charge.  All participants who will finish the program will be offered about $2,500.00 worth of teaching kits/modules free of charge that they will use in their classrooms. During the technology workshops, the teachers will be supplied with the necessary components to build a number of devices which they will take with them free of charge.

JSU will offer two official CEU certificates, one to every teacher completing the program of the Summer Institute, and  the other for  the Technology workshops.  Graduate credit will also be offered to those teachers who will enroll in Phys 500 and/or Chem 500 (3 credit hours for Phys 500 and 3 for Chem 500); that is, by participating in the Summer Institute and carrying out all the activities offered, a teacher can earn 6 graduate credit hours, 3 in physics and 3 in chemistry. The only thing the teacher needs to do is to enroll in Phys 500 and/or Chem 500 and pay the tuition to JSU (the grant does not have the resources to pay for the tuition).

IMPACTSEED has been offered for five consecutive years now and will continue to be offered for a number of years to come. As long as the need is there among the teachers, Dr. Zettili will continue to seek funding from ACHE.  Covering the shortage of qualified high school chemistry and physics teachers is a long term project. As long as the project is having a positive impact on the teaching of chemistry and physics at the high school level in Alabama, the program will continue its offerings to provide support to the teachers and to their high schools.

For further information, please visit IMPACTSEED's website:
http://www.jsu.edu/depart/pes/physics/impactseed/ or contact Dr. Nouredine Zettili (project director), by phone  at (256) 782-8077 or through email at nzettili@jsu.edu.

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