Saratoga News

Education

Teachers get real-world experience in summer

By Michele Tjin

Gina Campanella spent her summer in a cubicle, and that's quite a stretch for a high school American literature teacher. Dilbert may not like working in the modern office, but Campanella saw benefits right away.

Working in partitioned offices will make her a better teacher, she said.

"It's a nice break from teaching, and it allows me to recharge," she said. "I've been excited for the school year to start."

Campanella, an English and journalism teacher at Prospect High School, was one of 188 teachers in the Bay Area to receive a fellowship to work in private industry. She was a part of Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education, a nonprofit group that partners with companies and universities in an effort to improve math and science education. During the school year, teachers turn their newfound skills and experiences into real-life lessons and updated curriculum.

"It renews their enthusiasm," said Jennifer Bruckner, executive director of IISME. "We learn that they take on leadership roles at their school, and they benefit from their professional connections."

IISME first began 23 years ago when a group of company executives was concerned that the quality of math and science education in American schools was affecting the competitiveness of the workforce. They realized that to get better employees, they must reach the teachers, and since then the opportunity to get professional development in a corporate setting has been popular with local instructors.

"It allows me to teach what employers are looking for," Campanella said.

The majority of the fellows are high school math and science teachers, but the program has since grown to include teachers of other subjects from all levels. Sponsoring organizations include banks, universities and high tech companies such as Oracle, where Campanella worked.

For Oracle's corporate citizenship department, Campanella wrote a manual for its international employees, teaching them how to get involved in volunteering in their communities. The philanthropic roles that companies play was an eye-opener for Campanella, she said. She was so impressed that she is thinking of assigning her students a paper on their experience of volunteering for a cause that interests them.

"While companies are there to make money, they're also there to give back," she said. "I never realized that they did that."

One of the biggest benefits participants see in spending their summer as fellows is that they get new ideas for teaching. Patience Fielding is convinced that teaching with blogs will make a difference in her classroom. Fielding normally teaches sixth grade at Redwood Middle School, but this year she is on leave so she can work on her doctorate in education. She worked at Hewlett-Packard doing research on blogging, and she sees direct applications for her class.

Students who are too shy to speak up may find an outlet in the virtual world, and comments left after blog entries could create an interactive environment, she said.

"Some teachers have journal writing, and this could be an alternative," she said.

The summer fellowships also allowed teachers to think like their students. Math teacher Alyson Butcher had no idea who her summer coworkers would be, just like her students don't know her when they take her class.

"When my students come to me, they don't know me, and they may be apprehensive," she said. "I like being reminded of being in that position."

Butcher is the math department chairwoman at West Valley College and can't get enough of the fellowship program. For eight weeks this year, she analyzed data for the coaches of the San Francisco 49ers. This was her fifth summer working as a fellow, and because of her experiences at different companies, she has altered how she teaches. She put together a workbook for her math students in order to make better use of her class time and turned her lecture notes into PowerPoint presentations.

"It gets their attention," she said. "It's colorful, and it's pretty."

Besides getting fresh ideas for the school year, teachers also got to see how the other half lives, and consequently they are convinced that teaching is their calling. Some found life in a cubicle to be too solitary, and others were amazed to see how different corporate culture is from academia. For example, time is money and meetings start at the stated time, not when people show up, Butcher said.

"At the end of the summer, I really love my job, and I feel privileged to be a teacher," she said. "It's a personal reward. The world of education is so different from the world of industry."

The faith these teachers have in their choice of career translates to a positive effect on teacher retention, said Bruckner, the executive director. While there is typically a shortage of science and math teachers, those who go through the eight-week program are eager to share their enthusiasm for the year and are determined to continue teaching.

"They are excited for what they're teaching. They have confidence and real world examples," Bruckner said.