About PRISM

Meeting the demands of teaching SOL content AND actively engaging students can be challenging. PRISM, a two year funded project with Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, and Page County selected 4th, 5th and 6th grade teachers, will provide instructional materials and training in robotics, Global Positioning System/Global Information System (GPS/GIS), and visual math through James Madison University. Participants will attend a weeklong institute, August 6-10, to learn how robotics and GPS/GIS devices can be integrated in classrooms to promote SOL knowledge while engaging students in problem-solving, creativity, and higher order thinking. In June 2008, participants will attend the JMU Content Teaching Academy, all expenses paid, to learn visual math and music strategies for SOL content.

Twenty graduate-level JMU elementary education pre-service teachers, selected from a pool of over 70 eligible students will work alongside participating teachers to implement these practices in the classroom. In fall 2007, JMU graduate students will spend one day a week supporting classroom instruction, and be available to teach individual lessons. In addition, graduate students will investigate a pressing question about education that they would like answered, using the classroom as a source of data.

This inquiry project will be aligned to the graduate student’s grade placement and will not detract from meeting the classroom content requirements. In spring 2008, PRISM teachers will act as the cooperating teacher for 8 week student teaching placements of PRISM prepared students. During the 2008-09 school year, a similar process would occur.