Scofield Welcomes Teachers, Students from China

Scofield Middle School and its sister school, the Middle School Attached to Shandong University, came together in Stamford this week to use cutting-edge technology to collaborate on the school’s water testing project. Three teachers and 16 students made the journey to Connecticut this week to participate in this hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program at Soundwaters and to learn more about geographic information system (GIS) technology in the classroom.

Lori Ann Rubino-Hare, a professor at Northern Arizona University, met Scofield Assistant Principal Bryan Olkowski in India while attending the HP Catalyst Initiative conference in Delhi. Hare joined the teachers at Scofield last Thursday to demonstrate GIS technology and how it can be used in the classroom.

“Can you see the power of this in your science classroom,” said Hare to teachers Thursday morning in a professional development workshop.

GIS software is similar to Google Earth in that it can display maps, terrain and imagery. According to Hare, however, GIS trumps Google Earth in its ability to display images and incorporate data, such as pH levels of water or quality of plant life. Scofield students and teachers use this technology to research water traits in Bendels Pond and in the Long Island Sound to learn about water pollution and factors that influence it.

“Kids don’t always have a good spatial sense,” said Betsey Nagurney, technology teacher at Scofield Middle School. “For instance, when I asked them to draw Stamford and where Scofield Middle School is, most of them didn’t have a clue. On the first day, I showed them pictures from all around Stamford and mapped them on GIS so they could see where they are in relation to the rest of the city. They have a lot of fun with it.”

Scofield’s water quality initiative began after receiving a grant through Hewlett Packard two years ago for $330,000 and, just recently, a $160,000 Catalyst Initiative grant to continue their project. Scofield’s proposal to HP was ranked number one out of nearly 100 institutions. Last month, Olkowski and Principal Jan Rossman presented their work at a Congressional Hearing, Student Literacy in a Digital World, in Washington D.C. Their work was chosen after presenting at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in June.

This past week, students visited Soundwaters to test water and attended a dinner at the Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens in their new Silver Education Center. Nearly 70 people attended the dinner including host families from Scofield Middle School, Mayor Michael Pavia, and Acting Superintendent Winifred Hamilton.

“It was a nice sense of community,” said Olkowski.

The Chinese students and delegates and will be in Stamford until Sep. 20. Sixteen children were placed with host families from Scofield Middle School.

“[The students from China] are in awe of the differences between their school and Scofield,” said Linda Gubitosa, Spanish teacher at Scofield and host to a student from China. “At Scofield, students are much more involved in the class. In China, their classes are very populated with up to 72 students. Having someone from another culture in your home encourages you to learn new things about people, to understand how people of other cultures think and feel, and also encourages you to communicate in a way different from what you are used to.”