Chagrin Falls School News

August 10, 2020 by Staff Report

CFMS Teacher Publishes Article in Math Newsletter

Chagrin Falls Middle School math teacher Geoff Brown wrote an article about his students collaborating remotely using Google Docs and his piece was published in the CPM Educational Group newsletter.

CPM Educational Group is an educational non-profit organization that offers curriculum materials with problem-based lessons and collaborative student study teams, professional development programs for CPM and non-CPM teachers, and overall, more mathematics for more people.

In the article, Brown explains that when CFMS shifted to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 virus, he wanted to encourage students to continue working in groups through using Google Docs. The goal was to allow students to continue to construct viable arguments and critique each other’s work as they explored math lessons from CPM.

Brown copied the problem from the e-book he was using into a shared Google Doc among students. There, they could paste their answers into a row within the document and students could comment on each other’s conclusions. Some of the study teams in the class decided to work together at the same time to work through lessons and ask questions.

“This type of collaboration shows the potential of synchronous instruction, which our school has been planning to use in the fall,” said Brown.

He is considering the advantages of this type of work, especially if classes will continue to be synchronous with some students at home and some in class. At the end of his article, he offered tips to other teachers on how he implemented this learning model.

Petite Receives Distinguished Presidential Award

Carolyn Petite, computer science teacher at Chagrin Falls High School, has been awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). The award is given to teachers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States territories.

Petite is one of two awardees from the entire state of Ohio.

The PAEMST was established in 1983 and is the highest award given by the U.S. government for math, science, and computer science teachers. Teachers who work with grades kindergarten through 12th-grade are eligible to apply.

A panel of prominent mathematicians, scientists and educators at the state and national levels review the applications before they make a recommendation to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Teachers are chosen based on their distinction in the classroom, and overall dedication to improving science, technology, engineering, and math education. Nominations and awards are handled by the OSTP and the National Science Foundation.

“There is no teacher more deserving of this recognition than Mrs. Carolyn Petite,” said Superintendent Robert Hunt. “She has inspired countless students to achieve in the area of computer science. Her commitment to each student’s success is only overshadowed by her tremendous work ethic and passion for her content area. Mrs. Petite has inspired all students but has shattered the unfortunate statistics regarding female students pursuing computer science. All of Chagrin is proud and thankful for all that she does for our students.”