The IMSA Excellence 2000+ Program
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Goals
- Increase or maintain students' interest, involvement and literacy in science and mathematics;
- Enhance the knowledge and skills of late elementary and/ or middle school science and mathematics teachers;
- Stimulate excellence in schools' science and mathematics programs;
- Help increase access to programming for students who are historically underrepresented in mathematics and science, and for all areas of the state.
Overview
IMSA Excellence 2000+ (E2K+) is an after-school enrichment program for Illinois late elementary and/or middle school students who are talented, interested and motivated in mathematics and science. IMSA Excellence 2000+ places a special emphasis on students who are historically under-represented and under-served in mathematics and science. The program provides on-going professional development for the participating Illinois middle school teachers.
Students attend weekly IMSA Excellence 2000+ sessions at their school site beginning in the 4th or 5th grade, and continue through their 8th grade year. They also may participate in related field trips and other enrichment activities. The teachers' professional development activities provide background, materials and methodology used in the weekly sessions.
Full participation by a late elementary and/or middle school site includes professional development for two teachers (one science teacher and one mathematics teacher) and one coordinator for either two or three units to be used with students during 64 to 96 student contact hours. While most schools provide the IMSA Excellence 2000+ program to the students during a time other than regular school hours, some implement the program within the school day. Click the following links to view the IMSA Excellence 2000+ Teacher Responsibilities (PDF, 112k) or the IMSA Excellence 2000+ Coordinator Responsibilities, (PDF,118k)
The IMSA Excellence 2000+ learning experiences focus on helping students "learn how to learn" and emphasize logic, mathematical thinking and experimental scientific thinking. Topics relate to the students' lives, arouse their curiosity and increase their motivation to learn in mathematics and science.
IMSA Excellence 2000+ was started at the request of the Illinois General Assembly, with the strong support of the Speaker of the House and Governor. It is modeled, in part, after the highly successful after-school Mitchell Excellence 2000 enrichment program in Israel for junior high school students "living in the Israeli periphery." The program in Israel is operated by the Society for Excellence through Education (SEE), the organization that operates the Israel Arts and Science Academy (IASA), a "sister school" of IMSA. Additional Excellence 2000 programs operate in Iowa and New York.
IMSA Excellence 2000+ began during the 2000-2001 academic year with seven initial pilot sites and has served additional schools each year since then. Each site serves identified students and two teachers. A site coordinator provides support for the teachers and students at each site.
Professional Development
Teachers participating in the IMSA Excellence 2000+ program receive professional development from IMSA staff and faculty during which they have the opportunity to work through the curriculum activities and hone their teaching skills. The collaborative nature of the professional development models the integrative, problem centered inquiry approach to be used with the IMSA Excellence 2000+ students. This model allows both teachers and learners to gain insight and understanding of the curricular materials, and encourages creative thinking and the development of new ideas.
Regular feedback on program activities is expected from teachers and coordinators. Feedback forms can be submitted directly by using the forms on the IMSA Excellence 2000+ web site's teacher's page.
Professional development activities for IMSA Excellence 2000+ have been approved to provide CEUs toward the participants' Illinois Teaching Certificate renewal goals. Aurora University graduate credit is also available. This option includes an additional written assignment and a fee.
Evaluation
We use a variety of instruments to evaluate all aspects of the Excellence 2000+ program. Teachers and coordinators, students, parents of students and principals all have the opportunity to give feedback and make comments.
In addition to the various program assessment measures, an IMSA Excellence 2000+ staff member observes the program at all of the sites at least twice over the course of the program year. The purpose of these observations is to provide the IMSA Excellence 2000+ staff insight into the special nature of each site, to assess the success of program implementation at the school, and to provide feedback to the team teachers and coordinator.