HANDS-ON APPROACH 4TH-GRADE TEACHER LETS THE KIDS FIGURE IT OUT.Byline: MARK KELLAM Valley News Writer Teacher Anne Wotkyns likes to keep her students active in her science classes. If they're learning about electricity, they'll make a circuit. Her hands-on approach was one of the qualities that led the Northridge woman to become a finalist for the 2006 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, a national honor As a verb, to accept a bill of exchange, or to pay a note, check, or accepted bill, at maturity. To pay or to accept and pay, or, where a credit so engages, to purchase or discount a draft complying with the terms of the draft. that recognizes one science teacher and one math teacher from each American state. Wotkyns, who teaches fourth grade at John B. Monlux Magnet magnet: see electromagnet; magnetism. magnet Any material capable of attracting iron and producing a magnetic field outside itself. By the end of the 19th century, all known elements and many compounds had been tested for magnetism, and all were Elementary in North Hollywood, said she was nominated nom·i·nate tr.v. nom·i·nat·ed, nom·i·nat·ing, nom·i·nates 1. To propose by name as a candidate, especially for election. 2. To designate or appoint to an office, responsibility, or honor. for the award by her principal, Burton Govenar. The magnet school magnet school n. A public school offering a specialized curriculum, often with high academic standards, to a student body representing a cross section of the community. focuses on science, math and technology. In applying for the honor, Wotkyns sent in a videotape videotape Magnetic tape used to record visual images and sound, or the recording itself. There are two types of videotape recorders, the transverse (or quad) and the helical. of her teaching a class. She also wrote out her lesson plans, did a self-evaluation on her teaching skills and listed her contributions to the science education community, including speaking at seminars. From all the teachers nominated in California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). , Wotkyns was selected as top science teacher in the state. She then advanced to be a finalist at the national level. Wotkyns has been teaching for 14 years, always with the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. . She has taught at Monlux the past 12 years. Often letting students work in pairs or groups, Wotkyns prefers letting them figure out lessons on their own, she said. ``I like hands-on activities, where students are physically participating -- manipulating things, building or measuring,'' she said. She'd rather they figure out things on their own than listen to a lecture from a book. ``They build their own knowledge,'' she said. ``I'm just there to guide them along the path.'' Wotkyns said she expects to hear who won the national award in the coming months. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: WOTKYNS |
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