THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504250114
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
THE SCHOOL YEAR was only a few weeks old, and Fran McPherson, a teacher in the city schools' academically gifted program, faced a challenge: She wanted to find a ``real-world'' problem for her students at Tanners Creek Elementary to tackle.
McPherson got what she was looking for while scanning her newspaper over morning coffee. The Virginia Zoological Park, she read last October, had plans to build a new exhibit for Siberian tigers.
Maybe, she thought with growing excitement, the zoo would let her kids help. She told zoo officials that her students could offer a child's perspective on how to make the exhibit meaningful - valuable insight considering that a majority of the zoo's visitors are children.
Zoo officials decided to give them a chance. The rest, as they say, is history.
McPherson invited gifted sixth-graders from neighboring Rosemont Middle to participate, teaming up with fellow Stuart Gifted Center teacher Susanne Councill.
The teachers, who work with the kids during a two-hour class on Thursdays, started by asking them to brainstorm this question: How might we contribute ideas or services to our local zoo so it can become one of the nation's best?
Working in groups of three to six, the kids scoured libraries, wrote letters and sent computer inquiries over the Internet to zoos across the country and constructed models of interactive zoo displays. They argued over creative differences and solved problems by consensus.
After months of largely self-directed work, they have produced results that teachers and zoo officials say are impressive.
``Some of those kids know more about the tigers than the keepers do, I think,'' Therese Braynard, the zoo's director of education, said recently. ``They really came up with some good ideas the zoo can use.''
Educators say the project is a prime example of an education-reform effort under way at the schools called ATLAS, an acronym for Authentic Teaching and Learning for All Students. It aligns Tanners Creek, Rosemont and Norview High School into a ``pathway'' of schools in which teachers, students and parents are expected to improve the educational experience.
The zoo project reflects such ATLAS goals as teaching kids to work cooperatively, get involved in the community and think creatively about real-life situations.
``We want students to have a deep understanding of what they're working on,'' said Evelyn Orton, ATLAS site developer at Tanners Creek. She said of the zoo project: ``It's integrating the curriculum. Not only are they having social studies and science, there's art and communication skills. Education is supposed to be about students understanding and participating in what they're learning - and enjoying it.''
Next month, the students will pitch their ideas to the zoo's board of directors. The zoo's schedule calls for a grand opening of the exhibit in August.
``It makes me feel important,'' said Kelly Delp, 12, a Rosemont sixth-grader, when asked what she thought about the zoo's interest in the students' work.
One group of students researched Asian and tropical plants to determine which ones would both survive in Norfolk's climate and be suitable as habitat for Siberian tigers. The students worked with zoo horticulturist Mark Schneider to select appropriate vegetation; they also will help plant it at the exhibit.
Other students built models of displays that visitors could interact with to discover interesting facts about the tigers. A few of the models are relatively sophisticated, and required that the kids learn about battery-powered electrical circuits.
The kids wired one model so that bulbs light up when viewers correctly identify prey that the carnivorous tigers eat; another buzzes when viewers identify characteristics of the endangered animals.
Another group redesigned an official ``zoo pack'' map that visitors get when touring the zoo. One of the students, fifth-grader Michael Wolchko, 11, made graphic changes to the map using a Macintosh computer.
``This project has been really hard to work on,'' said Ashley Evancik, 11, a Rosemont sixth-grader. ``There was always something we had to do - researching the Siberian tiger, putting our map together and then just working with people. This is the first project I've done where it's not just an individual thing. You have to work with others and accept what they say.''
Braynard, a former Norfolk elementary school science teacher, said McPherson's brainchild is what teaching is all about.
``You could stick to your textbooks and do the same old book thing, or you could come up with something innovative like this,'' Braynard said. ``The kids are going to remember this forever.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by JIM WALKER
Kelly Delp, James Riddle, center, and Dennis Shuler, all of Rosemont
Middle School, work on a proposed tiger exhibit for the zoo.
Teacher Fran McPherson and Elizabeth Echipare of Rosemont Middle
work on a map showing the range of the tiger.
Nickolas Baldwin, left, Roger Shields and Alicia Hines of Tanners
Creek Elementary proposed an open design with activity islands for
the tiger exhibit.
Kelly Delp, left to right, Erica Ortiz, Dennis Shuler and James
Riddle present their proposals for the zoo's new tiger exhibit to
Therese Braynard, the Virginia Zoological Park's director of
education.
by CNB