CeMaST Newsletter CeMaST Newsletter
MAY–JUNE 2012
S ara McCubbins, Project and
Office Manager at CeMaST, and
Angie Codron, chemistry teacher at
Normal Community West High
School, recently published Forensics
in Chemistry: The Case of Kirsten K.
through the National Science
Teachers Association (NSTA) Press.
The book highlights a year-long
f o r e n s i c s - b a s e d c h e m i s t r y
curriculum where students collect
data and evidence throughout five
different performance assessments
and assemble it to solve the case by
the end of the year.
The book includes details about each
of the five performance assessments,
teacher notes for common student
misconceptions or data collection
errors, and helpful hints for teachers on how to imple-
ment the curriculum into the classroom. Each chapter
includes a teacher guide, student handout, sample
student work, and grading rubrics. The last chapter
summarizes the methods used to synthesize the
f i v e p e r f o r m a n c e
assessments in the
classroom, discussing
what worked and what
didn’t for the students.
Sara and Angie have
been working on this
project for over 4 years.
The project began when
Sara was a GK-12 fellow
as part of the PRISM
project at ISU, which
p a i r e d g r a d u a t e
students in the fields of
science and mathematics with practicing teachers.
After countless requests from workshop attendees to
publish the material, Sara and Angie submitted a
Forensics in Chemistry: The Case of Kirsten K. An NSTA Press publication by Sara McCubbins and Angie Codron
Upcoming Events:
June 5-14 — Formative Assessment in Elementary
Mathematics Summer Workshop
June 11-22 — Real Numbers Summer Workshop
June 25-29 — Illinois Summer Research Academy
July 18-19 — American Solar Challenge
More information can be found at our website:
CeMaST.IllinoisState.edu
proposal to NSTA Press in the Fall of
2011, which was accepted.
The book was published in April 2012
and is now available in both paper-
back and e-book formats at the NSTA
store at www.nsta.org; the paperback
is also available at www.amazon.com.
Sara and Angie continue to promote
the book at various regional and
national conferences and look
forward to working on future projects
together.
“Forensics seems to have the unique
ability to maintain student interest
and promote content learning…. I
still have students approach me
from past years and ask about
the forensics case and specific
characters from the story. I have never had a
student come back to me and comment on that unit
with the multiple-choice test at the end.”
— from the introduction to Forensics in Chemistry: The
Murder of Kirsten K.
For more information, please visit
www.nsta.org/store/
Page 2
CEMAST NEWSLETTER
Expanding Your Horizons—April 14th
On April 14th, the 22nd Annual Expanding Your Horizons Conference took place.
The Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) Conference is an annual, fun-filled day
intended for girls in grades 5 through 10, and their parents and teachers. The
conference is held on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal, IL. The
Bone Student Center on the ISU campus serves as Conference Headquarters.
This year’s keynote address was "The Power of Positive Thinking" with
Amanda Ritzler.
Family Science Day—April 22nd
CeMaST, along with the Children’s Discovery Museum and Challenger Learning
Center, hosted Family Science Day as part of Sibling Weekend on Sunday, April
22, 2012. The event attracted over 1,200 attendees and more than 80 exhibits,
including NASA speaker Jim Simek, the St. Louis Science Center, and a transpor-
tation showcase of everything from classic cars to electric and solar vehicles. The
event was geared towards pre-K through 8th grade students and their families,
and this year’s focus was on sustainability and energy conservation in honor of
Earth Day.
Benjamin Mee—April 23rd
On April 23rd, CeMaST welcomed Benjamin Mee, author of We Bought A
Zoo, to campus in conjunction with Milner Library and the Sage
Foundation as part of the ISU Speaker Series. Benjamin Mee spoke about
his experiences in purchasing and running the Dartmoor Zoological Park,
which is located in Devon, England. In addition to the main presentation at
7 p.m., which was attended by over 200 people, the event also included a
3 p.m. Q&A session, 5:30 p.m. family fun carnival, and a special free movie
showing at the Starplex Cinemas on April 24th of We Bought A Zoo,
starring Matt Damon and based the novel by Benjamin Mee.
High School Research Symposium—April 27th
On Friday, April 27th, 227 students arrived on campus to
participate in the 12th Annual High School Research
Symposium at Illinois State University. Students from eight
high schools and one middle school presented their
research to ISU professors, ISU students, and their peers in
poster sessions. In the afternoon, two Illinois State faculty
members gave their own research presentations. Dr. Kevin
Laudner shared his research on the Treatment of Shoulder
Injuries Using Clinical and Biomechanical Measurement
Models, while Dr. Rachel Bowden presented on Turtle
Research at ISU: Ecology and Physiology. After the judges’
scores were tallied, the top three students in all categories
were presented with awards. Congratulations to all of the
Spring 2012 Event Recap
A young participant at
Family Science Day 2012
High School Research Symposium 2012
Benjamin Mee Presentation
Page 3
MAY–JUNE 2012
Ways to Get Involved
students who placed in the top three of each category. We would also like to congratulate the winners of the fol-
lowing special awards: the Edison Award – S. Bearman, Niles North High School; the DaVinci Award – M. Mattus,
Washington Community High School; the Student's Choice Award – F. Phan, Niles West High School; and the
Director's Award – H. Daum and T. Endress, Stark County High School. The High School Research Symposium
trophy, which goes to the top performing school overall, was taken home by the students from Niles North High
School.
American Chemical Society High School Chemistry Contest—Wednesday, May 2nd
This year, 408 students arrived at Illinois State University for the 35th Annual American Chemical Society High
School Chemistry Contest, sponsored by the Department of Chemistry, the Center for Mathematics, Science,
and Technology (CeMaST), and the Chemistry Club at Illinois State University, with additional support from the
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Bradley University (Peoria, Illinois), and the Illinois Heartland
Section of the American Chemical Society. The contest is broken up into two groups for the First Year Chemistry
Exam, 325 students, and the Advanced Chemistry Exam, 83 students. The students hailed from 18 central Illinois
high schools. The exams are graded and then awards are presented to the top five students in each group. Con-
gratulations to the winners of the First Year Chemistry Exam Contest: A. McCann – Dunlap High School, T. Kuen-
neth – Normal Community High School, D. Leman – Normal Community High School, R. Butler – Morton High
School, and A. Rohlfing – Dunlap High School. Congratulations to the winners of the Advanced Chemistry Exam
Contest (two students tied for 5th place): D. Jeffs – Peoria Richwoods High School, D. Boley – Washington Com-
munity High School, J. Zhang – Peoria Richwoods High School, T. Cheng – Peoria Richwoods High School, J.
Boyle – Peoria Richwoods High School, and A. Lee – University High School.
Volunteer your time by participating in one of the following
programs or events:
Mentor students in the High School Research
Symposium or Summer Research Academy
Get involved with the MIST student organization
Volunteer to help out at the American Solar Chal-
lenge Normal Pit Stop, or other events
Be a mentor for the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Partici-
pation (LS-AMP)
The LS-AMP program is in need of faculty mentor
for students in the STEM disciplines
([email protected] or 8-3714)
Visit the website to learn more about the program
http://ucollege.illinoisstate.edu/lsamp/
Contact Us: [email protected]
More young participants visit different exhibits at Family Science Day 2012
Center for Mathematics, Science, and
Technology
210 W. Mulberry St.
Campus Box 5960
Normal, IL 61790-5960
Phone: 309-438-3089
Fax: 309-438-3592
E-mail: [email protected]
For m ore new s a nd i n form at i on ,
V i s i t our w ebs i t e :
C eMa ST . I l l i no i s S t a t e . e du
Illinois Summer Research Academy—June 25-29th
The 2012 Illinois Summer Research Academy will bring high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to cam-
pus to spend a week with ISU professors and other high school students from across Illinois working on various
hands-on research projects. Students are introduced to current research projects ISU faculty are working on and
are exposed to the tools and techniques that are being used to accomplish this research. Students then make
contributions to these research projects and/or work on their own research projects with their peers. This year’s
opportunities include: Biology – Physiology and Ecology of Aquatic Turtles, Field Wetland Biology and Biogeo-
chemistry, and Field Biology and Ecology of Birds; Biochemistry – Biochemistry; Chemistry – Chemistry; Ge-
ography/Geology – Geomapping & Stream Field Experiment; Information Technology – Computer Program-
ming; and Mathematics and Physics – Mathematics and Physics.
American Solar Challenge—July 18-19th
On July 18th-19th, the American Solar Challenge will return
to Illinois State University. The American Solar Challenge
is a competition to design, build, and drive solar-powered
cars in a cross-country race, covering a 1,200-1,500 mile
course. The race is hosted by the Innovators Educational
Foundation, an organization devoted to educational oppor-
tunities where students are challenged with “hands-on”
learning experiences in the areas of science, engineering,
and technology. The 2012 race will run from Rochester, NY
to St. Paul, MN with an overnight stage stop here in Nor-
mal.
Illinois State's Team Mercury is, quite literally, counting
down the seconds to the American Solar Challenge. You
can follow their progress on Facebook or Twitter. To find
out more information about the upcoming race, check out the official site of the American Solar Challenge.
Summer 2012 Event Preview
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