EMINTS Teacher Is Finalist for Presidential Science Award
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) have been awarded to elementary teachers this year. The PAEMST Awards recognize outstanding K-12 teachers for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession. One of the finalists is Ashley McPhillips, a fifth grade teacher at J. Larry Newton.
Ashley is an eMINTS teacher and knows the importance of fostering technology use in her classroom, which has been equipped with 13 student computers connected to the Internet. “I organize webquests where students work in groups either of like ability levels or mixed levels to master concepts by using technology to gather information and produce group products to illustrate their comprehension of science concepts,” said McPhillips, who teaches fifth grade. “These webquests require critical thinking, analysis, problem solving and collaboration instead of basic fact/knowledge recall.”
Staying on top of her teaching game is very important to McPhillips who has secured extensive professional development through eMINTS, a two year, 232 hour international professional development program on questioning, assessment, cooperative learning, inquiry based learning, constructivism, and interdisciplinary learning, emphasizing technology integration. McPhillips holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of South Alabama. She is a member of the Baldwin County Education Association.
