Teaching Engineering Qualifications

August 2010-June 2014      IE² Inspiring Elementary Engineering Teacher 

Instructed students in all grade levels including ESE K-5 and EBD.  This course applies math, science and the engineering design process to real world engineering challenges.   Students are encouraged to collaborate and innovate to create solutions.

August 2011            Co-Facilitator of "No Teacher Left Behind" Engineering Workshop             

Coached fellow educators through numerous engineering design challenges for future use in their own elementary classroom.  Workshop was one week in length, 8:00am-3:30pm each day.

December 2012        Presented at Florida’s FCR-STEM Conference                  

Represented Manatee County’s Elementary Engineering program.  Explained the elementary engineering model and fielded questions from administrators and teachers about integrating engineering instruction in various curricula.  Instructed all 300+ attendees through a sample elementary straw rocket challenge. 

August 2010-June 2014   TSA Coordinator                                             

Coached advanced 5th grade students through extreme engineering challenges.  Organized & helped develop Manatee County’s Elementary TSA Competitions August 2010-June 2014.  Abel’s TSA was awarded 1st place in the district of Manatee County for the 2012-2013 school year.

August 2009-June 2010   4^th Grade Teacher  Instructed students in all academic subjects specializing in mathematics.  Prepared students for the FCAT in math, writing and reading including reading extended response.                                                             

August 2008-June 2009   1^st Grade Teacher  Instructed students in all academic subjects focusing on reading and mathematics fundamentals.                                     

August 2007-June 2008   3^rd Grade Teacher  Instructed students in all academic subjects concentrating on reading comprehension, the nature of science and understanding mathematics principles in a conceptual manner.  Prepared students for the FCAT in math and reading.

Community Involvement

• Science Representative for Abel Elementary August 2008- June 2014
• Coordinator of TSA (Abel’s Engineering Allstar Club) Oct 2010-June 2014
• Creator & Coordinator of Junior-TSA Extra Curricular Club
• Implemented Abel’s Mad Scientist Club August 2007- June 2010
• Manatee County Aspiring Leader’s Cadre Member August 2010-June 2011
• Abel Elementary’s Interview Team Summer 2010 
• Manatee County Edvantage School Ambassador January 2011-June 2013

Education 

2007 M.S. Elementary Education with a concentration in Science from Florida State University

2006 B.S. in Elementary Education from Florida State University

Certified Teacher since 2006

Abel TSA Students are in the spotlight with their Water Towers!

Check out the Bradenton Herald Article featuring two of our fifth graders.

http://www.bradenton.com/2013/05/12/4522153/students-learn-about-engineering.html

Abel TSA students compete in the 2013 Elementary Water Tower Competition.

The teams of 3-5 built a water tower beforehand at their schools and then tested it at the competition.  AWA sponsored the event and judged the towers.  Specs for the competition:

Water tower Guidelines

1. The base of the model must fit in a square 1 foot on each side, or a circle with an area of 1 square foot. 
2. The tank must be between 1.5 and 2.5 feet high. Decorations can go above and below this height.
3. The tank must have a vent or removable lid so air can escape and the judges can tell when it is full. 
4. When full, the tank must hold between 1 and 2.5 gallons of water. A one point penalty will be assessed for models that hold less than 1 gal. There will be no advantage for models that hold more than 2.5 gal. 
5. Your model should not leak. Hint; test your model to make sure it does not leak and it can hold the weight of the water! 
6. The model must use the 3/8 inch connector as supplied. 
7. Bring receipts for all materials purchased for your model. A one point penalty will be given for each item not having a receipt (Max of 3 points). 
8. Bring materials list. Three points will be added to the score if a list is not provided. 
9. Models must be designed and built for this year’s competition. You may not re-enter models or reuse major components from previous competitions. 
10. Connector must be installed at the base of the model.

Teams must turn in: Registration Form & Materials list.

Prizes were awarded to the teams with the lowest combined scores. They were also awarded for the most creative design and the design that best reflects this year’s theme, ‘Water Supply is a Balancing Act’. 

Abel had 5 teams compete

Welcome to IE2

Dear Parents,

Hopefully your child has mentioned Abel Elementary’s IE² Program or “Engineering” for short. Students have built a great amount of enthusiasm for learning from this program and we are very grateful to have it here at Abel for the third consecutive year. This year we will be studying Force & Motion, Power & Energy and Robotics.  These units will give your child an opportunity to explore and look more closely at the technological world by using research and inquiry skills with the engineering design process.

Your child will work with other members of their class to build models or prototypes of devices in order to solve challenges and learn the skills within each unit.

There are several opportunities for you to be involved in your child’s learning throughout this time.  You can donate materials such as fabric, odds and ends of wood, empty thread spools and Styrofoam trays.  You can also discuss different man-made objects around you that have been designed and built by engineers; or maybe they can tell you!

Look out for some prototypes that will be making their way home!

Please feel free to call or check out my website for any further information or feedback.

Mrs. Freeman

freemane@manateeschools.net

(941) 751-7040 ext. 2040

Power & Energy Unit

Engineering Update

This week Abel Eagles started working on a new unit of instruction in IE^{2 (}Inspiring Elementary Engineering).  Power & Energy is a unit of study in which students will be learning about the various methods of acquiring energy and renewable and non-renewable resources.  Our lessons will utilize our newest Lego purchase: the motorize mechanisms set.  This manipulative allows students to create Lego designs that move with battery power.  Students will design and build different models of renewable and non-renewable energy sources and grades 3-5 will research various types of energy as a team to present to their class. 

TSA Wins 1st Place at Districts!

Abel’s all star engineering club, TSA, competed at Manatee County’s District Catapult Competition Saturday, February 16^th.  Teams worked together to build a catapult for 2 tests: distance and accuracy.  Each team had a set of materials and limited duct tape and hot glue to use.  They had 1 hour to build and practice using their catapult.  Angellina Haile and Jaylah Deveaux took home first place with a total score of 41 points!  8 other elementary schools competed including Freedom, McNeal, Prine, Daughtrey, Tillman, Braden River and Sea Breeze.  We are so proud of our TSA students!

 Coordinator: IE² Teacher Elvita Freeman

What is Inspiring Elementary Engineering?

IE2 is designed to teach children how to utilize the Engineering Design Process, which includes a 5-step method from finding the problem, exploring ideas, blueprinting, building, testing, retesting and then sharing the solution. We will be emphasizing the use of problem solving which includes several math skills in the process. Our goal is to give your child the opportunity to apply and supplement their math and science skills through hands-on engineering.