Abbott Laboratories Supports IMSA PBL Work In Lake County

For Immediate Release, September 2004
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at (630) 907-5033

ABBOTT LABORATORIES SUPPORTS IMSA PBL WORK IN LAKE COUNTY

AURORA— Teachers and students in several Lake County schools will explore the environmental and health issues of local interest this fall as part of a problem-based learning approach to engage students in real-world “messy” problems.

Seventeen Lake County teachers are bringing this approach to their classrooms this fall following their participation this summer in the Harris Institute for Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Design Institute at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) June 21-24. This summer experience for these teachers and the follow-up support this fall was made possible through a generous donation from Abbott Laboratories.

The Lake County teachers who participated in IMSA’s Harris Institute for PBL include: Julia Drake and Elizabeth Wolfe from Lake Forest High School; Patricia Armbruster, Julie Gyarmaty, Joshua Haza, Susan McBride, Christine McOmber, Sharon Price, Christina Schriner and Laura Tasch from Lake Zurich High School; and Naomi Dulin, Paul Habel, Dolores Earles, Sharon Gaughan, Sandra Getowicz, Catherine Johnson, Andrea Koeniger and Kelly Smith from Prairie Crossing Charter School.

Teachers and students in these schools will apply a PBL unit on the local environmental and health issues. Questions students are exploring include: What evidence supports our ideas? How important is this information? Students then gather and apply knowledge from multiple disciplines in their quest for solutions or resolution that best fits the conditions of the problem.

Through PBL, students relate their classroom experiences to the real world. It also helps to prepare students for the workplace by developing critical thinking and collaborative skills.

The Lake County teachers will work with Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy staff this fall as they continue to attend Problem- Based Learning seminars and mentoring during the classroom implementation of their problem-based learning units.

For more information about Problem-Based Learning, contact Deb Gerdes, IMSA professional development leader for PBL at 630-907-5957 or dgerdes@imsa.edu.

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State of Illinois to develop talent and leadership in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. Nearly 18,000 teachers and 34,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from The Center@IMSA program of professional development and student enrichment. Located in Aurora in the high-tech corridor west of Chicago, IMSA® serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy counsel, action research, and the leadership and achievements of its graduates.