Illinois citizens can take pride in their visionary role in creating an innovative institution that has become one of the world's leaders in developing talent and leadership in mathematics, science and technology. Underlying our work is a dynamic design that prepares learners to be leaders in the 21st century. Our rapidly changing world - whether spurred by technology, shifting economic influences, diminishing natural resources or political transitions - calls for leaders who are bold inquirers, integrative thinkers, innovative problem solvers, resourceful inventors and imaginative futurists. This report illuminates the design of the "IMSA Way" and IMSA's strong returns to investors.

Ten years ago, IMSA opened its doors with 210 students, 12 faculty members, 21 courses, no residence halls, no computers, no external programs, many unanswered questions and an uncertain future. During our early years, we faced many challenges; these strengthened our resolve and deepened our commitment to transform teaching and learning in mathematics, science and technology.

While IMSA is still a very young enterprise, in ten short years the impact of our work and inquiry is clearly evident. Today IMSA is a state and national leader in mathematics and science education, and a model of an innovative, risk-taking learning community.

In this First Decade Report, we demonstrate how the power of ideas uniquely explored, interpreted and embodied in practice at IMSA, has inspired and empowered others to be agents of change in the transformation of mathematics and science teaching and learning within their own communities. During the past ten years, we have extended and enriched ideas such as Discovery-Based Learning, Integrative Learning, Apprentice Investigation, Institutional and Program-Based Research, Technology Integration in the Curriculum and Collaborative Inquiry. The embodiment of these ideas in our practice and in the practice of our educational partners throughout Illinois and the nation, benefits students at IMSA and in other schools by providing powerful learning experiences that are relevant, rigorous and coherent. In doing so, together we are transforming mathematics and science teaching and learning.

Even before birth human beings may recognize natural phenomena such as pressure and temperature differences, and spontaneously react to changes in such things. These are learning experiences. It can be argued that as the brain continues to grow and develop, connections are beginning to be formed and subconscious memories created. Information gathered through the senses may be stored in unarticulated patterns in the brain. Here is the foundation for a scientific understanding of nature.

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy is a public, three-year, residential school for students from the State of Illinois who are highly gifted in mathematics and science. Selected students enter having completed the ninth grade. The rigorous comprehensive curriculum, with strong emphasis on mathematics and science, supports active student learning, experimentation, exploration, and investigation. In the fourth year, the Academy enrollment totalled 560 with full enrollment of 760 anticipated in the fall of 1992.

A case study methodology was used with the researcher acting as a participant observer. Open-ended interviews were conducted with nineteen faculty members and five administrators who represented personnel hired in the first three years of operation. Participants were asked to share their perceptions of change in management and structure at the Academy over the first four years of operation and the effects of change on the Academy as an organization, themselves as organizational participants, and their colleagues as organizational participants.

The data gathered in the interviews was categorized into eight areas of management and structure with sub-categories emerging from the interview data. The eight major categories were: (a) size of the student body, (b) size of the faculty and administration, (c) governance, (d) funding, (e) curriculum, (f) leadership, (g) decision making, and (h) other issues of change. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data generated findings that were supported by the research literature relating to organizational culture, organizational change, other ethnographic studies in educational communities, and research done at the Academy in the first year of operation.

We propose to remedy this by the creation of an Illinois Science Academy, a three-year residential public school which bridges the conventional 10th, 11th and 12th grades of high school and the first year of college. The Science Academy will search throughout the state to identify young students exceptionally talented in science and mathematics. They will be provided with a uniquely challenging education in mathematics and science, as well as a superior program in English, foreign languages, social studies, and the humanities. The Academy will also act as a catalyst for the improvement of teaching of science and mathematics in all Illinois schools. We propose the governance to be by an independent Board of Trustees, appointed by the appropriate State authorities.

Twenty participants were involved in the study. All of the participants were self-identified as Latinos and came from several different, four-year, residential universities. There were nine men and eleven women. Of the twenty participants, five were self-identified as Cuban,five were Mexican,five were Puerto Rican, and five were South American.

Coding was used to analyze the data. After the coding was completed,the researcher isolated recurring themes, grouping and categorizing responses to discover commonalities and differences of certain phenomena in the participants' words. As a result of the analysis, several themes were developed. These themes included: Latino perceptions of cultural differences among subgroups, factors influencing college attainment,and barriers related to educational attainment. Additionally,the responses from the participants tended to support the Nontraditional Student Attrition model on retention, the Bicultural Orientation Model on cultural awareness, and the Ethnic Identity Development model.

The participants identified general areas on how Latinos could become successful in higher education as well as what educational institutions could do to enhance the Latino attainment of a college education. Additionally, the findings in this research indicated that there is no simple answer to retention for Latino students. The factors related to cultural integration, retention, and successful completion are complex. There are more questions that need to be answered to fully understand the issues related to Latino students and their success in our educational system.

Multiple learning experiences help principals become more proficient in their jobs. Initial certification, induction into the role, continuing professional education, and learning from experiences are means to the development of expertise. This study provided a rich description of how principals learn from on-the-job experiences through reflective practices and how reflection can develop expertise.

This study was concerned with school principals as learners and how principals can learn from experiences. Principals develop expertise through reflecting on their practice. The study examined how principals learn from experience, how principals monitor their understanding and practice, how principals integrate new understandings into practice, and how principals reframe their understandings based on experience.The conceptual framework for this study included the literature on the development of expertise, reflective practice, and cognition. Literature on principal preparation, induction, and continuing education are included. Reflective practice as a means to learnfromexperience and develop professional expertise are addressed in depth.

The research methods for this study are grounded in phenomenology. Phenomenological research methods focus on the meaning of lived experience of principals. The results provide a rich description of how school principals learn from experiences situated in practice through reflection.

The essences of the experiences of how principals learn from experiences in practice are the ability to learnfromexperiences through reflective meaning construction, the principal's ability to regulate learning and practice, and the ability to exercise professional judgment in practice. The participants described the ability to reflectonpracticeandregulatelearningandperformance. Thephenomenaas experienced by the principals in this study form a model of professional expertise in the principalship.

This lesson can take 40-70 minutes, depending on the size of your class.

This is not an introduction to the thesis statement, but serves well as a second or reinforcing lesson. This activity asks students to practice, in the comfort of a group, drawing out and expressing complete, coherent statements from an essay. These statements will be in four areas of criticism: intention, tone, world view and skill; the teams of students will shape these statements into theses. This activity requires one entire class of at least 60 minutes.