Opportunities and Resources for Teachers
NASA/NSTA Web Seminars
learningcenter.nsta.org/products/webseminars.aspx
Join NASA and NSTA for free Web seminars developed in collaboration with Arizona State University. The seminars will focus on NASA's Mars Exploration program and will target grades 5-12 teachers. The presenters are space scientists, engineers and education specialists from NASA and ASU. They will share their expertise and answer questions live from the participants. Upcoming seminars include "Robotic Exploration of the Red Planet" on May 14, and "21st Century Explorer - Today's Knowledge for Tomorrow's Explorer" on May 15.
ROBOTICS: Fundamentals of Information Technology and Engineering
www.itest.neu.edu/
Northeastern University is pleased to offer a Professional Development opportunity for Massachusetts middle school teachers to participate in an innovative program in pre-engineering concepts. Participating teachers will be trained to deliver a curriculum unit that teaches students to design and build an assistive device using LEGO Bricks and ROBOLAB. The unit addresses the Massachusetts Technology and Engineering Curriculum Frameworks. Participating teachers will receive a $1500 stipend for completing 12 days of summer training and for attending 3 six-hour callback sessions held on Saturdays during the school year. Upon completion of the program, teachers can choose to receive either 4 quarter hour graduate credits at reduced cost from Northeastern and 84 PDPs, or 155 PDPs in lieu of graduate credits. 7 days of training will be offered week-days from July 10 - July 18, 2008 from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. This training will be held at Northeastern University; parking passes and lunch will be provided. A 5 day practicum will run July 21 to July 25 at the Christa McAuliffe Challenger Center at Framingham State College. Interested applicants should submit an electronic application at the above website. For more information contact Randal August at Northeastern University at (617)-373-2064 or email at ITEST@neu.edu
Earth as a System is Essential: Seasons and the Seas (EaSiE)
Middle school science teachers are invited to work alongside NOAA scientists, educators, and the Maine Mathematics & Science Alliance to develop and pilot curriculum units that bridge the gap between traditional studies of seasons and weather and the seasonal and climatic changes in the Gulf of Maine using NOAA resources. Selected Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire middle school teachers will have the opportunity to work with NOAA partners and attend field trips during Summer Institutes (2008 and 2009); gain further understanding of Earth as a system; learn instructional strategies that support improved student learning in science, particularly Earth system science; and assist in the development and integration of new resources into instruction that support the transformation of student thinking. For questions, email Joyce Tugel, EaSiE Project Director at jtugel@mmsa.org. Please share this invitation with middle school colleagues!
Teacher to Ranger to Teacher Program
www.nps.gov/wupa/forteachers/trt.htm
The Teacher to Ranger to Teacher (TRT) Program links National Park units with teachers from low income school districts. Under this program, selected teachers spend the summer working as park rangers, often living in the park. They perform various duties depending on their interests and the needs of the park, including developing and presenting interpretive programs for the general public, staffing the visitor center desk, developing curriculum-based materials for the park, or taking on special projects. Then, during the school year, these teacher-rangers bring the parks into the classroom by developing and presenting curriculum-based lesson plans that draw on their summer's experience. In April, during National Park Week, teacher-rangers wear their NPS uniforms to school, discuss their summer as a park ranger, and engage students and other teachers in activities that relate to America's national parks. Application deadlines vary by park; see the above website for more information.
ATLAS Learning Communities
www.atlascommunities.org/index.asp
Principals' Institute 2008: A conference for school leaders in Tampa, Florida. The theme this year is "The Principal as Village Builder: Connecting Parent Hopes and Student Dreams."
Pathways to Understanding Institute: This institute provides K-12 teachers and principals opportunities for collaboration and reflection with other colleagues. Participants will consider concrete strategies, tools, and pictures of practice to broaden their own vision of what a new story of learning might be and how it might be achieved.
For more information about both programs, follow the above link and click on News & Events.
The James J. Kaput Center for Research and Innovation in Mathematics Education
www.kaputcenter.umassd.edu/
The Kaput Center at UMass Dartmouth has been established in the spirit and vision of James Kaput, whose innovative thinking and leadership inspired many in the field of mathematics education. The purpose of this Center is to provide a focus and support for sustained investigation of foundational issues in the field of mathematics education, issues that will be chosen to enhance and deepen ongoing research by its members and associates. The Center is a place where fundamental problems in mathematics education will be studied, discussed and analyzed through conferences, colloquium series, basic research and development, commissioned reports, and think-tank meetings.
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)
www.free.ed.gov
FREE provides educators with lesson plans, primary documents, science visualizations, math challenges, literary works, paintings, music manuscripts and many other vital classroom resources. The tool also combines important educational elements culled from the Library of Congress, Smithsonian, National Science Foundation, NASA, National Archives and other federal agencies. By integrating these important agencies and resources, FREE is able to provide comprehensive lesson plans. For example, one such plan helps teachers integrate 100 of the most important documents in U.S. history in to class by providing a timeline covering the milestone documents along with in-depth descriptions.
The Teachers Domain
www.teachersdomain.org/
Featuring public television content, Teachers' Domain provides multimedia classroom resources and professional development courses to K-12 educators. The Teachers' Domain is hosted by the WGBH Educational Foundation.
ECHO Project
www.newbedfordecho.org/
The New Bedford Oceanarium and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth are working together to increase and improve the educational opportunities for teachers and students, particularly those in underserved schools. The partners collaborate with classroom and content experts to develop and implement professional development opportunities and standards-based curricula that are embedded in research and meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Their work is guided by the understanding that with quality teaching, all students can be successful learners.
More Online Professional Development Resources
Click here to return to the CUSP home page.
Last Updated On: 5/12/08
