Professional Development
NCAR Online Education The online courses, instructed by science education specialists, incorporate information about state-of-the-art research and modeling efforts of nationally renowned climatologists with classroom tested science inquiry activities. The online course experience features a high level of interactivity, tools for assessment , and effective community-building interactive technologies.
Are you seeking a K-12 professional development opportunity that will enhance your qualifications, competency, and self-confidence in integrating Earth system science, climate, and global change your science classroom? The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), offers a suite of distance learning courses that build upon our face-to-face professional development workshops.
Climate Discovery is a series of six- and seven-week courses for middle and high school educators. The course offerings include:
The High School and Middle Level Committees are looking for Share-A-Thon presenters for the 2009 Fall NSTA Regional Conferences:
Minneapolis (October 29-31) Fort Lauderdale (November 12-14) Phoenix (December 3-5)
Going to Philly? NSTA is in need of 2010 Share presenters as well for both Middle and High School Committees.
For the Share-A-Thon, each presenter is responsible for standing in front of the group and giving a 5-8 minute overview of their lesson or unit and answer any questions. Then the next presenter will have their turn. At the end of all presentations, copies of CDs are passed out to the attendees. The CD lowers the amount of papers for everyone involved.
If you have every considered presenting, but have been worried about taking a whole hour, the High School or Middle Level Shares are a great way to "try out" presenting. Interested? Contact me, Susan German, Middle Level Director, at
mailto:sgerman@hallsville.org or Jean Tushie, High School Director, at
mailto:jtushie@comcast.net
Gr 6-12: Are you an early career teacher of science – or do you know one? http://www.nsta.org/academyEach year for three years, funding from Bayer, Amgen, and other corporate sponsors supports early-career middle and high school science teachers with an array of professional development resources and tools. NSTA Fellows receive a comprehensive NSTA membership package, online mentoring with trained instructors who teach in the same discipline and the opportunity to participate in a variety of Web-based professional development activities, including Web seminars. They also will receive financial support to attend NSTA's 2010 National Conference on Science Education.
This spring, NSTA will issue a call for entries to the 2009-2010 NSTA New Science Teacher Academy. Science teachers located throughout the country who will be entering their second or third year of teaching and whose schedule is a minimum of 51 percent middle or high school science, can apply to the become an NSTA Fellow. For more information about the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy, to learn how to apply to become a fellow and 2009-2010 deadline information please visit the URL above.
Online weather course by the American Meteorological Society AMS is again offering an online weather course for K-12 teachers. It is free and offers 3-units of graduate credits along with many educational materials for the classroom.
DataStreme Atmosphere is a precollege teacher enhancement program of the AMS/NOAA Cooperative Program for Earth System Education (CPESE). The program is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The website for more information is at:
http://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/DataStremeMiddle.html
The initial step in the training of Resource Teachers is their participation in the
DataStreme Atmosphere distance-learning course. The 13-week course is offered twice a year to selected participants. It focuses on the study of the atmospheric environment through the use of electronically transmitted weather data and learning materials combined with Study Guide readings and investigations. Participants must be teaching professionals at the precollege level who live in an area served by a Local Implementation Team (LIT). Teachers of any grade level or subject who have an interest in promoting the teaching of weather across the curriculum may apply. Many participants are earth science, middle school and upper elementary teachers. Applications are sought from persons who can demonstrate potential for leadership as resource teachers. They must be willing to act as resource persons for other teachers and as advocates for promoting the use of electronically-delivered environmental data in schools. Teachers who are members of groups traditionally under-represented in the sciences, or teachers who are teaching in schools with large numbers of students from groups traditionally under-represented in the sciences, are especially urged to apply.
