Professional Development and Student Opportunities

Professional Development

Lead by George Mason University, the Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement (VISTA) is a partnership among 47 school districts, six universities, and the Virginia Department of Education to build an infrastructure to provide sustained, intensive science teacher professional development and educational research in order to increase student performance. VISTA offers professional development opportunities for 4th-6th grade elementary teachers, new secondary science teachers, early career science coordinators, and science education faculty within Virginia. Please visit http://vista.gmu.edu for additional information and to apply.

 Spring 2012

Region I Mini-Conference " Science is Gold"

When: Saturday, March 17, 2012

Where: Kersey Creek Elementary School 10004 Learning Lane  Mechanicsville, VA 23116

Time: 9a.m.-4:30 p.m. Registration and breakfast begin at 8 a.m.

Registration: Register by February 17, 2012 and get a free book!

To register, click here to download application or click here to register online

To present at the conference, click here to download application or click here to register online by January 31st deadline date to present

The Rappahannock Chapter of the Society of American Foresters

Presents a FREE …….Walk in the Forest (pdf flyer)
Saturday, March 17th
7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
at the Virginia Department of Forestry’s New Kent Forestry Center
11301 Pocahontas Trail,
Providence Forge, Va. 23140
Rain or Shine
7:00 a.m. Guided Birding Trip (led by Williamsburg Bird Club)
10:00 a.m. Guided Nature Hikes start every half hour until 2:00 p.m.
10:00 a.m. Exhibits Open and Free Seedlings Available. Choose from baldcypress, persimmon, shortleaf pine, eastern redbud, flowering dogwood, and American plum.
Hiking trails open at 7 a.m. and maps will be available at the Education Center.
Forestry Merit Badge program (partial) available for Boy Scouts. Contact Dave Lauthers to register at davemmc2000@yahoo.com or 757-753-8309.
Exhibits will include:
“Goods from the Woods” Firewise Community Information Leave No Trace
Wildlife Identification with the Virginia Living Museum
American Tree Farm System® Information Virginia Waterfowlers’ Association
Papermaking Leaf Rubbing Animal Track Stamping
Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the day with us.
Questions? Contact Lisa Deaton at 804-512-2933 or lisa.deaton@dof.virginia.gov

Summer 2012

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR SCIENCE INQUIRY SCALE-­‐UP (ITSI-­‐SU)
Professional Development for K-12 Science Teachers (pdf flyer)
• Are you interested in developing scientific inquiry in instruction?
• Are you enthusiastic in integrating technology tools such as probes and Internet in teaching and learning?
• Do you want to be part of a nationwide project in science education and research?
• If yes, join ITSI-SU-Cohort 3!
ITSI-SU is a scale-up of the highly-acclaimed Information Technology in Science Instruction (ITSI) project at the Concord Consortium. Virginia teachers became part of this nationwide research project in June 2010. We are seeking new teachers to join the ITSI-SU Cohort 3 in June 2012. If you are interested in this professional development opportunity, please fill out the registration form at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ITSISU2012. Participation requirements include attending the five-day summer workshop in 2012, a five-week online workshop in fall 2012 and in spring 2013, and a two-day face-to-face workshop in summer 2013.
Location for the five day workshop in Summer 2012:
The Community Idea Station, 23 Sesame Street, Richmond, VA 23235
Dates for workshop: June 25-29, 2012 (8:30 am to 4:00 pm)
Incentives for Teachers:
• $500 per participant to attend summer workshop, create and present at least two activities during workshop;
• additional $500 for teachers to participate in five-week fall and spring online courses; integrate two activities in classrooms with pre- and post-tests; learn to use Videopaper Builder and create a videopaper; create and implement two activities in classrooms by spring 2013; and, attend two day face-to-face workshop in summer 2013.
Teachers will also be reimbursed for $300 worth of probeware and other inquiry tools. Each teacher is involved in this project for at least two years. Number of teachers involved in Cohort 3: 10 elementary, 10 middle, and 10 high school teachers in Virginia. Teacher selection is based on teacher’s commitment, recommendation from the science leaders, and willingness to participate in research.
Any questions: Contact Mano Talaiver at mano@ittip.org or Paula Klonowski at
paula@ittip.org.

K-12 Science SOL Institutes

The K-12 Science SOL Institutes have been a valuable venue for sharing the Revised Science Standards of Learning and focus on Inquiry-Based Instruction and the Nature of Science. This temporary website provides the Powerpoint Presentations and links to to the Nature of Science website designed for the Science SOL Institutes.

Revised Science SOL

Each Institute started with a session lead by the Paula Klonowski, former Science Coordinator or Barbara Young, Science Specialist with the Virginia Department of Education. You may download their presentation here. Science SOL Institute VDOE.ppt

The following are other documents provided as resources to participants for work on curriculum revision:

 

Scientific Inquiry

Teacher Leaders and Science Coordinators/Supervisors presented a session focused on inquiry-based instruction and way to examine lessons to determine their level of inquiry. The notes section of the presentation provides directions for the presenter. InquiryPresentation.ppt

The Nature of Science

The afternoon session was focused in the Nature of Science session developed by Linda Peterson. The following is the workshop overview. In this interactive workshop, participants view a Powerpoint presentation while listening to a presenter provide information and story-like examples which build their background understanding of the seven main components of the Nature of Science (NOS).

Subsequently, participants work independently or in pairs to fill in a graphic organizer with a drawing and a catchy phrase that captures their understanding of each of the seven NOS components.

Collaboratively working in groups, teachers check their understanding by analyzing eight science-related scenarios to determine which NOS components apply. Groups then share their analysis with other groups to process their learning and come to consensus.

Finally, participants use the Graphic and Discussion Questions to plan how they will use classroom hands-on science investigations to help students understand NOS.

http://mason.gmu.edu/~lpetersn/nos/

Student Opportunities


Youth Initiative in Earth and Environmental Science

Do you have students who love earth  and environmental science? Through a collaborative partnership between JMU, US Geological Survey, and Virginia DMME, students spend spend two weeks conducting field and laboratory experiences. For more information, click here or contact Dr. Eric Pyle @ pyleej@jmu.edu.