OSGC Educational Resources Blog

In 1609, Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens and revolutionized humanity’s understanding of its place in the universe. In honor of the 400th anniversary of the astronomical telescope, the IYA will feature hands-on workshops and a three-day symposium to help educators, scientists, and anyone working in astronomy and space science outreach to prepare for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy.

The symposium will be held in St. Louis from May 31-June 4, 2008.

To learn more about this event and to sign up to receive e-mail updates, visit http://www.astrosociety.org/2008meeting

Want to know more about global climate change?
What: Global Climate Change Institute for Teachers: Elementary
Where: Western Oregon University
When: Three dates to choose from
Friday, July 11, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Time: 8:30-4 pm
Cost: FREE! Includes snacks and lunch. (charges apply if taking the class for one graduate credit or if you choose to stay overnight in university housing)

What to expect:

• Gain an understanding of what global climate change is and how it will impact the Pacific Northwest
• Explore ways your school and students can initiate changes to reduce your school’s carbon footprint.
• Learn how Global Climate change curriculum connects with national and state science standards
• Participate in lessons and hands-on activities suitable for use in k-5 classrooms
• Receive copies of the lessons along with supplies to take with you
• Examine children’s books that can be integrated with the global climate change curriculum
• Possible follow up school visit and assistance from GIFT staff during the 2008-09 school year

Limit: 24 elementary teachers each day
For more information contact: Dr. William Schoenfeld or Dr. Adele Schepige at gccift@wou.edu

PENN STATE SCIENCE WORKSHOPS FOR EDUCATORS 2008
Stipend Notification: March 21, 2008
Application Deadline: May 31, 2008

Choose from six different content area workshops designed to meet classroom curriculum requirements. Keep pace with the latest science research, engage in standards-based classroom activities, and explore ways to make science fun as you work side by side with Penn State faculty.

Grants, sponsored in part by NASA, provide all participants with a private room in the newly built Brill Hall, reimbursements for travel costs up to $100, breakfast in the dining commons, and an allotment for lunches and dinners. In addition, tuition subsidies are available for ALL of the workshops on a competitive basis. Depending upon funding availability, additional tuition subsidies may be provided after March 21. Sign up today and find out why most of our teachers come back to take additional courses in our series!

2008 course titles:

• Exploring Renewable Energy Technologies and the Materials that Make it Happen (NEW)
• Earth’s History: Interaction Between Life and the Environment (NEW)
• Extreme Particle Astrophysics
• Evolution - How important is it to a good science education?
• Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomical Inquiry (NEW)
• Black Holes: Gravity’s Fatal Attraction (NEW)

For more information and the on-line application, visit http://teachscience.psu.edu . If you have questions about this opportunity, please e-mail Leah Bug at teachscience@psu.edu .

NASA and NSTA are partnering to present a symposium for elementary educators of grades 3-5. Each participant will be exposed to the NASA 21st Century Explorer project.

Symposium participants will be introduced to the 12 hands-on scientific exploration activities that are part of the project and conduct one during the workshop. Each of these activities promotes higher-order thinking skills and expands the space exploration knowledge base of the bilingual educator, learner and family. The 12 educational packages also provide career connections. These connections introduce students to the subject matter experts who helped create each of the science concepts for the hands-on activities and provide a link to the specific researcher, scientist or engineer. Participants will also have an opportunity to participate in an assessment of the project by providing educator-based comments for improvement of the activities.

All participants will receive educational materials written in English and Spanish and information about resources at NASA. A drawing for prizes will be held at the end of the program. Graduate credit may be available at an additional cost to participants.

This symposium will take place on March 27, 2008, from 1:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. in Room 257A of the Boston Convention Center. NASA will provide a stipend of $60 to all participants attending this symposium upon its completion.

For more information about this symposium, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/boston08/NASA-Explorers/symposium.aspx

NASA and NSTA are partnering to present a symposium for elementary, middle and high school educators of grades 4-12. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, scheduled to launch in October 2008, will carry the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter. LOLA will produce topographic maps of the moon.

In this symposium, participants will learn how to create a topographic map and use it to determine the path a robot will traverse through Lunar Land, a 150-centimeter-square mock-up of a surface with obstacles of various heights. This experience engages participants in an activity analogous to that which real lunar scientists might do. Along with other possibilities, the activity offers an opportunity to discuss lunar science, fundamentals of measurement (including measurement uncertainty), spatial resolution in the context of remote sensing, and graphical representation and analysis of data.

All participants will receive educational materials and information about resources at NASA. A drawing for prizes will take place at the end of the program. Graduate credit may be available at an additional cost to participants.

This symposium will take place on March 28, 2008, from 1:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. in Room 257A of the Boston Convention Center. NASA will provide a stipend of $60 to all participants attending this symposium upon its completion.

For more information about this symposium, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/boston08/NASA-Mapping/symposium.aspx

“Floods and Flows: Exploring Mars Geology on Earth,” a NASA-sponsored workshop for educators, will be held July 13-19, 2008. Spend the week with planetary scientists visiting the site of ancient Glacial Lake Missoula and tracing its flood waters through Montana, Idaho and into Washington. From these field experiences and accompanying classroom activities, participants will build an understanding of surface processes on Earth, including water flow, volcanism, glaciation and sedimentation. Attendees will extend their understanding to interpret what the features on the surface of Mars suggest about the past environments and history of the Red Planet.

The experience will be divided between the field and lab, where participants work with classroom-tested, hands-on inquiry-based activities and resources that can be used to enhance Earth and space science teaching in the classroom. Participants receive lesson plans, supporting resources and presentations.

Applications are due April 7, 2008.

For more information about the workshop and to submit an application online, visit http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/fieldtrips/2008/floods20081st.shtml

INSPIRE Summer Academy July 27 – August 1, 2008

Are you interested in learning how to develop innovative methods for integrating engineering thinking into your classroom?

The 2008 INSPIRE Summer Academy is a week long program for 2nd - 5th grade educator teams. The educator teams must comprise a minimum of six educators from as many as three buildings in the same school district/corporation. The teams can be created from across disciplines (e.g. math, science, technology, and language arts), and can include administrators as well as teachers.

At the end of the Summer Academy, teachers will be able to:
· Convey a broad perspective of the nature and practice of engineering
· Communicate the difference and similarities between engineering and science thinking
· Discuss what engineers do and how they solve problems with students
· Use engineering problem-solving process such as design and model development to engage students in realistic open-ended problem solving

In addition, each participating educator will receive a $750.00 stipend and the opportunity to obtain 3 graduate credit hours. Summer Academy participants traveling outside a 50 mile radius from Purdue University’s West Lafayette, Indiana campus will receive an on-campus housing/food allowance and a travel stipend of up to $400.00.

Download the application at: https://engineering.purdue.edu/INSPIRE
Application deadline is due May 1st, 2008
For more information contact Dan Somerville, dsomervi@purdue.edu

Registration is open for two, free Web Seminars featuring scientists and education specialists from NASA. The seminars will focus on how educators can better engage parents and enlist their support for inquiry-based science and mathematics education. The presenters will share their science and science education expertise, answer questions from the participants, and provide information regarding web sites that students can use in the classroom. These Web Seminars are designed for educators of grades K-6. Seminars are scheduled for November 20 and December 12, 2007.

http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall07/NASA_Denver/webseminar.aspx

Registration is open for two, free Web Seminars featuring scientists and education specialists from NASA. The seminars will focus on the biological and physical aspects of humans living and working in space as NASA completes the International Space Station, returns a human presence on the moon and looks forward to Mars and beyond. The presenters will share their science expertise, answer questions from the participants, and provide information regarding web sites that students can use in the classroom. These Web Seminars, designed for educators of grades 4-9, are scheduled for October 30 and November 6, 2007.

http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall07/NASA_Detroit/webseminar.aspx

Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduledd to launch on August 8, 2007 with Barbara Morgan, our first Educator Astronaut, aboard! In conjunction with the STS-118 mission, NASA has developed many educational resources you can find at the following website:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stseducation/home/index.html

Teacher Opportunity: Interactive Training-STS-118 Curricular Modules
Learn how to engage your students and teach science in the context of the STS-118 shuttle mission with the first Educator Astronaut spaceflight. Using the Internet and a telephone, immerse yourself in two new NASA classroom activities: the Fit Explorer and the Engineering Design Challenge. These and other activities blend rich themes of energy, microgravity and colonization. One-hour sessions are available July 23-Oct. 15, 2007.
http://www.us-satellite.net/sts118

Engineering Design Challenge Plant Growth Chamber
During the 2007-2008 school year, join NASA’s Engineering Design Challenge to design, analyze, build and assess plant growth chambers as part of a standards-based activity related to the STS-118 space shuttle mission. Growth chambers, much like the space plant chambers students will design and build, are part of the education payload on STS-118. The first Educator Astronaut, Barbara Morgan, and her fellow crewmates will take up two growth chambers along with 10 million basil seeds. These seeds will be exposed to microgravity and brought back to Earth to be used in classrooms throughout the nation.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/plantgrowth/home/index.html

Physical Fitness Challenge
NASA’s Fit Explorer project is a scientific and physical approach to human health and fitness on Earth and in space. Students will learn about The Vision for Space Exploration and the physical fitness requirements of living and working in space. The participants will use standards-based classroom science activities related to the STS-118 shuttle mission and future extended exploration missions. Students will perform physical activities, including Base Station Walk-Back, Do a Spacewalk, Jump for the Moon, Crew Strength Training and Mission: Control.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Be_a_Fit_Explorer_Flier.html

Learn more about the crew of STS-118, including Barbara Morgan, the first Educator Astronaut at the following website:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stseducation/home/STS-118_Overview.html