Of interest to high school astronomy teachers:

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tuscon, Arizona is looking for high school teachers to participate in their teacher development program for 2008. The program includes a 10-day workshop at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tuscon, for which most of the travel costs are paid by NOAO.

See the following website for more information.
http://www.noao.edu/education/arbse/pd

Grade 5-9 Teachers of Science

What: Earth and Space Institute (ESI)

When: Dates and times are as follows for the course:
September 22, 2007 -  8:00 A.M.- 3:00 P.M.
October 13, 2007  -  8:00 A.M.- 3:00 P.M
December 1, 2007 -  8:00 A.M.- 3:00 P.M
February 2, 2008  -   8:00 A.M.- 3:00 P.M
March 8, 2008 -    8:00 A.M.- 3:00 P.M
April 26, 2008 -   8:00 A.M.- 3:00 P.M

Enrollment: Enrollment will be limited to 100 grade 5-9 teachers. Priority will be given to teachers licensed in Science, working toward certification, or adding a field for Highly Qualified Certification in Science.

NSTA Sci-links On-line professional development program. All participants are required to participate in face-to-face and on-line professional development sessions.

Cost: Earth and Space Institute: DOE schools $50 administrative fee, Charter schools: $50 administrative fee and $50 course materials fee. Checks should be made to the Department of Education, 475 22nd Avenue, Room 116, Honolulu, Hawaii 96816. Courses are being partially funded by the Instructional Services Branch, Science Department. Interested neighbor island teachers may be eligible for a partial subsidy to alleviate travel expenses.

Registration: Submit Intent to Participate form (attached) by September 7, 2007. Confirmation and logistical information will be sent to participants by September 12, 2007. Upon confirmation of acceptance participants will need to register for the NSTA Sci-Links course through PDERI at http://fms-web2.k12.hi.us/pderi by September 17, 2007.

Contact: Alison Inouye or Karen Umeda, State Resource Teachers for Science Education at 733-9141 ext. 414 or via Lotus Notes.

James
(Select Links button from the menu for a Link to the website mentioned below)

I wanted to introduce myself. Frank Owens passed along your contact info and recommended I let you know what we are doing with the HI state department of education related to The NSTA Learning Center and our e-Learning resources.

My team and I are working with Jeff Pointek and his team to roll-out The NSTA Learning Center and several targeted e-PD resources for his science teachers in October 2007. We’ll be providing an orientation to the e-PD portal and selected materials October 13, 2007. On October 20th I’ll be speaking at the state science teachers association annual conference on the same topic.

To get an idea of the vision of The NSTA Learning Center and several of its e-learning resources, please feel free to visit the URL: http://institute.nsta.org/learningcenter/flashdemo/index.html. Here you’ll view a 7-minute Flash multimedia overview.

We released the beta version of the Learning Center in Nov of 2007. The resources within the Learning Center are vetted and high quality, and we are building out the tools within the portal and continuing to metatag and populate with all NSTA’s resources and opportunities (hence beta).

Currently there are close to 2000 assets with over 500 complete free and approximately 33% free or under $1 (iTunes model). In state-based deployments there is no expense born by the teacher as they create a free account, select the resources secured by the state department of education and then when the teachers go to their “My Library” these resources are added for consumption.

I look forward to a conversation to learn of your efforts in HI. I’ll cc Jeff Pointek, State Science Supervisor in HI (my primary contact), so he too is “in the loop” on this communiqué.

Regards,

Al

Al Byers

Looking for Exemplary Science Programs (ESP) that Illustrate Inquiry

As the 2008 year approaches, the NSTA National Advisory Board (NAB) invites your help in identifying 15 programs for the 2008 Exemplary Science Program Monograph. The sixth monograph in the series now requests nominations for recognizing teachers and schools. Inquiry has become a word that all respect and admire – almost religiously. Most teachers, textbook authors, curriculum developers, and the general public see it important and purport to use it. However, in actual practice it often has a word like guided, completed, or even “directed” used with it as an adjective. But could scientists be so restrained??
The 2008 ESP monograph will focus on teachers and programs which illustrate full (or open) inquiry. This means that it starts with student curiosities and questions followed by student attempts to deal with their own curriculum and attempt to provide answers. Of course the main ingredient for scientific inquiry is collecting evidence from others to evaluate and to establish validity to the ideas and solutions proposed. And, these must be shared and used to resolve the issues. All of this requires contexts (situations) to promote inquiry – which is the stated major goal for science education as indicated in the National Science Education Standards. Specifically the goal called for producing students who “experience the richness and excitement of knowing about and understanding the natural world”.
The NAB looks forward to reviewing nominations and working with at least 15 teacher teams who are involved with real inquiry on the part of students in their classrooms. Nominations should be forwarded to Robert E. Yager, Chair of NSTA’s ESP efforts and editor of the ESP Monograph Series (Science Education Center, Room 450 VAN, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, robert-yager@uiowa.edu, 319-335-1189).

2007 Fall Conference Schedule, Oct. 20
W. R. Farrington High School
1564 N. King St.
(enter from Kalihi St. going mauka just before getting on H-1 east)
Updated 9/2/07

7:30 a.m. – 815 a.m. Exhibitors, vendors, volunteers check-in at cafeteria

8:15 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. Participant Registration in cafeteria
Morning Refreshments using eco-friendly plates

8:50 a.m. Introductions and acknowledgments

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Keynote Speaker: Ramsay Taum

10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Break

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Session 1 Workshop

11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Break

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Session 2 Workshop

12:45 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Light Lunch buffet in the cafeteria
Address by Mr. Al Byers on the NSTA Learning Center and e-PD
Door Prize drawings

2:00 p.m. Everyone is outta there!

Special features:
Recycle! Swap Meet: bring and pick up used/unwanted educational materials.
Learn about the various agencies that enhance our awareness and how to maximize your contribution to “mãlama o ka ‘ãina”: join a conservation organization.
Door prizes!

Workshops will be in classrooms of I-Building next to the cafeteria. All other events, vendors, and informational booths will be in the cafeteria. Dress for very warm conditions.

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Ramsay Taum
Mr. Taum has been the Director of Oahu Operations for the Hawai’i Nature Center since 2004. Prior to that, he served as the Project Manager for the Ala Wai Watershed Improvement Project, Associate Director of the Ala Wai Watershed Association, and Coordinator of the Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program for the Kailua Bay AdvisoryCouncil. Mr. Taum will speak about incorporating place based and host cultural values and principles into environmental science education.

Generously sponsored by:

Schnitzer Steel Hawaii Corp. Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.
Dowling Company, Inc.

The Hawaii Academy of Science

Vedors:
Delta Education/FOSS School and Technology Resources It’s About Time Publishing

Exhibitors:
Coordinating Group on Alien Species (CGAPS)
Hoyike l Haleakala Outreach, Maui Invasive Species Committee
Conservation Council for Hawaii
Malama Maunalua
The Nature Conservancy, Malama Hawaii
National Tropical Botanical Garden
Hawaii Academy of Science
Waterman Academy/Rapture Marine
Hawaii State Science Olympiad
The Green House
NSTA Learning Center and e-PD
Kokua Hawaii Foundation

Door Prizes include a rain catchment barrel (courtesy of the Green House) and
A 3-4 day Marine Science trip for two people ( courtesy of Waterman Academy/Rapture Marine)