Dear Science Teachers,

While many of you are headed for spring break I ask that you fill out a brief online survey. It is to help us at the College of Education prepare an NSF proposal to initiate a program to help Hawaii teachers bring their dream inventions for classroom teaching and learning to fruition. It should only take you a few minutes. The URL for the survey is

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ryKi2Odt0UG16_2bkzGtm8Zg_3d_3d

Mahalo.

Tom Speitel

Curriculum Research & Development Group
College of Education speitel@hawaii.edu
University of Hawaii at Manoa 808-956-6855
1776 University Avenue Fax: 808-956-0814
Honolulu, HI 96822 www.hawaii.edu/crdg

Aloha!

A couple of weeks ago we had our 4th annual Science Olympiad tournament at Leeward Community College. It was a great day filled with fun and excitement with 14 teams representing 18 different middle and high schools. We had great representation from a wide range of science-related groups running the events and meeting with students and teachers to help build our local science community.

The winners of the state tournament received invitations to compete in the national tournament in Washington D.C. on May 30/31, and I’m pleased to announce that both Highlands Intermediate School (coached by Kathy Lin) and Farrington High School (coached by Bebi Davis) have accepted the invitation to compete. This will be the first time EVER that Hawai‘i will be represented at the national competition for Science Olympiad. At this competition, our students will participate in over 50 different events covering chemistry, biology, physics, earth science, health, engineering, robotics, forensics, mathematics and technology.

The challenge right now is finding the funds to attend this prestigious competition. If you would like to help support one or both teams as they work to represent their schools and our state please contact one or all of the following:

• Highlands Intermediate School - Kathy Lin - Kathy_Lin@notes.k12.hi.us - 808-453-6480
• Farrington High School - Bebi Davis - bebi@hawaii.edu - 808-832-3645
• Hawai‘i State Science Olympiad - Franklin Allaire (State Director) - allaire@hawaii.edu - 808-282-9454

Accept the Challenge…Join Science Olympiad!

www.hsso.org
hisciolympiad@hotmail.com

Hawai‘i State Science Olympiad
5827 Kalanianaole Hwy.
Honolulu, HI 96821

HSSO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Aloha!

We invite you to join us at the FIRST in Hawai‘iRegional Robotics Competition from March 27-29 at University of Hawai‘i’s Stan Sheriff Center.

The 25 Hawai’i schools will join with neighbor island teams, as well as 12 teams from the mainland (California, Florida, New Jersey and West Virginia), to compete in the FIRST in Hawai‘iRegional Robotics Competition - called the “varsity sport of the mind” – on University of Hawai‘i’s Manoa campus.

The competition will feature more than 700 students.

“These young people and their adult mentors are an inspiration to me in the fearless way they are embracing their future. Their enthusiasm makes me optimistic about our state’s future.” - Governor Linda Lingle

We want to encourage you to spread the word to your friends and family members to attend the competition to learn about and support our local schools.

Mahalo.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Inaugural 2008 NASA/BAE Systems FIRST in Hawai‘iRegional Robotics Competition,
March 27 to 29, at University of Hawai‘i’s Stan Sheriff Center

Events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

For additional information or to sign up to be an event volunteer, visit the FIRST in Hawai‘iRegional Robotics Competition website, http://robotics.hawaii.gov.

“To create a world where science and technology are celebrated…
where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.”
– Dean Kamen, founder, FIRST

Chautauqua Short Courses: Using Research-Based Curricula and Tools to Promote Active Learning in Introductory Courses

Instructors: Priscilla Laws, Dickinson College
David Sokoloff, University of Oregon
Ronald Thornton, Tufts University

June 7-9, 2008 at University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

This NSF-sponsored, hands-on course is designed for those interested in making learning in their introductory course more active either within the traditional course structure of lectures, labs, and recitation hours, or by re-structuring their course (e.g., into a workshop or studio course). Participants will be introduced to physics education research-based strategies for each component of the introductory course: Interactive Lecture Demonstration (ILDs), Web-Based ILDs, RealTime Physics labs, Activity Based Tutorials, Collaborative Problem-Solving Tutorials and Workshop Physics, as well as modeling and video analysis. The tools and software are available for Macintosh and Windows computers. Results of studies on the effectiveness of these curricula will also be presented. Those interested in making major changes in their introductory physics programs are especially encouraged to attend. Participants will receive current versions of the curricula, along with Teaching Physics with the Physics Suite, a comprehensive book by E.F. Redish (University of Maryland) on strategies for implementing physics education research-based curricula. Topics will be chosen from both semesters of the introductory physics course.

Open to teachers of undergraduate students in institutions of higher education in the U.S. High school teachers and faculty from outside the U.S. are also admitted if space is available. There is a small course application fee ($100), but no tuition. Participants are responsible for their transportation, lodging and meals. Reasonably-priced accommodations will be arranged.

For more information and to register: http://uoregon.edu/~sokoloff/chaut1.htm, or contact David Sokoloff, Department of Physics, 1274 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1274, E-mail: sokoloff@uoregon.edu, Phone: (541) 346-4755, Fax: (541) 346-5861.

David Sokoloff
Professor of Physics

sokoloff@uoregon.edu
Department of Physics
1274 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1274

PHONE: (541) 346-4755
FAX: (541) 346-5861

A great series of photos from NASA which adds pictures on a daily basis. One is a spectacular view of Mauna Kea.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

http://www.cdc.gov/excite/ScienceAmbassador/.

FREE WORKSHOP for SCIENCE TEACHERS!

Aloha ~ If you teach Science, Special Education or Hawaiian Studies our free curricula may interest you. Our materials are designed to inspire your students to seek scientific knowledge – ka hana ‘imi na‘auao – through the Hawaiian ways of knowing and doing which help all learners succeed: engaging activities, lessons with relevance, local career & college information, films & readings about Hawaiian scientists, & more!

We will be presenting our new curriculum at two conferences on O‘ahu this spring: NHEA, March 27-28 & PacRim, April 15th. If you cannot come to these events, we can come to you! Between April & September 2008 we can visit your school & tailor our workshop to suit you. Just let us know your interests & needs! Options are:
• a quick 1 hour overview of Ka Hana ‘Imi Na‘auao curriculum offerings
• a 2-3 hour intro to this curriculum plus 2 others: Science in Hawai‘i & Kūkulu Na U‘apo (see www.scihi.hawaii.edu & www.kukulu.hawaii.edu)
• a 4-5 hour intro of any of our curricula plus demos with cultural practitioners to share ways you can integrate science with Hawaiian content, methods & strategies and still meet the standards
Presenters include: Lisa Galloway & Randee Golden-Scalise from UH-Mānoa, plus Val Crabbe & Elsie Ryder from ALU LIKE, Inc. Nānākuli

Contact: lisa.galloway@hawaii.edu to book now!

Website: www.cds.hawaii.edu/kahana

SUMMER PLANS?
Summer Workshops for High School Chemistry Teachers
The mission of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS), teacher training program is to improve the quality of secondary chemical education in both content and instructional approach. To that end, ACS has offered national teaching training opportunities in the form of summer workshops since 1988.
Chemistry in the Community Workshops
These five-day residential workshops are designed for teachers using or planning to use the ACS first year chemistry textbook, Chemistry in the Community. The first four units of the textbook are covered in detail. Instructional tips and techniques are given by experienced teacher leaders as well as explanations about the ChemCom philosophy. Teachers have the opportunity to perform many of the student laboratory investigations and classroom activities from the textbook themselves, gaining valuable insight to the safety aspects, analysis and preparation of these activities.

Duquesne University (PA): July 6 – 11, 2008
Saint Mary’s College (CA): July 13 – 18, 2008
Texas State University (TX): July 13 – 18, 2008
St. Thomas (MN): July 27 – August 1, 2008
Hope College (MI): August 3 – 8, 2008

The registration fee for this workshop is $50.00; ACS provides room, board, and materials. More information, requirements, application forms and/or online registration may be found at www.acs.org/education (follow the link for Courses and Workshops).
Teaching Inquiry-based Advanced High School Chemistry Workshops
If you’re looking for new ideas to enhance your advanced high school chemistry course, take the Teaching Inquiry-based Advanced High School Chemistry workshop. Based on the college textbook Chemistry and led by experienced chemistry educators, this 3-day residential workshop will give you the tools you need to incorporate inquiry into your advanced high school chemistry course. The workshop provides instructional tips and techniques for promoting active and collaborative learning through: short experiments that introduce chemical concepts, modeling as a means to understanding and explaining chemical concepts and reasoning as a means to solving problems.

Duquesne University (PA): July 6 – 9, 2008
Saint Mary’s College (CA): July 13 – 16, 2008
Texas State University (TX): July 13 – 16, 2008
St. Thomas (MN): July 27 –30, 2008
Hope College (MI): August 3 – 6, 2008

The registration fee for this workshop is $50.00; ACS provides room, board, and materials. More information, requirements, application forms and/or online registration may be found at www.acs.org/education (follow the link for Courses and Workshops).

Event begins March 31st and goes until April 2nd. Hit the link for more information.

http://www.hawaii.edu/acadsci/

This event will be held on March 1, 2008

http://www.hsso.org./