Research
Experiences for Teachers
Florida State University is now
offering two Research Experiences for
Teachers (RET) programs in/near
Tallahassee, FL. Both of these programs
are funded through the National Science
Foundation (NSF). These RETs are 6-week
summer research experiences that match
highly qualified Elementary, Middle and
High School teachers with scientists at
either the National High Magnetic Field
Lab (NHMFL) or the FSU Coastal Marine
Lab. The programs offer teachers a $3600
stipend, travel and housing support to
non-local teachers. For details visit:
http://www.ret.magnet.fsu.edu
OR
http://bio.fsu.edu/osta/RET
Research
and Mentoring Experiences for Teachers
The University of Rhode Island's
Office of Marine Programs is now
accepting applications for the ARMADA
Project- Research and Mentoring
Experiences for Teachers. The ARMADA
Project, funded by the National Science
Foundation, provides K-12 teachers an
opportunity to actively participate in
ocean, polar, and environmental science
research and peer mentoring.
Selected
Master Teachers (with five or more years
teaching experience) are paired with
leading scientists and participate in
shipboard, field, or laboratory research
with all expenses paid. Research
experiences will take place during the
summer, although there may be
opportunities during the school year.
Upon completion of their research
experience, Master Teachers develop ways
to bring the fruits of their research
experiences, including scientific data,
methodologies, and technology into their
classrooms. They share their experiences
by mentoring new teachers in their
school district and by presenting their
results at the National Science Teachers
Association National Conventions.
The
ARMADA Project has placed teachers in
research experiences all over the world.
Past experiences include taking part in
the largest North Pacific humpback whale
study in the waters off the coast of
Alaska, investigating the impacts of
global change in the Arctic Ocean and
the Antarctic, monitoring and assessing
tidal creeks in South Carolina, studying
the impact of human activity on dusky
dolphins in New Zealand, identifying
foraging behaviors of Antarctic
Crabeater Seals, water circulation
studies in the Norwegian Sea, and a
variety of ecosystem monitoring projects
in the Bay of Fundy, Narragansett Bay,
Gulf of Maine, Stellwagen Bank, Western
Shelf of Florida, Sargasso Sea, Bahamas,
Alaska, and Block Island Sound.
Application deadline is February 4,
2008. For more information about teacher
qualifications, responsibilities, and to
download an application see the ARMADA
Project website at:
http://www.armadaproject.org
or contact Andrea Kecskes at
401-874-6211 or armada@gso.uri.edu.
2007
American Stars of Teaching
The U.S. Department of Education is
pleased to announce the names of the
2007 American Stars of Teaching award
winners. These outstanding classroom
teachers across all grade levels and
disciplines were honored this fall as
2007 American Stars of Teaching. Awards
were announced at special assemblies at
the schools where the honored teachers
work. Parents, students, colleagues,
school administrators and others
nominated these exemplary teachers who
they believed have the qualities to be
an American Star of Teaching. One
teacher was recognized from each state,
as well as 4 private school teachers.
View a
complete list of all American Stars of
Teaching at:
https://www.t2tweb.us/AmStar/Prior.asp
Nominations for 2008 American Stars of
Teaching will open in January at:
http://www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative
High
School Science
Thacher
Scholar Award for Secondary Students
In an effort to engage the next
generation of Earth scientists, the
Institute for Global Environmental
Strategies (IGES) is now accepting
entries for the 2008 Thacher Scholars
Award, to be given to secondary school
students demonstrating the best use of
geospatial tools or data to study our
home planet. Eligible tools and data
include satellite remote sensing, aerial
photography, geographic information
systems (GIS), and the Global
Positioning System (GPS). Entries can be
submitted by individuals or teams,
either by hard copy or by emailed PDF.
Entries must be received by April 4,
2008.
U.S.
students in grades 9-12, including U.S.
citizens attending schools in foreign
countries, are eligible to receive cash
awards in the amount of $2,000 for first
place, $1,000 for second place and $500
for third place. For each winning
student or team, a teacher or designated
adult "coach" will receive a $200 gift
card to Amazon.com. Entries must not
exceed 20 pages, and will be judged by
IGES staff based on their scientific and
technical accuracy; creativity and
originality; quality of presentation;
thoroughness of research, methods and
procedures; and demonstration of
knowledge gained. Winners will be
announced by May 9, 2008.
For more
information on the Thacher Scholars
Award, including contest rules, judging
rubrics, questions to help guide student
projects, and a list of related
resources, please visit:
http://www.strategies.org/ThacherScholars
Darwin
Day
If you are interested in organizing a
Darwin Day celebration please go to:
http://darwinday.org/englishL/assistevent/index.html
for event
ideas and guidelines. If you already
have plans for a Darwin Day please go
to:
http://darwinday.org/NEWlang/regevent/index.php
to
register and advertise your event.
Darwin Day is February 12, 2009.
Middle
School Science
Web
Seminar: The Role of Polar Regions in
Earth’s Changing Climate System
Join NASA, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the National
Science Foundation and the National
Science Teachers Association for two
free Web seminars on the topic of the
International Polar Year. The seminars
are designed for educators of grades
5-8. The sessions will focus on the
interaction of polar regions with the
Earth’s climate system, atmospheric gas
changes over Earth’s history, what ice
cores tell about past climate, and the
implications of climate change in the
polar regions. The presenters will share
their expertise, answer questions from
the participants and provide information
regarding Web sites that students can
use in the classroom.
The Web
seminars are 90-minute, live
professional development sessions that
use online learning technologies to
allow participants to interact with
nationally acclaimed experts,
scientists, engineers and education
specialists from NASA, NOAA, and NSF.
Each Web seminar is a unique,
stand-alone program. Archives of the Web
seminars and the presenters’
presentations will be available online.
The Web
seminars in this series are scheduled
for Nov. 27 and Dec. 13, 2007. Each
seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
Online registration for each is now open
at:
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall07/IPY_Denver/webseminar.aspx
6th –
12th Grade Science
Wanted: Citizen Scientists
CitizenScience, the technical branch
of SustainUS, is hosting their annual
paper competition. The winning work will
be published in Citizen Science, an
online journal that honors young people
in the United States who are interested
in enriching public dialogue with
innovative, scientific approaches to
sustainable development. Authors of
winning papers will also present their
work at the UN Commission on Sustainable
Development's 16th Session in New York
City in May 2008, where SustainUS will
be joined by the US State Department in
recognizing your initiative, leadership
and insight. Please submit your work to
the Citizen Science Technical Board.
Papers should be written for a
non-scientific audience on natural or
social science topics related to the
economic, social, technological or
environmental dimensions of sustainable
development addressed by the United
Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development. This year's topics are:
agriculture, rural development, land,
drought, desertification and Africa.
Papers need not describe original
research, though original research is
welcome and encouraged. Papers will be
accepted on a rolling basis until
January 1, 2008. Please send all paper
submissions and questions about the
competition to CitizenScience@SustainUS.org.
For more information, competition entry
rules, and winning papers from prior
years, please visit
http://www.sustainus.org/citizenscience
21st
Century Explorer Podcast Competition
What do you think is NASA's greatest
exploration achievement in the past 50
years, and why? That is the question
NASA is asking students for the Second
Annual 21st Century Explorer Podcast
Competition. Students will create an
audio recording or video -- running one
minute or less -- with their answer to
the question. The contest is open to
U.S. citizens, ages 11 to 18. Entries
will be judged on content, creativity,
execution, clarity and overall
impression. The 15 finalists in each
format (audio and video) and each age
category (ages 11-14 and ages 15-18)
will be displayed on the contest Web
site, where the public will vote for and
select a "People's Choice" winner.
Prizes will also be awarded for first,
second and third place. Winners will be
announced on the Web site Feb. 28, 2008.
Entries
are being accepted now through Jan. 4,
2008, or when the first 1,000 entries in
each category are received. For more
information, including tips for creating
audio and video podcasts, visit:
http://www.explorationpodcast.com/
Summer
Fellowship Opportunity in Physiology
The American Physiology Society (APS)
offers a wonderful professional
development/research experience for
middle and high school life science and
biology teachers. The application
deadline is January 10, 2008. For more
information, please visit:
http://www.the-aps.org/education/frontiers/app.html
December
1, 2007: Deadline to enter the Global
Warming Solutions YouTube Contest. For
entry information, please visit:
http://www.globalwarmingsolutions.org/
December
30, 2007: Deadline to apply for the Tool
Factory Podcasting Grants. For full
details, please visit:
http://www.toolfactory.com/olympus_contest/olympus_podcasting.htm
December
31, 2007: Deadline to apply for the
Teacher at Sea Program. For details,
please visit:
http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/
January
1, 2008: Deadline for middle-high school
students to submit papers to
CitizenScience paper competition. For
more information, please visit:
http://sustainus.org/content/view/16/128
January
4, 2008: Deadline for students to enter
NASA’s 21st Century Explorer Podcast
Competition. For more information,
please visit:
http://www.explorationpodcast.com/
January
10, 2008: Deadline to apply for the
American Physiology Society’s research
fellowship. For more information, please
visit:
http://www.the-aps.org/education/frontiers/app.html
January
13, 2008: Deadline to apply for the
Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator
Fellowship. For more information, please
visit:
http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/Einstein/about.htm
January
29, 2008: Deadline to apply for the
Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards. For
more information, please visit:
http://www.exploravision.org/
January
31, 2008: Deadline to apply to become a
NASA Explorer School. For more
information, please visit:
http://explorerschools.nasa.gov/portal/site/nes/menuitem.d601ef1f9fdc2c2d7010ea1051008a0c/
February
4, 2008: Deadline for teachers to apply
for the ARMADA Project Research
opportunity. For more information,
please visit:
http://www.armadaproject.org
February
8, 2008: Deadline to apply for the
Walter P. Chrysler Closing the
Technology Gap in Education Awards. For
more information, please visit:
http://www.chryslerteacherawards.com/
February
8, 2008: Deadline to apply for the
American Meteorological Society’s
Scholarships and Fellowships. For more
information, please visit:
http://www.ametsoc.org/amsstudentinfo/scholfeldocs/index.html
February
12-16, 2008: Fundamentals of Inquiry
Workshop for Professional Developers at
the Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/workshops/attend
March
6-8, 2008: MSTA Annual Conference in
Lansing, MI. To register, please visit:
http://msta-mich.org
March 7,
2008: Deadline to apply for the Michigan
Forestry Educator of the Year Award. For
more information, please contact Ada
Takacs at: takacsa@michigan.gov
March 14,
2008: National Pi Day. For more
information, please visit:
http://www.piacrossamerica.org/
March 14,
2008: Deadline to become an EARTH HERO
(ages 12-17). For more information,
please visit:
http://www.earth-heroes.org
March 17,
2008: Deadline to enter the National DNA
Day Contest for Middle and High School
Students. For more information, please
visit:
http://www.genednet.org/pages/k12_dnaday08.shtml
March
27-30, 2008: NSTA National Convention in
Boston, MA. For more information, please
visit:
http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2008bos/
April 4,
2008: Deadline to apply for the 2008
Thacher Scholars Award for secondary
school students. For more information,
please visit:
http://www.strategies.org/ThacherScholars
April
13-19, 2008: National Environmental
Education Week. For more information,
please visit:
http://dev.eeweek.org/
April 22,
2008: Earth Day. For more information,
please visit:
http://www.earthday.net/earthday2008.aspx
April 25,
2008: National DNA Day. For more
information, please visit:
http://www.genome.gov/dnaday
June 25,
2008: Curriculum Integration Conference
to be held at Holt High School.
Registration information will be
available soon.
July 1,
2008: Deadline to apply to become an
astronaut. For more information, please
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/recruit.html
July
14-18, 2008: CSI Lawrence Tech Forensics
Workshop. For more information, please
visit:
http://www.ltu.edu/arts_sciences/master_science_ed/forensic.asp
February
12, 2009: Charles Darwin Bicentennial
Day. For more information, please visit:
http://darwinday.org/englishL/assistevent/index.html
