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Teacher Professional Development. Network-Wide Meeting December 2012. Presenters. Kevin Dilley – Sciencenter Alex Eilers – Pink Palace Museum Becky Wolfe – The Children ’ s Museum of Indianapolis Joyce Palmer Allen – Georgia Institute of Technology
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Teacher Professional Development Network-Wide Meeting December 2012
Presenters • Kevin Dilley – Sciencenter • Alex Eilers – Pink Palace Museum • Becky Wolfe – The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis • Joyce Palmer Allen – Georgia Institute of Technology • Kimberly Hanson – Museum of Nature & Science • Mary Harper – Turtle Bay Exploration Park
Teacher Professional Development Alex Eilers Pink Palace Museum alex.eilers@memphistn.gov 901.636.2387
Target Audience • Teachers – Grades 3-8 • Traditional PD • In-services • Workshops • Practitioners summits • NISE Net Kits - 200 • Suitcase Exhibits
What’s inside? • Detailed Educator’s Guide • Teacher background info • Activities for grades 3-12 • Supplementary Materials • Nano kit materials • Signs for activities • Plastic Sign holders • Packing instructions
Other PD audiences • Libraries • Boys and Girls clubs • Girls Inc. • Girl Scouts • YMCA
Nano in One Day Becky Wolfe The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis beckyw@childrensmuseum.org
Teacher Workshop @ TCM • Workshop Details • Geared for teachers of grades 6-8 • All day workshop • NISE and NSTA Resources • Advertised through museum publications and enews. • Teachers self-selected workshop
Workshop Content • Indiana Academic Standards • Atoms and Molecules = curriculum connection • “Nano 101” • Applications of Nano • Size and scale connected to common core math
Just for Teachers • Tweaked NISE activities for a classroom setting • Recording in science journals • Graphic organizers • Approach models process standards • Bulk of time on content building • Teachers as adult learners • Demonstrate museum connections
What We Learned • Nano is not readily taught • Needed to demonstrate clear connections to what is taught • Applications were enticing to teachers – answers the why we do science • Discussion time built comfort level
NNIN at Georgia Tech and Teacher Professional Development Joyce Palmer Allen Georgia Institute of Technology National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) Joyce.palmer@ien.gatech.edu
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) • Integrated partnership of 14 universities • Serve the resource needs of NSE researchers • Integrated education and outreach program (k-Gray)
Reasons for NNIN doing Teacher Professional Development • Need to address workforce development. • Getting information into the hands of teachers gets information into the hands of more students. • Teachers were asking us for lessons in addition to activities that they could use with their classes.
What is our Experience? • Workshops conducted in 14 states and British Columbia. • Made contact with teachers in 47 out of 50 states. • Workshops vary from 1 hour in length to one week. • Have gathered formal and informal evaluation info from participants.
Program Development • Questions that guide our workshops • What NSE concepts should be included? • How do the NSE concepts relate to K-12 content? • Do lessons use simple and inexpensive materials? • Do lessons connect to state standards? • Where do lessons connect to the curriculum?
Current Workshops-Grades 6-12 • Based on Big Ideas of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (Stevens et al, 2009) and National Science Education Standards. • Include activities for physical science, physics, chemistry, biology, environmental science, and engineering.
Example Agenda of Workshop • Short introduction to nanoscale science and engineering. • Variety of hands-on activities for teachers. • Time to reflect on how the activity could be used to support their curriculum. • Receive a CD of activities. At least two activities for each of the nine big ideas.
Current Workshops- Grades K-5 • Addresses simple objectives: • Small things happen that are too small to see with just your eyes. • Small things are made up of even smaller pieces. • Nano is really, really small. • Scientist use tools to observe small things. • K-5 lessons based on books. • Lessons can be conducted as teacher-led or as learning centers.
Example Agenda of Workshop • Short introduction to nanoscale science and how the process of learning about nanoscale can begin in elementary grades. • Discussion of the purpose, activities, and connection to nanoscale.
Time to explore lessons and activities Tools that repair Tools that measure Tools that help us see
Lessons Learned from Teacher Professional Development in NSE • Must be VERY clear on presenting NSE topics. • Misconceptions may be tied to too many topics in a short time frame. • Teachers and students are making gains in NSE content learning. • There is an interest and need for NSE professional development. Participation has steadily grown.
NNIN Resources for Teachers http://www.nnin.org/education-training Searchable database of ~60 lessons http://www.nanooze.org Online magazine for students Free classroom packs for teachers of print edition special topics
Teacher Kits from the Museum Kimberly Hanson Museum of Nature & Science Las Cruces, New Mexico khanson@las-cruces.org
Teacher kits from the museum • In 2010, the museum began offering kits made from the materials supplied by NISE Net in the Nano Days kits. • Two themed kits were created: Nano 101 and Nano Applications. • Additional kits are planned for future development.
How is the program specifically structured for teachers? • Partnerships • SC2 at NMSU • LCPS • Linked to standards • Used at a springboard to other topics
Addressing Nano Comfort Level • Science Background • Workshops to familiarize teachers with content • Lessons written to address content standards • Supplemental lesson provided by museum
How is this different than programming at museum? • Teacher Kits • Kits are used in a classroom setting • Small groups • Two week lending period
How is this different than programming at museum? • Museum Programs • Small groups/individuals • Informal discussion • Multiple short engagements throughout the year
Challenges/Solutions • Audience • Buy-in from LCPS • Additional Audiences
Nano for the Classroom Mary Harper Turtle Bay Exploration Park mharper@turtlebay.org
Classroom Curriculum Kits • What to do with all the NanoDays activity kits? • Wanted to get this current science into the classroom • Grouped activities into 3 kits • Field tested in classrooms
Teacher workshop • Professional development workshop • Nano science professional • Addressing curriculum standards • Giving teachers a chance to play
Teacher connection • Teacher comfort level • Background information • Resources • Support from Museum Staff
This presentation is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.