1. Gather
information
about
- national and state science
standards [NOTE:
without a connection to science standards, teachers will not attend
your
workshop no matter how attractive it might be otherwise.]
- ask education faculty for
help
with this.
State standards are available from your state department of education
or
equivalent
- links:
- science curriculum for the
school
system(s)
you wish to serve
- proficiency tests
- most state departments of
education post sample
proficiency tests on their web sites
- student demographics (urban,
suburban, rural,
etc.) of your school district(s)
- resources available in the
schools
you wish
to serve
- science equipment, supplies,
specimens, etc.
- technology tools
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2. Based on
what you
have learned, re-examine your own goals and your department's or
institution's
goals for getting involved.
- improve relations with local
school systems
- professional development of
local
teachers,
many of whom might be your alumni
- improve science literacy of
the
students entering
your classes
- contribute to the national
goal of
improving
science education
- your own promotion and
tenure Think
again!
- other
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3. Make a
preliminary
decision about the teachers you wish to serve
- pre-service teachers or
in-service
teachers or both
- grade levels.
Schools
usually think
in terms of
- K-4 (elementary)
- 5-8 (middle)
- 9-12 (secondary)
- post-secondary [Don't forget
the
junior colleges,
community colleges: More than half of post-secondary introductory
biology
enrollments
are in these institutions. Their faculty members carry heavy
teaching
loads and need your support in keeping abreast of scientific
discoveries.]
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| 4. BEFORE
YOU GO FURTHER:
Invite 3-5 teachers from your target population to form an advisory
committee
to assist you in planning and developing (and perhaps recruiting and
presenting)
your workshop. All of the following planning steps should involve
the advisory committee. |
5. Set goals for
the workshop
participants. [Note: These decisions will determine
who plans and delivers the workshop: scientists, or science
educators,
or both.]
- content (both facts
and concepts)
- pedagogy
- developmentally appropriate
hands-on activities
- cooperative learning
- curriculum integration
- appropriate use of
technology [broadly defined
to include microscopes, cameras, balances, pH meters, plant presses (!)
in addition to computers]
- authentic assessment
- content and pedagogy
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6. Scheduling
- summer vs. during school year
(or
both)
- one week? two
weeks?
longer?
weekends?
- mornings?
afternoons?
both?
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7.
Credit? Non-credit?
Continuing Education Units (CEU's)?
- answer relates to funding
issues
as well as
academic issues
- answer may also determine
whether
scientists
do the workshop alone (science credit) or teamed with science educators
(education credit)
- if you want to give science
credit, check early
to see if there is an appropriate course already in your
curriculum.
Getting approval for a course may take time, especially if you are
asking
a science department to give credit for a teacher workshop.
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8.
Presentation format
- lectures
- usually to be avoided except
in
special circumstances.
Lectures that might be appropriate at the college level
probably
do not model the kind of instruction that is best employed at lower
levels.
- participation by
- individuals
- groups (cooperative learning)
- hands-on, activity-based
instruction
- distance learning
(web-enhanced or
web-based)
/ synchronous or asynchronous
- some combination of the above
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9. Expected
outcomes
- improve instruction (develop
or
revise lesson
plans, centers, introduce more hands-on learning, integrate technology,
etc.)
- revise curriculum (integrate
curriculum, add
new courses, design new units, design enrichment units, etc.)
- change the school culture as
regards science
instruction
- create a support system for
teachers
- improve student achievement
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10. Recruitment
and Admission
- individuals (better for
secondary
and higher
levels)
- teams of
teachers/principals/librarians from
schools (better for elementary and middle schools)
- [Note: If you really
want to
influence
change in a curriculum, you need to train teams of teachers.
Individual
teachers may not succeed in changing a school but a team can be very
persuasive and
mutually supportive.]
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11. Funding:
Expenses
- instructor(s)
- assistants (preparators and/or
instructional)
- tuition/fees for participants
- Yes, this might be an
expense
instead of income!
Many teachers expect to get free tuition for these workshops or perhaps
even a stipend!
- printing/duplicating
- alternative: put the
materials on CD-ROM
or web or both (but these have costs, too)
- equipment and supplies
- for your workshop
- for teachers to take back to
their schools for
implementation
- field trip(s)
- transportation, admission
fees,
food/drink
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12. Funding:
Income
- institutional sources
- existing operating budget
- in state-supported
institutions,
additional
state subsidy earned from credit instruction
- participants
- tuition (credit vs.
non-credit) But, note
above that tuition might be an expense rather than income!
- fees (lab fees)
- schools sending teams of
students might be asked
to pay a fee which would cover (fully or partially) the cost of
equipment
that would be taken back to the school
- grants (general support,
equipment
only, supplies,
in-kind, etc.)
- local (easiest to obtain but
usually small amount
of money)
- state (more difficult to
obtain,
larger amount
of money)
- federal (most difficult to
obtain, large amount
of money; usually require uniqueness that can serve as a national model)
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13. Evaluation
- of participants
- traditional testing (rare in
workshop situations)
- portfolios (journals,
assignments, projects,
etc.)
- of the workshop itself
- formative (to shape and
improve
the workshop
in its developmental stages)
- summative (evaluation by
participants at end
of workshop or several weeks/ months/ years later
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14. Products
- all materials prepared by
scientists and by teacher participants should be publishable (in print
or digitally or on the Internet)
- everyone should keep track of
sources and copyright of all text and images incorporated in all
products
- take legally required steps to
obtain release for publication
- permission of children
(parental permission) and teachers in photos
- art work, digital photos, and
other intellectual property
- get help from your institution's
legal staff
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15. Follow-up
- publish a list of phone and
e-mail
addresses of participants so they can contact and support one another
- establish a "hot line" by
phone or
e-mail so
teachers can contact you
- set up web-based bulletin
boards,
chat
rooms
- visit schools to assist
implementation and
to interact with students of the participants
- plan a retreat about 6 months
after the workshop
so participants can share their experiences and get further assistance
- be sure to collect statements
from
participants
about the ways your workshop influenced their attitudes toward science
and their teaching of science. These statements can be used in
grant
applications for future workshops.
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