On behalf of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), we would like to invite you to participate in an exciting initiative to improve Earth science education across the nation!

Program Information and Application

APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 1, 2012 or until filled.

Qualified applicants are educators within a workshop region who properly attend to application instructions. This includes responding to the essay question with a response that:

1. •is a minimum of 250 words;
   

2. •tells a story that illustrates effective science education; and;
   

3. •is free or nearly free of spelling and grammatical errors.
   

Please be sure your application is complete.

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

PRI and its Museum of the Earth is a non-profit organization based in Ithaca, New York. Composed of scientists and educators, its outreach programs aim to make the Earth and its life—and the science by which we understand it—accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. As part of that mission, we are currently developing a series of Teacher-Friendly Guides to North American Earth System Science. In concert with the development of the Guides, we are also providing teacher professional development and creating virtual fieldwork experiences (VFEs). Supported by the National Science Foundation, the project is a five-year initiative that will bring regional and local Earth system science into classrooms across the nation.

In 2012, we will offer our final series of workshops including one for educators in the Southwest (AZ, UT, CO, NM) in Albuquerque, NM and two in the Rocky Mountain States (ID, MT, ND, WY, SD, NE). The Rocky Mountain dates and locations will be finalized shortly.

At the end of the project, seven guides—based on geographic regions—will exist:

1. •Northeastern (ME, VT, NH, MA, NY, RI, CT, NJ, PA, DE, MD)
   

2. •Southeastern (DC, VA, WV, KY, NC, SC, TN, GA, AL, FL, MS)
   

3. •Midwestern (OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, MN, IA)
   

4. •South Central (KS, MO, OK, AR, TX, LA)
   

5. •Rocky Mountain (ID, MT, ND, WY, SD, NE)
   

6. •Southwestern (AZ, UT, CO, NM)
   

7. •Western (WA, OR, CA, NV, AK, HI)
   

The guides will be posted for free download at www.teacherfriendlyguide.org as they are completed.  The Northeastern and Southeastern Guides are already available, and the South Central Guide will be available in 2012. Previews of all regions are available now.

Also, a library of teacher-created virtual fieldwork experiences (VFEs) will complement the guides. VFEs allow teachers to bring the field into their classrooms and serve as support for actual fieldwork with students. Several VFEs are available here and more will be added as the project progresses.

The Teacher-Friendly Guides coupled with VFEs will promote the merging of standard geologic concepts with local geologic history, opening the door to inquiry by allowing teachers and their students to apply basic science concepts to situations outside the classroom’s walls.

WHO?

We hope to host teachers from across each region and from across the range of teaching experience.  So, whether you are from an urban, suburban, or rural school, or whether you have little background in geology or years of experience, we’d love for you to apply! We also welcome applications from providers of professional development. We hope to bring together teachers new to teaching Earth science with those with many years of Earth science experience.

Commonalities that we hope all participants share include:

1. 1. a desire to further their skills,
   

2. 2. a desire to include more inquiry into their instruction,
   

3. 3. a desire to bring the field into the classroom and (if possible) students into the field,
   

4. 4. a desire to collaborate with others, and,
   

5. 5. a willingness to learn about, use, and experiment with a range of instructional technologies
   

IN SUMMER, 2012 WE WILL BEGIN THREE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM GROUPS:

We welcome your application to participate in a professional development program that is focused on the Teacher-Friendly Guide and the Virtual Fieldwork Experiences.

1. Note:  All workshops involve fieldwork and hiking. It is not expected that participants be in peak physical condition, but they should be prepared for outdoor work in possibly rugged terrain. Appropriate footwear (hiking boots or sturdy sneakers) is required. We do, however, see virtual fieldwork as an avenue for mobility impaired individuals to engage in fieldwork. If you are mobility impaired and interested in participation, contact Don Duggan-Haas to discuss participation.
   

2. Educators are only eligible for workshops within their own regions.
   

1. •For teachers in the Southwestern US (AZ, UT, CO, NM): July 19 - 21, 2011 at and around Mesa, Az.
   

2. Note:  The fieldwork for this workshop includes physically challenging hiking in the Arizona summer heat.  We will avoid extended periods in the heat, but will not eliminate work in the heat completely.  While this will involve some hiking in the Arizona heat, we do not expect participants to be in perfect athletic condition.  Indeed, while most of program leaders are young and full of vigor, Don (who wrote this) is decidedly both middle-aged and fat.  We won’t be racing around in the Arizona sun or staying out in 100 + degree heat for extended periods. 
   

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4. •For teachers in the Rocky Mountain US (ID, MT, ND, WY, SD, NE): July, 2012. Details related to specific dates and locations coming soon. There will be two workshops in mid-July.
   

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The face-to-face workshops are a key part of a larger professional development program. 

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1. 1.The two and a half day workshop will focus on actual field work, with discussions on how to document a field site to bring your field experience back to the classroom and on how to bring your students into the field.  Stipends and support for travel and lodging total $800.00 per participant.
   

2. 2.Ongoing virtual study groups where teacher groups of about five use Internet conferencing technologies to share their work and support one another in the development of virtual fieldwork, and of teaching portfolios showcasing the virtual fieldwork. By applying to the workshop, you are also applying to a professional development program that continues for the ensuing year.
   

3. 3.The creation of virtual fieldwork experiences of both the workshop site and of sites near teacher participants’ schools. 
   

The project’s professional development program design is grounded in research on effective professional development, inquiry science and research on how people learn.    See a more detailed description of the research underlying program design here. 

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN & WHAT WILL YOU HAVE TO DO?

Before the workshop:

1. •Complete a pre-assessment.  We want to be able to help you the best we can! Completion of a short pre-assessment form will allow us to tailor the program to your wants and needs.
   

2. •Read some short readings.
   

3. •Create a “Powers of Ten” Google Earth Tour.  Participants will be asked to complete an online tutorial that will produce a Google Earth Tour centered on the participant’s school.  This is not a true VFE as it’s very directed, but it is a useful instructional tool to show both scale and the power of mapping.  It is also intended to introduce those who have not used Google Earth to the software.  How long this will take depends on technological skills, but it should take no more than a few hours to create a usable tour. Support is readily available for assistance in completing this work.
   

At the workshop:

1. •You will be introduced to an early draft of the Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Geology of the South Central US.
   

2. •Collaborate in the creation of a virtual fieldwork experience at the workshop site.  Most of the workshop time will be spent in preparing for and then jointly creating a VFE of an interesting field site near the workshop location.   
   

After the workshop:

1. •Create a VFE of a site near your school.
   

2. •Participate in a virtual study group and one-on-one discussions with project staff.  These study groups of about five teachers each will meet twice monthly in the first month after the workshop, then once a month for one hour.  In between study groups, you will work on your virtual fieldwork experience and portfolio and meet (via Skype software) with project staff to discuss your work.
   

3. •Post your VFE to the VFE database.  The database is still very much in development, but a primitive prototype is here. 
   

4. •Assemble a portfolio of project related work and provide feedback on other participants’ portfolios. 
   

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Extended! We are accepting applications from qualifed applicants until each program fills.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for taking the time to complete the below application!  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or 607.821.0910.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM APPLICATION FORM:

If the application form is not visible below, access it directly here.