Conference Planning
It’s that time again – time to get any proposals to present at the spring conferences submitted. There are a number of conferences for mathematics and science educators coming up next spring, and many of these are accepting proposals to present for the next few weeks.
Are you looking for an opportunity to share your ideas and expertise in the classroom? Would you like a chance to attend some of these workshops for free? Then, this is your chance. Check some of the links below to find out more about the conferences, and to submit your proposals to present.
Conferences and Links
COLLABORATIVE TOOLS FOR LEARNING CONFERENCE
November 13, 2009 at the Macomb ISD
MACUL’s fall conference, a single-day event that focuses on the use of online collaborative tools.
Click here for more information about the conference.
Proposal submissions are due October 5.
MSTA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
March 4-6, 2010 at the Lansing Convention Center
Annual conference for the Michigan Science Teacher Association.
Click here for more information about the conference.
Proposal submissions are due October 5.
MACUL ANNUAL CONFERENCE
March 4-6, 2010 at the Lansing Convention Center
Annual conference for the Michigan Science Teacher Association.
Click here for more information about the conference.
Proposal submissions are due September 29.
MICHIGAN JOINT EDUCATION CONFERENCE CONFERENCE
June 23, 2010 at Holt High School
Annual conference for cross-curricular efforts – a collaboration of the various teacher professional organizations.
Click here for more information about the conference.
Proposal submission information will be posted on their site later this fall.
NDSC SUMMER CONFERENCE
July 18-21, 2010 in Seattle
Summer conference for the National Staff Development Council
Click here for more information about the conference.
Proposal submissions are due October 2.
NCTM REGIONAL CONFERENCES
October 2010 in Denver, Baltimore, and New Orleans
Regional conferences for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Click here for more information about the conference.
Proposal submissions are due November 1.
MMSTLC Presented at ESERA Conference in Istanbul
Stephen Best presented two sessions on the MMSTLC project and the online resources of the project at the ESERA conference on Science Education Research in Istanbul. His poster presentation focused on the design of online learning tools and he also presented a paper on the design considerations of professional development activities. His presentation can be found here:
Lesson Observation System Workshop
SAMPI at Western Michigan University is offering a training workshop on the use of the SAMPI Lesson Observation System. The session is designed for those who might want to use the tool for evaluation or research. A brief description of the system is provided below. If you are interested in knowing more about the tool, we can send you a more detailed brochure.
The workshop will be offered at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo on Monday, August 17 (8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) and Tuesday, August 18, 2009 (8:30 a.m. – Noon). This will be for the basic version of the observation system. On Tuesday, August 18 from 1 – 3:30 p.m., we will provide training on the mentoring version of the system. (NOTE: Only those who have had training on the basic version may participate in the mentoring version.)
To be approved to use the system and receive all the materials, you must participate in the full 10-hour workshop (in this case, both days). THERE IS NO COST TO YOU TO PARTICIPATE, OTHER THAN YOU PROVIDE YOUR OWN TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER TRAVEL COSTS. We’ll provide lunch on Monday and refreshments both days.
For the mentoring version training, you must participate in the full 2.5 hour session to receive materials. We can provide information about overnight accommodations if you need them.
If you are interested in participating, just RSVP to this email (from crystal.stein [at] wmich.edu), giving us email, telephone, and regular mail contact information, along with your affiliation. We will send a confirmation with specific details about location on campus and parking instructions.
YOU MUST RSVP BY Wednesday, August 5, 2009.
About the SAMPI Lesson Observation System:
“A comprehensive protocol for observing, analyzing, and reporting data from observations of content-based lessons in kindergarten through twelfth grade, and higher education classrooms. It is applicable in science, mathematics, social studies, language arts, fine arts, and other content-based lessons. It is based on Michigan and national teaching and learning standards in core subject areas with an orientation toward inquiry and investigative approaches to learning.”
Exhibits and Events at the UM Exhibit Museum
The UM Exhibit Museum once again has a great set of learning opportunities for students of all ages this summer. Check out some of the events and shows listed below:
Apollo 11: 40 Years Later
July 20th marks the 40th anniversary of the landing of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module on the Moon, and the first time humans stepped onto the Moon. The Exhibit Museum commemorates the event with an exhibit, on the Museum’s 4th floor across from the Planetarium. The exhibit includes a model of the Saturn V rocket that lifted the Columbia Command Module and the Eagle Lunar Module into space, a model of the Lunar Rover, and articles about the mission published in 1969. The exhibit will be on view through September. In addition, a five-minute movie about the Apollo missions and the NASA space program will accompany all Museum Planetarium shows in July, August, and September.
The Apollo 11 mission fulfilled President Kennedy’s 1961 goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” within the decade. Mission Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. became the first humans to land on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited above. Six and a half hours after landing on the Moon, Armstrong stepped onto the surface, saying, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The command module is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, sharing the main hall with other pioneering flight vehicles such as the Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1, the North American X-15, Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7, and Gemini 4.
Ida: Darwinius masillae
“Ida,” a new exhibit in the Exhibit Museum’s Rotunda, displays a high-resolution cast of an extremely rare fossil discovered in 1983 near Messel, Germany, but only recently made available for study. The fossil has proven to be a “link” between the prosimian and simian (“anthropoid”) primate lineages. It has “advanced” front teeth (incisors and canines) and second toes like those of monkeys, and is broadly representative of what human primate ancestors may have looked like during the Eocene epoch 47 million years ago.
Ida (prounded “eeda”) is named after after the daughter of Dr Jørn Hurum, the Norwegian vertebrate paleontologist who secured one section of the fossil from an anonymous owner, and led the research. Ida was about eight months old, or the equivalent of a six-year-old human.
Publication of a paper on the discovery was accompanied by a book, The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestors by Colin Tudge, and a documentary shown on the History Channel (US), BBC One (UK),and various stations in Germany and Norway.
U-M paleontologist Philip Gingerich and U-M anthropologist B. Holly Smith were two members of the “dream team” invited to study Ida. The exhibit will be on display through May 2010.
Free Dinosaur Tours! Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm
Attention dinosaur fans! Join us at 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays for a free, 30-minute docent-led tour of the dinosaur exhibits. Sign up on the day of the tour. Limit: 15 people.
Planetarium Shows
The Sky Tonight: Star Talk
Monday-Friday at 1:30 & 3:30
Saturdays, August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 at 1:30 & 3:30
Sundays, August 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 at 1:30 & 3:30
Bright stars, constellations, planets, and telescopic objects in the current night sky will be discussed in this live “star talk.” Then leave Earth and “fly” out into space to examine the planets in the current sky.
Origins of Life
Saturdays, August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 at 2:30
Starting with the Big Bang, learn about the prebiotic chemistry in the Universe, the formation of stars and solar systems, and the first life on Earth, as well as the great extinctions and our search for life beyond planet Earth.
Little Star
Monday-Friday at 12:30
Little Star, an average yellow star, searches for planets of his own to protect and warm. Along the way, he meets other stars, learns what makes each star special and discovers that stars combine to form clusters and galaxies. Little Star also learns about planets and our Solar System.
MarsQuest
Monday-Friday at 2:30
Saturdays, August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 at 12:30
With recorded narration by Patrick Stewart, MarsQuest chronicles humanity’s cultural and scientific fascination with the planet Mars, from early observations of its “canals” to stories like War of the Worlds. Spacecraft mission findings are used to compare Mars’ weather, climate, and geology to Earth’s. We learn where on Earth we can prepare to live on Mars, what will be needed to get crewed missions there, and what the first landing may be like.
All ages admitted. Planetarium prices are $4.75 for adults, seniors, & children.
About the Museum
The University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History is open Monday through Saturday, 9 am-5 pm, and Sunday 12-5 pm. The Museum is located at 1109 Geddes Avenue in Ann Arbor; the main entrance is one block west of Washtenaw Avenue.
Admission to the Museum is free for individuals and families; groups of 10 or more must call to make a reservation. For more information, call (734) 764-0478. Visit our website – www. lsa.umich.edu/exhibitmuseum
Summer Academy at University of Michigan-Dearborn.
The MMSTLC will hold the end-of-school Summer Academy on the Fairlane South Campus of the University of Michigan at Dearborn on June 15-19. This event will help us celebrate the achievements of all of our participants over the past year, and will focus on content specific teaching and professional development strategies. This session will bring together over 100 educators during the week to address a number of issues central to middle grades mathematics and science education.
Participants who are traveling will have accommodations at the Doubletree Inn in Dearborn. Registration for the Academy is complete,
so any requests regarding lodging or registration should be addressed to registration [at] mmstlc.net.
The agenda and maps are located below:
Register for Spring MMSTLC Workshops
MMSTLC Participants need to register for upcoming workshops in April, May, and June. Check here to register. (more…)
2009 ASM Materials Camp® for Teachers
Attend a one-week materials science technology workshop – FREE – in Michigan! These weeklong summer camps for science, technology and art teachers in middle and high school are FREE professional learning opportunities to learn about materials science and how you can address these topics with students. (more…)
Teacher Workshops by AAPT on Kinematics and Waves
The Michigan Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers is sponsoring two free workshops for newer teachers of physics and physical science. (more…)