Virginia Association of Science Teachers

Funded by Virginia Department of Education

Calling all middle and high school physical science teachers! Check out this great opportunity - it's just for you!

Participants will:

• Attend a ten-day summer workshop at the US Department of Energy's Jefferson Laboratory in Newport News, Virginia.
• Complete 15 hands-on electricity/magnetism experiments consistent with the Virginia Standards of Learning;
• Participate in 30 hours of pedagogy and enrichment activities with UVa and Jefferson Lab staff;
• Earn 3 credit hours from UVa; and,
• Receive a stipend of $1500, free housing, electricity/magnetism kit with mini VDG, electroscopes, textbooks, HD video camcorder, and free registration for the 2013 VAST PDI.

For more information and deadlines visit: http://people.virginia.edu/~ral5q/classes/UVa-JLab/summer13/

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Project CRESST: Enhancing Clinical Research Education for Science Students and Teachers

2013 Academy - July 15 - 19, 2013, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

The CRESST Academy is a Professional Development Academy for Middle and High School Teachers utilizing an innovative curriculum designed to enhance students’ research skills and awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyle choices. The Academy combines a week-long summer workshop in the classrooms, labs and facilities of Virginia Commonwealth University with “in your classroom” implementation throughout the fall semester

Presenters: VCU faculty, researchers and staff and CRESST Academy Fellows

More information about Project CRESST may be found at www.cresst.vcu.edu

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Dear Virginia Science Educators:

This summer, we are offering a unique learning experience, aimed primarily at prospective teachers of science.  Building on the experience of the Field Geology course, we are offering Earth & Environmental Science in Ireland in the same locations.  Completion of the course experience and requirements will provide you with six credit hours of elective science credit – three in Geology and three in Biology.  The course will take place during the first two weeks in July, preceded by four evening sessions during the spring semester and an overnight camping trip to Dolly Sods Wilderness Area.  The two courses will be scheduled as GEOL 501 and BIOL 501, and therefore qualify as graduate credit for certificate renewal.

The course will allow you to explore field applications of Earth science and biology content in a unique field setting – Western Ireland.  One of the most picturesque and remote parts of Ireland, Connemara includes Counties Galway and Mayo.  The site of the classic movie, “The Quiet Man” and the more recent "The Guard," this area is also noted for a unique combination of geology, ecology, and history that intersects that of the eastern United States of the last 1.1 billion years.

The base site will be the Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre (http://www.petersburg.ie).  This site is centrally located to a range of beach, mountain, woodland, lake, and peat bog environments.  It is also a focal point for the Celtic history of Ireland.  Students will stay in en-suite quad dormitory rooms, with meals provided).  On-site attractions include hiking, caving, rock-climbing, and kayaking.  Excursions to Galway City, the Aran Islands, Kylemore Abbey, Neolithic and Bronze Age sites, and the Connemara National Park are also part of the course. Costs include tuition (6 credit hours) plus a supplemental fee (approximately $850), as well as airfare to/from Shannon Airport in Ireland.

As this course is specifically designed for teachers, tasks and assignments in the class will be built around a model of pedagogical content knowledge, which provides not only content but also a means and rationale for organizing that content for the learning benefit of others.  The class as a whole will interact residents in the area to generate a “Community Atlas”, while at the same time designing and sharing instructional materials on specific topics of their interest.  All products will be included in the growing collection of instructional materials for the Joyce Country Geopark, currently under development for this region.

A student that participated in the course in 2011 had this to say about the experience a year later:
"I remember being thrilled about studying abroad because of the awesome adventures, people, food, oh and that thing called school, that I would get to experience in another country, all while earning credit for my undergraduate degree. This trip was so much work and so not what I was expecting. By the end, I was exhausted physically and mentally. However, all those expeditions, field work, research, etc. was going to be used for something greater than I realized; the hopes for future geoparks in Ireland. The experience and trip to Ireland was so meaningful and honestly one of the few times that I felt I learned so much in such little time. It was meaningful 1. because it was so hands on and 2. because we had the pressure of presenting to an audience- not just any audience either! People of community that we would be educating about findings that could be in their own backyards! And now, to think, that our hard work is hanging up as an example for a hopeful future. Amen to being a part of making a (hopeful) difference in the lives of others because of this experience, and also to the continued learning from this trip."

If you would like to learn more about this course, including the specific topics, itinerary, and costs, please visit the Office of International Programs website for the course at http://www.jmu.edu/international/abroad/jmu_ireland_earth.shtml.  Please email me at pyleej@jmu.edu if you have any additional questions.  Space is limited to 16 students.

Sincerely,

Eric J. Pyle, PhD
Professor
Department of Geology & Environmental Science