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E-Blast February 12, 2009
In this E-Blast
- Leadership
- Building a Presence
- MDE Science
- K-12 Science
- Free Lecture, Dr. Eric J. Heller
- Happy Birthday Charles Darwin
- NASA Education Unveils New Do-It-Yourself Podcast Activity
- MSTA Conference Registration Deadlines and Details
- Free Online Great Lakes Workshop for Teachers of Grades 4-10
- Black History Month
- Frog and Toad Survey Training Workshop
- 2009 is the Year of Science - February
- Resources about Rocketry and Spacesuits
- High School Science
- Middle School and High School Science
- Elementary and Middle School Science
- February Contest
- Upcoming Events, Opportunities and Deadlines
Here are your science education resources and announcements for February 12, 2008 provided by Building a Presence for Science. These science education highlights are emailed to Key Leaders, Points of Contact and State Partners. Please forward them on to other science educators in your school. If you have questions or comments, please forward them to:
David Bydlowski
Michigan Coordinator - Building a Presence
bydlowd@resa.net
http://nsta.org/bap
http://www.msta-mich.org/bap
or
Sue Campbell
MSTA Representative
sue@ucia2.com
http://www.msta-mich.org
1. Leadership
Leadership Quote Number 1
A good leader inspires others with confidence in him; a great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves.
Unknown
Thank you to Herm Boatin, Science consultant and lecturer, University of Michigan-Dearborn, for contributing this leadership quote.
Leadership Quote Number 2
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility---a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
Barack Obama
Thank you to Val Leveille, Science Teacher at the Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, for contributing this leadership quote.
Building a Presence
Upcoming BaP Events
Are you attending the MSTA Conference in Detroit? If so, there will a BaP meeting on Saturday, March 7 from 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM in the Renoir Room at the Detroit Marriott. Hope to see you there!
Are you attending the NSTA Conference in New Orleans? If so, there will be a reception on Thursday, March 19 from 5:00 - 7:00 in La Galerie 2 at the Marriott. RSVP is not necessary.
Prize Winner from Listening to the e-Blast Podcast
The winner of the Podcast contest is:
Val Leveille
Henry Ford Academy, Dearborn
She answered the question "Who is our MDE Superintendent?" correctly. Of course, the answer is Mike Flanagan. She received an iTunes gift card for her efforts.
You can only win if you listen to the e-blast podcast. During the podcast, a contest question will be asked and a deadline given. If you answer the question correctly, you will be entered into a drawing and one lucky person will win an iTunes gift card. To listen to the Michigan e-blast podcasts, you can visit:
http://k12science.net
and click on the podcast button. You can also subscribe to the podcasts from there. If you listen to this e-blast as a podcast, you might be the next winner! Good luck!
MDE Science
Public Input on the Michigan School Accreditation System
The following is a letter sent to educators from Sally Vaughn, Deputy Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer - Michigan Department of Education:
In March 2002, the State Board of Education approved "Education YES! - A Yardstick for Excellent Schools" as the state's accreditation system to provide a means of setting standards for continuous school improvement and measuring the need for support and intervention for schools. Since 2002, the State Board has made significant policy changes that resulted in the Michigan Merit Exam, expanded indicators for the School Improvement Framework self-assessment, MI-Access for students with special needs, testing in grades 3-8, and inclusion of a growth model. In addition to policy changes, educators, parents, and employers have identified concerns with the system and made numerous recommendations to make it more understandable and transparent.
A stakeholder group worked with staff from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to develop a recommendation that will redesign the annual school accreditation report and replace it with the Michigan School Accreditation System (MI-SAS). The redesign recommendation has been presented to the Superintendent for Public Instruction and to the State Board. MDE is required to send the new standards out to all public schools and to gather input, incorporating changes as needed, before bringing the final MI-SAS standards back to the State Superintendent and State Board for approval.
The deadline for gathering public input is March 6, 2009. The document describing MI-SAS, a PowerPoint overview, and details for providing input are available online at:
http://mi.gov/mi-sas
Please take the time to review the MI-SAS information and share your thoughts via an online survey. If you have additional questions, please send them to MISASquestions@michigan.gov. We will respond to questions with a podcast and publish both questions and answers at the MI-SAS information website.
Companion Documents, Writing Across the Curriculum, and Science Builder
Recently, the Michigan Department of Education approved the K-7 Science Companion Clarification Documents. They also released the new Writing Across the Curriculum Booklet, for Science and reemphasized Science Builder on the web. Here is the official announcement from Kevin Richard, MDE Science Consultant:
I am pleased to release three new MDE support documents for science education in Michigan.
The first support document is the K-7 Science GLCE Companion Clarification Document. This document breaks the GLCE into 4 units per grade. Within each unit are:
- Instructional Clarifications
- Assessment Clarifications
- Content Specific Inquiry expectations
- Assessable Vocabulary
- Instructionally useful Vocabulary
- Instruments, Measurements, and Representations
- Instructional Examples using the 5 E model
- Enrichment and Intervention Strategies
- Real World Examples, Observations, and Phenomena
- Literacy Integration
- Mathematics Integration
The second support document is a science specific Writing Across the Curriculum booklet. In this booklet are many science specific strategies and examples how to incorporate writing into the classroom. The booklet is divided into two sections:
- Writing to Learn (15 strategies)
- Writing to Demonstrate Knowledge (8 formats)
These documents can be found on the MDE website at:
http://www.michigan.gov/science
under "What's New".
I am also pleased to announce another newer MDE support document for grades 2-6 science education in Michigan. The support document is called Science Builder. This online tool was recently released last fall as a CD to every school with grade 3, 4, or 5. I am attaching the letter that accompanied the CD.
This tool's web link can also be found on the MDE website at:
http://www.Michigan.gov/science
under "What's New".
You can find Science Builder online directly at:
http://www.sciencebuilder.com/michigan.php
We have a state-wide license for all schools in Michigan to use.
Username: michigan
Password: science
You can find individual grade level companion documents at:
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-28753_38684_28760_49215---,00.html
or by clicking on the "K-7 GLCE Science Curriculum Documents" link under Curriculum and Instruction Heading on:
http://www.michigan.gov/science
Direct links to the documents are:
K-4 GLCE Companion Document
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/K4_Science_GLCE_Companion_Document_v.1.09_2_264479_7.pdf
5-7 GLCE Companion Document
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/57_Science_GLCE_Companion_Document_v.1.09_2_264472_7.pdf
Writing Across the Curriculum Document
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Science_WAC_2_3_264454_7.pdf
I think you will find all of the documents helpful and useful for your teachers. Thank you to all who worked on these documents to improve science education for Michigan. It is amazing what can be done when so many contribute.
Kevin
Kevin J. Richard
Science Education Consultant
Office of School Improvement
Michigan Department of Education
517.373.4223
RichardK1@Michigan.gov
www.michigan.gov/science
K-12 Science
Free Lecture, Dr. Eric J. Heller
Lawrence Technological University's Walker L. Cisler Memorial Lecture Series Presents...
"Picture Perfect: Persuasion, Politics and Prejudice surrounding the scientific image, 1800 - 2009"
The speaker is Dr. Eric J. Heller, Professor of Physics and Chemistry at Harvard University. Heller has made groundbreaking theoretical contributions in quantum dynamics, spectroscopy, semiclassical approximations, and condensed matter physics. He is perhaps best known for his seminal work on the time-domain wavepacket approach to molecular spectroscopy and on the quantum mechanics of classically chaotic systems.
Heller was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006 and received the American Chemical Society Award in Theoretical Chemistry in 2005. He received the Astor Fellowship at Oxford in 2005 and was the 2003 recipient of the Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize. He has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and American Physical Society, as well as a Sloan Fellow, a Humboldt Fellow, and a Guggenheim Fellow. He is the author of over 225 publications.
The free lecture will take place Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at Lear Auditorium on the Lawrence Technological University Campus.
Happy Birthday Charles Darwin
February 12, 2009, marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. Born on the same day as Abraham Lincoln, Darwin's insights have structured two centuries of modern biology in much the same way that Lincoln's have influenced American government. Here is a listing of some great websites featuring the work of Darwin:
http://oikos.villanova.edu/Nesomimus/
http://darwinday.org/englishL/assistevent/index.html
http://www.aboutdarwin.com/
NASA Education Unveils New Do-It-Yourself Podcast Activity
NASA Education is excited to introduce the Do-It-Yourself Podcast activity in the For Educators section of NASA.gov. Students can preview and download audio and video clips of astronauts performing work in space and on the ground. They can then use these clips to build their own podcast or similar audio/video project. Learning modules on the DIY Podcast page will be categorized by topic to assist students with creating projects about a subject of interest. Each subject module includes video and audio clips, images, helpful information and links to related resources. A variety of audio and video clips will be provided to enhance flexibility and creativity. Students can create video or audio projects using free or inexpensive software on Windows or Macintosh computers.
Educators and their students are encouraged to distribute their NASA projects through podcasts, social networks, Web sites, CDs, DVDs or other channels that they may choose. The Do-It-Yourself Podcast Blog will keep users posted on the latest updates. Tips and suggestions for incorporating the DIY Podcast into the classroom and updates on when new topic modules are available will be posted regularly. Use the Comments feature of the blog to share ideas and experiences with other teachers and students.
To learn more and to start making podcasts, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/diypodcast/index.html
For answers to questions about this activity, please contact Deana Nunley at Deana.Nunley@nasa.gov.
MSTA Conference Registration Deadlines and Details
MSTA conference registration deadline - since the deadline is February 16, 2009, and that is Presidents day, the on-line registration deadline has been extended to February 17, 2009. For all the details about the conference and session information, visit:
www.msta-mich.org
If you are planning on attending the MI Science Education Leadership Association, Inquiry Workshop & Dinner Meeting, Thursday, March 5, 2009, from Noon - 7 p.m., please contact Eileen Byrnes at:
sunbyrnes@comcast.net
Registration deadline - February 14, 2009.
Hotel reservations - deadline to reserve rooms - February 23rd!
The rack rate for the rooms when we will be at the hotel is $225 - BUT we have been given the rate of $126 (single/double/triple/quad). Don't delay and have to pay more after February 23rd.
Just call 1-800-228-9290, and make sure you indicate you are with the MI Science Teachers Association.
Free Online Great Lakes Workshop for Teachers of Grades 4 - 10
Teachers and scientists alike can benefit from the latest online workshop from COSEE Great Lakes "Great Lakes Alive!" which will take place February 15-27. The workshop is free and is targeted for formal and non-formal educators who teach about the Great Lakes or the life sciences. However, all teachers, as well as scientists, are invited to participate. The workshop material is most applicable for grades 4-10.
COSEE (Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence) offers six presentations one posted every other day focusing on living resources in the Great Lakes. "The size, depth, and quality of the Great Lakes make it a unique ecosystem," said workshop coordinator Bruce Munson of the University of Minnesota Duluth. "Since COSEE Great Lakes works closely with many scientific organizations studying the biology of the Great Lakes, we can bring current science and access to scientists in that field directly to teachers and their students." Each presentation is created by a university scientist in the Great Lakes region and includes an introduction, a narrated PowerPoint presentation, and suggested classroom resources. Participants also, through dynamic conversations on the workshop's discussion board, get practical tips and classroom applications from one another, as well as the presenters, who will be available for questions after their presentation is posted. Once the presentations and related classroom materials are posted, they are archived and available for use at any time, even after the workshop.
Teachers may elect to receive a certificate of participation at the end of the workshop and may obtain one graduate credit. Graduate credit will cost $85 payable to the University of Minnesota Duluth. To register or for more information, please visit:
http://www.coexploration.org/coseegreatlakes
Black History Month
Join NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in celebrating Black History Month. Each week in February, a different African-American employee from GSFC will be featured. In the opening week, two will be featured. The employees will talk about their careers, career paths and, in some cases, obstacles and challenges they have faced.
- Week of Feb. 2 - Dewayne Washington, Public Affairs Officer
- Week of Feb. 2 - Noble Jones, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Engineer
- Week of Feb. 9 - Denna Lambert, Disabilities Program Manager
- Week of Feb. 16 - Danielle Wood, M.I.T. Ph.D. Student/NASA Researcher
- Week of Feb. 23 - Jahi Wartts, Business Resource Analyst
Each day a two- to three-minute video clip of the NASA employees talking about their careers will be available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/goddard
Then click on Black History Month, in the far right hand column.
Frog and Toad Survey Training Workshop
Welcome spring by participating in Friends of the Rouge's annual Frog and Toad Survey. Help monitor the health of Rouge River wetlands by listening for frogs and toads in your neighborhood. It's easy, fun, and important to the future of our environment. To participate, attend ONE training workshop where you will get everything that you need to survey. Pre-registration is REQUIRED by emailing
picoordinator@therouge.org
or
monitoring@therouge.org
or by calling (313) 792-9621.
2009 is the Year of Science -- February
Understanding evolution helps solve biological problems that impact our lives--everything from vaccinations for disease prevention to pest controls for crop management to decision-making to protect endangered species. And what better month to celebrate evolution than February 2009, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin! Please visit:
http://www.yearofscience2009.org/themes_evolution/celebrate/
If you missed January………….
Welcome to the first month of the Year of Science 2009 -- a year long celebration where participants in the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science are leading a celebratory journey with you to share how science works, what it is like to be a scientist, and why science matters. In nearly every state, participants in the celebration will be demonstrating how we know about our natural world and why science continues to be so vitally important to our communities, our country, and the world. Please visit:
http://www.yearofscience2009.org/themes_process_nature/celebrate/
Resources about Rocketry and Spacesuits
Few classroom topics generate as much excitement as rockets. The scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical foundations of rocketry provide exciting classroom opportunities for authentic hands-on, minds-on experimentation. The activities and lesson plans contained in this educator guide emphasize hands-on science, prediction, data collection and interpretation, teamwork, and problem solving. The guide also contains background information about the history of rockets and basic rocket science. The rocket activities in this guide support national curriculum standards for science, mathematics and technology. The Rockets Educator Guide is available as a complete guide or can be downloaded in easy-to-use individual lesson plans. You can download the activities and lesson plans at:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Rockets.html
Mark your place and learn about spacesuits. This downloadable bookmark has the Web address for the educational spacesuit site. Plesae visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Spacesuits_Bookmark.html
High School Science
Michigan Physics Teachers Meeting
The Michigan Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (MIAAPT) is dedicated to promoting excellence in physics education in the state of Michigan and to supporting physics educators statewide. This organization shall endeavor to advance the knowledge of physics; to improve the teaching of physics; and to interest an increasing number of young people in making a career of physics.
The MIAAPT spring 2009 meeting will be on Friday and Saturday, March 27-28, 2009 in Lansing, MI. There is a Call for Papers for the Spring 2009 meeting. The abstract deadline is Friday February 20, 2009. Send abstracts to Drew Isola at:
disola@alleganps.org
For more information on MIAAPT, please visit:
http://www.miaapt.org/index.shtml
Middle School and High School Science
Young Naturalist Award
The Young Naturalist Awards is an inquiry-based science competition for students in grades 7-12 to promote participation and communication in science. The theme of the Young Naturalist Awards is the same each year: "Scientific Discovery Begins with Curiosity!" Students choose a topic in biology, ecology, Earth science, or astronomy and go to an area where they can explore their topic. The deadline for students to apply is March 2, 2009. For full details, please visit:
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/index.html
Elementary and Middle School Science
MEECS Training on March 5
Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support (MEECS) unit trainings are scheduled prior to the Michigan Science Teachers Association (MSTA) annual conference. Trainings will be held on each of the five MEECS units: Air Quality, Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Energy Resources, Land Use, and Water Quality. Go to:
http://www.michigan.gov/deq-meecs
for detailed information about MEECS.
The trainings will take place on Thursday, March 5, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center, Detroit, Michigan. Teachers and nonformal educators are welcome to enroll. Register online at the following site:
http://www.deq.state.mi.us/eforms/meecsregistration.html
Registration Cost: $35.00
SB-CEU Credits: SB-CEU credits will be available for those interested.
Session Information: Visit the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Web site at:
http://www.michigan.gov/deqworkshops
and click on "Upcoming Workshops" for additional information about this event.
February Contest
This month we have 10 wonderful gifts to give away. Each prize is a Science DVD. Five of the DVD's come from the series, Predators of the Deep. You can view this series at:
http://www.amazon.com/PredatorsDeep/dp/B00197XF82/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1234291454&sr=8-1
The other five DVD's come from the series, Endangered Species. You can view this series at:
http://www.amazon.com/EndangeredSpecies/dp/B001D5C1E4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1234291532&sr=1-1
To win one of these prizes, send an email to:
David Bydlowski
bydlowd@resa.net
State Coordinator for Building a Presence
You MUST INCLUDE your name AND mailing address AND your school name/district.
You may only enter once and only one entry per email address. Respondents 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 will receive a prize. We will post all of the winners in our next E-Blast. Good luck to you and thank you for being part of the Building a Presence Network.
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
- January 1-December 31, 2009: The Year of Science. For more information, please visit: http://www.yearofscience2009.org
- February 12, 2009: Charles Darwin Bicentennial Day. For more information, please visit: http://darwinday.org/englishL/assistevent/index.html
- February 13, 2009: Deadline to nominate an educator for the Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award. For more information, please visit: http://neefusa.org/bartlettaward.htm
- February 13, 2009: Deadline to register for the Michigan Environthon for High School Students. For more information, please visit: http://www.macd.org:80/envirothon.html
- February 14, 2009: Deadline to register for the MSELA at MSTA Inquiry Workshop to be held from 12:00 - 7:00 at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center. For more information, contact Eileen Byrnes at: sunbyrnes@comcast.net
- February 15-21, 2009: National Engineers Week, 2009. For more information, please visit: http://www.eweek.org/Home.aspx
- February 17, 2009: Online Deadline to register for the MSTA Conference to be held in Detroit. For all the details about the conference and session information, visit: http://www.msta-mich.org
- February 20, 2009: Deadline to apply for the Walter P. Chrysler Award-Closing the Technology Gap in Education. For more information, please visit: http://www.chryslerteacherawards.com/5step.htm
- February 27, 2009: Deadline to apply to be a INSPIRE Program Summer Counselor/Chaperone. For more information, please visit: https://opportunities.nasa.okstate.edu/index.cfm?liftoff=applications.PositionDetails&JobPostingID=21
- March 2, 2009: Deadline for 7th - 12th grade students to apply for the Young Naturalist Award. For more information, please visit: http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/index.html
- March 5-6, 2009: Southeastern Michigan Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at Wayne State University. For more information, please visit: http://coe.wayne.edu/ted/jshs/
- March 5-7, 2009: Michigan Science Teachers Association Annual Conference in Detroit. For more information, please visit: http://msta-mich.org/conference
- March 6, 2009: Deadline to apply for Cohort 2 of the Endeavor Science Teacher Certificate Project. For more information, please visit: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/programs/Endeavor_Science_Teaching_Certificate_Project.html
- March 13, 2009: Deadline to apply for the Research Experiences for K-12 Teachers (RET). For more information, please visit: http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/ret/
- March 13, 2009: Deadline for students to enter the Igniting Creative Energy Competition. For more information, please visit: http://www.ignitingcreativeenergy.org
- March 13, 2009: Deadline for students to enter the Earth Day T-Shirt Contest. For more information, please visit: http://nesecenter.com
- March 15, 2009: Deadline for middle school students to apply for the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge. For more information, please visit: http://wecanchange.com
- March 16, 2009: Deadline for students to enter the 4th Annual DNA Day Essay Contest. For more information, please visit: http://www.ashg.org/education
- March 19-22, 2009: National Science Teachers Association Annual Conference in New Orleans. For more information please visit: http://www.nsta.org/conferences/2009new/
- March 20, 2009: Deadline to apply for the 2009 High School InvenTeam Competition. For more information, please visit: http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/apply.html
- March 22, 2009: World Water Day. More information will follow.
- March 24, 2009: Picture Perfect: Persuasion, Politics, and Prejudice Surrounding the Scientific Image, 1800-2009 by Professor Eric J. Heller of Harvard University, free lecture at the Lear Auditorium on the campus of Lawrence Technological University.
- March 27-28, 2009: Michigan Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers Spring 2009 Meeting in Lansing, MI. For more information, please visit: http://www.miaapt.org/index.shtml
- April 6, 2009: Deadline to apply for the 2009 Thacher Scholars Awards for students in grades 9-12. For more information, please visit: http://www.strategies.org/ThacherScholars
- April 12-18, 2009: National Environmental Education Week 2009: Be Water Wise! For more information, please visit: http://www.eeweek.org
- April 24, 2009: Michigan High School Math and Science Symposium at Grand Valley State University. For more information, please visit: http://www.gvsu.edu/rmsc
- May 1, 2009: Deadline to apply for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, Grades 7-12. For more information, please visit: http://www.paemst.org/
- June 16-17, 2009: Workshop for Middle School Teachers on GEMS Space Science Sequence for Grades 6-8 to be held at Central Michigan University. For more information, please send an email to gems@cmich.edu or visit: http://gems.cmich.edu
- July 11-16, 2009: The 2009 Michigan Youth Policy Summit on Greenhouse Gas Reduction, to be held at Western Michigan University for 11th and 12th Grade Students. For more information, please contact: Annemarie Fussell at Keystone (afussell@keystone.org; 970-455-4231) or Susan Grammer at WMU (susan.grammer@wmich.edu; 269-387-8642).
- August 2-6, 2009: ChemEd Conference in Radford, Virginia. For more information, please visit: http://www.radford.edu/chemed2009/
- August 16-22, 2009: World Water Week. For more information, please visit: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/
- October 8-10, 2009: The Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education will be held at the University of Michigan, Dearborn Campus. For more information, please visit: http://www.michiganenvironmentaled.org/index.html
To subscribe to the Building a Presence Science e-blast, please visit: http://nsta.org/bap
To unsubscribe from the Building a Presence Science e-blast, please contact your Key Leader or email David Bydlowski, Michigan Coordinator for the Building a Presence Science Network, at bydlowd@resa.net.